August 2008 February 2012 Alamo City Wings

August 2008 February 2012 Alamo City Wings Volume 31 Friends for Fun, Safety, and Knowledge! Issue 02 Chapter H Officers Chapter Director Bruce MacMaster 520-3061 BAMac45@aol.com Assistant Chapter Director Vacant Chapter Educator Vacant Membership Coordinator Phyllis Ellis 695-4320 Pcelde@swbell.net Secretary/Treasurer Charles Fleming 827-1894 txgoldwing00@att.net Chapter H Staff Web Master Dean Davis dean@jeanniesherbs.com Newsletter Editor Kathy Vallejo 827-4446 kvall@att.net Technical Advisor Len Ellis - 695-4320 Pcelde@swbell.net Chapter Photographer Dean Davis dean@jeanniesherbs.com Activity / Ride Coordinator Charles Fleming 682-1446 txgoldwing00@att.net * From the Chapter Director * Winter, winter, where has it gone? Are we going to have an early spring or is this warm weather going to lull us into a false sense of security and then old man winter will hit us with vengeance during February? We shall see, but in the meantime come on out for some nice rides. We had eight bikes this last week but no women. I cannot remember the last time that happened. The rally season will be starting soon here in Texas. The first official ride we will have to a rally will be on Apr 14 th to Chapter O s Bluebonnet Ral-a-vention. At our March meeting we will have a drawing for a free registration. We have had some rain and early cold weather so the wild flowers should be more plentiful this year. Plan on joining us for a fun time and beautiful ride. The district convention will be May 17-19 in New Braunfels. A preliminary schedule has been published with lots of fun activities planned. The Rider Education Division will be offering a Trike course, Road Captain s course, First Aid/CPR (both first time participants and refresher), and Co-rider course. There will be seminars on Basic GL1800 Maintenance, How to Plan a Ride and Traveling While Armed just to name a few. Registration forms can be found on the District Web Site; save $5.00 by registering by April 20 th. Texas District Officers & Staff District Directors... Fred & Mandy Mew... 817-707-3568 Asst. District Directors.... Mark & Lynne Heene... 512-814-6432 District Educators... Chet Roby & Maria Collins... 254-718-3977 District Treasurer... Leona McDade... 817-491-2881 Membership Enhancement Division... Carolyn Barton... 254-578-3353 Asst. Membership Enhancement Coord... Donna Holley... 940-231-4026 District Couple of the Year. 2010... Dave & Jean Simmons... 325-382-4469 District Trainer... Lynn Heene... 512-288-4152 Vendor Coordinators... Don & Linda Holley... 940-390-0873 Webmaster... Mark Heene... 512-814-6432 Newsletter Editor Mandy Mew 817-939-3568 District Admin Support and Security.Terry McDade.817-491-2881

Volume 31 Page 2 of 13 Issue 02 A ride to the Black Hills, SD is planned for the last couple of weeks of May. Hear about this ride at our February meeting at 7:30PM at Logan s Roadhouse. Come early (around 6:30PM) for dinner and greetings. Ride Safe and Often Bruce A. MacMaster Chapter Director RIDER EDUCATION HOW TO RIDE OVER THAT THING IN THE ROAD By: James R. Davis Sooner or later you will find something in the road just ahead of you and you are going to hit it. Maybe a small animal. Possibly something that falls off the vehicle in front of you. Maybe you have missed a curve and a curb is dead ahead. One of the exercises taught by the MSF includes running over a board (4 X 4?) and you are told to lift the front-end of your motorcycle at the last possible moment before you hit. I suspect that most of us could actually lift the front-end of a 125cc motorcycle, but I can tell you that this is one reasonably strong male that couldn t raise the front-end of my GoldWing a meaningful fraction of an inch, from my seat, and neither can you. What s the point of the exercise, then? Maybe it was just badly explained in my particular class, but I m sure that what the instructor said was that you are trying to help the bike over the obstacle by lifting it. While that is correct, both the explanation and the exercise fell short of the mark as did my ability to lift the Wing. Remember our discussion about shock absorbers? It was learned that bumps are first absorbed by your springs and that your front-end rises and falls as allowed by how the shock absorber/spring set are designed and setup. If you are traveling at a steady speed your front-end is extended about as far as it will normally be extended and your ability to lift it further is a function of how much weight you can remove from it, not how strong you are. That for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction tells you that if you are able to exert 200 pounds of lift on your grips you will put the same amount of new weight on the seat and pegs while you do it. So, even if you try to snap lift the front while throwing as much of your body towards the rear of your bike as possible, the result will be a TRIVIAL difference in the extension of your front forks i.e., virtually a waste of time and energy. Still the idea is RIGHT! But instead of you doing the lifting, you want the bike to lift itself by transferring its weight from the front to the rear wheel. You already know that this happens naturally as a result of acceleration. So, the way you lift the front-end without suffering a hernia is to twist your wrist and open the throttle. But you will remember that your front-end is already almost fully extended to start with. Wouldn t it be nice if you could get a whole lot more extension just before you hit that object? Well, of course the fact is that the only way to do that is if the front-end was more heavily loaded (compressed) before you started to accelerate. And how do you get the front-end to be more loaded? Why you hit the brakes, of course. In other words, in the real world if you see that you are going to hit something you will

