Memories, Constraints and Regrets

Transcription

1 H A R L E Y O W N E R S G R O U P O F C L A Y T O N C O U N T Y # S O U T H L A K E P A R K W A Y M O R R O W, G E O R G I A HOG TROFF VOLUME 13, ISSUE 8 August 2013 A Word from Our Director Memories, Constraints and Regrets Two weeks ago one of our members contacted me about an idea for a ride. I checked out our chapter calendar on the web site and was pleased to find that the months of July, August and September were chock full of rides and activities already scheduled. I did find an open date to suggest to that member and I hope we will be able to add another event to our calendar as the details get worked out. Every ride opportunity we have creates another chance to make a long lasting memory. I often base my articles on some of my past ride memories. It doesn t always have to be that trip of a lifetime that we will remember forever. How many of you have fond memories from a day ride with friends, a short fun lunch or dinner ride, or maybe even an overnight or short weekend trip? One recent chapter event that I ll remember for a long time was our trip to Turner Field for a ball game and a post-game concert by The Steve Miller Band. Chapter members and friends Earl and Jan Reed organized this opportunity for us and led the ride to the ball park. Earl did an amazing job of making this a great day. He started out by obtaining very reasonably priced tickets, getting us access to the 755 club and great parking right across the street for only five dollars. What a day we had at the old ball game. Hanging out the good friends, the Braves winning by hitting several home runs and a great concert by one of my favorite bands. Many thanks to Earl and Jan! I do realize that there are often many constraints that put a crimp on our riding activities. Among these many afflictions are jobs, time, family and money. Sometimes being able to ride is a juggling act. And if that wasn t enough this year Mother Nature has given us an overabundance of rain. I m thinking of adding a life jacket to my riding gear! I m not sure that the weather prognosticators understand our passion towards riding. The last two weekends they have predicted 50% or greater chances of rain. I thumbed my nose at them and did not cancel rides. A bike ride to the ball game and three other rides would have be canceled if we depended on the weather forecast. We rode to the ball game and got in three other rides without getting wet. Many of you are aware that my family took a ten day trip to Europe this June. During the trip I was encouraging my bonus daughter Sarah to try new foods and experiences. I (cont d on page 3)

2 Chapter Officers Director Paul Grimes Road Captain Robert Glaze Asst. Director Robert Stalnaker Road Captain Jesse Newcomer Treasurer Peggy Stalnaker Road Captain Peggy Glaze Secretary Safety Officer Webmaster Newsletter Editor Ladies of Harley Officer Membership Officer Joe Thibodeaux Jesse Newcomer Peggy Glaze Babs Grimes Harriet Nevarez Jame Sullivan Adventure Captains Supply Officer Photographer Chapter Chaplain Chapter Historian Steve Rabideaux Billy Glaze Anita Newcomer Jorge Nevarez Norman Schneller Deanne Glaze Head Road Captain Steve Sullivan Road Captain Jorge Nevarez Our Secretary There was no officer s meeting this month and the regular meeting was held at 1:00 on July 13, to allow folks to attend the Braves Game. These minutes are from the Member meeting. We are going to post ride sheets posted on the wall in the meeting room for people to let us know where they would like to go for a ride. Christmas party Remember to save the date (December 7th) and your money $40 per person. Tab ride is September 28th please turn in your tabs by September 15th. Southside Riders stopped in to promote the tab ride and stated they would be taking back the trophy this year...can you believe that? They also provided some history of the ride and how it started. September 22nd will be the Brandon Roy Memorial ride Details TBA Joe Thibodeaux Secretary, CCHOG VOLUME 13, ISSUE 8 PAGE 2

