Volume XXVIII, Issue 9 September 2011

Transcription

1 The High Road Monthly Newsletter of the Syracuse H.O.G. Chapter Volume XXVIII, Issue 9 September 2011 To Sturgis and BEYOND... By Arazmuss B. Draggin Mefannie B. Flatt Photo by John Muldoon Main Street, Sturgis, S.D. during Rally Week. Photo was taken from a raised platform at the east end of the street. Admission to the platform is $5, which goes to the Sturgis Fire Department. It started out as a request among some friends to be thinking about where we might like to travel next on our socalled Bucket List trips. We have traveled the eastern states and into the southern states so maybe it was time to head west. We left that Saturday under cloudy skies that didn t take long to turn to rain and we rode in and out of rain for the next three days. Lunch the first day was at a small place in a small town in Pennsylvania, the only thing not small was the size of the salads and sandwiches we ate. Our fearless leader, Bob, had several surprises in store for us along the way and the first was in Newark, Ohio that afternoon. The world s largest pic-a-nic basket BooBoo! It s actually the home office of Longaberger Baskets and it really is shaped like a picnic basket. The second day was mixed clouds and sun as we headed into Indiana and Illinois. Today we would stop for lunch at the Triple XXX Diner famous for a burger with peanut butter. Of course we had to try it and it wasn t as weird as I had thought it would be, the PB sort of over takes everything else. Right after lunch we were headed for gas and got caught in the worst thunderstorm EVER, so we Sturgis, Page - 3

2 John Snyder Director Director s Chatter Wow, September is here. Where did the summer go? Ours was full of family gatherings and great motorcycle trips with friends. Looking back we certainly had a lot of fun. The New York State Rally in Geneva in July was a good time as always. Many thanks to the Chapter members who participated in the Rally and those who volunteered to help. Barb rode her own bike to Vermont for the Chapter overnight at the Kitzhof Inn, what a super time that was and what a great place to go and relax. In August we rode all the way to Cody, Meeting Minutes August 21, 2011 Barb Snyder, Secretary The meeting was called to order at 10:00 a.m. and the membership stood for the Pledge of Allegiance. Chapter Director John Snyder welcomed new members attending a Chapter Meeting for the first time. He asked them to introduce themselves and tell us what they ride. New Chapter members are listed each month in the High Road. Lots of information about upcoming events on the table please take a look. Some of the items are: Maps of upstate N.Y. and the Finger Lakes region and MDA Ride for Life August 27. Downed or sick: A member of Salt City Riders, Tommy Russell, has passed away. He was instrumental in the MDA Ride for years. Assistant Director: John spoke about friendships forged on trips as being a benefit that isn t mentioned often and he thanked all who helped out at the Ride Series yesterday. He also said that we are still looking for a Safety Officer for next year. Treasurer: Jeff Crouse gave a Wyoming, 5650 miles in all on a Bucket List trip. The details are in the feature article this month; I hope you enjoy reading about them. Throughout the summer we have enjoyed numerous dinner rides with the Chapter. There are always great roads to explore and good food to find along the way. Speaking of that, the Chapter Picnic is September 18. After the Chapter Meeting there will be a ride out to The Glen Loch in Jamesville for the picnic and don t forget the games that follow. Barb and I will be trying to hold on to the honors we won last year, you won t want to miss that! So with September here and the weather changing we need to take advantage of every opportunity to ride and have fun! 2 John summary report of the Chapter Checking Account as of the end of July He stated that we are ahead of what we had at this time last year and that a complete report is available to any member upon request. Chapter T- Shirts are available. There are order forms on the tables. Membership: As of this meeting the membership stands at 268. Road Captain: Bob Davidson tells us that today s ride is cancelled due to the weather and asks us to check out the list of rides on the website. There has been a change on the calendar; the ride to the Giant Kaleidoscope is now a ride to the Dinosaur in Troy. Bob also thanked the Beckers for their efforts in putting together the Vermont trip, which was enjoyed by all who attended. Remarks from our Sponsoring Dealer: Dan Carfi thanked all the members who helped out at the Ride Series event yesterday and gave us some advance dates for fall activities. 9/17 - Ride Series, 9/24 - Open House with a band and food, 10/1 - Demo Rides. Activities: Don Peck says we will stop for lunch at the Seneca Harbor Station after the laps at Watkins Glen. We will leave from the Byrne Dairy store in Elbridge at 9 a.m. and ride down together. The trip will be can- Minutes, Page -4 Chapter Officers John Snyder, Director director@syracusehog.com John Muldoon, Assistant Director astdirector@syracusehog.com Jeff Crouse, Treasurer treasurer@syracusehog.com Barb Snyder, Secretary secretary@syracusehog.com Karen & Don Peck Activities Officers activities@syracusehog.com Bob Davidson, Head Road Captain roadcaptain@syracusehog.com Steve English, Safety Officer safety@syracusehog.com Steve Moretti, Membership membership@syracusehog.com Marty Rinaldo, Historian historian@syracusehog.com Chris Blakley, Webmaster webmaster@syracusehog.com Ron Blakley, Photographer photo@syracusehog.com Sandy English Ladies of Harley ladiesofharley@syracusehog.com Mike Waters, Editor editor@syracusehog.com Lori Robbins, Community Service communityservice@syracusehog.co Dave Sedlack, Sponsoring Dealer David@performancehd.com

