June 2012 April 2011 Director s Ramblings 1 Calendar of Events 2 New Members 3 Just Married 4 Thunder Beach 5-17 Sharkey s 6 Wally does breakfast 7 Motorcycle Show 8 Hats, Hats & more Hats 8 people 1 bike 11 Strike a Pose 13 The HUB 18-25 Kenny s date 18 Demon Lovers 20 War Eagle Mill 22 Chapter Education 26 Editor Valerie Hewett 9 On Friday night, only a couple days after returning home Panama City Beach, I received a call from a Gold Book member and fellow traveler. His name is Jack Mead from Napanee, Ontario, Canada. He is on a bike ride from his home down through the US, to the Grand Canyon, up Hwy 1 on the West Coast to Oregon then back to Mt. Rushmore and home. He picked my name out of the Gold Book to ask for tips on good roads to take between there and the Grand Canyon. I arranged to meet Jack at a coffee shop in downtown Hot Springs Saturday morning to give him a few suggestions and find out more about this fellow biker. It turns out Jack is 70 years old, a retired truck driver, married 47 years with four kids. He has lived his whole life in Canada but has driven his truck over much of the east coast of the US. He has also been a life-long bike rider buying his first Gold Wing in the 1980 s and currently rides a 2005 Gold Wing 1800. After spending a few hours with Jack showing him Hot Springs, I suggested we take one of my favorite rides up Hwy 7 to Ola which we did. What a beautiful day to ride and of course we ran into a number of bikers at the coffee shop/ gas station in Ola. Jack ended up spending the night at our house and we were rewarded with stories of his life and family in Canada. His wife is meeting him in Las Vegas where they will go see the Grand Canyon then head on to California and up the coast to Oregon to see one of her sisters. After a short visit she will fly home and Jack will continue across Montana to the Black Hills of South Dakota and home in Canada. Quite a trip and what a ride. Who said being 70 years old required a rocking chair. Good luck Jack and maybe some of us might come up to see you one of these days. Charlie & Cheryl Stockton Assistant Chapter Directors
Day trips Chapter Rides Chapter Director Richard & Jean Penuell Assistant Chapter Director Charlie & Cheryl Stockton Diane & Mike Keesling Treasurer Cindy Hagan Chapter Education Tom Harrison Newsletter Valerie Hewett Ride Coordinator Skip Klink Membership Enhancement Ed Hagan Event Coordinator Tom Templeton Sunshine Person Joan Klink Quarter Master Cheryl Stockton Meet to Eat Bryan & Kathleen Witt Judy & Jerry Sloan Web Master Dave Scott MTE every other week starting Jan 5, 2012 Jack and Sharon s Easy Rider ride every Wednesday Thursdays with no MTE and Saturdays on weeks with MTE, weather permitting. June Jun - Branson Trip Tom Templeton June 23, 24 2012 Horizons class in Morrilton- Larry Penepent July July 4-7 - Wing Ding 34 in Ft. Wayne, IN Dan Gruben August Aug 17-19 Mt. View Bike Rally/Blanchard Springs & Caverns, Dennis Hintz September Sept 26 29 Bikes Blues and BBQ in Fayetteville October Oct 6 - Chapter J Rally, Hobo Fest, Russellville Oct 4-6 - Oklahoma District Rally - McAlester, OK Dan Gruben Oct 13 Wounded Warrior Ride, Clinton Library @ 8 AM Oct Chapter Picnic, Blakely Dam 3-6 PM Jean Penuell Oct District Memorial Picnic, Little Rock, Burns Park, Pavilion #10. Oct 27 Short Track Nationals at I-30 Speedway Don, Rick Oct 30 31 Leaf-peeping trip Don November Open May do another Leaf Peeping December Dec 1 - Chapter Christmas Party Dec 8 - District Toy Ride, Little Rock (NLR Honda to Children s Hospital) Dec 8 District Christmas Party
New Members Hey, did you meet the New Members? June 2012 Rick & Becky Farmer just joined our Chapter, and, guess what, they just got married June 2011. Becky told me she thinks that it will last. They are Arkansans. Becky was born in Clinton but lived in Rosedale. Rick was born in Little Rock, I think. He was raised in Utah. They now live in Benton, the third dirt road past the Dairy Bar. They both have 2 grand children a piece. They have a 96 Candy Apple Red 1500 GW. He has been riding a long time. But, since he is a young guy (they both still work, ugh), his definition of a long time may be different from our seasoned riders. They met on the Internet on a site called POF.com for Plenty of fish. Becky is a fun loving gal. When you see them, give them a big HELLO. Dale Basham and LaDawnna Prestage were at the Chapter Meeting April 28 and then went on a ride with us afterwards. I guess they liked us because Dale promised me that they were going to join. They moved from the St Louis area. He has a 2008 GW. Dale has his own appliance company, Dale s Appliance Repair, Inc. LaDawnna works for the Sewing Machine Shop in Malvern and is also a substitute teacher. Hey, we re new members also We just came into the world
Joe & Maxine got married in a ceremony with the kids & family. They said that the kids loved them both and were happy they got married. We surprised them with a cake & balloons at the GW meeting Thurs May 24. They really were not expecting it. Maxine said now they are trying to put 2 houses into 1. Maybe we will see a garage sale soon. Who will be next???????
