Scarborough H.O.G. #9245 S E P T E M B E R 2 0 1 3 www.scarboroughchapter.ca Director s Report 880 Champlain Ave. ( 401 & Thickson Rd. ) Oshawa Ont. L1J 7A6 905-434-6550 or 1-800-668-5828 www.mackieharleydavidson.com Director: Asst. Director: Treasurer: Secretary: LOH: Membership: Public Relations: Activities: Asst. Activities Safety Officer: Photographer: Historian: Webmaster News Editor: MEETING ROOM: Thank you to the Stone Cottage for the FREE use of the meeting room twice monthly and also for the quality service you provide. Teddy Collins Arnie Stewart Annie Burke Phyllis Stewart Annie Burke Sarah Collins Alan Crockford Joe Fournier Alan Crockford John Archer Dave Vella Marshall Crotin Bob Burke Phill Tsolakis As the summer comes to an end, there are still many riding days ahead. There will be Chapter rides planned for September and October. There may be an occasion when a ride is planned and no one shows up. Unexpected things happen, but every attempt is made to have a member there to lead the ride. While riding, I hope that you take all the precautions to ride safe. I realize it is often the other drivers you have to watch out for. Unfortunately Armando experienced this and suffered injuries. On behalf of the Chapter, I would like to wish him a speedy recovery. I would like to thank Annie and Bob for hosting a delicious barbeque. Darrell and Barb invited members to their cottage for the weekend and I am sure a good time was had by all. There are still many more events planned for the Chapter. If you haven t already marked it on your calendar, Saturday, November 22 nd will be the Chapter Christmas Party. Tickets will be on sale at the September, October and November general meetings. For those members interested in a position on the Executive Committee, nominations will be taking place at the October general meeting. Please come prepared to have 2 members nominate you for a position. Elections will be held at the November general meeting. Your membership dues and International HOG dues must be paid in order to be nominated or elected for an Executive position. Teddy
Nick s Vancouver solo trip I've always wanted to make another trip out west. In 01 there was 9 other bikes and 11 people. This time I was on my own, not that others didn't want to go, nobody could take a month, which is what I wanted to do. I didn't want to keep a schedule. My daughter lives in Vancouver and that was my destination. If u want blue skies and 80-100 degree temps, the northwest US states is basking in it. Vancouver has set a record of 30 days of no rain. Anyways the scenery is outstanding and breath taking, thru the Dakota's, Montana, Wyoming and Washington it changes every mile and of course the Rockies around Vancouver. I took lots of pic s and vid s but there was a lot more times I should have stopped. Bikes running great, body's holding up, there is not a thing I would change. Keep riding. Nick 3
4 Executive meetings: Stan s monthly Poker night Hi all, We had the usual core of 7 players plus one new player that Patrick brought. Cody, that won last month and was the bounty for this week was a no-show. Patrick, who got busted on the second hand, got his re-buy and had a show down with Bob, for bragging rights and $50. It was a back and fourth for a while and then Patrick put Bob out of his misery. The next game is on Sept 19th at Kornerstone Bar at the south/east corner of Birchmount and Ellesmere Avenues at 7:00 for registration. Stan W Grasser Some dates to remember: Friday the 13th, Port Dover ( September ) Mackie H-D Customer Appreciation Ride, Saturday September 28th Mackie H-D Test Our Medal Demo Day, Thursday October 10th Chapter Christmas Dinner, Whistlers Restaurant, Friday November 22nd Chapter Meeting Dates at the Stone Cottage 7:30 pm General meetings: August 27th September 3rd September 24th October 1st ( Nominations ) October 29th November 5th ( Elections ) November 26th December 3rd Membership Report It is that time of year again when I start reminding you to dig out your International HOG numbers so you can renew your Chapter membership. You also have to make sure that your International HOG membership has been paid. The cost of the Chapter membership is $25.00 and this will be collected at the October general meeting. Membership forms will be handed out at this meeting or you can print one from our Chapter website www.scarboroughchapter.ca If you are considering being nominated for a position on the Executive Committee, you must pay your membership dues at the October general meeting. Nominations will take place at this meeting. Sarah
