The L.O.C.A.L. Informant The Official Newsletter of the Women in the Wind Ladies of Chrome and Leather Chapter January 2016 www.ladiesofchromeandleather.com Our Purpose: To unite women motorcyclists with friends of common interest To promote a positive image to the public of women on motorcycles To help educate our members on motorcycle safety and maintenance Inside this issue: Calendar 2 LOCAL Chapter Meeting and Ride January 16, 2016 Spa Ride Heading on down the Highway 3 Greetings from the Vice-Pretzel 5 Tales from the Road 7 Safety-Wise 8 Christmas Party Pictures 10 Financial Footnotes 14 December Birthday 14 L.O.C.A.L. Officers 15 Breakfast 7:30 Meeting 8:30 Flo s Farmhouse 5620 Van Buren Blvd. Riverside, CA KSU 9:00
19 January 2016 Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 LOCAL Chapter Meeting and Ride 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 February 2016 Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 LOCAL Chaptter Meeting and Ride 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 2
Heading on down the Highway Karen Scott President Happy New Year s Sisters Is anyone else relieved that we are onto 2016? I m sure I am not alone. For me personally, 2015 was a major year of change and challenge. Taking on the position of President of LOCAL was one of those challenging changes. It has taken a while to get up to speed on all the chapter ins and outs but thankfully, after almost 6 months, things have settled down and I feel a bit more grounded. I remain open, as always, to listen to any concerns, issues, celebrations or suggestions you may have. I am working with a wonderful, talented, committed Board and I so appreciate them as we work together on behalf of the chapter. A couple of kudos go to: 1) Elin for a great holiday party that was well attended and truly enjoyed by all. It is a lot of work and we so appreciate you stepping up, opening up your lovely home and being the hostess with the mostest. 2) Dee for doing a great job creating LOCAL s private Facebook page which is a safe place for communication for LOCAL members only. Please use it as you see fit to enhance communication within our chapter. As mentioned several different times, the Board and others have been very interested in changing our venue for our General meeting on our ride day from Flo s to the Marie Callender s in Corona on Rincon. It is about 5 miles west of Flo s and we believe, still very accessible for all. They have quite a few rooms there that would accommodate us well and they open at 7AM on Saturdays for breakfast. We would like to trial Marie Callender s for our February meeting and see how it goes before we make a final decision. I will discuss this a bit more at our January meeting. I saw in the December issue of Shootin the Breeze that the International Historian is asking for pictures from chapters that have hosted an International Meeting. I know that LOCAL did host one, which was the Palm Springs meeting a few years back. If you have any pictures of that meeting, you can email them to me or to International historian at WITWhistorian@aol.com. It will be fun to see how the International Board will use all things pulled together from past meetings to create the history of WITW. 3
19 Chapter Heading on down the Highway eating and Ride Karen Scott Each month in our newsletter, we will continue with member snapshots. The format is very simple and brief and we look forward to seeing each of your snapshots in the newsletter as we move through the year. If you are solicited for a snapshot, please share your information for all members to enjoy. Remember March is the month for annual renewal to WITW. You don t need to wait until March and Patty will accept renewals at any of our meetings from now through March. I look forward to more great rides, fellowship and fun in the coming year. Let s make it a great 2016 Karen Scott I have learned that to be with those I like, is enough 4
Greetings from the Vice Pretzel Kim Airs Vice-President Hey all... BIG first of all... thanks so much for the lovely flowers you and the club sent. It REALLY means a lot to me, it really does. I'm still so sad... sigh. I'm flying out to NJ next week for his services on Saturday then back on Sunday and very unfortunately, I'll be missing the spa ride! Dang! Lots of love and thanks for everything, Announcing the First Annual (hopefully) LOCAL Spa Ride! We work hard. We play hard. And most of all, we ride (hard). So why not combine them and make a spa our destination for the January ride? Yessirree, we'll be taking a beautiful ride east, winding our way to the hot springs capital of SoCal - Desert Hot Springs and wind up at Miracle Springs Hot Mineral Resort and Spa. First we'll have a yummy and reasonably priced lunch at Capri's, their on-site restaurant then, here comes the best part... afterwards you can soak in the warm mineral springs for only $14 OR you can book a spa treatment ahead of time and the soak is free! The spa offers many different treatments available such as mani-pedis, massages, facials, skin care services and a large assortment of body treats, all at really great prices! it is HIGHLY suggested that you make an appointment for spa treatments IN ADVANCE as they are entering their busy season and book up, especially on weekends. You do NOT need to book a soak in the springs ($14) but you DO if you want any spa treatment. For more information about the spa and their services, please check out http://www.miraclesprings.com/spa-services/ For more information about the spa, please go to www.miraclesprings.com and let's make this a first annual event for LOCAL! I hope there will be a lot of gas going to it! I won't be there since I'll be in NJ for my brother's service. I am sure I'll do the same ride in the future - maybe in April with some of us who want to repeat the ride. Kim Airs Vice President 5