3 Sturgis, from Page - 1 Photo by Judy Metrick Allison Greis is about to enter one of the many switchbacks found on the Chief Joseph Highway in Wyoming. huddled under the gas station canopy and waited it out. One of the bikes was giving us trouble and when we stopped for a break later it wouldn t start at all. Something no one ever wants to do, we left a couple there to stay overnight and rode on to Davenport, Iowa. Early the next morning the bike started and they brought it to Davenport to be serviced. The local dealership was great, and took care of the problem right away. We were able to get on the road by lunchtime. While this unexpected stop delayed us about five hours, we were still able to make a stop in Sac City, Iowa to see the world s largest popcorn ball! Man, even Dick would need a double feature to eat this thing. We were treated to a spectacular lightning show that night as we pulled into Sioux Falls, S.D. It was late, but we were all together again and that s what counts. Tuesday we headed across South Dakota stopping in Mitchell to marvel at the world s only Corn Palace, a place I had visited in It stands as a testimonial to South Dakota agriculture and the pioneer spirit. About 5 p.m. we arrived in Spearfish, S.D. where we would spend the next three days and four nights. Spearfish is located near Sturgis and we spent the next day taking in all the sights (if you know what I mean) and experiences offered at the Sturgis Rally. After visiting Wall, S.D. for lunch, we rode through the Badlands, went to the H-D Dealers and vendor sites in the HOG area and had dinner at the HOG area at the Buffalo Chip campgrounds. Another great day! The next two days we rode through the Black Hills, Custer National Park, Spearfish Canyon, Mount Rushmore, the Crazy Horse monument and (after a stop in Gillette, Wyoming for an oil change and one of Bob s infamous short-cuts) Devil s Tower. Every sight is better than the one before, what a beautiful part of the country and so different from New York! When we left the Sturgis area we headed west into Wyoming. We went through the Big Horn Pass ending up in Powell and the next day we rode the Chief Joseph Highway and up through Beartooth Pass. All I can say is OMG!! Mere words do not do justice to these places. Pictures give an idea of the majesty but to truly appreciate them you need to see them for yourselves! After the Beartooth Pass, we were headed east again, officially on our way home. But there were still five more days of fun. We shot across North Dakota, but not without seeing the world s largest Holstein cow (somewhere near New Salem along Interstate Highway 94) and stopping to have our picture taken at the world s largest Buffalo in Jamestown, N.D. We were still able to make it to Fargo in time to stop at the H-D dealer. This particular dealership is owned by Del Hofer, a principal person involved in the early days of HOG and the man who coined the phrase Ride and Have Fun. He is a great guy and we had a nice visit where he thanked all of us for riding Harleys. The next day took us across Minnesota on the Paul Bunyan Expressway and north into Canada where we stayed in Thunder Bay that night. For the next few days we would ride Canadian roads and play peek-aboo with the northern shores of Lake Superior, Lake Huron, and the Georgian Bay. The scenery was lovely, rolling hills and great pine forests. We found a few local spots to eat, a memorable one being Betty s Pies that featured hand held pastries and pies; YUM. We spent a night in Sault Ste. Marie and another in Peterborough, Ontario before heading back into the States via the Wolfe Island and Horne s Ferries. Every one of us had a fantastic time and we are already thinking of where to travel next. There really is no better way to take in the sights, sounds, smells and all that is in this great land of ours, than on a Harley with your friends. Bob Davidson, Allison Greis, John Muldoon, Melissa Muldoon, Barb Snyder, John Snyder, Bob Metrick and Judy Metrick, pose for a photo outside the H-D dealership in Sturgis, South Dakota. Additional photos on page- 5 3