3 From the Director (cont d from Page 1) explained to her that my parents had dragged me around Europe for several weeks when I was seventeen. I really had not wanted to go and didn t pay attention or take advantage of the opportunity. I had often regretted this as I got older. I told her to take advantage of our time there as she may never have the chance again. Little did I know that my own words would soon be haunting me. On our second day in Paris we took a tour bus through the city with a great tour guide. We stopped at many of the major attractions and rode by many others on our tour. One of these stops was a place that offered a picturesque view of The Eiffel Tower. Our guide gave us plenty of information about Mr. Eiffel s Tower and one of the things that stuck in my head was when she told us that at night the landmark was lit up with 40,000 lights. I thought surely that must be an awesome sight. Later that afternoon we walked three miles to the Paris Harley-Davidson dealer and back to our hotel. As we walked through a round-about a half mile from the hotel we saw a fantastic view of The Eiffel Tower down one of the intersecting streets. and keeping me awake. So at 12:30 in the morning I was up getting dressed to go walk the streets of Paris. Babs woke up and questioned what I was doing. I told her and she thought that I had lost my mind. I left the hotel and walked the half mile to the roundabout where I had seen the tower the day before. As I turned the corner I was taken aback by a spectacular sight. The Eiffel Tower in all it s glory sparkling in the night! I walked several blocks down that street just to get a closer look. At one o clock in the morning I was not the only one taking in the view. There were many others standing there just taking it in. Had I not acted and took my own words to heart I would have left that morning and forever regretted not doing it. This life will not last forever and the time we have to ride may be even shorter. Manage your constraints, limit your regrets and make some memories. We Are HOG! Paul Grimes, Director Our guided tour of the city didn t include an actual stop at the Eiffel Tower so we planned to visit on our third morning. We got up and rode the Metro train to a nearby stop. Having only seen this famous landmark in pictures and movies I was in awe when we arrived. It was massive. The view of Paris from the top was magnifique! While at the tower I saw many of the lights on the tower that our tour guide had talked about. Of course unlit during the day time. After another full day in Paris we returned to our hotel to pack and prepare for an early morning departure to London, England the next day. After just a few hours in bed I woke up around midnight wide awake. One of the things on my mind was the thoughts of what The Eiffel Tower would look like all lit up. Then I began thinking of what I had been telling Sarah the past few days of our trip. Do things now while you re here because you may never have another chance. My own words haunting me VOLUME 13, ISSUE 8 PAGE 3

4 2nd In Command Rain or Shine! Hello again everyone. Hope all is well within our HOG family. I would like to take this opportunity to welcome our new members to the family. As one of the officers of Clayton County HOG, I feel that I can speak for everyone when I say we are glad you decided to join us. Please feel free to contact me or any member if you have any questions or concerns about your chapter. We are now and will continue to be only as strong as the members that make up our chapter. Our road captains are always asking for suggestions on destinations for future rides so please don t hesitate to contact them with one of your favorite places to visit. As for our seasoned members (notice I didn t say old) pay close attention to our website and s cause we have some great rides coming up. Whether you want to ride a couple hundred or a couple thousand miles there are rides being planned to suit your needs. As always the rides are open to all members and our motto of the more the better still holds true. Speaking of rides, I think there may be a trend beginning to take place. Mother Nature has not been very kind to bike riders this summer with what seems like a pretty good chance of the wet stuff every day. Earl s recent ride to the Braves game and Paul s BBQ ride the next day had the phrase Going Rain or Shine attached to it. It seems we can only leave these machines parked for so long till we have to scream those words that are deeply entrenched in the biker nation. Screw It Lets Ride! Bikes can be washed, chrome can be polished, wheels can be cleaned so put on those rain suits we all paid too much for and let s go. Just remember to slow down and follow the wet riding rules and all should be fine. my bride has mentioned at our monthly meetings our Christmas party will be at the Eagles Landing Country Club this year. The date will be Saturday, December the 7 th. The cost looks to be around $40 per person. She has promised to keep us informed on all the details as she gets them, so if possible please try and make plans to attend. The Christmas party committee has reserved a big room for us, so let s try and fill it up. Gotta go now. I m planning on logging some miles this weekend. Not planning on checking the weather forecast because the last thing I was told was It s on Rain or Shine! Robert Stalnaker, Assistant Director AIS-KSU, Let s Ride! I know it s only July but if the past is any indication, Christmas will be here before we know it. As VOLUME 13, ISSUE PAGE 4

