GAZETTE Carolina Wings ● NC H2 ● Durham, NC ● February 2015 GWRRA Ray & Sandy Garris, Ex. Dir. Region N (Appalachian) Mike and Angie Mitchell, Dir. NC District Bob & Dorothy Richards, Dir. NC-H2 Don & Susan Harden, Dir. GWRRA Region N NC District NC-H2 Friends for Fun, Safety and Knowledge Join us for our Chapter Social February 19 at Mayflower Restaurant, 3742 SW Durham-Chapel Hill Drive in Durham. Dinner 6:30, Gathering 7:30 Chapter Team Directors Don & Susan Harden [email protected] 919-801-1759 Special Events Charles Glosson [email protected] 336-213-7896 Assistant Directors Open [email protected] Ways and Means Rex & Diana Temple [email protected] 919-528-0503 Ride Programmer Gary Harris 919-971-0345 Educators Sid & Terry Chambers [email protected] On the Foldover A little short on pictures this month. William receives his webmaster patch. Couple of the Year Sid & Terry Chambers [email protected] Welcoming Committee [email protected] Membership Enhancement Coordinator Dan Eakright [email protected] Treasurer Terry Chambers [email protected] 919-598-7843 Care Bear Vanessa Battle [email protected] 919-368-1281 Fun Coordinator Dale Hyde [email protected] Newsletter Editor Webmaster William Prince [email protected] 252-528-9462 Chapter of the Year Coordinator Blanche Dean [email protected] Chapter Mascots El Toro & Sophia Winger [email protected] On the Cover Ahh February. The annual celebration of love and friendship. We look forward to seeing you at our sweetheart dinner on Friday, February 13. Chapter Directors Don & Susan Harden I hope that everyone has been able to enjoy the winter months and that you are getting excited about the upcoming riding season that is just ahead of us. February brings the first big ride of the 2015 season with the Chili Cook Off in Smithfield. Over the past few years we have had a few beautiful days for this ride. We can always go in the car when it is raining but it is just not the same as going on the bike. Hope that we can ride over together again this year. Susan has not been able to attend a lot of our Chapter functions because of our commitment to Emily and Elizabeth. We hate that she has had to miss out on all the fun but it is something that we just simply can’t get out of. We have some new things going on in H2. One of them is that our newest member, Dan Eakright, has agreed to become our MEPC. Dan met with Robert Ferguson at our monthly Social in January and started the process. I am really looking forward to working with Dan as he takes over this chapter position. Another new item is that William has re-Designed our Website. When you get time to pull it up and check it out I am sure you will find it very nice. You can find it at Http://gwrra-nch2.org. Thank you William for all that you do for H2. I know that the Newsletter and Website keep you very busy. As I start my 3rd and final year as the Chapter Director for H2 I have been talking with a few of our members in search of someone to take over next January. We have a lot of great prospects and conversations in the works. If any of you would like to assist me in this search the help would be greatly appreciated. I do want to thank Sid for working so hard to get my level 4 completed for me. I did slip up and let a couple of items slide past the renewal date and that did delay me completing the level. Sid’s hard work and staying on me to complete everything is the only way I was able to get it done. I do look forward to continuing to promote safety with Sid as a Master Tour Rider and I hope that all of you can join us in this effort. Please keep in mind that our Chapter supports you when you take a class or complete a level. We will reimburse you for the cost of the class and H2 will also cover the cost for your patches. You have nothing to lose and everything to gain by participating in the levels program and with the hope that we can all ride safe each and every time we get onto our Goldwing. A lot of work has been going on as we prepare for our Swap Meet. I sent out an email asking everyone from H2 that will be attending the Swap Meet and wants to help Page 3 your chapter with the work that is needed on March 14 to please send me an email and let me know that you are going to be there and ready to work. To date I have only received a very few replies. H2 needs your help with the Swap Meet. This is our one event for the year that makes everything we do for our Chapter members possible. We look forward to seeing everyone back on the bikes and headed to Smithfield on February 21st. Dan receives his patch for being selected as our new Membership Enhancement Coordinator. Dan is one of our newest members. We expect a lot of good things from him in the years to come. Ride Educators Sid & Terry