4 Minutes, from Page - 2 celled if it rains. The Annual Picnic will be held at the Glen Loch September 18, It will cost members $15 and guests $20. There will be prizes for the bike games this year and we will go just to eat if it rains. Safety Message: The group discussed the YIELD at the ramp coming from Carousel Mall onto the Bear St. ramp in the city. BE CAREFUL not many cars actually yield there. Walt Nowakowski thanked those who helped him and Peg on the way home from Vermont when their wheel chair mount on the back of their bike came apart. LOH: Sandy told us of a great ride to Boldt Castle. Community Service: Lori Robbins thanked all who helped at the Rescue Mission Ride for the Rescue July 16. They raised $170, She is looking into having a Blood Drive maybe in connection with the HOG-O-Ween party. Photographer: Ron asked for us to take pictures of events and send them to him. Webmaster: Ron Blakely reported for Chris that the Syracuse HOG Website is the official place for information about Chapter events. Please send pictures of restaurants this year for use on the website in the future. We will be upgrading the server during the off season. Old Business: Chapter T-Shirts are in if you ordered them. One more order will be placed if you are interested. MDA Ride for Life is Saturday August 27; please help out if you can. Be at The Limp Lizard in Liverpool by 9 a.m. to volunteer. Tim Walus says if you have issues with Centro buses at the YIELD sign by Carousel, get the bus number and report it to Centro. Roger Brundage assures us that they will handle complaints. Swabby s in Auburn has a new dance floor! New Business: Congratulations to Chance and Patty, Syracuse HOG members who recently were married. T-Shirt Bingo was South Dakota, with no winner the pot will be $40.00 in September. The Pig Pot was won by Sheldon T. with a payout of $86.00 The meeting was adjourned at 10:42. Respectfully submitted, Barbara Snyder Secretary Assistant Director John Muldoon Can you believe it s September already?! Where did the summer go? We started the summer with some rain, got nice weather and ended with storms that will go down in history for some parts of our state. Let s not forget the 10 th Anniversary of For the baby boomers that will be remembered as our World War I and World War II. GOD BLESS AMERICA and the people that work to keep it free! I hope you were able to get out to some of the great rides that were put together by some of our members. Remember to always RIDE AND HAVE FUN! Onto some upcoming events to remember: Saturday 9/17: the last of the Ride Series. We will help with ride captains. Saturday 9/24: the Annual PHD Open House. We will have our HOG table and hopefully sign up some more members. We currently are at 271. Saturday 10/1 Demo Day: We will help with the sign in table and be the ride captains/sweep riders for the demos. Saturday 10/29 the Annual HOG- O-WEEN Party: SAVE YOUR BLOOD for this event, you will be able to donate it for a GHOULISH CAUSE! Bob Davidson and Barb Snyder meet with Del Hofer at his Fargo, N.D. Harley dealership. 4 National H.O.G. Renewals Due National HOG memberships expire in September 2011, for those listed below. You must maintain your National membership to be a member of the Syracuse Chapter. Tim Burns Anna Davidson Dlorah Robbins John Toporzycki National memberships may be renewed on-line. Membership Steve Moretti Syracuse HOG welcomes the following members who have recently joined the chapter: Scott Hafler Steven Knowles Jason Uva Current membership stands at: 271, which is more than we had at this time last year. ABCs of Touring One category, worth up to five points is National or Provincial Parks. The Official HOG regulations state: The name as well as "National" or "Provincial Park" must appear on the sign. The province of Ontario no longer uses the word Provincial on park signs. HOG National has determined a sign with the Ontario Parks logo is acceptable. You may earn all five points with a one day ride from Syracuse. See editor for details.