5 Safety Officer Greetings, I know we have talked about riding in the rain in the past, but since it seems like we can't ride this summer without it raining, I felt it would be appropriate to share an article I read about riding out of an electrical storm. You are out in the country and an electrical storm blows in, so should you ride out the storm? If not, what should you do? No doubt you have heard that because your tires are made of rubber, and because rubber is not a good electrical conductor, so long as you keep your feet on the pegs lightning will not hit you since it cannot find a path to ground through you and the bike. WRONG!!! Though rubber is a pretty good insulator at the normal voltage levels we mere humans deal with, it is not very effective against the voltage in a lightning bolt. On the other hand, you may also have heard that if a lightning bolt hits a car the occupants are safe because the car is riding on rubber tires, etc. Actually, this is almost true! So long as the occupants stay away from anything metal they will more than likely survive a lightning hit without any injury whatever. What protects occupants of a cage is not their rubber tires, but the fact that they are enclosed in a metal container. If a lightning bolt hits the surface of the car it spreads around the occupants, NOT THROUGH THEM, and goes to ground. A lightning bolt that hits you or your motorcycle is a different matter entirely. Let me give you an idea of magnitudes we are dealing with here. The master fuse on your bike handles about 30 amps before it blows. An average lightning bolt produces a current of about 20,000 amps. Even 30 amps can easily kill you because it disrupts your heart's electrical system and the heart then simply stops working. Your heart doesn't stand a chance against a lightning bolt. Anyway, if you are out in the open on your bike when lightning flashes begin, and if you can hear the thunder caused by those flashes in less than three seconds from when you see the flash, it's time to stop your bike and get off. Immediately find low ground, but NOT under a single or small group of trees. Squat on the ground with your legs together, head lower than back, but NOT touching the ground. Do NOT lie on the ground. LET YOUR CLOTHES GET WET!!! (In this way, if you are hit the majority of the electricity will follow the moisture of your wet clothes around your body.) Do not get up until thunder following a lightning flash is AT LEAST five seconds after the flash. (Which means the lightning struck more than 1 mile away.) Incidentally, lightning can, and DOES, hit the same place twice - frequently. If there are more than 5 seconds between the lightning flashes and your hearing that thunder, head for shelter. This is the only time trying to ride out from under an electrical storm makes any sense. Best shelter, of course, is a hard covered surface connected to ground with metal. Get under it and wait out the storm. Ride Safe, Jesse VOLUME 13, ISSUE 8 PAGE 5

6 Upcoming Events September 22 Brandon Roy Memorial Ride Details to follow September 21 - Charles Harrison Memorial Event September 28 Tab Ride - Details to follow Upcoming Events August 3 10, Sturgis Motorcycle Rally, Sturgis, SD August 7 August 10, North Carolina State HOG Rally, Mt. Airy, NC August 17 Battle of the Bands 11:00 5:30 HDCC August 23 Harley 110th Anniversary Ride. Meet at the Sunco Gas Station on 8/23/13 at the corner of E. Fairview Rd and Hwy 5:45 PM, KSU at 6PM sharp. We will start our long ride to Wisconsin. We will be heading to Niagara Falls, then across Canada, through the upper part of MI. and then down to Milwaukee from the north. Ride caption for this ride will be Stephen Sullivan. Please contact spsfreebird@aol.com for motel info. Aug 29 Sept 1 Harley-Davidson 110th Anniversary Celebration, Milwaukee, WI September GA State HOG Rally Hiawassee, GA. On-line registration is now closed. However, registration can still be done on site. October 19 Trifecta Celebration Ride. Please join us for a trip to Cherokee NC to celebrate 3 birthdays. We will be meeting at QT gas station on the corner of Battlecreek and Jonesboro Rd at 8AM, ksu at 8:30. This ride will include part of the Blue Ridge Parkway. We will be staying at the Holiday Inn Express, 376 Paint Town Rd, Cherokee NC, phone number You are responsible for your own motel reservations. Please contact Robert Stalnaker if you plan to go, he is the ride caption for this ride. December 7 CCHOG Christmas **************************************** FOR SALE X-Treme All Aluminum Motorcycle trailer. Asking $2000 Call Jesse at **************************** VOLUME 13, ISSUE 8 PAGE 6