Great to see Roger 5 Roger was sure looking like he was ready to ride when Mary and Garry dropped by to see him recently. They said there was a remarkable improvement with his mobility since the last time they were there for a visit. Great to hear and see Roger feeling and looking better. From all of us, Get well soon Grizzly Just an update on Grizz - Bob, Patrick and I saw him yesterday (Tuesday) and he is looking better than he has in months. He is in Providence Health Care Facility after spending 5 weeks in Scarborough General. He has had surgery on his leg and hopefully this will end the problems he had been having. We took him up a card signed by a lot of members from the Chapter and he liked that. Clayton has been making sure that he does what he is told. Hopefully we will see Grizz again in the next few months at a Chapter event. Annie
Adirondack Mountains Ride to Lake George and back Day 1 We started off from Markham Station with what looked like a nice day ahead of us. That lasted until we just passed Oshawa, then she came down. By the time we stopped on the 401 shoulder, it was too late to change into rain gear. While we were waiting out the rain in an On Route station around Port Hope, I could see the look on the others faces that maybe we should just start this trip all over again tomorrow. A little while later the clouds began to part and the sun started to shine. Turned out to be a fantastic day (weather wise) not so much destination wise. Our plan was to stop for the first night in Star Lake (approx. 100 kms west of Lake Placid) but when we got there, they have no motels. Continued east to Cranberry NY, two motels but no vacancy. Off to Tupper Lake and after several motels with no vacancy we finally find one but with one room left. Sorry, forgot to mention who was on this trip, (Garry, Mary Al and I.) Well Mary would not let this guy off the hook that easy. After having to listen to this guy lecture her on phoning ahead for accommodations he was able to find us a Holiday Inn in Malone NY. We were all feeling a little relief knowing we won t be sleeping by the side of the road until we see on the map where Malone is, due straight north ( approx 120 kms). The good part was that hwy 30 was a great twisty type of road that had been recently paved. Finally parked the bikes and after about 600 kms for the day, the pops tasted great. Day 2 - First thing in the morning not looking to good (dark clouds in every direction) Malone NY was nice to us but were not staying here. Off eastward to Plattsburgh NY and visit North End H-D. After some minor rain, again the sun came out and made it a great day for riding. Down interstate 87 and through the mountains, we seemed to have the hwy all to our selves. We stopped at Port Henry for lunch before getting on the very scenic hwy 9N. Fortunately where we parked a guy comes out to tell us that if we don t mind going out of our way a bit we should take this Tracey Rd ( advertized as 50 curves in 7.5 miles) kind of like a very mini Dragons Tail I guess. Well we were not disappointed, Tracey Rd brought us right back to Hwy 9N and the rest of the ride was just fantastic (mostly along Lake Champlain) all the way to Lake George. Again no vacancies anywhere. After another lecture about not booking accommodations ahead of time, the lady at this Super 8 really helped us out by phoning around and finally locating something for us. Before this happened I was already looking on the map for the nearest City for a motel which would have been Albany NY and another 200 kms., lucky we didn't have to. Dinner right across the street, a few cold pops, a good night was had.