5 Community Service Lori Robbins September was a quiet month, but October promises to be more eventful. We have our highway cleanup scheduled for October 22 at 10:00 a.m. We will meet at Tabitha s Restaurant to groom our mile, followed by a ride directed by Ron Blakely. Hopefully the weather will cooperate, as this is not a rain or shine event. Please check bulletin board for updates. We are planning a Red Cross blood drive as part of the HOG-O- Ween celebration at PHD on October 29 from 10:00 a.m. 2 p.m. Please come in costume, ready to give some blood and have some fun. As always, ride safe! Activities Don & Karen Peck Sept. 1st HOG Ride By Jen Marsh Many of you may know, but for those of you that don t, my Mom was diagnosed January 2011 with Stage 4 lung cancer. She opted for no treatment and has had a good run, until this week of my scheduled ride which I now call THE WEEK FROM HELL. My week consisted of three 16 hour shifts and Mom had a problem that required me to spend the night out with her. Dan decided that he should lead the ride so that I didn t have to put much thought into it. I was nervous with it being my first ride to lead but as the week progressed Dan was more convinced that he would lead because at one point I didn t know if I would be able to join in. We shortened our ride to include Mom s road en route to Borio s Restaurant. I called Mom on the phone prior to us getting close to her street and only expected to see her looking out the window. Our horns were blaring and our hands were waving and there was Mom much to my amazement sitting on the porch waving to all that went by. I want to extend my heartfelt thanks to all that participated in a wonderful evening with great food/service/seating on the deck and a memory that I can hold in my heart forever doing what I love, and what my Mom has grown to love, based on the enjoyment she sees I get from this. Oh yes by the way I led the last 1/2 mile. SCREW IT LET S RIDE H e l l o Everyone We would like to pass along our deepest condolences to Warren Cooke s close friends and family. Many times when we arrived early to setup for a HOG event, Warren would come early to help out, sometimes waiting in the parking lot for our arrival. He was a HOG Member long before we joined and it is hard to imagine our gatherings without him. Heart felt sadness on his passing. Photos by Melissa Muldoon John and Melissa Muldoon follow Bob Davidson, Allison Greis, the Metricks and the Snyders through the Badlands of South Dakota. Custer State Park South Dakota 5

6 Sandy English Road report from the Soggy Bottom Motorcycle Tours. Steve and I took a few days off and headed out for a three day trip. We took the Thruway east to U.S. Route 7 in Massachusetts and headed south. This is a very nice scenic road that takes you through small towns and forest land and goes down into Connecticut. While still on U.S. Route 7 in Massachusetts, we had a black bear run across the road in front of us. Fortunately it was far enough in front of us so it was not a problem, but close enough to get a good look at it. It was a good size bear and thankfully it was more interested in crossing the road than looking for a chewy snack on two wheels. Its times like that, that I wish we had a bike cam as there was not time to stop and pull out the camera to take a picture. Also, when it comes to some wild life, it s not always a good idea to stop to take a picture. That was our only animal encounter on the trip. The scenery was great though. We stopped at Danbury, Conn. for the night and paid a visit to the Harley dealership for the required been there T-shirt purchase. We stayed at the hotel across the street. I don t know what it is about Connecticut but they seem to the hardest hotel mattresses of any state I have visited. Kind of like lumpy plywood, my back was not happy. We headed out the next day and of course we found rain. Lots of rain. Buckets of rain. At one point a car passing in the opposite direction threw a wall of water at me, for a moment I thought I was on the high seas. Needless to say, we got soaked, even though we had stopped and put on our raingear. There was only supposed to be 10% chance of rain, but apparently there was a 90% change of error in the weather forecast. We took Interstate Route 84 West and picked up State Route 22N in New York. State Route 22 is a nice ride also with a lot of pastureland and mountains. The further north we went the drier it got until we were passing people riding in T- shirts. We were still in full raingear and must have looked strange. We stopped at a gas station to peel off the rain suits and try to dry out a bit. It was warm and the sun felt good. We were heading north to Saranac Lake and air dried by the time we arrived. There is not a lot to do in Saranac Lake but it was quiet and scenic which was fine with us as we weren t looking for the night life. We had dinner at a In Memoriam Warren D. Cooke nice restaurant within walking distance and took a stroll along the lake afterwards. On Friday we headed north on State Route 86 to State Route 30 on up to Malone and took State Route 37 to Massena to see the Eisenhower Lock on the St. Lawrence. I had not been there since I was a kid. This is a large lock and something to see. We saw about 20 pleasure craft lock down when we got there. Unfortunately there was no commercial ships coming through until late in the afternoon and we decided not to wait as we had planned on getting home Friday night (while it was still light out). If you have never seen the lock it is worth a ride up there. The shipping schedule is hit or miss but you can check in advance to see if anything is scheduled. Tug and barges and freighters lock through and some are so large they just barely fit. There is a visitor s center and you can read and view the history of the building of the lock and St. Lawrence Seaway shipping. From there we headed back on the Seaway Trail to Clayton and stopped for lunch at O Brien s restaurant and walked around town a little. From there we headed home on State Route 3 and got in around 6 p.m. The round trip was about 833 miles. If you have never ridden on U.S. Route 7 or State Route 22 we highly recommend both. Pack your bags, be sure to bring your rain gear and watch out for bears! Warren Cooke was a member of National HOG since 2001 and a very active member of the Syracuse Chapter. He rode his 2002 Dyna Low Rider on a regular basis, including a trip to Geneva to assist with the 2011 New York State HOG Rally. He was on his Harley and on the way to his favorite diner on County Route 17, in northern Oswego County on Sunday, September 4, when he was taken ill. He passed away at St. Joseph s Hospital on September 8. Warren was a World War II Navy Veteran and held various positions at General Electric during his employment of over 40 years. Warren was an amateur radio operator. Calling hours are at Falardeau Funeral Home, 93 Downer St., Baldwinsville, Tuesday, September 13, from 4 to 7: p.m. 6

