Gold Wing Road Riders Association Maryland/Delaware Newsletter May 2019

District Staff

Directors

Danny & Paulette Horton From the Desk of Your [email protected]

Assistant Directors Maryland/Delaware Kenneth & Deidre Trass [email protected] District Directors

Treasurer

Terry Gardner [email protected]

Educator Jeff McCarter [email protected]

University Coordinators Here we are in April ,Happy Easter, (as I compose this article) and much is happening. Bob & Julie A’Hearn Our 1st District Ride of the year was great, we had a TRC in Delaware and a CPR class [email protected] on the shore. Ride Coordinator Roger Tenbrink Next month (May) is shaping up to be as exciting, as our focus gets set to chapter [email protected] fundraisers and visiting other district conventions and or rallies. It is important to visit Asst Ride Coordinator others so they will visit us, plus you get a chance to meet new FRIENDS, have FUN, Dennis Johnson [email protected] learn about SAFETY and gain KNOWLEDGE about other areas.

Membership Enhancement Paulette, Kenneth Trass and I attended the Zoom Call hosted by National which Darryl Fielder included Anita Alkire (our GWRRA President), other Presidential staff and 21 District [email protected] Directors from around the USA and Canada. A wealth of information was passed Motorist Awareness Bill Little around and as I can filter out the information, I will pass it along to your chapter [email protected] directors and they will in turn apply it to your chapters. Anita announced she is

Webmaster stepping aside due to family obligations and a move to another state, a new president Tony Fontaine has been chosen but not announced at this time. [email protected]

Newsletter Editor Our District is growing with new members so let’s make sure they are welcomed to our Cathy Kelley family like they are our children wanting to find out where all the fun is. I have started a [email protected] membership handout package and sent a sample to your chapter directors so they can Social Media Coordinator tweak it, you can look forward to my asking you to get this package to everyone you Cheryl Hartman [email protected] can regardless of what they ride.

Events Coordinator We have started our Zoom calls to the chapter directors so if you would like to have Allen & Gwen Willingham any input please get with your chapter director so they can pass it to all of us. Paulette [email protected] and I plan to make as many functions as possible so please make it a point to visit us Travel Coordinator Steve Kelley and share the excitement, we love to have fun and being with all of you is a pleasure, [email protected] so don’t disappoint.

Ambassadors Hamp & Sharon Conway [email protected] As always, our contact information is below, we want to hear from you. Visitation Coordinator Looking forward to our next visit Sue Miller Don’t forget our [email protected] Danny & Paulette Horton WinterThing/Auto Tags Ray Hartman Your Maryland/Delaware District Directors [email protected]

COY & Logistics ! See Coordinator Danny; 443-786-0074, [email protected] Lillian Cruz Logos page 8. Lillian.Cruz- [email protected] Paulette; 443-786-2777, [email protected]

ASSISTANT DISTRICT DIRECTORS….

Kenneth & Deidre Trass

Had a great short ride today to a Car and Bike Show. The sky was bright blue not a cloud in sight, the temperature was a crisp 57°. Traffic cooperated and we breezed to our destination to with no delays. Our gold wings were the only bikes on display at the show until the late arrival of a well painted rebel. I thought about all the rest of you, rising to this exceptional riding day and traveling to some destination of your own, we prayed that you were safe on your journeys also. Those of you burdened with some other responsibility that precluded your opportunity to ride, hope that you will be blessed with a day like today to enjoy our passion for motorcycling.

In a recent video call with our president, Anita, started the call asking the district directors what they were doing with respect to recruiting and retention. She was concerned on both fronts, are we holding on to the folks we have in GWRRA and what efforts are we making for new members. She is absolutely correct, we should have major concerns. I compared the February ‘19 Area Report List (ARL) to the similar member listing (Green Bar) from ’08. The combined MD/DE membership from ‘08 was 1,041; today its 566. This is a reduction of 46% less members in just over ten years.

When I think about the 566 members I would guesstimate that we have only 20% (113) of that group involved in chapter life. What to do, what to do? We, the District staff will have to develop a plan for us, the MD/DE District to follow. The District team needs each CD, ACD, and Chapter MEC to brainstorm ideas to help us to turn this trend around for our area. In addition, I would like to put together a plan, with reasonable goals, to assess our success. Over the next couple of months I will be reaching out to each of you for assistance with this plan.