Chambers H ave you ever ridden in the fog? Or have you been riding along and run into fog and suddenly your windshield fogs over? I think we all have done that at some time or another and it can be quite scary, for several reasons. For the pilots out there, flying on instruments is common place. We call it IFR or instrument flight rules. However, the instruments on our Wings are not certified for IFR driving! That applies to our four-wheeled vehicles also. What is our normal following distance? Answer: 2 seconds on a clear, dry day. What do you think about riding in fog? 4-5 seconds? More? But a more important question is how can you judge following distance if you can’t see through the fog in the first place. If you cannot see two seconds ahead of you, you should get off your bike or out of your fourwheeler. Not many of us would disagree with that statement. But there are times when you can see more than 4-5 seconds in fog but we continue to ride. If that is the case, what can you expect when riding in a reduced visibility environment? First, you could ride into something you didn't see or that somebody will ride into you for the same reason. But another more Riding in Fog likely problem is that you may drop your motorcycle - for apparently no good reason, particularly when stopping. With limited visibility you are unable to see the horizon. Passing trees may give you some hint of vertical. Anyway, if you are in a curve and must stop quickly, you have no way of knowing if the bike is vertical when you get stopped! Oh by the way, the road is probably wet too! Before you know it you may find your bike falling over and you are unable to stop it. Aviators call that “spatial disorientation.” You may have called it vertigo. Studies have also shown that people tend to gradually increase speed while driving in the fog. I guess we are trying so hard to see where we are going or that we are trying to get out of that fog quicker that we don’t pay attention to our speed. Bottom line: if the fog is thick, it may be best just to wait until it burns off or, just pull over at a safe spot if you are on the road and wait again. Even though it is just February, winter is closer to being over and we can all get back to riding. In the meantime, now is a good time to check out your Gold Wing and Page 4 do some preventive maintenance on it. Some Wingers may fall into the mind set of, "If it's not broken, don't fix it." Unfortunately, this sometimes turns into having to fix it when it does break. Murphy's Law usually kicks in so that it breaks down at the worst possible time too. Don't worry about rebuilding the engine. Stick with the basics. Concentrate on checking your tires, air pressures, brakes, wheel rims, battery, lights, cables and controls, steering, suspension, chassis, fluid levels, and, last but not least, the side stand. Sounds like T-CLOCS, doesn’t it! You may be surprised at what you find. And finding a problem in the warmth of your garage in February is infinitely better than finding it in the heat of June out on the road. THE MORE YOU KNOW, THE BETTER IT GETS! THE MORE YOU PRACTICE WHAT YOU KNOW, THE BETTER YOU GET! International Mike Hottinger CO-L Assistant Membership Enhancement R Colors and Membership Enhancement ecently, I went on a "Color Ride" with a bunch of GWRRA friends and on the way back home I started thinking. Yep, that's right, I was thinking. I never ride solo and on Sunday, without my lovely Rhonda, there was plenty of time to contemplate things that just came to mind. I began to compare the clusters of Aspen trees to the GWRRA Chapters and the brilliant colors in these clusters to that of Chapter Members. You might be wondering, "Where is he going with this?" Well let's see where my mind wanders. In general terms, people refer to visiting the mountains this time of the year as "going to see the colors." When you spend a moment looking at the mountainside you notice how many shades there are mixed together. This is like our membership, varied levels of participation, skills and levels. Without these shades it is not as beautiful or attractive to the people looking. Think of it as this is how we appear to prospective, new, inactive or even active Members. Every Chapter has Members at different stages of participation or skills. In these stages we find people of different shades of OOOO's and AAAHHH's. What attracts people to membership? It is being around people that make them feel comfortable and welcome; a warm fuzzy is what l like to call it. We need these new Members to ensure the strength and endurance of our Chapters. Once a Member, we need to enhance each other and make our colors bright. We need our bright golden yellows, the brilliant oranges and changing greens, as it