There were 6 bikes and 10 bikers who went to Panama City Beach for the THUNDER BEACH RALLY. Wally rode his BMW, Pattie rode her BMW, then Don & Valerie on their Harley, Dennis & Pam on their Harley, and Sharon & Jack on their GW Trike, and Charlie & Cheryl on their GW Trike. Sharon does a wonderful bike wash on her bike but still refuses to do ours. The first thing we do when we arrive is to have a beverage after we clean the bikes
Don was chewing on an oyster and bit down and thought he broke a tooth. But, then he pulled it from his mouth and saw that it was a nice white pearl. In order for the herring to eat the fish, he had to put the fish on the ground and spear it. Then he flipped it up and caught it lengthwise so he could swallow it.
Each morning we woke up to the smell of bacon, eggs, sausage and pancakes. At 8am he was serving breakfast. By 8.30 the food was all gone What a good cook Wally is!! Thank you so much Wally!! Wally finally gets a chance to eat.
Their final act was a somersault in the air Don & Charlie bought raffle tickets for a special bike made for the Wounded Warriors Valerie fell in LOVE Valerie gets a tattoo, The Grim Reaper Vendors were all over the beach. Must have been thousands People sit in chairs at night & enjoy all the Bikers
insulted, or placed in uncomfortable situa- made, paper hats are given to diners to no napkins on the tables, they are gener- by the serving staff. Here are some of tell you what they say at the next Patrons of Dick's are expected to be tions. Adult bibs and large, fun, handwear during their stay. While there are ally thrown directly at the customers the hats we were given. Valerie will mtg.
We decided to go to MargaritaVille which was about 2 miles away. Everyone wanted to take the trolley except Don & Valerie who wanted to ride the bike. So we all get to the restaurant. When we are seated, they tell Don & Valerie that just as they got off the trolley, they asked what time the trolley stopped. The driver said that this was his LAST RUN. OK, now what do we do? One bike & 8 bikers. After dinner this is what happened. 1-Don took Charlie on the back of his HD. As they rode back to the hotel, some guy told Don that he had a purty b. on his bike. 2-Don & Charlie rode back to restaurant. Don took Wally back to hotel. Charlie took Jack 3-All 4 guys came back for their wives. SIMPLE Waitresses on stilts Every hour the bottom of the plane opens up and a bottle of Tequila appears. Then they stop everything and sing Margaritaville
Valerie liked Pattie s Pink sunglasses so much she went & bought a pair of them. Pattie said that it was OK. Officers did not like having their picture taken 80 yr old lady just came from a party where she had her hair painted pink Hottie Dottie & her boss BamBam, also trained at Dick s Our waitress, Hottie Dottie. We told her she got her training at Dick s Last Resort.
