worcester harley owners group, worcester massachusetts … · 2018. 7. 7. · author: foster,...
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Under the Cover…
2. From your Director
Officers & Road Captains
3. Assistant Director
From the Editor
4. Safety Officer
Historian's Article Yankee Run Stop
5. Sheldon's Corner
Head Road Captain Report
6. Tail Pipes
Chapter Meeting
Information
Worcester H.O.G. Chapter meetings are held on the first
Tuesday of the month at 7:30pm at
the Auburn Elks Lodge.
Come early and socialize! The
typical agenda includes Officer
reports, door prizes, 50-50 drawing,
info on upcoming events, rides,
guest speakers, and new member
acknowledgments. Please join us
and see why we have such a great
following and have so much fun!
Harley Owners Group Chapter 3811 Summer 2018
Congratulations to Worcester HOG member Jim Taylor in winning
the 2017 H.O.G. ABCs of Touring contest with 174 points!
Marcia Robidioux organized a ride to the Boys & Girls Club of
Worcester on Friday 6/29/2018. The Chapter donated supplies for
their summer program, and these folks made the delivery…
Marcia also brought goodies for the kids on the Parade of Bikes for
Kids ride on Saturday 6/30. Check out Tail Pipes for more…
Be a part of our newsletter!
Email your stories and pictures to:
All submissions become the property of
Worcester H.O.G. We reserve the right to
edit submissions for length and content.
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At the time of the last “Grunts & Squeals” newsletter we
had just warmed up from the Ice Breaker Ride. Now with
the riding season in full swing, I’m sure everyone is taking
advantage of the great weather - we just need a little more
rain to wash the bikes!
The Worcester HOGs have had a great start to the season.
The 3811 Summer Tour Rides, created by the membership
during an earlier Chapter meeting, have been a great
success. We’re about halfway through the 13 designated
rides and it’s apparent that, though everyone would like to
ride all the time, life just gets in the way sometimes. So
Dave and I have decided to waive the 7 ride minimum for a
patch and will give them to anyone who is/was able to join
any of these rides. After all, the idea is to ride and have fun
and I’d hate to have someone say that they didn’t attend a
ride since they’d never be able to make 7 to get the patch.
While distant memories now, some of us attended
Americade and Laconia where we were able to do some
awesome riding, hit up some Yankee Run stops, and get a
few more Dealer Tour Card stamps.
Speaking of Yankee Run, George Gilligan and team have
done an outstanding job again this year, providing us with
the opportunity to visit 100+ biker friendly establishments.
If you don’t already have a book and would like one, they
are available at Sheldon’s parts counter. There is even talk
about expanding this into eastern New York next year. If
you know of a good restaurant, ice cream joint, country
store, etc. that would be a good addition to the book, please
either write their info in the blank spots in the book and/or
contact either George Gilligan or me about it.
Every other weekend Sheldon’s has sponsored a Friday Bike
Night then the following Saturday a Dogs & Burger lunch.
The Worcester HOG members that volunteered to help out
with these events have told me that while they were
originally hesitant they wound up having a great time. Not
to mention the 500 Sheldon’s reward points and credit for
any ride you miss while there. There is still time to volunteer
for one of these events. Even if you haven’t been active in
the past, you are still welcome to volunteer or just simply
________________________________________________
attend the event. Just let me know.
There is a lot more riding to be done this summer with the
Iron Adventure being the next big event in the Northeast and
of course Sturgis for those long riders!
Keep in mind that all the schools are out now, so if you see
a ball in the street expect a kid to be close behind!
If you’ve been thinking about getting more involved with
the Worcester HOG Chapter don’t hesitate to contact me or
any of the officers / Road Captains. Give us a call or drop us
a line, we’ll make it work and you will have a good time!
Jim
Yankee Run Committee George Gilligan, Janice Fiske, Sue DiPilato,
Doug Desroches, and Scott Johnson Jr.
Alan Froslie
Alan Shea
Arthur Pond
Bruce Smyth
Chet Chludenski
Chet McDonald
Ed McDonald
Jim Evans
Jim Perry
Ken Corey
Ken Karey
Kevin Colbath
Mark Audet
Mark Zibel
Paul Gunnerson
Ray Robidoux
Richie Smith
Roy Mikkelsen
Worcester H.O.G Officers
Director................................Jim Evans
Assistant Director...............Dave Fiske
Treasurer.............................Scott Johnson, Sr.
