N O V E M B E R

Transcription

1 Scarborough H.O.G. # N O V E M B E R Elections for Champlain Ave. ( 401 & Thickson Rd. ) Oshawa Ont. L1J 7A or Director: Asst. Director: Treasurer: Secretary: Road Captain: LOH: Membership: Public Relations: Activities: Asst. Activities Safety Officer: Photographer: Historian: Webmaster News Editor: MEETING ROOM: Nick Fiore Arnie Stewart Annie Pistagnesi Phyllis Stewart Dave Vella Annie Pistagnesi Sarah Collins Teddy Collins Darrell Day John Archer John Archer Dave Vella Marshall Crotin Bob Burke Phill Tsolakis Thank you to the Stone Cottage for the FREE use of the meeting room twice monthly and also for the quality service you provide. At the October general meeting, the following members have so far been nominated for the Executive positions: Director - Teddy Collins Assistant Director - Arnie Stewart Secretary - Phyllis Stewart Treasurer - Annie Burke Newsletter Editor - Phill Tsolakis Membership - Sarah Collins Ladies of Harley - Annie Burke Public Relations - Teddy Collins Activities Officer - Joe Fournier Assistant Activities - Al Crockford Photographer - Dave Vella Safety Officer - John Archer Historian - Marshall Crotin Nominations are still open until the November general meeting. If you are interested in an Executive position, you must be both a paid International HOG and Scarborough Chapter member. Please see pages # 13 to # 17 in this issue of the newsletter explaining the job descriptions of the Executive positions. If you have any questions in the meantime, please do not hesitate to ask. Teddy

2

3 MINUTES OF SCAR. HOG GENERAL MEETING TUES. SEPT. 4, Nick Fiore, our Director, commenced the meeting at approximately 7:45 p.m. and acknowledged that we had no new members present so went on to once again thank Phil Tsolakis for the great job on the September newsletter noting the picture of the newly wedded couple on the front page. Nick discussed the Ontario Rally in Windsor and since he was not present, he had asked one of our members (Al) to attend the Directors meeting on his behalf. Al reported that 13 chapter members attended the rally and went on to give his report providing a great amount of detail some of which are listed below A discussion took place about the HOG magazine fall issue. HOG needs more pictures, they need more people to sign up for the newsletter, they are looking for Canadian suppliers vs U.S. suppliers for the HOG type of supplies. HOG will now only provide one patch per position and 10 patches for the road captain position which will have to be distributed accordingly At parades, a deposit will be needed for the flag poles and that deposit will be given back upon return of the flag pole. HOT training will take place on April 18, 19 and 20 in Milwaukee and any number of members can attend unlike in the past. Registration takes place in January. HOG is also looking for a chapter to host the National Rally in Next year, Durham HOG and Mackie s will be hosting the Provincial Rally June 27, 28, 29 & 30. Host hotel is not far from Mackie s. Our chapter offered to assist wherever possible. At the meeting they also discussed what the chapters do for charities and the bottom line is our goal is to ride and have fun good to support charities but let s keep our goal in mind. Next bike show is December 8 th. (MMIC Motorcycle Show) Arnie Stewart provided an overview re his thoughts on the Moncton Rally (not positive at all) please read the article he wrote in our September newsletter. The ride to Moncton was great in all 14 people from our chapter attended the rally. Our Christmas Party will be held at Sisters on Saturday, December 1st. Tickets will be for sale at the next meeting. Phil s ride to Dorset is scheduled for Saturday, September 15 th, and a ride to Port Carling is scheduled for Saturday, September 29 th. two rides worth reminding our members about. National HOG and Scarborough HOG memberships are due and to be paid at the next meeting. If you are not a member, you cannot nominate or vote for members to the Executive Committee. con t.

4 Dean Mackie provided an update re activities taking place. Saturday, September 29 th. Is Customer Appreciation Day ride leaves at 10:00 a.m. Demo Day is Thursday, October 4 th. Volunteers Dave, Phil, Cory, Arnie, John, Marshall, Ted, Al, and Darrell should arrive at Mackie s at 9:00 am. Dean reminded the members that the F13 bikes are coming in fast and furiously. Darrell reported that the cottage ride that took place was a great success they did a trip around Lake Roseau and after had a fantastic BBQ. The members confirmed with Darrell that we all agree to the raffle again for an LCBO gift certificate. John Archer reminded the members of the Saturday, September 9 th. Black Knights Toy Ride leaving from City Hall. John also suggested that we have some safety courses during the winter on how to deal with mud roads (especially for ORA) also things like riding in the rain, etc. Marshall discussed his ride to Indiana best auto museum, restored homes and great architecture. DRAWS - $60.00 in the 50/50 went to Marshall, Mystery Ride prize to Warren Caine and the Piggy Pot to Dave Vella which he donated. Phyllis S. The Chapter has secured a booth for the motorcycle supershow in early January. Something to think about is if any member is interested in showing off their bike. We would need to know how many bikes would be displayed in order to determine the size of booth we need. So the sooner interested members decide the better. It helps knowing before everyone s busy Christmas and News Years schedules. There will also be a need for volunteers to man the booth over the course of the weekend, so that would also be something to think about.