Pattie, Cheryl, Valerie and Sharon pose for a picture of their pretty painted toe nails. Wally wears Pattie s bling flip flops. What else does he wear of Pattie s?? Charlie poses for his pretty bling belt. I think he bought it in the Ladies section?? Pam poses with her sexy silky robe. What is under this, Pam?? Pam got sick and could not talk, so she cuddled up with a blanket & thought she would go INCOGNITO
Sign says Caution Trees near pavement Leaning Tower of Panama
-- Don t have Don hand Charlie 2 doz eggs from the bike. They made a bad fumble. -- Jack lit up an e-cigarette and the bartender came over & gave him an ashtray -- Don t drink too many Triple Rum Shark Attacks. Ask Cheryl what happens -- Jack was in the Navy, but never saw a ship -- Pam lost her voice & Jack can t hear well, so..pam is talking to Jack in her squeaky voice & Jack can t hear a thing. Sure looked funny. Guess you had to be there. -- At Dick s Last Resort Restaurant the waiter got really tired of hearing everyone saying May I have water-with LEMON. Then, everyone shared a meal except Don & Valerie. The waiter finally said what is it with this. lemon. Are you a bunch of cheap old people? -- Waiter said he would give us all coleslaw because old people liked coleslaw. Valerie told the waiter to stop telling old people jokes. He said he could not resist. We all ate the coleslaw it was good -- Kenny said that he had been riding all over the US & has never had such a ride as Don s Fast and Furious ride. -- They have an outside stand that Sells shrimp at Social Security prices. -- Still a lot of houses for sale compared to last year, but this year I saw a number of Contract Pending signs. -- Sign said Dangerous Curve. Then it had 3 series of lines painted on the street. Don was expecting an Arkansas curve. What we got was a 30 degree sissy turn. Don never slowed down. -- Don t eat outside in a restaurant when you are in a city that has NO NOISE ordinances for Bike week. -- Dennis walked past the waitress who was on stilts at Margaritaville. She asked him if he had stilts on. -- Pattie & Wally spent 3 hours on the trolley riding all over PCB, Panama & other towns for just 75 cents. -- The night before we left, we still had some beverages left, so we had to drink all the beverages up before we left.
I am not sure I would want to Get Married and have a H o n e y m o o n d u r in g t h e Thunder Beach Rally. Guess they are Serious Bikers This cowboy had a tattoo that said Try to burn this One. He told me a story about some people in So Fl who burned Our Flag. There were some soldiers around and they showed the Flag Burners why they shouldn t burn Our Flag. He got the tattoo the next day
Would it be a real Rally if a Harley did not break down? - Since Sharon was the shortest person, they made her crawl under Don s Harley to catch some drips of oil. She showed it to Don. Don s response was Oh.... He found out that the seal was leaking oil. He bought some oil and put 8oz of oil in it and kept riding. Nothing stops that guy from riding Even though Sharon does not really look happy. Jack & Sharon really enjoyed themselves
Our friends from Lafayette, LA came up and joined us on our trip to The Hub in Marble Falls. Kenny & Charley, Cindy & Bryan, Richard (Charley s nephew). They arrived Thurs night and Don and I went down to Fisherman s wharf to meet them.
Tough Guys Tough Guy Truck Tough Guy Dog How can you be a Tough Guy Dog with a name like Snuggles? Kenny & Dark Angel
Darth Vader Look alike
Kenny & Richard by the old mill that still works Rick & Don are still lost Taking his NEW gal out for a ride to town The AR Golden Gate Bridge Rough & ready Cowboys
Where did everyone go?
Tom Harrison in 1965 with his Hillclimber! He was 19 years old. What a good lookin guy. Ride Keys for Motorcyclist By Thomas Harrison, Chapter E Educator There is not a single top professional golfer who hasn t developed a set of swing keys. Swing keys are a set of steps which lead to proper grip, proper stance, and proper swing leading to consistent shot making. The same holds true for long term safe motorcyclist. They memorize valuable keys to safe riding and go over these in their mind periodically to keep their awareness up. With the help of Chapter E members, I would like to assemble a set of rider keys which we can go over in the meetings. Further, I would like members to volunteer examples of where using a certain ride key saved them from an accident or not using one caused them to be involved in an accident. I believe this sharing will go a long way in raising everyone s collective awareness and make them safer riders. Here are a few rider keys I have gathered and look to each of you to add to: Preparation: Riding: Keep your motorcycle and riding equipment in proper working order. Wear proper protective equipment when you ride including high impact resistant eyewear. Take motorcycle training courses and CPR/FIRST AID. Maintain 360 degree vision and a buffer zone around your motorcycle. Look a far down the road as possible to avoid surprises. Do not override your line of sight e.g. you should be able to stop in the length of road that is visible. If you are cresting a hill, you should slow way down in case there is something just the other side of the crest. Learn to read the road and properly identify potential hazards. Learn to read the road and if you are not sure what you are seeing, e.g. is it gravel or not, assume the worst and slow down. Expect the worst to happen and allow for it e.g. car turning left in front of you, car stopping short, gravel on the road, sudden tire failure, animal darting in front of the motorcycle, people running stop signs, surprise lane changes into your lane, bad weather, etc. Remember that as a motorcyclist, you are not only responsible for your riding but you must also compensate for other drivers who make a mistake. Ride your own ride, ride within your limits, and NEVER relinquish control to another rider. Learn and observe proper team riding procedures including responsibilities of road captains when riding with a group. Avoid riding at night but if you must, slow down. Always apply the rear brake first or simultaneously with the front brake. This is particularly true on gravel.