Volume 31 Page 3 of 13 Issue 02 naturally apply your brakes in an effort to slow down before you do so. Isn t that fortunate? For in order to maintain as much control of your bike as possible WHEN you hit it all you have to do is roll-on the throttle at the very last moment (about ½ second will do very nicely.) This will result in a weight shift from front to rear, and allows the springs in your shock absorber system to extend. Thus, as you hit the object you have maximum shock absorbing capacity, just when you need it. (Don t forget to shift your weight to your pegs and get that butt off the seat when you do this since when the rear tire hits the obstacle it will receive a severe vertical bounce.) LETTER FROM THE EDITOR Here we are in February already. How time flies! We are already looking forward to the trip we are planning to take in late May to South Dakota to the Black Hills and Mount Rushmore area. If anyone is interested in going we will have hotel/motel info soon and dates for leaving and returning. We hope that some of you will be able to join us. Be Safe and Have Fun! Kathy Vallejo Newsletter Editor BY THE BOOK Keep Your Director Honest By Steve Cotton A Chapter Director s role is to represent the desires of Membership through the collective efforts of the Chapter Team. Who, if anybody, evaluates whether Chapter Directors are acting in the best interest of their Chapter? Could they be acting based upon their personal beliefs? Would those beliefs adequately represent the desires of the general Membership? Who could make that determination? Why YOU, of course! To be able to determine if the Chapter Director is on track, you will need to have a basic understanding of the Officer s Handbook (OHB). In this issue, I would like to present the Introduction to all GWRRA Officers provided by our Director. This is found in page A-1 of the Handbook. Dear GWRRA Officers: You have accepted a very important position in our Association that will challenge you to provide leadership. A position to furnish an environment for our Members to come together to experience mostly FUN and CAMARADERIE; to enjoy riding their GOLD WINGS or VALKYRIES and, most importantly, take advantage of GWRRA s RIDER EDUCATION. The network you now join as an Officer of GWRRA is wholly responsible for the communication link between the Association and our Members. By acceptance of this Officer s position, all of us have agreed to support the ideals of GWRRA and to provide our members with a relaxed, fun atmosphere free of