Next, I would like to introduce you to a new communication tool being provided to us by our National HQ, called “GroupWorks.” GroupWorks is a club management platform that makes it easier to communicate with your members. GroupWorks has multiple ways for Group Leaders and individual members to easily communicate through group emails, posts and comments. The tool can be used to create events for all members or subgroups with automatic email reminders and

RSVP management.

Other functions in GroupWorks includes receiving electronic payments, managing waitlists, and the ability to collect and export attendee lists. GroupWorks gives the individual member control over what personal information is shared, who can view their posts and how often they receive email.

It sounds complicated in the rough, but from what I have seen of it, it is an effective communication tool. Those of you who are associated with training in GWRRA have probably been exposed to GroupWorks already. Over the last six months they have been rolling this platform out to the district and chapter level. It is now our turn. I will be coordinating the training and management of the platform for our district. Zoom call training sessions will be set-up for CD’s primarily and any other person (s) who wants to become more knowledgeable in its use. CD’s will be hearing from me with proposed dates and times to get us on track with this initiative. If you want a preview of what it looks like go to https://groupworks.com/how-it-works/.

Just a quick note on our Ride4Fun program. I have spoken to many of you about the execution of the program. I have only received ride reports from MD-B and MD-L. Everyone, this is the time to be sending in your reports and seeing if they are approved. Let’s get the kinks out of Ride4Fun now so by mid-summer we have a smoothly running program.

Have some great rides and stay safe. Kenneth & Deidre

Ride4Fun Standings

Just wanted to provide a quick note about the Rides Points program. Please look at the instruction Rptd posted on the website. If you use a draft MD-L 3 222 version you will miss important information. I MD-B 3 173 have talked to many of you about the program DE-A particulars but only two chapters are DE-B submitting reports. If you have them please MD-F send them in. Let’s not wait to the last MD-H minute to turn in a year’s worth of reports. MD-I Don’t forget to update your ride schedules. MD-J

MD-H gathering for May has been moved to 5/19 due to Memorial Day weekend.

New GWRRA shirts for MD/DE members Ray Hartman is now able to order new summer weight, moisture wicking shirts with the GWRRA logo on the back and our new MD/DE district logo on the front, with or without your name. See our District Director, Danny Horton, modeling his below. Price is $30. Contact Ray at [email protected] to order.

Rider Education Jeff McCarter, District Rider Educator

Group Riding Spring has sprung and we are out riding again and that means we will be riding in groups again. Here are some reminders about group riding for both the Ride Captains in lead and drag ends and the participants in between. When riding together as a group we become a team, we must work together and having some agreed methods. Riding safely is all about risk management, riding together well reduces risk.

The pre-ride meeting is crucial. Invite people to see you after the meeting with any questions, concerns, things you should know (health issues etc), and allow a few minutes after the meeting for people to approach you. Hand outs of the route are very helpful. Always review the primary hand signals: Stagger, single file, and road hazard. If your riding path could possibly break the group up and you want to use the bread crumb method for people to find their way back to the group, address it at the meeting. Everyone follow the leader, if you think the leader made a wrong turn, follow them anyway. Group size: 5-7 for two wheelers only, and 3-5 if there are trikes, trailers etc. is recommended.

Place people with no communication in the group strategically. If you don’t have communication (CB) let the leader know. Keep the CB chatter down! This reduces risk by allowing the leader and tail gunner to speak when they need to. Your ride leader has a larger work load, respect this and keep the chatter down. Unless requested, don’t tell the leader how to lead the ride. Ride

leaders address the chatter if your group needs a reminder. Parking is best done if the bikes stay in line and use the same parking process, it is important to get all the bikes off the road so plan accordingly. If you are leaving before the end of the ride, let the leader know before departing and position yourself at the rear, separate from the group before your exit.

Riding in groups is fun, we always need a leader though, if you are interested in th becoming a Road Captain, I am holding a road captain course on May 19 after the MD-H gathering. Come visit MD-H and become a GWRRA Road Captain. There is a classroom section to the course followed by a riding portion where each bike takes lead and drag position. Classroom portion will be held at Steve and Cathy’s house in Bel Air.

