Gold Wing Road Riders Association

Transcription

1 Gold Wing Road Riders Association Chapter AB-A A (Calgary) Newsletter April, 2008 Wing Wag JOHNSON LAKE Text & Photos by Brian and Johanna Wing Continued from the March Edition Alamogordo, New Mexico, an Undiscovered Area Just before the turn of the century, Alamogordo began as a trade center for ranchers, farmers and the lumber industry. Since World War II this town has become a scientific and defense oriented city. Near Alamogordo is Holloman Air Force Base a major facility. Alamogordo has a pleasant year round climate, is practically pollution free, has good hotels, motels, restaurants, campgrounds and all the service facilities a traveler could need. With White Sands National Monument on one side and the mountains on the other, tourism has become a major industry. White Sands is southwest of town on US70 and covers miles of big, glistening white gypsum dunes. The International Space Hall of Fame (Continued on page 2) Coming Events What s Inside Apr 14 May 12 July 26 Monthly Meeting Monthly Meeting Meet & Greet Weekend March Meeting Highlights...3 Rider Education-Do We Need It?...6 Safety First Courses & Seminars...8 News & Notices...9 Classifieds...10 Calgary Area Staff Listing...10

2 Wing Wag April, 2008 Page 2 (Continued from page 1) is a giant cube of golden glass set in concrete pillars. Trinity Site, toward the north end of White Sands Missile Range marks Mining Route 66 town of Oatman O.K. Corral at Tombstone Museum of the American West, Casinos, Race Track Let us know what you want to do and we ll help you out. Or if you just want to ride, we can take you on some enchanted trails! ground zero where the first atomic bomb was detonated in Our Street La Luz, four miles northeast of Alamogordo is the oldest settlement in the Tularosa Basin. Founded in 1705 by Spaniards, it is now a quiet plaza surrounded by a few old adobe buildings, homes, and artist studios. Want to check out the town? Go to There are many other sites to visit while touring on your motorcycle. Check these out: South Padre Island, Texas Carlsbad Caverns Pistachios & New Mexico Wines Annual Lincoln Count Cowboy Symposium Roswell, First UFO Landing Ruidoso area motorcycle guide Old Mesilla-Land of Billy the Kid Wine Country of New Mexico Frontier Texas, Legends, History, Adventure Historic Eola Schoolhouse The most romantic city and site of the Alamo San Antonio, Texas HERE IS WHAT WE HAVE TO OFFER! Motorcycle stored and secured at our home based facility where we will be living through the winter for $75.00 per month. Close to an International Airport, El Paso, Texas where there is a shuttle service to Alamogordo, or if you wish we can have Our house and property your motorcycle waiting at the airport for (Continued on page 4)

3 Wing Wag April, 2008 Page 3 Text & Photos by Lisa Miller Our Calgary Chapter was honoured with a visit by Region J Directors, Phil and Margaret We also had a presentation by Michael Werbisky of the Wild Wild West Event Centre. Craven who stopped in for our monthly meeting. This is the location we have selected for our July Meet and Greet of the Edmonton Chapter members. Michael wanted to make us aware of an event being held at their facility (Continued on page 7)