takes the entire spectrum to grow and enhance others. Use your bursts of brilliant color to make each day special for someone and then they will be driven to come back for more, maybe even a little anxious for the next opportunity to be together and share their colors. Now that we are all being brilliant, are we working as a family to help the others look brilliant too? Let me refer back to the clusters of trees I mentioned in the beginning. Did you know the Aspen tree shares a root system with the others around them? You can say that each cluster is a family. The clusters are all different sizes with different intensities of different colors within them. It is our responsibility to enhance our family and Chapter, prospective Members and community. But it is essential that it goes so much further. We need to be there for the other Chapters, also. By supporting the Page 5 other Chapters we help their colors explode and then you and your own Chapter will cultivate new shades as well. I personally feel this in my life. I look forward to going everywhere we can and meeting others as we grow and mature in GWRRA and feel a little down when we are unable to make it to things we would like to attend. There are always certain people that can be relied on to be present at gatherings, rides, and fundraisers. With the efforts of these people, new friendships are made and new shades of colors added. A healthy group of Chapters makes for a healthy District and a group of healthy Districts make a healthy Region and so on. To close, I would like to say, "Thank you to all the different people Rhonda and I have met through our time with GWRRA. Everyone is their own tree, with a unique color that has enhanced Rhonda and me in their own special and unique way. This provides us with a broader exposure to the GWRRA world enhancing our membership for the years to come. Share your brilliant colors today." Regional Mike and Angie Mitchell GWRRA Region N Director A ngie & I are excited about getting back into the Officer network. We look forward to working with old friends and making many more new ones. Always remember, we are here for you. Whatever we can do to help make your GWRRA experience a little better, we will gladly help. As we enter 2015, it is the season of all things financial. Financial Reports, 990-N epostcards, and other year end accounting and reporting. This is necessary to keep GWRRA rolling so that we may better serve the Members. For all the new Officers out there, don’t forget to file your 8822B change of address form with the IRS. This helps to keep all the information current in case there is a need to check something. While we are on the topic of financial matters, remember not to make raising money the main focus of your Chapters or Districts. We all need some money to operate, and while it is nice to have a sizable bank account, that’s not why we are here. Always remember that we are here to ride our bikes, enjoy each other’s company and of course, eat ice cream! It’s easy to get wrapped up in raising funds, but nowhere does it state that we have to have a bunch of money or to support a charity. Quite the contrary, we should have enough money in reserve to operate for about a year. People have enough pressure to make ends meet in their personal lives, let’s not make their GWRRA experience about money and fundraising. GWRRA maintains a not for profit status because of our Education, nothing else. One of the many misconceptions in GWRRA is that you have to support a Charity to keep that status…FALSE! It is all tied to the Education. Additionally, you shouldn’t do a “Treasurer’s Report” at your meetings, unless it is to say in a lighthearted way “we have money”! Remember that charity starts at home. You should take care of your Chapter or District before you consider taking care of a charity. We all get a good feeling from helping others. I’m not implying that we shouldn’t do that, it just shouldn’t be the main focus in GWRRA. It’s all about getting together, riding the bike and having fun! If people are having fun, they will come! Again, Angie and I look forward to working with all the Officers and Members in Region N. If there is anything we can do for you, give us a call or drop us an email and we will help you however we can. Until next time, ride safe and have fun! Page 6 District Susan & George Huttman NC District Educator A cornerstone of the longevity and success of the Gold Wing Road Riders Association is the GWRRA Rider Education Pro-gram. Let this be the year you see your chapter’s RE program grow. It will take planning, organization and perseverance but in your role as chapter educator you can show others the way to better, safer riding through learning and practice. While you