Upcoming Dates May 19th – Road Captain Course after Chapter H Gathering June 1-2 - ARC- Hagerstown, MD

August 17-18- TRC-Hagerstown, MD

GWRRA University Training Event Announcement

Event Date: 5/19/2019 Event Location: After MD-H Gathering Event Hours: 10:30 am until completed

Rider Education Class Road Captain Course—meet at Golden Corral, Route 40, Aberdeen Course to follow at member’s residence. Meet at gathering, eat at 8am, meet at 9am

Phone: 410-251-6882 email: [email protected] RSVP on or before 5/10/2019 Jeff McCarter

Lunch will NOT be provided but light snacks and drinks will be.

Bring your GWRRA membership card with you. MD-DE District University Coordinators (DUC’s)

Welcome to May. Last month your DUC’s attended the MD / DE District Ride. This time Delaware hosted the event. The meeting spot was the Royal Farms Gas Station in Queenstown. As we arrived at the departure point, we counted about 30 bikes, and several chase vehicles, a few with trailers. The start of the ride was great… as we departed the Royal Farms and turned right many of us got caught with Stop Signs, long red lights and construction. The groups got split up and couldn’t find the correct way back to the main group. Many of us headed back to Route 301 and turned north to meet up with the route we knew the lead group would eventually end up on. Twenty minutes later our small group was back on track, and we decided to go straight to our lunch destination in Chesapeake Maryland. We finally pulled into the “Schaefers Restaurant” 15 minutes before the lead group arrived. Everyone made it to the restaurant safe and sound, and all had their stories to tell about how they got there. The restaurant was fantastic. Our large group was well taken care of, and all of us were seated in one big room. The food was excellent, and the service was top notch. Each table got their food at one time, and nobody left hungry!! Thanks to Ken & Louis Ingram, Chapter Director’s and DE-B for hosting the District ride.

Also last month, our home Chapter (MD-I) members enjoyed our first weekend adventure for the 2019 riding season. The ride was centered around visiting many 9-11 Memorials in New Jersey, and New York City. We departed RIPs Restaurant with five bikes, and seven-chapter members. Ray & Cheryl Hartman, our POC’s for the ride, were leading with Julie and I as the tail. Our first stop was Bayonne NJ, and the “Tear Drop Memorial” located in Harbor View Park. It’s a 10- story sculpture – an official gift from the Russian Government as a memorial to the victims of the September 11, 2001 and the 1993 World Trade Center Bombing.

The next stop was Liberty State Park where we viewed the Statue of Liberty, then visited the “Empty Sky Memorial”. It’s dedicated to the loss of life during 9-11 and is located at the mouth of the Hudson River, across from the World trade Center site. While there met a few other couples, who joined us for the weekend.

Located next to the memorial is the “Central Railroad of NJ Terminal”. It was built in 1889 and was the 3rd piece of the trilogy for the immigrants passing the Statue of Liberty, processing at Ellis Island, then boarding trains for destinations across the US. According to records, approx. 10.3 million immigrants passed through the station. Saturday morning, after a Ferry ride and walking a few blocks we arrived at the 9-11 Memorial & Museum. All of us signed up for the guided tour, which was very informative. Afterwards, we had some time to discover some of the other artifacts within the Museum.

This was our fifth time at ground zero, and our 2nd time visiting the museum. We still haven’t seen everything and plan to return in the future. If you haven’t had the opportunity to visit, we highly recommend it. After the visit, it was time to eat. After experiencing the NYC Subway, lunch was in “Little Italy” at the “La Mela Ristorante”. We all shared a four course Italian meal, family style with wine. It was so good, and we had so much fun we could have spent all night there!!

After lunch, we decided to walk off the meal and headed down to the Hudson River. Our final visit was to the USS Intrepid (CV-11). She’s an Essex Class Aircraft Carrier built during WWII. After commissioned, she joined the fight against the Japanese. During the war, the carrier was torpedoed once and hit by five Japanese Kamikaze aircraft.