4 Wing Wag April, 2008 Page 4 (Continued from page 2) you! Thousands of miles of fantastic roads to ride which we have traveled. Let us know how long you will be on your trip, the weekend? A week? Two weeks? And we towns in New Mexico (especially the northern part) have elevations of 10,000 feet, so like in the early spring in Alberta, B.C. so these may not be the best place to travel on the motorcycle as there is snow at these high elevations. But not to worry, our location is right on the desert, mountain line, so either way the riding is great! The locals have told us that there isn t a day that they cannot ride in Alamogordo, although some days they may not be able to start until 11 a.m. But then you have to consider what they think bad or cold weather is! The state s southern latitude and high elevations make a sunny, relatively mild, dry climate. The sun is often hot but the air is usually cool. Typical summer daytime temps range from 26 to 38C at lower elevations and 20 to 30C at higher elevations. Remember, 26C with low humidity is crisp, invigorating, and great for a wonderful motorcycle ride! Not like 26C in a humid climate which is hot and would be unbearable for us! can plan the roads for your enjoyment! We will accommodate you with maps, places to stay, and places to eat. We have toured many of these places! We have both desert and mountain areas within minutes of our facility. On site maintenance and care is available. You don t have to waste your precious riding time on changing tires, oil or maintenance of your bike. When you are done your touring and ready to go back to the cold country, we will maintenance your motorcycle, so that it is ready to travel for your next touring experience! Plan Your Winter Vacations Now! In the fall, aspens light up the mountainsides with living gold from roads out of Cloudcroft. Take a scenic tour from Cloudcroft to Ruidoso across the Mescalero Apache Reservation, the mountainous country where cattle graze the valleys. The road is paved and the ride is terrific! Let the weather be part of your fun as you travel New Mexico. Watch big cumulus clouds pile up like whipped cream on mountain peaks. Marvel at the perfect double rainbows, nature s promise to be good. Any time of the year, see the unbelievable colors of the sky turquoise, sky blue, even purple. At sunrise and sunset the brilliance makes your heart ache it is more than man deserves. Enjoy it while you are enjoying your motorcycle during the winter months. New Mexico s weather is dramatic and exciting. We don t promise you ll always love it, but it will definitely be better than the white snow, and we promise that it will never bore you! Remember some of the cities and Enjoy your motorcycle all year round and get rid of that PMS!!!! Call us at Or us at jb telus.net WW

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6 Wing Wag April, 2008 Text by Alex Middleton, Rider Education The GWRRA Rider Education Program (REP) is intended to make the motorcycle environment safer by reducing injuries and fatalities and increasing motorcyclist skills and awareness. The REP does not propose to have all the answers. However, our close working relationship with the Motorcycle Safety Foundation (MSF), as well as additional GWRRA programs and studies has provided a wealth of information for use in establishing a comprehensive Rider Education Program. Through Commitment, Education and Application, we can reduce our accident rate significantly. Listed below are several benefits of a fully implemented GWRRA Rider Education Program at the Chapter level: Increased rider knowledge Increased rider safety skills Prevention of accidents Reduced injuries Reduced fatalities Page 6 Improved general public image of motorcyclists Enhanced enjoyment of motorcycle riding The motorcycle community is already realizing many positive benefits from the GWRRA Rider Education Program. Through the efforts of the Rider Education Officers and participation of the membership and others, we will reach our goal of establishing the safest motorcycle environment possible Our Mission To Save Lives Through Quality, World Class Education. Our Slogan Safety Is For Life It is important to remember the Chapter Director, District Educator and District Director are volunteers and invaluable assets, willing to help with problems or circumstances related to the riding safety of GWRRA members. WW

7 Wing Wag April, 2008 Page 7 (Continued from page 3) called Bikes and Blues see the ad on page 5 for more information. Many thanks to Holly and Wes Braden who donated boxes of chocolates to be raffled after the 50/50 draw using the same tickets. The chocolates were won by Harley Sanders, Sharon Sanders, Colin Miller, and Maria Holden. WW WW

8 Wing Wag April, 2008 Page 8 1. The courses listed below are in the planning stage pending approval from the district office and availability of facilities. More information will be forthcoming after the District meeting in mid February. If you are interested in attending any of these courses please contact Alex Middleton at rider goldwing calgary.com to express your interest. April April May June Team Riding/Road Captain Seminar and Course Parking Lot Practice Two - ARC Courses One 2-up ARC Course 2. The Edmonton Chapter seems to be having trouble filling their Trailering course scheduled for June 1, A decision will be made as to whether the course goes ahead or not on April 30. The course is expected to cost $35.00 per member. If you are interested in attending this course in Edmonton please contact Stan Woychuk (the Edmonton Chapter Rider Educator) at WW Writers Wanted 1020 Meridian Rd. N.E. Calgary, AB T2A 2N8 If you have a story about your recent motorcycle adventures we would love to share it with the other GWRRA members by publishing your story in the Wing Wag. Please your stories to Lisa Miller at goldwing calgary.com