5 Demo Day at Mackie H-D 5 Our Chapter successfully participated at the October 4th demo ride at Mackie H-D. We did the morning shift and thankfully had no mishaps. Weather was good and all had a good time. Thanks to John, Teddy, Dave, Stan, Bob, Al, Arnie and I. Also to Corry who showed up for some support. Phill Chapter Meeting Dates at the Stone Cottage 7:30 pm Executive meetings: October 30th November 27th December 18th General meetings: November 6th December 4th January 8th Please note that due to Christmas and New Years Day falling on Tuesdays that we would normally hold our Executive and General meetings. We have re-scheduled the Exec. meeting one week earlier to Tues. Dec. 18 and the Gen. meeting one week later to Jan. 8th Membership Report I am please to report Nelson Assuncao has joined our Chapter recently. Sarah Collins

6 6 Normandy to Arnhem: A Highway of Tears. In late June and early July 2012 Dave Vella and Marshall Crotin decided to make a fourth motorcycle trip through western Europe. This time their route would follow the Rhine River south from Frankfurt to Strasbourg France, then through the scenic and challenging Vosges Mountains to Orleans (famed for Joan of Ark's birthplace) then at that point down the Loire River with its famous chateaux, most of which were seen in Tours. We then headed north having competed the first scenic portion of our journey. The third night we were in Arromanches on the English Channel at the edge of Omaha Beach. It was here that we began our historical journey which for the most part, as far as Canadians are concerned, was a highway of tears. The next morning we traveled from Omaha beach through Sword Beach, Juno Beach and Gold Beach to Pegasus Bridge, so named for the British parachute battalion that seized the bridge in a daring glider raid at night and so was the first objective taken by allied forces in the Invasion of Normandy. No visit there would be complete without a coffee and a few minutes spent in Pegasus Cafe at the end of the bridge, the first building liberated in France on June 6th The cafe is a virtual shrine visited by paratroopers from all over the world. We moved on to the Great Bunker in Oistreham at the extreme northern end of the invasion beaches. This five story fortress was preserved exactly as the it was in 1944 with accuracy down to the German army bandages and oxygen tank in the dispensary. Our travels then took us to the Canadian War Museum at Juno Beach which gave great insight into the part played by the First

7 Canadian Corps (later First Canadian Army). Further along the beach we saw the Mulberry artificial harbor. This harbor made possible the supply of Allied armies in western Europe until the Canadians captured the port of Antwerp Belgium in August of It was an engineering feat never repeated before or since as the entire harbor was constructed in England and floated across the English channel for reassembly in Arromanches. A Highway of Tears con t. 7 snagged a paratrooper and he remains hanging from his chute to this day, a scene made famous in the movie, The Longest Day. We visited Omaha beach and the beautiful but poignant American cemetery with its 9700 graves overlooking the beach. Further along we passed Utah Beach, a killing ground of unimaginable proportions. We arrived finally at the southern end of the invasion front at St. Mere Eglise. This was the first objective taken by the American 82nd Airborne Division on the night of June The church steeple We then traveled to an ancient island fortress dating from 900AD known as Mt. St. Michel. Now a monastery, it is the most visited site in all of France, receiving 3 million visitors annually. When the tide is in, it is an island, and is only accessible across the ocean floor when the tide is out. Next day we traveled to Caen to visit the Memorial Museum which housed many artifacts from the Invasion of Normandy. This part of this vast museum took three and a half hours to cover and was only a small portion of the building!...

8 8 A Highway Windsor of Tears rally con t. Our journey then took us to Beny Sur Mer where 2090 Canadians who died on Juno Beach and in the month after the invasion are buried are overlooking the sea. This cemetery given to Canada as Canadian territory by France was dotted with Canadian flags as we were there July 3rd. Needless to say, as Canadians we were very touched by the solemn beauty of that place. We proceeded north to Dieppe, the sight of a Canadian tragedy on August 19th It was here that 936 of a force of 5000 Canadians died attempting to cross the stoney beaches in the face of withering German fire. We attempted to find the Canadian museum fruitlessly as they have moved it from the sight shown on the GPS. We finally gave up and came to the beach of Dieppe to have dinner and when we parked the bikes we found ourselves right in front of the museum which had closed 10 minutes before we got there! Needless to say that Canadians were well respected in Dieppe. Next day we proceeded north to Vimy Ridge, a sight that is deeply imbedded in the Canadian psyche. It is here that Canada truly became a nation both militarily and politically. The imposing monument towering above the ridge honors Canadians for whom there is there is no known resting place. The fact that there were over 100,000 casualties in this area is very sobering but makes you proud to be a Canadian as you stand on the monument. Our visit was followed by a trip to Ypres Belgium, a town made famous in the poem, In Flanders Fields. Here one finds the Menin Gate, a monument containing the names of Commonwealth soldiers with no known graves. The true horror of WWI is brought out in this town as there were British dead of whom were never found. For all these lives lost in four years the line changed only 7km.