Secretary.............................OPEN
Activities Officer................Kevin Colbath
Ladies of Harley Officer...OPEN
Head Road Captain...........Richie Smith
Assistant Head R/C...........Ray Robidoux
Editor..................................Andy Foster
Safety Officer.....................Ray Robidoux
Photographer.....................Bruce Smyth
Assistant Photographer....Cathie Barilla
Historian.............................Paul Gunnerson
Membership Officer..........Bruce Smyth
Webmaster.........................Andy Foster
Worcester H.O.G. Road Captains
From your Director
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Well, I have to say that Mother Nature has been quite
cooperative for our riding season so far and our Road
Captains have stepped up and provided us with some really
nice rides. Your choices for our 3811 Summer Tour have
gotten us off to a great start. Remember, if you participate
in Summer Tour rides you will earn a very nice patch
designed by none other than the rather talented and
former LOH Officer Karin Karey.
We have so many opportunities to get together with our
HOG family and have some fun and great riding between
the ROMEO rides on Wednesday mornings, Wednesday
evening rides, Friday evening rides and Bike Nights at
Sheldon’s when scheduled, 3811 Summer Tour Rides on
Saturdays and Sunday rides as well. If there is an open date
and you would like to lead a ride please feel free to contact
Richie Smith our Head Road Captain or Jim Evans our
Director to schedule the event.
It’s hard to believe that Americade and Laconia have come
and gone. I hope you were able to experience at least one
of them or better yet both. We now have the Iron
Adventure to look forward to. If you haven’t registered or
made arrangements for a hotel yet there’s still time to do
so. This is going to be a huge event including 11 states and
Canada so it’s sure to be a fantastic time. Some of the rally
events to look for at the Iron Adventure are:
Shuttle Service-Off site
Demo Truck
Coffee & Water Stations
Fire pits
Guided & Self-Guided Rides
Scavenger Hunt
Quilts Of Valor
Games In The Evening
Chapter Challenge (Help your chapter earn points
by volunteering for the Chapter Challenge).
Riding and having fun is a great way to make many
friendships and lasting memories. Hope to see you all on
the road.
David
Worcester HOG Members can befriend anyone, and that’s
no bull, as Karin Karey shows at Americade!
This is the first year that my wife and I attended Laconia
Motorcycle Week without needing our rain gear. I am still
perplexed about this, but I'm not complaining. I’ve heard
that our members who attended Americade faired okay
weather-wise despite the reports indicating soggy and chilly.
Knowing our group, I have no doubt good times were had!
As I embark on my 4th year of editing our newsletter I've
reflected on the Worcester HOG Officer changes that we
have seen. One thing stands out; the rides and good times
keep coming! We’ve had some member-led rides as well to
compliment the R/C rides, and kudos to Director Jim for
kicking the stand up on the 3811 Summer Tour Rides. This is
truly a successful officers/members collaboration!
We’re running a bit light on submissions in this issue due to
the open positions and well, not everyone has a flare for
writing and that’s okay. As noted on our Membership Info
page, participating and volunteering is up to you. If this isn’t
your thing we’re good with that, we do hope you’ll pick some
rides of interest from our calendar and join us. We are not
about business when we’re on the road, “to ride and have
fun” it is.
Andy
News is in newsletter but keep 'news' out of it.
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Assistant Director
From the Editor
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Summer is finally here and I am looking forward to riding
with everyone this season.
Welcome to all of our new members. If you do not have
any group riding experience please feel free to check with
me as I can give you some tips on riding in groups. Please
check the Road Captains page on our website for more tips
on group riding.
Also, don't forget to do the T-CLOC pre-ride checks. A
complete information sheet about this can be found on the
Motorcycle Safety Foundation website at:
https://www.msf-usa.org/downloads/T-CLOCS_Inspection_Checklist.pdf
Be safe
Ray
Greetings fellow Worcester HOG members,
As we are now in summer since the spring newsletter, we are all now doing the things we were dreaming of doing back then. Some of the events have already happened, (Americade and Laconia) and there’s a lot more to come for us, including the Gala 115th Harley Anniversary celebration in Milwaukee from August 29th to September 2nd:
https://www.harley-davidson.com/us/en/events/milwaukee-115th.html
A new year brings about new adventures, both as a chapter
and individually for our riding. There will be many great
times ahead for us this year and many of you have already
thought about and started making your plans.
I am working on creating a chapter history book that will
cover all 32 years of our chapter with information about us
and who all of our past officers have been. This has never
been done before, but it is something I need to do. Then it
can just be updated every year with new information.