7 Chapter Historian The history question for July; What is the name of the event hosted during Sturgis Rally by Hulett, Wyoming? This event actually has 2 names. The official name of the event is the Ham & Jam Rally. It is better known as No Panty Wednesday It is a unique event to put it mildly. The GA HOG Rally is in September in Hiwassee again. This will be the third time there. If you have not been to a state HOG rally you need to attend. It is a great area for riding; great scenery and nice curvy roads. You will enjoy the rally in the mountains as it can be exciting. One of my memorable GA state rallies was in The rally was in Helen, GA. We had a great time. Although we did experience a day of rain we managed to entertain ourselves. A large group of us met at an outside pavilion next to the water and ate, drank, and danced. Everyone had a great time. The State HOG rallies are a time for HOG members to get together and have fun. We meet other members from other chapters, go on group rides, and socialize in the evenings. There are venders at the main rally site. You will find motorcycle parts, some bikes, leather clothing and jewelry, oh and of course food. The rallies are only 3 days. Easy to set aside time off to go and have some fun. History lesson for August; during the state rallies across the nation there are HOG officials who will attend. During the 2009 GA HOG rally we had the southeast director attend our rally. He hung out with us at the hotel. He has been with HOG for many years and he train HOG officers at Hog Officer Training. He is retired now. Do any of you remember him and what is his name? A picture of him sitting is below. Deanne Glaze, Historian VOLUME 13, ISSUE 8 PAGE 7

8 Chapter Historian (cont d) More Pictures from a Georgia HOG Rally!! VOLUME 13, ISSUE 8 PAGE 8

9 Ladies of Harley! Clara with the first motorcycle designed specifically for a woman was made over 100 years ago, only a few years after Indian Motorcycles and Harley-Davidson manufactured their first models. Clara Wagner, the owner of that motorcycle, was the first woman issued a membership in the Federation of American Motorcyclists, the first organized motorcycle club in America Harriett Nevarez, Ladies of Harley. VOLUME 13, ISSUE 8 PAGE 9

10 HOG Member Sally Baker Sally Baker has recently completed an awesome painting of Tony and his beloved Harley. Below is all about what the painting means to them!! There were several reasons why I wanted to do this painting. One reason is to see if I could do a painting that was as complex as this. I wanted to do one that had various elements such as those found in landscapes. These types have their own challenges, but I wanted to do a painting that encompasses all aspects a painter may encounter. This is a great challenge and one I have never attempted and not sure I could do, especially after I sustained a serious head injury in an automobile accident in I have had quite a few problems since then with memory, reading, math and my artist skills. I was not sure I was still able to do the one thing I love and was educated to do. All my life my education was art, and college years that aimed toward a degree in commercial art. Most importantly I wanted to do this painting as a way of saying Thank you for understanding and not giving up on me. Tony and I have been through a lot in 43 years of marriage, but when you go through a traumatic event such as this and survive one of two things can happen. First, spousal support can fail and the marriage falls apart or the support and the marriage ends in divorce. Second, the support is there from the very start and keeps getting stronger and bolsters your spirits when you are in a deep hole. I know I am not like I was before the accident and I am struggling hard to regain some of me. I know I will never be the same but I am trying. The one constant in all our 43 years together has always been Harleys. There may have been a few years we did not have one, but they were always in our hearts. Actually we met and got married because of a Harley, but THAT is a story all its own. We have ridden many miles together over the years. The 2010 Road King was the first touring bike we ever had. When we bought it, we weren t looking for another bike. We had a 2007 Softail Standard. One day we were out riding and ended up at a local Harley dealer. Tony was looking around the bikes and I was looking around the rest of the store. I noticed he was spending a great deal of time of time around one particular bike with a salesman. I went over to him and he asked me what I thought of it. I told him I liked it. The dealer made arrangements for us to take a test ride on it. Tony went first, then I took a ride. When I got back he asked me what I thought. I said something I never say Get it. So he told the salesman if they could agree to his terms, they had just sold a bike. After an hour we owned a new bike. That first year we put over 25,000 miles on that bike. Yeah we rodewe did! We loved that bike! He was really proud of it and Harleys have always meant a great deal to him. Words are not always enough to express how you feel about someone for what they have done for you. I wanted to try and have it done by Christmas 2012 but plans don t always work out like you want. An illness of 4 months, grandchildren, vacations road trips on the motorcycle etc., delayed its completion. So the project didn t get completed until March In time for his 64 th birthday. I am proud to say I believe this is my best work yet. When I started the project I had problems drawing the bike and figure to scale because (cont d on page #) VOLUME 13, ISSUE 8 PAGE 10