Road Captain Gail Schrenk Hello My Sisters!!!! We say Good-bye to 2015 and say Hello to 2016!!!!!!!!! This month we will be heading out to Desert Hot Springs. We ask Mother Nature to please cooperate with us. We really NEED to get out on our 2 wheels!!! The route is roughly 83 miles. This will not be a technical or fast paced ride. It will give us the opportunity to practice staying in staggered formation, closing up at stop signs/lights, taking off by twos, and maintaining the group as we move away from intersections. We are planning on having a few open rides in 2016. "Open rides," for those who are new, means that members can bring guests (guys or gals). We only have female guests for chapter rides / events. Open rides give friends an opportunity to meet everyone that they have been hearing about for some time. Please remember, if you bring a guest, you are responsible for telling them our ride guidelines, including hand signals, staggered formation, single file for on & off ramps and freeway transitions, passing hand signals back and courtesy to all members and other drivers on the road. Members must be present with their guest(s) during the ride. Gail Schrenk Road Captain. 6
SAFETY-WISE Sandy Wietecha Safety Officer I don t think too many of us have been riding lately due to the holidays and the unseasonably cold weather (yes, I can hear our Sisters north of the border snickering.) So I thought it would be a good time to just mention a couple of things that have come to mind. Black Ice Whenever the sun peeks out amidst all this rain, it is tempting to get out and ride no matter what the temperature. Something to keep in mind before you head out after a cold, damp night: Black ice. Yes, even in Southern California. Black ice is deadly because you can t see it. It is very thin ice, completely transparent, and at best may just look like a wet spot on the road (see picture). It s called black ice because it blends in so well with the black pavement. It's important to know the conditions when black ice is possible because it's very hard to spot on the road and by the time you spot it it's likely too late. Years ago I was riding my Honda thumper up the north entrance into Palomar and encountered black ice. It was a cool day but definitely above freezing, so it was an unpleasant shock to start sliding all over the road to say the least. There was no hint of ice anywhere on the road and it hadn t been raining. But the road had frozen overnight when temperatures dropped, and since parts of it were still in the shade, the ice never melted. (I also stepped on some black ice on a sunny but chilly day in Oklahoma once; one second I was upright, the next I was flat on my back. Never even saw it.) 7
SAFETY-WISE (Continued) Sandy Wietecha Black ice usually forms when the temperature drops below freezing and a very light rain or drizzle has fallen, causing it to freeze when it hits the road. However, black ice can also form from the heat of tires on a frozen roadway. Black ice can even form when the temperature is above freezing if the air warms suddenly after the pavement has been below freezing. This is what happened on my Palomar ride. Watch for bridges, tunnels and exit ramps on the freeway. My son went down a few years ago on the 15/91 interchange because of black ice. Fortunately he was dressed up like an Arctic explorer that morning and didn t get hurt. (His youth helped.) Black ice forms on bridges and overpasses because air circulates both above and below the surface of the road, making the pavement freeze faster. Remember, ALWAYS be prepared for the possibility of black ice if you re riding in the early morning after a very cold night. Turn off your cruise control if you have it. Lower gears will also provide more control if you encounter black ice. If you start sliding, avoid over-reacting. In other words, don t hit the brakes. Do as little as possible and just allow your bike to pass over it while slowing down on its own. The good news is that USUALLY black ice patches aren t very big and they re usually just patches, which means your tires will hopefully gain traction soon if you don t do anything to make the situation worse. TAKE OUT YOUR EARBUDS! A revised California law (SB 491) makes it illegal, effective January 1, to operate a motor vehicle with earbuds inserted into both ears. The old law only mentioned headsets and ear plugs, but the updated version specifically bans driving (or riding) with earbuds in both ears. I know some of you take your tunes with you when you ride, so keep this new law in mind! Apparently ONE earbud is okay, but not both. Hope to see all of you Saturday at the meeting! Sandy 8
Issue 188 DECEMBER CHAPTER CHRISTMAS PARTY 9
Issue 188 DECEMBER CHAPTER CHRISTMAS PARTY 10
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Financial Footnotes Financial Patty Zagata Treasurer Patty Zagata 909 225 4152 al Footnotes JANUARY BIRTHDAYS Devon P. Jan 8 Linda S. Jan 17 Gail G. Jan 19 Gail S. Jan 20 Joan D. Jan 22 Kim A. Jan 23 Judy H. Jan 24 Michelle B. Jan 25 Cynthia J. Jan 27 12
Mark Your Calendars! L.O.C.A.L. OFFICERS 2015-2017 January 16 Local Chapter Meeting and Ride Palm Springs/Spa Ride February 20 Local Chapter meeting and Ride March 4 7 WITW Winter Nationals Charleston S C PRESIDENT: Karen Scott karen6rn@earthlink.net VICE PRESIDENT: Kim Airs kim@grandopening.com SECRETARY: Karin Whitehead Karinkw27@aol.com TREASURER: Patty Zagata oldgolflady@earthlink.net ROAD CAPTAIN: Gail Schrenk GailBadKat@Cs.com SAFETY OFFICER: Sandy Wietecha ASST. ROAD CAPTAINS: Cathie Siglow To Order WITW Name Tags Go to: LOCAL Website www.ladiesofchromeandleather.com Members Only section And click on: ASST. SAFETY OFFICERS: HOSPITALITY: Linda Trowbridge NEWSLETTER EDITOR: Karin Whitehead Karinkw27@aol.com WEBMISTRESS: Dee Norman 13