Day 3 Sun and cloud off and on all day, we start out by going down to Lake George Village (kind of like a Niagara Falls but without the falls) another t-shirt stop at McDermott s H-D, (opened the place) we head straight up through the Adirondack mountains along Hwy 28, then part of another section of Hwy 30, connected to Hwy 56 and we were on our way to Ogdensburg to stay for the night when we stopped for gas. Al has this thing where ever he visits he likes to get his picture taken with the local authorities. Well there were a couple of officers (one on duty the other off) that agreed to let Al get his pic. They asked where we were headed and once we told them, they said we should not go to Ogdensburg (drug town) but instead stay in Canton NY (College town). Good thing we did because as soon as we reached the Best Western it started to pour, we would have been nailed. Dinner, a few cold pops and it was an early night. Day 4 Nicest weather of the trip, rode along the south side of the St Lawrence River, easy crossing at the Gananoque boarder and back to good old TO. Round trip was about 1600 kms for the four days. I remember Marshall (seasoned international rider that he is) saying in one of his stories to start off on smaller rides, I believe he was right on. Great ride and great friends to ride with. Would I change things next time?, probably not. I just now know that when there s a long weekend on this side of the border, there s going to be a lot of people from Ontario and Quebec in New York. Glad I went! Phill 7
8 Demo Big Day Al s at Mackie Ride H-D Some of you may have been on one of Big Al s ride s but for those of you who have not, it was established 8 years ago when Al had passed due to cancer and his brother and friends (Hollywood Joe being one of them) decided to make this an annual ride in his name to raise monies to help with expenses of those people who are taking cancer patients to and from doctors appointments, treatments, hotel accommodations and so on. Hopefully Joe was able to sell a lot of tickets but for those of us that attended from our Chapter, Garry, Mary, Al, Roger, Bill Groan and his wife, and those brave souls Mike and Lisa (who camped there for the weekend) and of course Joe and Lori. We got there Saturday morning for 9:30 in a tucked away country home in the Whitevale and Brock Rd area and there was Joe serving Caesars for breakfast (your choice of spiked or a Shirley). Bike after bike arrived with what looked like old friends who get together for this great cause once a year and ready to giver if you know what I mean. Hollywood Joe had Rhino s in Bewdely reserved for lunch and at about 11:30, I m guessing maybe just under100 or so bikes head out for Rice Lake. Now I have been a part of some large rides where there have been police escorts but, Big Al s buddies who acted as blockers for us were second to none. They were calm and looked like a well organized relay team. I along with the others in our group were very impressed. After lunch it was back to the Whitevale country house with I think 4 live bands scheduled to perform for the rest of the afternoon and I m sure well into the night. Barbecue dinner was prepared and served by Joe, Lori and I think maybe only two other helping hands. This is where I think Joe is in his element, when he s barbequing for 225 or so people (of course with Lori making sure his next step is always covered). I watched in amazement as he sliced pounds of roast beef, chopped 54 heads of romaine lettuce, deep fried 6 turkey s and put together all the sides. When they were ready to serve, the line went swiftly, I think all these people were fed within 20 minutes. Great job by the chef and his three helpers! From there on the music was continuous, people were really enjoying themselves. We had a bike s to get home so Garry, Mary, Roger and I left early but from what I heard later, the party went well into the early morning. Great cause, great day and hope to do it again next year. At the Executive meeting last Tuesday, Joe pull s out a new acoustic guitar that was one of the prizes given out at Big Al s, it was my ticket that was drawn. Now I just want everyone to know that I will not be performing anytime soon. Thanks again to Hollywood Joe! Phill
Anniversaries 9