7 Safety Officer Steve English What could be better than a motorcycle ride through the countryside or a scenic mountain road with lakes, rivers and where wildlife abounds? Wildlife can present a real hazard to any vehicle, but is especially dangerous to a motorcycle. On our recent trip Sandy and I encountered a black bear in Massachusetts. We were traveling south on U.S. Route 7 through a forested area when the bear ran out from the right side and went across the road. Fortunately we were far enough back and it kept on going so it was not a problem. The problem with animals is you never know which way they will go. Just because the bear ran out from the forest on the right side of the road doesn t mean it might not stop and turn around. Some animals dart back and forth in a predator avoidance pattern which is why they usually end up getting hit as they turn back towards oncoming traffic instead of continuing across the road. On a motorcycle, even small animals can cause your bike to go down if you hit them. So what do you do? Brake, swerve, blow your horn and hope they get out of your way? With animals it usually best to brake. You may be inclined to just swerve around a deer that s standing on the side of the road, but can you predict what it will do? Just because something is standing still one minute does not mean it will stay there the next. Most animals key on movement. They will stay still briefly and will flee if an object gets too close to them. Unfortunately it could be right in your path. So swerving may not be the best option. Blowing your horn may frighten a small animal but may only anger a large animal. Moose and elk are very big animals and could attack if you anger them. Animals don t recognize your horn as a warning. If it startles them into charging you will be sorry. Therefore, braking is usually your best option to avoid an animal collision. It is also important to be aware of what wildlife is in the area you are traveling. We did not expect a bear in midday. We really did not expect a bear at all. We would not have been surprised if it had been a deer as they are plentiful in our area. So realizing what s in the area is important. Weather can also be a factor. Had it been raining heavily we might not have seen it in time to slow down. Dawn and dusk are the most active times for a lot of animals. If you are riding in the country or mountains it is important to be on the lookout for animals. Tunnel vision is not a good idea. You want to keep your eyes in motion scanning for movement or reflective eyes. Covering your clutch and brake are also a good way to cut down on reaction time and give you a shorter stopping distance. We always keep a watch for deer around where we live especially when returning home in the late afternoon or dusk. And if you think you can t encounter deer in the city think again. A man in a car hit a deer on Lodi Street in Syracuse earlier this year. It ran out from between two houses into the road. We have also seen deer several times in Fairmount. Unfortunately as development pushes outward, and the deer population increases there will be more unfortunate encounters with vehicles. Chapter Website Password: Chapter 3424 MDA Ride for Life MDA Photo Kathy and Jeff Crouse present a check with the money raised by the Ride for LIfe to Skyler Canute. Skyler is a high school senior who has duchenne muscular dystrophy. He is currently looking into attending college for engineering. Thanks in part to the efforts of the Syracuse HOGS, Jeff and Kathy Crouse were able to present a check for over $20,000 to the Muscular Dystrophy Association on behalf of the CNY Ride for Life. More than 150 motorcycles participated in the 60 mile ride on Aug 27, starting at the Limp Lizard in Liverpool. Syracuse HOG members were credited with raising almost $4000 for this event. The event is sponsored nationally in part by the Harley- Davidson Motor Company and the Syracuse HOGS are proud to do their share locally in this, the 5th annual ride. A special thanks to all those chapter members who volunteered with parking and registration as well as those who assisted with safety issues along the way. We also appreciate the help of John Muldoon and Bill Becker who served all year on the Ride for Life committee. Thanks, Jeff & Kathy Crouse 7

8 Syracuse, NY Harley Owners Group Performance Harley-Davidson 807 North Geddes Street Syracuse, NY Mark Down These Dates Monthly Meeting 9/18/11 - PHD 10:00 a.m. Followed by a ride to the Annual Picnic, Glen Loch Restaurant For up-to-date information, visit our website Password: Chapter3424