Years later, she saw action off the coast of Vietnam, and was the recovery ship for a Mercury, and a Gemini space mission. After decommissioning, and being turned into a museum, the FBI used the ship as their Operations Center after the 9-11 attacks. The visit wrapped up the day for us. We headed back to the hotel for some much-needed rest, and a few ventured out for dinner later that night. Sunday morning, after breakfast we all headed home. DUC Stuff – from the monthly “Insight” newsletter; Clara & Fred Boldt Director of the University:

“Is it Time to Recertify? As Instructors/Trainers it is important to keep track of your U.3’s, the class rosters. They will be helpful in verifying the classes you teach when it comes time to renew your certification. If you are teaching in a venue where the U.3’s are picked up by the District University Coordinator at the end of each class, we recommend you take a picture of the roster before it is picked up. The District University Coordinator is responsible for entering the U.3 into a digital form to be sent to the University and responsible for forwarding the class list to Rider Education, where applicable. The University does all it can to track classes taught and by whom, but it is still the Instructor/ Trainer’s responsibility to maintain copies of the U.3. Speaking of re-certification, both Instructors and Trainers are required to teach two classes during the two years following the date of their last certification. The form U.4, Instructor Recertification Form, will be submitted listing the two classes presented. At the top of the form is a place to check: “Position Renewing.”

Robert & Julie A’Hearn MD-DE District University Coordinators MD-I Chapter Directors & Membership Enhancement Coordinators ______

Don’t forget our WinterThing Sponsors!

40 to Phoenix 2019 By Darryl Fielder, MD/DE District MEC I am back from my first “40 to Phoenix ride” which started in Wilmington, North Carolina and ended at the headquarters of the Gold Wing Road Riders Association (GWRRA) in Phoenix, Arizona. Russ Schaeffer, the Ride Coordinator, did a great job of coordinating the 10th anniversary ride. Riders and Co-riders from all over the country either met in Wilmington or joined along the route to Phoenix. There were over 50 riders/co-riders that started the ride in Wilmington and by the time the ride ended over 150 riders/co-riders had participated in the event. Over half of riders/co-riders were first time participants like me. We were divided into several groups with each group riding at their own pace and schedule. My group was made up of Tim and Desiree Smith (New Jersey), Kit Walton (New Jersey), David Geikie (New York), Dick Brown (Maine), George Bageant (North Carolina) and myself (Maryland). George was the Road Captain. This was a fun group and I made some wonderful friends. I look forward to seeing each of them in the future. The ride across America covered all type of conditions like rain, snow, high winds, and below freezing temperatures. Thank goodness I was familiar with the cold weather riding training course offered at our District 2019 Winter Thing Rally. Day one of the ride/event was spent with check-in and a safety brief. We also had a group kick off evening meal event at Carolina BBQ. Leaving Wilmington on day two started with rain for most of the morning. But day three was nice and in Alabama various groups went to the Barber Motorsport Park and Museum or the Talladega Superspeedway and Museum. The riders that went to the Barber Motorsport park got to do laps on their Gold Wings around the road course. How cool is that? I was told that riding the track was great. It was FUN had by all that day. Day four was a long ride but my group took time to stop at the Bass Pro Shops at the Pyramid in Memphis, Tennessee. This place is enormous. It has a lodge, restaurant and bar, aquarium, several ground level ponds with area fish and ducks in them. There was an alligator pen, archery range and pistol range, 28-story freestanding elevator and glass observation deck, and yes it also has a retail store. If you are into boating, hunting, and/or fishing this is the place to visit when in the area. We spent the night of day four in Conway, Arkansas where Arkansas-C hosted us to a cook-out at our motel. There I met 3 people from Fort Washington, Maryland. One of which (Ellsworth “Rudy” Berry) is a member of GWRRA and Maryland-B. The other two (James Stanfield and Frank Carroll) joined GWRRA while in Phoenix. Congrats to them both and welcome to the GWRRA family. We had lunch on day five at a huge Honda dealership in Oklahoma and visited a Route 66 Museum along Route 66. Our ride through Oklahoma is where the temperature dropped. It started to get cold and the wind pick up. Day six, on our way to Amarillo, Texas we had temperature in the mid-40s (feels like 30’s) with wind gusts of 30 to 40 knots. It was an experience riding your bike sideways. While in Texas I met up with Hilton Thomas (Maryland-L) who joined the ride. Hilton and I, with others from my group went to the Big Texan Steak Ranch, home of the free 72oz steak for dinner. None of us tried the 72oz one but my 16oz steak was very good. Day seven we left Texas with a morning temperature of 28 degrees. So, the ride to New Mexico was just cold but with no wind. We were all glad to have no wind. That evening the New Mexico District hosted us to a wonderful evening meal in Moriarty, New Mexico. Due to the weather conditions members of the New Mexico District came to the motel and picked all of us up in their vehicles. It started to snow during the meal and continued snowing through the night. Day eight we woke up to snow and ice on our bikes with a morning temperature of 20 degree. My group decided on a later start to wait for the temperatures to rise. Once the sun came out and temperature rose to the low 30’s, we hit the road. We continued through New Mexico and while in New Mexico we toured the National Science Foundation’s Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array which is the most adaptable, hardest- working telescope in the world. I visited Pie Town, New Mexico and you guessed it, I ate apple pie. On day nine, the ride through New Mexico and Arizona was fantastic. As we rode through the mountains along US Route 191 in Arizona the views were simply breathtaking. One day ten, we visited the headquarters of GWRRA in Phoenix, Arizona. Several key staff members were on hand and provided presentations. After the visit I went on a guided ride through the beautiful desert landscape around Phoenix led by the Chapter Director of Arizona-S (John Read). Later that evening GWRRA hosted an evening meal. The ride ended for most of us in Phoenix but for a few others it ended in Chula Vista, California. I did not go to California, so maybe next time. My return ride home was great with good weather all the way – I was ahead of one storm system and behind another one. During my two weeks of riding I covered a total of 5,649 miles and 12 states. This was a great experience and a wonderful ride. I strongly recommended participating in it. I had a fun, safe ride and met some wonderful people, which is of course what GWRRA is all about.