may believe interest in educational activities is lukewarm, don’t give up and continue to move forward. Pull out your chapter’s calendar, talk to your chapter director to pin down several dates to plan educational events. In addition to focusing efforts on Medic First Aid, the Road Captain course or a Parking Lot practice. You might consider introducing the less active participants to the Rex Temple—16 Connie Lyon—24 Dona Bowland—24 GWRRA commitment to teaching by asking them to assist in sharing motorist awareness with your community. Ask for their help to plan a safety month event or open house at your local motorcycle dealership. The key is helping all your chapter’s participants feel involved. Have a conversation with them to learn what the participants are open to. Ask for their suggestions. Share your positive experiences about your participation in rider courses and seminars to generate the interest of others. Learn more about their riding history and experience. and increase participation. When you schedule an educational event during the first few months of the year you can take advantage of the less popular riding months and have chapter participants much better prepared for many more safe miles down the road. Draw support from other chapters in your area of the district. Invite a fellow educator to partner with you on a RE project. By combining your resources you can re-duce the stress of organizing an event None This Month Page 7 Manny Rojas—1988 John Lyon—1994 Charles Glosson—1995 Danny Bowland—2008 Dona Bowland—2008 Robin Higgenbotham—2011 Chris Higgenbotham—2011 The GWRRA Spirit Paul Hesse W e are very fortunate to live in a country that allows us to be a free as a bird. Yes we have some political biases, but for the most part we come and go without too much intervention from outside influence. We have freedom of speech, we have plenty of food available to purchase, freedom of religion, a fairly safe environment to tromp around in and have the resources for the most part to purchase +20K motorcycles, boats, planes, mega mansions, etc. You see what I mean? With all this “plenty” you would possibly be so narcisistic, self absorbed that we would dismiss the less fortunate. But here we are in our last H2 meeting with 5 chapters represented from out local district and we discuss the amount of giving we have just given over the holidays (2014) and where we may take that same spirit in 2015. Patrick Henry’s Children’s Home in Va., NC State Murdoc Center, Duke Children’s Cancer Center, etc. We support our own riders and members with support when they need it the most. We drop what were doing at home and pickup our disabled riders on the road with trailers when their bikes break down. Then we discuss the safety issues that hopefully will prevent this occurrence once again. Educate!!! We pack shoeboxes for those who need our help in foreign lands. We have fundraisers for hospital expenses, support those who have passed at funerals in classy, large style. We pay tribute to those who have given so much to GWRRA and its members at a memorial site here in the state. We pledge allegiance to our country and say a prayer for those who are less able to attend our meetings so they are not forgotten. We raise money for school supplies, purchase Teddy Bears and all this without hesitation, question or doubt. We have fun, laugh, enjoy the fellowship and do it in a Bob Newhart clean sense of humor. Just a grand way to spend time as adults and then bring our grand children, friends, etc. and introduce our next generation/friends to these clean, American home spun values. Yes what a group we are! Riding I think is secondary to all of the above activities mentioned. Fellowship, support, giving, smiling and good hard, clean “ribbing” of some of our members with no harm intended. It speaks to whom, what we really are and what we represent. Good, fun folks, with an agenda for giving to others. Recently I had the opportunity to share a moment with some kids who have not been introduced to very much locally. We shared the same values, spirit in this local field trip post church to a place they could only dream of and for (Continued on page 9) Page 8 The GWRRA Spirit (Continued from page 8) some never even knew was available for them to enjoy and experience. It was an education to say the least for me as well as for they. We now have some young woman who know they can do more in life and young men who now can set some goals higher than they thought were possible. You see that’s what we do as GWRRA members. Its like the Great Wizard of Oz, Dreams can become true, real, Over the Rainbow. Senior Valentine Jokes Joke About Getting Older “Sugar why don’t you sit down by the table and we’ll start supper.” Said