November 2013 Pounding the Poconos Ride

photo at Sheetz gas station

The day was bright and clear with a few stray clouds around. The forecast only had a slight chance of rain and the temps in the morning were in the forties, we were going to have a good day. And we did. I had a good ride up to the diner where we meet for breakfast. I caught up with R/T, his girl, and ANLR 21. We hung out for a bit in the parking lot and then we went in to eat. Jlasure, johnric42, cabanaboy, and andyr joined us for breakfast along with Stephen, frindle, and Martin. I was glad to see so many folk coming out and getting a chance get to know folk a bit better, we also got to hear and see some pics from Cabanaboy's trip down to North Carolina and back with his dad. J-mac also brought his three kids plus they brought a friend. We had a good breakfast and some fun time talking and then we went out for the riders' meeting. Out there, k-pilot, Bill, and XIII were waiting for us. We split into two groups and not three because my lead group rider, jlasure, took a spill on the track last weekend. That's three of the chapter members that crashed on the track this year. Thankfully, his injuries were minor and he'll be riding next month. We had an abbreviated riders' meeting because all those in attendance rode with us before. The safety tip for this month was leaves, watch out for them. Plus it had rained yesterday and wet leaves in a shady corner was a possibility.

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October 2013 Dauphin County Screamer Ride

photo of the bikes at breakfast

Well this ride was a ride of contrasts. First of all, this had to have been the warmest October ride ever with temps topping out at 88F. It was hotter for this ride than it was on August's ride. The day started warm with some mist/fog as I rode up to the diner for breakfast. I frequently had to duck behind my windscreen to keep the fog off my helmet visor. But I made it safe to the local fuel stop, topped off my tank and then went to the diner. I met up with a few people and went in to eat, wondering where were the 16 that were supposed to come. It was good to catch up with frindle, rktec, old guy, and others. Later on wild willie and nick came in, our Long Island natives. Not long after them came in Hector, (dude! Where you been?) and it was good to catch up with the three of them.

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September 2013 Bux-Mont Rattlesnake Run

photo of the bikes at breakfast

This ride took the lead as our most attended event for the year so far. We had 25 bikes show up, with 2 bikes having a passenger also. We were thankful that rktec could come to breakfast and shoot some video, even though he had to take care of some family business today.

The day started cold, in the upper 40's F and a little fog here and there. People came in sporadically during breakfast, but by riders meeting we had a big group. We had a riders from a 100 mile radius come in, and from three different states as well. Thankfully, jalasure, andyr, J-mac, and frindle were there to help me by each leading a group. Breakfast gave us all a chance to meet new friends and reconnect with old friends. I polled riders to determine pace and then gave my typical riders meeting speech. We then had a prayer for safety and then split into groups according to pace.

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August 2013 Shamokin Screamer Ride

Our normally scheduled ride was canceled due to weather, so we tried a "rain date" for riders to get a chance to get out and soak up some sunshine with good fellowship. I'm happy to report we had in attendance today (8/4) a few old friends and some new comers, which did excellent. Our good friend Sal came down to show off his scooter and give us a few pointers on how to lean a scooter in the turns. Kathleen R. and her good friend David B. came out to explore the Shamokin Mountains along with our friends Jake C. and Mike H. we met from a previous ride through the famed RT 125 twisties. Carl also came out and of course provided excellent coverage for the rear of our line/group, as he always does.

With all present and accounted for, I reviewed the rules of the road, what "The Pace" was about and how it would apply to today's ride. I explained the importance of why the CSBA requires gear on all of our rides and also reviewed what the group could expect from today's ride/event. I briefly reviewed the immediate route and what the expectations of the ride would be; where we would break for gas and any particulars. After the review, all were in agreement. With that, I gave a prayer and blessing for our trip and then we were on our way for what proved to be a great day of riding.

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July 6 CSBA Ride "Dive into Delaware"

group photo

On an unbelievably hot July 6th (the long independence day weekend); 10 of us gathered at the Starlight for breakfast. We admired the repaired GSXR that had a minor mishap in June and welcomed a new face on a V-Rod. R/T joined us for breakfast but was off to help pick up a new ride for a friend. He’s going to ride soon… Everyone was appropriately attired inspite of the heat and we talked about the need to stay hydrated. A couple of fellas had camel packs – smart!! Jlasure led us off through Coatesville, where I picked the lead, but not before having to settle down from following the mother ship through the up hill two lane sweeper approaching Coatesville. We had been hitting intermittent stragglers and when the road opened up the mother ship hit hyperdrive, and of course I was obliged to follow his line until a sweet older lady decided to drop down from the left lane into the right just as soon as Jlaure went by. I needed to make an adjustment that was less than comfortable at the pace…

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June 2013 Pocono Screamer Ride

group photo

The day started somewhat cool and clear. I rode up, got gas, and a guy on a cruiser with no gear told me to "ride safe". It was kind of him to say that and I wished him the same, but I was struck by the irony of it. Regardless, I went to the diner and saw Cabanaboy's fresh new ride (sweet! :D ), hung out with R/T (dude when are you gonna ride with us again?) and the rest of the breakfast crowd. When all of a sudden a stranger on a black and red R1 pulls up, lo and behold, johnric42 also got a new ride! Double sweet! :mrgreen: After hanging out for a bit and catching up, we went inside to eat. There we met up with Steve (dude it's been a while! :) ) and his cool friend George (thanks for coming). We also got a chance to meet the Old Guy and found out his name has two v's in it. :wink: After breakfast we chatted for a bit in the parking lot while I divided up people by their desired pace of riding. We had the riders meeting, prayed for safety, then we were off.

We slabbed about 14 miles on the highway to get past the city of Allentown and Bethlehem, then we turned north. We got stuck behind a tractor trailer for a bit, but we turned off onto twisties soon enough.

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