Photos from Darryl’s 40 to Phoenix MD-I goes to NYC

8 members of MDI, Ray & Cheryl Hartman, Roger & Rose TenBrink, Bob & Julie A’hearn and Chaz & Cheri Karpiak braved the threat of rain on April 12th and headed to NYC. Well, New Jersey first. We were joined by 2 couples and one pretty awesome kid that we actually met on the America’s 9/11 Ride several years ago. They’ve become family. Steve, Dana & Nikki Milwicz joined us from York, PA and Frankie Bania and Donna Ehresman came down from Long Island, NY. Poor things, it took them about as long as it took us to get through traffic. Our first stop was in Bayonne at the Tear Drop Memorial honoring the victims of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. What a beautiful memorial! The next stop was the Empty Sky Memorial in Jersey City, NJ. Another very moving memorial. From there we headed to Secaucus to our hotel to get ready to meet up with Dan & Mary Costello for dinner. This quickly disintegrated into chaos to say the least, lol. DC traffic has nothing on Jersey City. It literally took us an hour to go 8 miles! The rain we had been dodging all day was threatening and the restaurant we were supposed to meet them at was ½ an hour from the hotel. It became obvious it was not going to work out so unfortunately, we had to cancel our dinner with them. We finally arrived at the hotel about 15 minutes before the rain started. The decision was made to Uber to dinner where we had a great time. Ray’s cousin Terri who lives not far away came over for a drink and hung out for a little while. By Saturday morning the rain had stopped but it was overcast and chilly so again, we opted for public transportation into Manhattan. A short Uber ride then the ferry and we were there! Our first stop of the day was the 9/11 Memorial & Museum. We had a guided tour first which I highly recommend if you go. They walk you through and tell you about things you might miss on your own. After the guided tour we split up and walked through at our own paces. It is a very moving, very emotional experience. Everyone should go to ensure we NEVER FORGET. After the museum we were all starving! Little Italy here we come!! Frankie & Donna took the lead and we headed to one of their favorite restaurants, La Mela on Mulberry Street. We took the subway part of the way and it was a new experience for a couple in the group. Walking the rest of the way only increased our appetites which turned out to be a good thing. Family style lunch in Little Italy. Only one word needed, fabulous! After rolling out of there, we headed back to the subway then walked several blocks to Pier 86 in Hell’s Kitchen to the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum. Another awesome museum! I especially liked this one because my father was in the Navy and some of my best memories center around the dependent cruises we used to go on. My favorites ones being on the USS Franklin D. Roosevelt (CV42) which he was on when it was decommissioned in 1977. Our day ended here at 6:00 when the museum closed. We then took Ubers back to the hotel and pretty much crashed! A couple of us walked across the street and got a bite to eat then to bed. It was a very long, but great, day. Sunday morning we said our good byes to the PA and NY peeps and then headed south. We had an uneventful, safe ride home and amazingly enough we never had to ride in the rain!!