9 Wing Wag April, 2008 Page 9 1. Our chapter will be hosting members from the Edmonton chapter at the end of July. Tentative plans include a Saturday ride through the Highwood Pass with a picnic lunch along the way. A dinner on Saturday night with a venue and menu to be determined. We are also hoping the guest members will join us for Sunday breakfast before heading for home. Apparently there has been a challenged issued by the Edmonton chapter to have more of their members attend than Calgary members, that sounds like a challenge worth rising to. 2. Please submit your odometer readings for 2007 to Carol Myers at her chapter address social goldwing calgary.com. 3. The Sunday breakfast dice game had a big winner on Sunday March 16th. If you have never played here is how it works. You get three rolls of the five dice for a $1. If you roll 3 of a kind you get a free play, 4 of a kind gets you $5 and 5 of a kind you win half the collective pot. Well that happened last Sunday when Ed Hardy rolled five 1's on his second roll and won $ To top it off, his wife Til won $5 right after that. Congratulations Ed and Til! WW

10 Wing Wag April, 2008 Page 10 Classified Ads The Classified ads are free to all members and associates of the GWRRA. While advertised items do not have to be Gold Wing related, we do insist that all ads pertain to motorcycling. Ads will appear on a space available basis for one month. Should you wish to continue to run your ad for a second or succeeding month, you must resubmit or renew your ad. Deadline for submission is the 25th of the month preceding publication. To post an ad or if the item is sold or the offer withdrawn, please contact Lisa Miller at: goldwing calgary.com CLASSIFIED ADS CALGARY AREA STAFF Chapter Directors Jim & Dorothy Baker (403) chapter goldwing calgary.com Assistant Gary & Susan Premech (403) Chapter Director assistant chapter goldwing calgary.com Quartermaster Brian Perrin (403) goldwing calgary.com Newsletter Editor Lisa Miller (403) goldwing calgary.com Treasurer Darryl Snyder (403) goldwing calgary.com Ride Coordinator Rod Banman (403) ride goldwing calgary.com Rider Training Don Martin (403) rider goldwing calgary.com Rider Education Alex Middleton (403) rider goldwing calgary.com Rider Course Terry Burrell (403) Instructor goldwing calgary.com Social Coordinators Carol Myers (403) social goldwing calgary.com & Susan Premech (403) social goldwing calgary.com Social Coordinator & Vi Banman (403) Membership social goldwing calgary.com Enhancement Assistant Membership Darryl Minsky (403) Enhancement goldwing calgary.com Coordinator & Webmaster March 50/50 Winner Angie Schulz GWRRA TOLL FREE NUMBER (CANADA & US) NATIONAL LEADERS Executive Director Melissa Nordeoff (623) Natl Dirs for Cdn Ops Ron & Carol Hodgson (403) Natl Rider Ed Director Gordon Murphy (709) Region J Directors Phil & Margaret Craven (250) District Directors Ross & Audrey Woolsey (780) NOTE: addresses in this publication are displayed in a manner that will deter automatic address harvesting programs. This step is taken to reduce unsolicited to any addresses we post. We regret any inconvenience caused for our legitimate visitors. REMOVE ALL THE SPACES IN THE ADDRESS TO MAKE IT WORK.

11 Wing Wag April, 2008 Page 11 EVENT SCHEDULE DAY/DATE EVENT AB-A SPONSOR Apr 14 May 12 July 26 April Monthly Meeting May Monthly Meeting Meet & Greet Weekend Friends for Fun, Safety, and Knowledge Monthly Meetings Monthly meetings are held on the 2nd Monday of each month. This is a time to share information and to meet old and new friends who like to ride together for FUN, Safety and Knowledge. See you at the next meeting at the Fox Hollow Golf Club, 9th Street and 32nd Avenue N.E. 6:30; Meeting at 7:00 PM. Come ride with us...everyone Welcome! For the latest updates on what we are doing and where we re going, check out our website: Rain, snow or shine, we meet for breakfast every Sunday morning about 9 AM. This is a great year round way to stay in touch with your GWRRA friends. So, if you have missed the opportunity to join us for breakfast recently, why don t you come on over to the Fox Hollow Golf Club, 9th Street and 32nd Avenue N.E.

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