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BMW Riders Association International
PO Box 120430
W.Melbourne Beach, FL 32951-0430
Phone/FAX 321.984.7800
Web Page Site at http://www.bmwra.orgOhio RA Summer 2001 Update
Bob Wood, State Director
4257 West 130th Street
Cleveland, OH 44135-4869
Phone: 216.252.7933 FAX: 216.251.5329
June 6, 2001Dear Ohio RA Rider,
The official start of summer is only a few weeks away. Most riders have been charting their routes to nearby rally locations, but some are planning a big trip out west to join in with the MOA for their Redmond, Oregon rally. Personally, I have been busy gathering door prizes from our local BMW dealers and finalizing the details of our Ohio RA summer camp. My decision for doing a big trip this year will have to wait until the dust settles from our summer camp out and will likely hinge on what my work schedule looks like in July. Don't you just hate the way work gets in the way of play?
This coming weekend you have the opportunity to kick off your summer with some good riding, camping, and RA friends to share it all with. I hope you are planning to ride to our Ohio RA "Appalachian Foothills Adventure" and are ready to have some fun. Your choice of open, shady lawn, or private in the woods camping may make it difficult to decide which campsite to choose. On Friday night there will be a Bean Feed with home baked cornbread, compliments of our hosts, Kris and Randy Phipps. I've been told this is to make sure no one runs out of gas over the weekend. Saturday evening we're cooking up a slow roast hog stuffed with veggies for $5.00. The carving will start about 7:00 PM. I'll begin an informal meeting around 6:00 PM and follow it with an AMA and RA membership give-a-way and BMW dealer donated door prizes. We'll also slip a 50/50 in somewhere to subsidize the Port-a-Potty fund. This is a free camp out and all BMW RA members, and especially Ohio members, and their guests are invited to attend. Read more on this in the Summer 2001 Calendar in this issue. I hope you can make it this year to join in on the adventure. Printable maps are available on the Ohio RA web site listed above.
Several of our RA Chartered Ohio clubs are having events during the summer, so sharpen your pencil. The end of June is the Canton Motorcycle Club Camp Out (previously known as the Firecracker Rally) at their clubhouse in Brewster Ohio. This one comes with an all-you-can-eat buffet on Saturday night and warm hospitality all weekend. Then, in August, the Toledo Club hosts their East Harbor Camp Out. This is a excellent area of the Lake Erie shoreline with lots to do and see nearby.
And, don't forget to mark September 15-23 on your calendars as "Ride North Carolina Week". I called Paula Bryston, of the Maggie Rally earlier this year and got the official dates. The Maggie Rally in Hot Springs is September 14th through the 16th and the RA's Blue Ridge Rally runs the 20th through the 23rd, in Morgantown. I'm afraid I won't know which road to ride next, for the four days between the rallies. I hope to see you somewhere on the RA rally trail in North Carolina.OHIO DISTRICT NEWS
Keep your ear to the ground for a new dealer to emerge in the Cleveland suburban area soon. There have been rumblings about this for some time now, but no one will reveal the details yet. Recently the tremors intensified and it looks like things will start shaping up for the new location, but tight lips won't say exactly where or when.
Recycle BMW Parts in Lithopolis, has canceled it's "First Sunday of the Month" open house's originally scheduled from May through September. Owner Mark Sidel, says he is currently looking for more help for the shop. So if you ever thought of working in a motorcycle shop this could be your opportunity.
And finally, I'm sorry to report that I haven't received any suggestions yet for the relocation of the November (NE Regional) meeting and brunch. Surely someone out there knows of a good restaurant with a quiet back room that would welcome us on the second Sunday morning of the month. I am still looking for a location in the Cleveland-Akron-Youngstown Area. Please call, write, E-mail, or send a Carrier Pigeon to me with your suggestion, so I can check it out. I will have something firm in the fall newsletter one way or another.
SPRING CAMP OUTS -- REAR VIEW
Since I last wrote you a number of rallies have come and gone. Quite a few of you made it to the Mount Vernon Spring Camp Out this year. I had 44 members on the official roster and more than 20 additional riders on an unofficial list which was circulated by the IBMC folks. Somehow we came up with a total of around 65 people, so I know I missed a few who came and went while I was out riding.
On Saturday I went up to the open house at All Seasons to get a look at the new building. It is quite impressive and has ample room to expand their product lines. The parking lot even has a level concrete slab for motorcycle parking only. If you haven't been there yet, it is right next door to their old facility and it's worth the ride.
The spring camp out weather this year was unseasonably mild and no rain. We somehow managed to burn all the wood while consuming far too many delicious goodies brought for sharing. I even finally figured out the coffee pot timer for our early risers, but there was a minor problem with the timed pot system. Seems that the coffee valve took to leaking and I estimate about half the water leaked out before the timer turned the pot on. According to reports it was some of the strongest coffee to ever come out of our RA pot -- kind of an Espresso brew. Well, I found out there is an advantage to sleeping in in the morning. I have since cleaned the valve and it no longer leaks. One of the highlights of this camp out was the RA membership give-a-way that went to Julie Schwartz, a Honda rider from Toledo. Welcome Julie!
Every weekend in May had a rally scheduled either nearby, or right in Ohio. Two of them were new additions to the calendar.