Photos from MD-I trip to NYC

MD-B Captures the Elephant

On Sunday, March 17, there was a visit to MD-H. When I arrived at Rip’s in Bowie, Maryland, Mary Griffith & Joe Sartori asked me to carpool with them. However, that brought about a conversation with Kenneth Trass about points for the Ride 4 Fun program. We had two bikes and 2 autos. The decision was made to not carpool in order to get points for the Ride 4 Fun program. MD-H was in possession of the traveling elephant when we arrived. In attendance were Bruce Hill, Kenneth Trass, Mary Griffith & Joe Sartori and I. Also visiting was MD-J. They were trying to capture the elephant too. The Hive captured the elephant by a difference of 9 miles. As a result, we should have more visitors at our next gathering.

Ride For Fun from MD-L A group of 3 bikes and 1 -4 wheeler led by Jeff McCarter, left our gathering on Sunday April 14 and rode to Island Creamery in Salisbury for some ice cream! The weather was overcast but the group enjoyed the ride and the ice cream. This was our first Ice Cream run of the year as most creameries are just beginning to open! GWRRA or at least our group definitly likes to hit the Ice Cream when possibly.

Rides by MD-L in March

Eastern Shore Road Riders GWRRA, MD-L Fundraisers

DATES OF EVENTS: Eagleman 9 June 2019 Ironman 28 September 2019 Location of assembly, Time of Event McDonald’s on Rt.50 in Cambridge, MD. Leave 5:30 am.

Spot a bald eagle or a white-tailed deer as you wind through one of the country's oldest colonial towns. Black Water Refuge is one of the places most people want to ride to when they visit our chapter. Riding as a support volunteer you get to go slow and enjoy the areas beauty.

Need help with a We pay to come to place to stay the night your fundraisers before? Ask Jeff or Ken (numbers below) We will pay you to and we will assist you. come to ours

Limited bikes must confirm by We will pay your chapter $100.00 contacting us we have space: for each bike from your chapter. Contact persons: Two (2) wheels only due to the rules Ken Groves Chapter Director MD-L [email protected] 410-507-0949 Call or Txt

Jeff McCarter Past Chapter Director MD-L 410-251-6882

2008 GL1800 Honda Goldwing Trike 2008 Pearl White GL1800 Goldwing with a 2013 California Side Car trike conversion. Original owner, always garage kept. 38,053 miles. Asking $20,000 Contact Vona at [email protected] or 301-904-8668 – Located in St. Mary’s

FOR SALE

2005 Cycle Mate cargo trailer for sale

21 cubic foot, nose bra, cooler rack, spare tire and cover.

I am asking $1000.00

I can be reached at 410-665-6690 or by email at [email protected]

FOR SALE 2003 Ford Thunderbird Maryland State Inspected and Ready to Roll VIN: 1FAHP60A23Y100879 Mileage: 81700 Warranty: Does NOT have an existing warranty Vehicle Title: Maryland—Clear Engine: 3.9L V8 Gasoline 282 H.P. Transmission: Automatic with Manual Shift Option Interior Color: Black w/Red Inserts/Trim Exterior Color: Torch Red Body Type: Power Convertible w/ OPT. Red Hardtop Sub Model: Two Door - Premium For Sale by: Owner Present Location: Bel Air, MD—Delivery available OPTIONS: 17” 7 Spoke Chrome Wheels— Anti-Spin Brakes— AM/FM Stereo w/6-CD Changer— Audiophile 9 Speaker Sound System— Heated Seats—Engine Oil Cooler—Thunderbird Branded Floor Mats— Perimeter Anti-Theft—Supplemental Fog Lights—Daytime Running Lights - About 8000 miles on tires.

I’m the second owner and I have always kept it in the garage. It has seen no snow and very little rain. It is clean inside and out. —> Price Reduced—$12,900 Contact: Steve Kelley 410-812-5596 443-371-3030