I’ll be reaching out to certain long-time members to help me
with this project. Meanwhile, let’s get on with our great
summer riding plans and adventures. Enjoy every single
minute of it that you possibly can. “Ride and have Fun”.
Paul
Hi everyone,
I hope you’re enjoying the 2018 Yankee Run Book. There are
some old and some new stops plus some events.
New this year is the column for the stop to sign. We put
multiple blocks for repeat visits. The large block is for the
initial visit (stamp or initials) and the smaller blocks are for
initials or a date of another visit. While we didn't count the
extra stops for tickets for prizes, it is a means for the stops
in the book to realize you have been there before. Some
have said it doesn't count so why should I do it? Please
remember this book is not a contest, it is a tool for you to
use to plan a destination and enjoy the ride. Also, the stops
pay for their place in the book so it's nice for them to see
repeat visits plus it helps when we ask them to join again.
We've had a good turn out this year for sales, the Ice
Breaker had the most sales to start off the season. Jim Evans
and Paul King have been to other chapters to sell books (a
big thank you for the extra effort) and the parts department
at Sheldon's is doing a great job supporting our book. Thank
you!
Now is the time to start recruiting new stops. The
application is on the website under forms for new stops. The
ice cream places close early and believe it or not the season
Safety Officer
Yankee Run Stop
Historian
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is racing by, it is July already and in a couple of months they
will be closing. We need to start thinking about next year.
There is also the party on November 17th to prepare for,
Jan Fisk and Sue DiPilato are busy shopping for raffle gifts.
Anyone who wants to help with the party please let Jan
know.
Thanks to the Yankee Run committee Jan, Doug, Sue &
Scotty for all the help, and Ray Remallard who retired but
still helps us out.
George
Hello Everyone,
As we are in the middle of the riding season, I’d like to
address some of the talk surrounding the Harley-Davidson
Motor Company.
First and foremost, Harley-Davidson is a global company
that has its headquarters in Milwaukee, WI. All Harley-
Davidson motorcycles sold in the United States are
produced and assembled in the United States. You can
clearly identify an American made vehicle by looking at the
VIN. Every vehicle that is produced in the USA, whether it
be Harley or Ford, starts with the number “1”.
Additionally, all of the talk, news, and opinions on social
media and most national news sources want to create a
headline and a splash with their audiences so that you will
pay attention to the story and check out their advertisers.
The accountability with journalism doesn’t seem to meet
the same standards today as it has in the past.
Our approach has always been to focus on what we can
control, not what the naysayers speculate. Having said that,
I am going to saddle up on my American-Made Harley-
Davidson Limited, turn off all of the social media chatter and
enjoy this beautiful country and let all of the other crap
settle wherever it may!!
Chad & Bryan Sheldon's Harley-Davidson - USA
First off, congrats to Chad & Bryan for their new acquisition
in Albany, NY and I wish nothing but the best for Spitzie's
Harley-Davidson®. They have put a lot of time into Sheldon’s
and I am sure they will be as enthusiastic with their plans for
Spitzie’s.
My calendar’s been busy. Between my grandkids, work, and
other duties a free weekend has been hard to come by
lately. I do try to lead as many rides as I can during the week,
but even that’s been tough. If you can donate one or two
rides a month we could hit a new high for R/C participation.
There’s been a stretch of great riding weather and I do see
some new and old faces joining in. I hope this continues and
we gain some momentum as summer is just beginning. Just
make the rides fun and enjoyable for everyone.
I again want to thank all the R/Cs who have led rides, and I
look forward to those who will lead upcoming rides this
season. And if you notice any new riders please introduce
yourself and try to make them feel comfortable. If you feel
it is warranted, please explain the rules of the road. In this
case it doesn’t hurt to run through the riding checklist we
used to use, a refresher is never a bad thing.
I hope you all have a great summer and enjoy the beautiful
riding weather. I leave you with this once again:
R.S.H.F. A.L.T. (Ride Safe Have Fun - Always Look Twice)
Richie
From Chet McDonald’s 3811ST Find the Bridge ride…
Head Road Captain
Report
Sheldon's Corner
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Ride to the Boys & Girls Club of Worcester
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Worcester HOGs helping out the Worcester Animal
Rescue League with proceeds from the Friday Night
Dinners & Sheldon’s. Thanks to Kevin Colbath for
leading the effort and to you, our members, who had
Friday Night fun in making this happen!
Parade of Bikes for Kids