9 A Highway Windsor of Tears rally con t. 9 Happier times now awaited us as we made our way to the ancient Belgian city of Brugge. This is the sight of the invention of Belgian chocolate and we partook of far too much, along with a dozen or so waffles! Brugge is a walled city surrounded by a moat with many canals. It is well worth the time to visit. From Brugge we went north through the Scheldte Estuary, an area made famous by the costly battle fought by Canadians to free Antwerp. We arrived in Amsterdam where we had an Amsterdam good time for two days. Amsterdam is a delight with its museums and canals but unfortunately we were unable to satisfy David's need for a Heineken experience at the brewery. After thoroughly exploring the red light district, we moved on to Arnhem, the scene of the largest airborne invasion in history--operation Market Garden. This attempt to seize a bridge over the Rhine river in September of 1944 proved to be a Bridge Too Far. (The title of a book and a movie). Of the British, Canadian and Polish paratroopers who landed here, only 2300 were not killed wounded or captured. Canadian engineers saved the lives of those lucky enough to escape in small boats. The final leg of our trip took us down the Moselle river in Germany. On the way we found a terrific Harley dealership with an American roadhouse restaurant and a custom motorcycle shop second to none. The ride down river was a fantastic route which resembled The Tail of the Dragon. It had many switchbacks and mountains to climb and followed a wonderfully scenic course along the bank of the river. There were many towns of pristine beauty and cafes too numerous to count. Amid a heavy downpour we made our way along the autobahn at breakneck speed to Frankfurt where we left the motorcycles and vowed to return to the Moselle to ride its 512km on the next adventure in Europe. The End. To view all of our Europe 2012 pictures and many others stop by our Picasa site at Marshall Crotin and Dave Vella

10 10 Dorset ride not This has been two years in a row that I just can t seem to get the Dorset ride in due to weather. Back on Sept. 15th there was about 10 bikes on a nice looking Saturday morning leaving Markham Station. About 30 minutes into the ride the weather turned cloudy, some light rain and the temperature started lowering a bit. Nick who was leading, pulled over for anyone that wanted to, layer up ( that s when Grizzly said, enough and headed back ). We continued for about another 30 minutes when we stopped again and decided that Dorset would have to wait for another day. Orillia was set as the new destination and we made it there just in time for lunch ( I think most had a hot soup ). Once we were done I figured that everyone was ready to head for home but instead it was suggested to head north/west to Gravenhurst and then onto Bala. Well just before Bala we see Hwy 13 and decide to take it. As most of you know it s just a great road, and about half of our riders have never been on it so we had to show them. They were not disappointed and glad they experienced it. All in all it was a great day of riding. There was Rob Cao and his daughter Giordan, Nick and Sylvia, Al, Wayne,, Nelson ( who has since joined the Chapter ), Arnie, Armondo and John. As for Dorset, next year I think I am just going to keep it off the ride calendar and wait for a sunny summer Saturday that there is no scheduled ride and give it a try then. Phill

11 October 20th Ride and Barbecue 11 Hi everyone, Joe and I put together a ride and barbecue on October 20th. It was a good ride and a lot fun. The weather started off a little cool when we left Markham Station but by barbecue time it was great. We started out with Joe leading but after two missed turns and one closed road we turned that duty over to Garry. Joe really made up for it when we got to the barbecue. We rode up to Raven Shoe, 48, Jackson Point and we stopped at a nice refreshment stop by the beach just outside of Keswick. After the refreshments we road back down to Joes place for a great barbecue. At the barbecue Joe and his lovely wife Lori put on a fantastic spread, Steaks, Bake Potatoes, Caesar Salad, Sweets and of course refreshments. Joes cooking ability is fantastic, It was so good that Garry gave Joe a new name, FLIPPER, because he loves to flip steaks. The Caesar Salad that Joe made was great, it was so good that Wayne dug right into the salad not realizing the steaks were not done yet. That made Joe happy because he had to make more salad. Once Wayne noticed, he looked like a Deer caught in Headlights. We ended up with about 14 bikes and about 20 people at Joe and Lori s place. All and all it was a great day, Good Riding, Good Food, Good Laughs and of course Good Friends. On behalf of myself and the club I would like to thank Joe and his lovely wife Lori for putting on such a Beautiful Spread, it was fantastic and you made everyone feel very welcome. I am sure everyone had a great time. Thanks Again. Al Crockford

12

13 H.O.G. Chapter Job Descriptions 13

14

15

16

17 17 I would like to thank the following for contributing to this issue of the newsletter and I apologize if I missed anyone: Teddy, Phyllis, Marshall, Arnie, Jeff, Dave, Al and Stan. Phill