Dorothy to her Husband of 50 years. “Sure thing,” said her husband settling himself down. “Now darling, would you like the soup first or the salad?” Questioned Dorothy. “Umm I guess I’ll take the soup.” He responded. After a whole meal of one endearing term after another, their guest Bob couldn’t contain his curiosity any longer. Bob snuck into the kitchen and asked, “Dorothy do you always talk to your husband like that?” “Bob, I’ll be honest with you,” Dorothy replied. “It’s been five years now, I just can’t remember his name, and I am just too embarrassed to ask him!” The Internet, What’s That? “C’mon Ma you have got to try it” I pleaded to my elderly Mother. I don’t know how my Mother lasted this long without ever using the internet, but enough was enough! I thought. “Ok” she said reluctantly settling down by the computer and slowly putting on her reading glasses “what do I do now?” “Now I’m going to open the home page of Google”, I explained. “OK here it is! Now type in ANY question you want into the bar over here and you will find an answer to your question.” I confidently assured her. My Mother looked at me warily, thought for a second, and slowly began to type, How is Gertrude doing this morning? Aging Joke One day, while strolling down the boardwalk, John bumped into an old friend of his, Rob, from high school. “You look great John, how do you stay looking so young? Why you must be 60 already but you don’t look a day over 40!” Rob exclaimed. “I feel like I’m 40 too!” replied John. “That’s incredible” exclaimed Rob, “Does it run in the family? How Page 9 old was your dad when he passed?” “Did I say he was dead?” asked John. “He’s 81 and is more active then ever. He just joined the neighborhood basketball team!” responded John. “Whoa! Well how old was your Grandfather when he died?” “Did I say he died” asked John. Rob was amazed. “He just had his 105th birthday and plays golf and goes swimming each day! He’s actually getting married this week!” “Getting married?!” Rob asked. If he’s 105, why on earth does he want to get married?! John looked at Rob and replied, “Did I say he wanted to?” Too Old to Date The neighbors thought it was odd, but 93 year old Morton was dating again. One Monday morning Morton woke up with a funny feeling that something important happened last night. It was during breakfast, that Morton finally remembered what it was. He had proposed to his date Greta. But what she answered he just couldn’t seem to remember. Morton picked up the phone and dialed. “Hi Greta”, said Morton, “I have a funny question for you, do you remember last night when I proposed?” “Oh my gosh” gushed Greta, “I’m so glad you called, I knew I said yes to somebody but I just couldn’t recall who it was!” Read more at: undefined | Great Clean Riley’s Bike and Trike 510 W Center Street (HWY 70) Mebane, North Carolina 27302 (919) 304-4580 Sunday 1 Monday 2 Tuesday 3 Wednesday 4 C2 Smithfield 8 9 10 X Wake Forest B2 WinstonSalem P2 Forest City Z Rocky Mount 15 16 17 Operations and Planning Meeting O2 Hickory D2 New Bern W Eden Birthday, Rex Temple E Cary L Gastonia M Salisbury 22 23 24 Fourth Sunday Breakfast Feb 15 Operations and Planning Meeting 3 PM Gorman Christian Academy, 3311 East Geer Street R Thomasville Birthday, Connie Lyon Birthday, Dona Bowland Feb 19 Chapter Social 6:30/ 7:30. Mayflower Seafood Restaurant, 3742 Chapel Hill Blvd. Feb 22 Fourth Sunday Breakfast. 9:30am Silver Spoon Restaurant. 5230 N. Roxboro Rd. Thursday 5 Friday 6 G High Point D Greenville V Statesville 11 18 7 G2 Waynesville Y2 Monroe 12 13 14 A Greensboro T2 Albemarle Dinner Ride L2 Mooresville X2 Wilkesboro U2 Laurenburg 19 20 21 H2 Chapter Social F2 Garner E2 Elizabeth City 25 Saturday 26 N Burlington M2 Hendersonville Q Wilmington 27 28 Y Morganton S2 Sanford I Asheville Sunday 1 Monday 2 Tuesday 3 Wednesday 4 C2 Smithfield 8 9 10 X Wake Forest B2 WinstonSalem P2 Forest City Z Rocky Mount Birthday, Don Harden Thursday 5 6 G High Point D Greenville V Statesville 11 12 17 Operations and Planning Meeting O2 Hickory D2 New Bern W Eden E Cary L Gastonia M Salisbury 22 23 24 25 26 R Thomasville Birthday Emily Eakes N Burlington 30 31 Birthday, Chris Higgenbotham 7 13 14 Swap Meet L2 Mooresville X2 Wilkesboro U2 Laurenburg 16 29 Saturday G2 Waynesville Y2 Monroe A Greensboro T2 Albemarle 15 Fourth Sunday Breakfast Friday 18 19 20 F2 Garner E2 Elizabeth City Mar 13 Swap Meet 9 AM Corrigador St., Mebane 21 M2 Hendersonville Q Wilmington 27 28 Y Morganton S2 Sanford I Asheville Mar 15 Operations and Planning Meeting 3 PM Gorman Christian Academy, 3311 East Geer Street Mar 22 Fourth Sunday Breakfast. 9:30am Silver Spoon Restaurant. 5230 N. Roxboro Rd. GWRRA-NCH2 c/o William Prince 1149 Shasta Court Creedmoor, NC 27522