Volume 31 Page 4 of 13 Issue 02 politics and religion. Politics and religion are a personal choice and should always be left to the individual discretion of the Members. Our sole purpose is to keep it simple, make it FUN, and say YES 99.5% of the time. The word NO is not in our vocabulary unless it is absolutely in the best interest of our Member s safety. This handbook provides you with background information about our remarkable organization. We hope you will refer to it often. If at anytime you are uncertain about anything pertaining to your office, please call your appointing Officer and ask for assistance. All of us are here to ensure their fun and entitlement as Members of the Gold Wing Road Riders Association. Congratulations and best wishes for a successful and meaningful tenure as an Officer of GWRRA. In the handbook, the signature of then- Director of GWRRA Melissa Eason appears after these previous paragraphs. There are a few important points I would like to emphasize here. In the first paragraph, the point is that the Officer is challenged to be a leader, make it FUN, and promote inclusiveness. Does your Chapter Director allow, promote, or participate in cliques? I would challenge that cliques are in opposition to the coming together principle. In the second paragraph, the responsibility is delineated to the Officers to be the communication link between the Association and the Membership. Does the Chapter Director (CD) keep the chapter informed of news from the Association? This can be accomplished through the newsletter, chapter gathering, website, etc. Additionally, this may be accomplished through the Chapter Team. Nevertheless, the CD is responsible for this communication. Is there any discomfort or conflict in the Chapter that is political in nature, or dealing with religion? The statement free of politics and religion in the 2 nd paragraph delineates the CD s responsibility on that front. Does the CD respond with no frequently, turning down reasonable requests and nixing reasonable suggestions? See the last two sentences in the second paragraph. Finally, does the CD act more like a boss than someone who serves? The first sentence in the last paragraph reads, as Officers, we are here to serve our Members, they are not here to serve us. If any of these concerns are perceived as real within your own Chapter, challenge your CD to re-read Section A of the Officer s Handbook. With a little cooperation, your Chapter may become even more successful. Learn Something New Then Teach Someone!

Volume 31 Page 5 of 13 Issue 02 ANNOUNCEMENT OCP training for all members, of any District, will be April 11 & 12, Wednesday and Thursday 2012. This is the day prior to the Louisiana District Convention and in the same Hotel (Holiday Inn of Lafayette, 337-233-6815, ask for the GWRRA rate.) No Charge, but register with Louisiana Trainer, Brent Comeaux @ como102696@aol.com. (Minimum of 6 member register, no max to instruct course. On-Line Individual training is available to you @ www.gwrra.org, click Officer, then OCP, ask your District LTP trainer for password. On-line training is free and can be done at home at your leisure. The course can be accomplished in one full day, but take as much as 30 days. Upon completion, you will email the course in for scoring and results. Certificate and pin should arrive by mail in 2-4 weeks. Who is mandated? Directors and Assistants within 6 months of appointment. Open to every member. DOCTOR S OFFICE While I sat in the reception area of my doctor s office, a woman rolled an elderly man in a wheelchair into the room. As she went to the receptionist s desk, the man sat there, alone and silent. Just as I was thinking I should make small talk with him, a little boy slipped off his mother s lap and walked over to the wheelchair. Placing his hand on the man s, he said, I know how you feel. My mom makes me ride in the stroller too. OUT OF THE MOUTHS OF BABES As I was nursing my baby, my cousin s six year old daughter, Krissy, came into the room. Never having seen anyone breast-feed before, she was intrigued and full of all kinds of questions about what I was doing. After mulling over my answers, she remarked, My mom has some of those, but I don t think she knows how to use them. BICYCLING Out bicycling one day with my eightyear-old granddaughter, Carolyn, I got a little wistful. In ten years, I said, you ll want to be with your friends and you won t go walking, biking, and swimming with me like you do now. Carolyn shrugged, In ten years you ll be too old to do all those things anyway. POLAR BEAR RIDE Rod and I spent time on our patio New Year s Eve night making sure our house didn t catch fire from all the fireworks landing in our yard. It sounded like a war zone, and the

Volume 31 Page 6 of 13 Issue 02 air was thick with smoke. And yes, we live within the city limits where it s illegal to even possess fireworks. I have to admit; I oohed and aahed at the lights and colors of the aerials when they exploded. 2012 dawned with skies of clear blue, not a cloud in sight. When we got on the bike to leave for the Polar Bear ride, it was cool, but pleasant. By the time we joined the others, we d discovered that the blowing wind had a bite, and it was COLD. We meet with Charles, Dean, Harold, Bruce and his brother Jim, Carmen and Kathy, Len and Phyllis, and Phillipi and Rose. Jim stopped by to say Happy New Year, and maybe get a little advice on a mechanical problem, but did not ride with us. We took Highway 16 through Bandera to Kerrville. Bandera Courthouse still had their style of Christmas decorations on the lawn, part of which are stark white, metal cutouts of cattle, being herded by a cowboy on horseback. So different and so Bandera, but impressive. As we rode, the scenery was a mix of bare trees, with some hillsides still showing colorful foliage.