The first new rally that was added this spring was the "Beemers in the Pit" near to New Haven in northwestern Ohio. Sounds kind of like a Roman Arena rally, doesn't it? It was held in a reclaimed gravel pit that has a small pond, well groomed green spaces, a nice pavilion, plenty of Port-a-Potties, and a solar shower. The Harley Riders Association (HRA) put it on and they were very gracious hosts. Saturday night featured a steak feed that was followed by a door prize give-a-way. Everyone went away with something. They even printed up T-shirts for the event. The HRA members really went out of their way to assure our comfort on this wet weekend providing a Bratwurst lunch on Saturday and then breakfast Burritos on Sunday morning. You might want to check this one out if they repeat it.
Also in May was the resurrection of an older rally. The Western Reserve Sidecar Rally did a come back at Whispering Hills Campgrounds near Shreve. It was well run, at an excellent site, and was in honor of a past member and one of the founders of the original sidecar rally, Steve Dumek. At registration everyone got a bag full of goodies including a blinking light gizmo, side stand foot, rally cooler cup (with a Matchbox car), and more. Coffee, tea, hot chocolate, and firewood were available all weekend. The Saturday awards ceremony was certainly a surprise as everyone got at least one door prize to take home. Trophies, pictures, and memorabilia from Steve's rich motorcycling life were arranged on a table in his honor. They even had a DJ in the restaurant pavilion following the awards, however the top of the hill fire ring turned out to be the popular place on Saturday night. This one has always been a good event and I'm glad to see it come back.
To finish off May was the infamous Cass Rally. As usual I got caught up in a series of badly scheduled workdays preceding the Holiday Weekend and found my self working and traveling, instead of riding and rallying. The reports on Cass were good, nonetheless. It sounded like a typical Cass Rally weekend with most people riding in the rain to and from the site. Saturday had light rain (described as sprinkles) and sunshine off and on during the day, but reportedly did not stop anyone from touring the area. If you haven't been to Cass, it is a restored coal mining town in West Virginia that features fine mountain roads to ride and a scenic train ride that runs to the top of a local mountain. The weather probably held a few riders back giving a total attendance of about 128. The Mountaineer Riders always put on a top-notch rally and down home hospitality.
Overall attendance at rallies this year seems to be directly tied to the weather. Last weekend the Cleveland Club had their Micro-Rally near Salem, OH where only about a dozen of the more than a hundred members showed up to the soggy site. Fifty degrees and rain is not most rider's cup of tea. We all know better weather is ahead in the months to come, but at the same time don't want to miss too much. What's a rider to do? Well make sure your rain suit and tent are well sealed and remember what dear ole Mom used to tell you, "You aren't going to melt sweetie". Wise words, but even Mom wouldn't have sent you out riding and camping last weekend. Seems like the weather God's have been playing with us this year. First winter wouldn't stop, then summer took over, only to give way to the rainy season of a late spring. Don't even think twice when is snows in July. Just look for the rally signs and do what you love to do -- ride with the Right Attitude.NEWS FROM HEADQUARTERS
It has been pretty quiet with our new guy at the helm and it is probably too early to make a call on it. Just how is the transition going? Well despite the address change, most of you wouldn't even know we have a new Association Administrator. However, I could tell. Ed Jorgensen scored high with me when he shipped the latest mailing label list for this newsletter, via E-mail. Instead of the usual five days (Snail-mail) to get it here from Florida, I printed it out about twelve hours after I asked for it. Ed seems to be on top of the situation and has advised me there will be a new E-mail address for the RA soon. He is a mover and will surely bring favorable change to the association's infrastructure. I'm sure we will still see Juli and Fred around the RA bonfires.INTERNET NEWS
The BMW Riders of Toledo have recently entered Cyber-Space with a new web site that can be found at http://www.BMWRidersofToledo.org. It is brand new and still under construction but looks promising so far complete with hot links and a hit counter. I was the 14th visitor to their new site.
I have been following the Greater Cincinnati BMW Riders eGroup. They have been using the service to announce rides, discuss club membership policies, commenting on new helmets and accessories, and generally keeping in touch with each other. They are out posting both the Buckeyes and Cleveland clubs and are using their automated calendar reminder system as well.
I haven't had time to set up the eGroup for the Ohio District yet, but will try to squeak it in soon. If someone else would like to co-moderate it and or get it started please let me know. Each Chartered RA club in Ohio will be invited to have a co-moderator who will be able to add events to the eGroup automated calendar. I would eventually like to see us using the chat section on, say Sunday nights, to check in with other RA's about topics like; how their ride home was or how that other rally turned out. This bulletin board style site could easily enhance our statewide communications, scheduling, and more. There will even be space to post event pictures, member's stories, and reports.
If you aren't currently on my Ohio District E-mail list and want to get on it, just drop me a note and I'll get you on. Don't forget to keep me up to date if your E-mail address changes. I've had to cut several addresses that wouldn't deliver to their server during the past months. My last posting To: All Ohio RA's was on April 25, 2001 about the Mount Vernon Camp Out. If you didn't get it and you think you are on the list, let me know.LOOKING AHEAD
I'm still in the process of finalizing our inscription on the wall order at the Motorcyclist Memorial Foundation (MMF) for Sam Hill. It should be in place for the Halloween Camp Out Memorial Ride from Cadiz up to the MMF in Hopedale this fall.
This summer I will be selecting a new location for our November (NE Regional) brunch, please send me your suggestions for this or any other issue you have with the Ohio RA.
And finally, look for the start up of a RA Ohio District eGroup on the Internet.
I hope your summer is safe and enjoyable regardless of where you decide to ride and hope you will join in with your fellow RA's at one of our events this season. There seems to a full plate of rallies and rides, both local and long distance. So, get out there andRide with the RA,
Bob Wood
Bob Wood
Ohio State Director
BMW Riders Association, International