11 HOG Member Sally Baker (cont d from page #) of the injury in my brain. The doctors could not tell me what kind of problems I could face as time went on and they can t explain what is happening to me or what can be done. I ve only had one doctor tell me that the brain can re-wire itself over time. I guess I m too stubborn to give up. I want me back so I won t stop trying. Painting and my art work is my way of doing it and Tony is my biggest supporter. One way of overcoming the proposition problem was to have the photograph I was working from enlarged to the size I needed it to be then then transfer it to my canvas. The drawing is an outline and the easiest part of the whole project, the hardest part is the detail work. If you don t get it right all your efforts are in vain. Mixing the right colors, doing the fine detail work and knowing when to stop. There were days when I was not able to work on the project at all because of side effects of medications and my hands shaking so badly I could not hold a paint brush. Tony was always there though always encouraging me. He was always saying It looks good. Sometimes it is easy to doubt someone who is close to you because you suspect they are saying nice things out of loyalty, but that may not always be true. I have done several paintings before this one and each one he said looked good. Actually he said my paintings have gotten better since my accident, and are not so cartoon like. My preferred mediums to work with are pastels, acrylics, and oils. I use these because they are so forgiving and easy to work with. I have lost a great deal of my skills due to my injury so I utilized many art instruction books and asked other artists how they mix colors to achieve certain textures and surfaces. As the painting progressed, I became more confident. As I continued painting I learned my own way of creating and mixing colors for chrome, cement, sand and shadows. And most importantly knowing when to stop and say it is finished. I told him we could hang it wherever he wanted it to go, so it now hangs above the television in our living room. The Two Road Kings Sally Baker VOLUME 13, ISSUE 8 PAGE 11

12 Battle of the Bands at HDCC!! VOLUME 13, ISSUE 8 PAGE 12

13 Dinner Ride Johnny s Pizza VOLUME 13, ISSUE 8 PAGE 13

14 Lunch Ride to Smileys!! VOLUME 13, ISSUE 7 PAGE 14

15 August 2013 Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat Dinner Ride, Hooters in McDonough, 6: Dinner Rd, Outback, Hudson Bridge Rd., 6: Ofcr Mtg 4:30, Cpt Mts 6:00 Cptr Rm /Hot Dog Rd KSU 11 HDCC Battle of the Bands 11 5:30 HDCC 18Varsity Mt at QT Hwy 54 in J boro 10:30, KSU 11: Dinner Rd, Mellow Mushroom, Hudson Bridge Rd., 6: Ride to 110th Anniv e:mail Steve Sullivan for details 24Fred s BBQ House, Lithia Spgs/Meet at HDCC 10:30, No Dinner Ride IMPORTANT!!!: PLEASE RSVP TO STEVE SULLIVAN at SPSFREEBIRD@AOL.COM IF YOU PLAN ON ATTENDING THE WEDNESDAY NIGHT DINNER RIDES. VOLUME 13, ISSUE 8 PAGE 15

16 Harley Owner s Group of Clayton County # Southlake Parkway Morrow, Georgia Proudly sponsored by: Harley-Davidson of Clayton County Business Hours Monday thru Friday 9:00 am 7:00 pm Saturday 9:00 am 6:00 pm Sunday: Closed VOLUME 13, ISSUE 8 PAGE 16