Volume 31 Page 7 of 13 Issue 02 Highway 16 between Medina and Kerrville is one of my favorite rides, and it was enjoyable, marred only by getting behind two four-wheelers driving very slowly. celebrating New Year s Day there, as they were quite busy. Our group of thirteen was seated in a separate room towards the back of the building, with a door closing us off from the rest of the patrons. The closed door served a dual purpose. It kept our noise in, as well as the heat. The room was heated by an old-fashioned, gas powered space heater, that some of us hugged, repeatedly. Have I mentioned that our ride was windy and COLD? The ripple effect slowed the riders in the back of the group to a near crawl. Still it was a pleasant ride, but I also found it to be windy and COLD. From Kerrville, we rode through Harper to Mason, for lunch at the Willow Creek Café. The entire community may have been The restaurant was decorated for Christmas throughout the building, and was furnished with an eclectic mix of antiques and whimsical pieces. The food was good, the only glitch being that they were already out of some of the items on the menu. Most of the group had the lunch special and I heard no complaints, only compliments. As we had dinner plans, and wanted to eat

Volume 31 Page 8 of 13 Issue 02 lighter, Rod and I had sandwiches. Both of us were pleased with our food. The service was outstanding, especially with the number of patrons being served. Before we left home, Rod had suggested that I put my heated jacket liner in the saddlebag, just in case. I d put it in a couple days prior, when we had ridden, so I told him it was already there. My intentions were to plug in when we started home, since the ride up was well, you know. Imagine my surprise when I discovered that what I d put in the saddlebag was the liner to my safety jacket, not my heated liner. OK, I admit it, I used to be blonde! Lucky for me, I did have an extra sweatshirt on the bike. We all fueled in Mason, then started toward home, by way of Fredericksburg. Again, Christmas decorations were still up, this time in the park. Mostly what I was able to see just riding by was a lifesized nativity scene and an oversized German inspired candle pyramid. I made a mental note to try to remember to go to Fredericksburg next Christmas season, when there ll be time to check things out, thoroughly. Four of the eight bikes got caught at a traffic light just as we got into town and at every light thereafter, while the first four were able to breeze on through. We were not able to catch up with them, so we don t know where they went after that. When we got to I10, we turned toward San Antonio. By this time Rod and I were ready to go home, and, I might have mentioned this before, it was windy and COLD! Betty Loper aka Rebel Child

Volume 31 Page 9 of 13 Issue 02 Alamo Cycle Plex 11900 I.H. 10 West 696-2000 Complete Bike Financing Sales and Service WDC Trike Conversions, Inc. www.2wingnuts.us 210-872-6206 * MTC Voyager Trike Conversions * Champion Sidecar-Trikes, Sidecars, Colorado Trailers & Patriot hard bags. * California Sidecar-Trikes, Escapade Trailers & Sidecars * Cyclone Alarm Systems * Klicktronic-Electric Shifter * LED Lighting * Rivco Accessories Wayne: 2wingnuts2@earthlink.net Daniel: 2wingnuts@earthlink.net Colby: 2wingnuts3@earthlink.net VALENTINE TRIVIA C 1. In the middle ages, people believed that the first unmarried person of the opposite sex that you met on the morning of St. Valentine s Day would become your spouse. 2. It wasn t until 1537 that St. Valentine s Day was declared an official holiday. England s King Henry VIII declared February 14 th a holiday. FEBRUARY BIRTHDAYS Armando Ynostrosa..February 17 Kathy Vallejo February 21 Janet Kurth..February 22