10 Armondo s accident Last Saturday on the way to Mackie H-D to meet up with the Bob & Annie s ride and bbq our Chapter member Armando was in a terrible accident on the 401. Some punk that was weaving in and out of traffic apparently had to slam his breaks on to avoid running into the back of another car. When he realized he couldn't stop in time, the guy just switched lanes and took Armando out. The guy s were doing about 100 kms per/hr at the time and this happened around one of the Whitby over passes just before the Thickson Rd. ramp where they would have been getting off. End result, 6 broken ribs, a punctured lung and a ruptured spleen. He was in the ICU for a couple of day s so they could monitor the lung. At Tuesday s executive meeting Al told us that he was moved to a regular room and no operations were scheduled. Armando told Al that the two things he remembered while he was sliding was, when was the sliding going to stop and that his helmet was really doing it s job. Another thing that was on his mind shortly after the accident, he told Al to go to wherever his bike was and retrieve his Harley jacket ( true H-D kind of guy ). Also of note was that Army was wearing his armoured jacket which helped out big time. And in case your wondering, yes his bike is a right off. It also sounds like John Andersons never forgot his police training and experience as once he knew of Armando s condition he was out there on the 401 directing traffic away from the area. Also of note is the good work of both Al and Garry at the scene. From all of us, Get well soon Army. Phill Joe s near miss Hollywood Joe and Bill Groan where on there way back from a trip down east somewhere (they did visit Arnie and Phyllis). While doing a long days ride at about 120 kms per/hr on the 401through Quebec, Bill was leading while passing tractor trailer behind a van. Suddenly Bill veered to avoid what looked like some piece of construction material on the road. Joe was not so lucky. He first hit it with the lower fairing and floor board and thought he would have gone off the road if it were not for hitting it again a third time at the back of the bike, this straightening him out. He is not sure why, but he continued without stopping for another hour or so ( most likely he was in shock ). They were able to continue riding, but once home and an assessment was done on the bike, there turned out to be $5000.00 damaged. Luckily that was the worst of it. Last year Pat, last Saturday Armando, and now Joe, I see a pattern, I thinks it s called the 401. One reminder I like to say to myself, if you can t see over it, or see through it, go around it. Phill
Bob and Annie s ride and BBQ 11 Saturday August 24 started out fine with a great weather forecast and a great response to our BBQ. We were meeting at Mackie s HD at 10am for the ride but unfortunately the group from Markham Station ran into a serious problem. Armando Marino got side swiped by a car on the 401 and went down; luckily there were no life threatening injuries. That ended the day for Armando and his brother-in-law Al Crockford who went with Armando to the hospital. We all wish Armando a speedy recovery. The ride left Mackie s with 8 bikes and 10 people, we rode the 401 and Hwy 115 to Peterborough. We stopped at Country Style and then on to Longley HD. We had a chance to see the new 2014 Limited and talk to Bob Longley about the changes to the Harley-Davidson lineup. The Project Rushmore is very impressive and if you haven t checked out the new bike s Mackie s HD is a good place to start. We left Longley s and rode across Hwy 7 to Mt. Horeb Road to Hwy 35 to Golf Course Road (Durham 57) to King Street and on to Bob and Annie s. We arrived home about 2 pm. We had 27 chapter people and 4 friends and family. Annie made the salads and they were fantastic, Mike cooked the burgers and dogs and Lisa was the official photographer. Thanks to Mike & Lisa for the job well done and a special thanks to Annie for all the hard work that has to go into an event like this. Everyone said they had a great time and we look forward to next years BBQ so thanks to everyone who were able to show-up. Bob
Remaining Chapter Rides for the season As you can see on the Sept. calendar below there are a lot of Saturday s & Sunday s open for ride suggestions. We did not put an October month for rides due to the fact the weather can get iffy. It s Labour Day weekend and that means the riding season is slowly winding down. If anyone would like to suggest a destination, please mention it at Tues. gen. mtg. or contact Al and he will get the word out. All Sept. rides leave Markham Station restaurant 10:00 am SUN MON TUE WED THU FRI SAT 1 Pick up ride. Destination Chapter Christmas Dinner Tickets will be come available soon, hopefully as early as the September General Meeting. This year the event will be held at Whistlers Restaurant at the north/east corner of Mortimer and Broadview Avenues ( north of Danforth Ave. at Pottery Rd ). Friday November 22nd. Cost will be $40.00 per person. Parking is available behind the restaurant and on the neighbouring side streets. I would like to thank the following for their contribution to this issue of the newsletter and I do apologize if I missed anyone: Stan, Lisa, Al, Teddy, Annie, Bob B. Sarah, Joe, Nick, Garry, September 2013 Thank you, 2 3 4 5 6 7 Phill 8 9 10 11 12 13 Port Dover 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 Mackie H-D We need to leave Markham Station 9:00 am Customer Appreciation Ride 10 am 29 30