Volume 31 Page 10 of 13 Issue 02 Ride & Activity Schedule Date Start End Event Description 2/1/12 18:30 20:30 dinner, meeting starts at 7:30pm. 2/4/12 08:30 14:00 Breakfast ride- Pick a place and go. 2/12/12 08:30 14:00 Breakfast ride- Pick a place and go. 2/18/12 08:30 14:00 Ride to Utopia for breakfast at Lost Maples Café Utopia, TX and then ride in the area 2/26/12 08:30 14:00 Breakfast ride- Pick a place and go. 3/3/12 08:30 14:00 Breakfast ride- Pick a place and go. 3/7/12 18:30 20:30 dinner, meeting starts at 7:30pm. 3/11/12 08:30 14:00 Breakfast ride- Pick a place and go. 3/17/12 08:30 14:00 Breakfast ride- Pick a place and go. Meet at IHOP (Bandera Rd. and Stoneleigh-1 st traffic light inside 1604) for breakfast. Meet 3/25/12 08:30 14:00 at 8:30am for breakfast, or show up at 9:30 am just to ride. 3/29-3/31/12 Region H Convention-Marshall, TX March 29 to March 31 3/31/12 08:30 14:00 Breakfast ride- Pick a place and go. 4/4/12 18:30 20:30 dinner, meeting starts at 7:30pm. 4/8/12 08:30 14:00 Breakfast ride- Pick a place and go. 4/12-4/14/12 Louisiana District Convention- Lafayette, LA April 12 to April 14, 2012 Chapter O Austin s-bluebonnet Convention in Fredericksburg, TX Annual Bluebonnet 4/14/12 08:00 17:00 Ride Meet at Mimi s at La Cantera and IH 10 West for breakfast. Meet at 8:30am for breakfast, 4/22/12 08:30 14:00 or show up at 9:30am just to ride 4/28/12 08:30 14:00 Breakfast ride- Pick a place and go. 5/2/12 18:30 20:30 dinner, meeting starts at 7:30pm. 5/6/12 08:00 14:00 Breakfast ride- Pick a place and go. 5/12/12 08:00 14:00 Breakfast ride- Pick a place and go. 5/17/12 Texas District Convention-New Braunfels Civic Center May 17 to May 19, 2012 Meet at IHOP (Bandera Rd. and Stoneleigh-1st traffic light inside 1604) for breakfast. 5/20/12 08:00 14:00 Meet at 8:30am for breakfast, or show up at 9:30 am just to ride.

Volume 31 Page 11 of 13 Issue 02 5/26/12 08:00 14:00 Breakfast ride- Pick a place and go. 6/2/12 08:00 14:00 Breakfast ride- Pick a place and go. 6/6/12 18:30 20:30 dinner, meeting starts at 7:30pm 6/9/12 08:00 14:00 Breakfast ride- Pick a place and go. 6/17/12 08:00 14:00 Breakfast ride- Pick a place and go. 6/23/12 08:00 14:00 Breakfast ride- Pick a place and go. 7/1/12 08:00 14:00 Breakfast ride- Pick a place and go. 7/4/12-7/7/12 WING DING in Fort Wayne IN July 4 to July 7, 2012 Chapter Meeting/Gathering at Logan s Road House on IH 10, Meet around 12:00pm for 7/14/12 12:00 14:00 lunch, meeting starts at 1:00pm. 7/15/12 08:00 14:00 Breakfast ride- Pick a place and go. 7/21/12 08:00 14:00 Breakfast ride- Pick a place and go. 7/29/12 08:00 14:00 Breakfast ride- Pick a place and go. 8/1/12 18:30 20:30 dinner, meeting starts at 7:30pm. 8/4/12 08:00 14:00 Breakfast ride- Pick a place and go. Meet at Bandera Café (Bandera Road) for breakfast. Meet at 8:00am for breakfast, or 8/12/12 08:00 14:00 show up at 9:00am just to ride. 8/18/12 08:00 14:00 Breakfast ride- Pick a place and go. 8/26/12 08:00 14:00 Breakfast ride- Pick a place and go 9/1/12 08:00 14:00 Breakfast ride- Pick a place and go. 9/5/12 18:30 20:30 dinner, meeting starts at 7:30pm. 9/9/12 08:00 14:00 Breakfast ride- Pick a place and go. 9/15/12 08:00 14:00 Breakfast ride- Pick a place and go 9/23/12 08:00 14:00 Ride to Utopia for breakfast at Lost Maples Café-Utopia, TX and then ride in the area 9/29/12 08:00 14:00 Breakfast ride- Pick a place and go Note: Unless otherwise indicated:

Volume 31 Page 12 of 13 Issue 02 All Chapter "H" rides start at the parking lot behind the Exxon and Whataburger located at Bandera Rd. & 1604 (Northwest San Antonio) Rides are subject to change; Changes will be communicated via the website, Newsletter, and/or e-mail.

Chapter Director 6419 Red Jacket Dr. San Antonio, TX 78238