FRIENDS FOR FUN, SAFETY AND KNOWLEDGE

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1 FRIENDS FOR FUN, SAFETY AND KNOWLEDGE SEPTEMBER 2018 ISSUE 318 GOLDWING ROAD RIDERS ASSOCIATION, REGION A, FLORIDA DISTRICT Can someone please turn the rain off, my grass is green, the weeds are about to drown, I need to get back to the sunshine. Sure it is Hurricane season, but we haven't seen any storms yet. Ok just need to vent...i feel better now. Monthly Gathering First Thursday of each Month At Golden Corral 582 Blanding Blvd 6:30 pm Eat STAY IN TOUCH! Chapter Director We are still looking for new members to replace those that we have had to say see ya too. If in you see a Goldwing some where, please say Hi and pass along some info so we can get them to join our association, for some great fun times. Goldwing raffle tickets for the March rally are still available, see Marc for your books to sell or give away to friends & family. Did you make it to Wing Ding this year, in Knoxville, Tn. We had a blast so many Friends, for Fun, Safety & Knowledge. Geno & Kathie, Chapter Directors.

2 THE SAFETY CORNER FL1-X Chapter Team Directors Geno & Kathie Jette Couple of the Year Rena & Marc Oakley Treasurer Jim Louden Goodies Sales Kathie Jette Membership Enhancement Welcome Committee Gary & Terry Hartley Ride Educator Marc Oakley Newsletter Editor Dayle Manes Sunshine Coordinator Dee Louden Ways & Means 50/50 OPen Motorist Awareness Liaison Bob Manes Chapter Web Master Mike Randall The other day I happened to be looking through the 2018 Florida Driver Handbook and I noticed a few changes in the law taking place this year that may be of interest to our group. (The first one is interesting.) Effective July 1, 2018, the definition of motorcycle is amended to include an autocycle, which is defined as a three-wheeled motorcycle having two wheels in the front and one wheel in the back, equipped with a roll cage or roll hoops, a seat belt for each occupant, antilock brakes, a steering wheel, and seating that does not require the driver to straddle the vehicle. The driver, front seat passenger and any passenger under the age of 18 years old must wear a safety belt. Autocycle drivers are not required to have a motorcycle endorsement or complete a motorcycle skills and knowledge test to operate an autocycle. Effective July 1, 2018, veterans presenting proof of veteran status are exempt from paying the $1 or $2 fee to have the Veteran designation added to their driver license or ID card. Forms of identification presented as proof of veteran status include a DD-214 form reflecting an honorable discharge from active duty, a veteran ID card or veteran health ID card. Additionally, customers showing proof of veteran status will not be charged the $6.25 tax collector service fee for driver license services. Effective October 1, 2018, applications for motor vehicle registrations must include language indicating an applicant is deaf or hard of hearing. This information is required to be entered into the Driver and Vehicle Information Database and available through the Florida Crime Information Center System, ensuring that law enforcement is aware of the hearing impairment. Effective January 1, 2019, persons receiving a noncriminal moving violation, not requiring a mandatory court appearance, will receive a 9% reduction in the cost of the civil penalty, if they elect to attend a Basic Driver Improvement course. Also, most of us have Grandkids that spend time with us. I m sure that sometimes they ask us or we want to let them try driving before they have a permit. Not endorsing letting them or not letting them. Many of us farm kids where driving as young as 12. Driving tractors even before that. Just be aware what the state says can happen if caught. It is illegal to permit or authorize an unlicensed person to drive a motor vehicle. Doing so can result in a 60 day jail sentence and a $500 fine. If the vehicle is involved in a crash resulting in bodily injury or death of any person, the person who permitted the unlicensed person to drive shall have his/her license suspended for one year. Safety is for Life Marc Oakley

3 Page FLORIDA GWRRA EVENTS GWRRA Team Sept North Carolina District Rally Waynesville, NC October 6 Fla District Ride 8:30/4:30 Silver Springs, FL October Mississippi District Rally Gulfport, MS October 20 November 4-10 FL1-A Hillbilly Hoe-Dwn 11/3p Seffner, FL GWRRA FL District Wingers-N-Waves Ft. Lauderdale, FL November 17 FL1-X Chapter Yard Sale Jacksonville, Fl December 2 December 16 January 1, 2019 District Ride to Christmas, Fl FL1-X Christmas Celebration Jacksonville, Fl First Ride of Shrimps-R-Us Welaka, Fl. Presidential Assistants Bob & Nan Shrader District Director Bill & Cheryl Smith Motorist Awareness Nate & Danelle Kinion Chapter of the Year Coordinator Harry & Lynn Anderson Assistant District Directors Geno & Kathie Jette District Ride Educator Rick & Pam Northrop Assistant. Ride Educator Scott & Kathy Kelly Assistant Ride Educators Ray & Claudia Vega Florida District Couple Carl and Kathy Williams District Webmaster Scott Kelly re@fl1-x.org No Anniversaries.. Went Fishing instead... Donna Burn 9/15 Effie Lasoff 9/20 Wayne Wright 9/29

4 HARTLEY HAPPENINGS Hello Wingnutts, and welcome to the month of September. Terry and I hope everyone is doing well. Wing Ding has come and gone and we re sure some of our members who went will have some stories to tell you all. Just ask those who went and we re sure they will tell you about all the fun we had. We hope you enjoy the variety of rides on the calendar. Choose the rides you like, and enjoy some great fellowship with your fellow Wingnutts. By the time you read this article, Wing Ding in Knoxville, TN will have happened and hopefully some cooler weather will start to come our way. Terry and I will be gone the whole month of September and we ll see you all for the October gathering. Enjoy yourselves and get in some riding if you can. As we always say when we see you, if there isn t something on the ride calendar you would like to do, please let one of the staff know so we can add it to the calendar. Everyone s tastes are different, and we want to make sure we have places that you want to go or things you want to do. Don t hesitate to let us know what you like. We always look forward to visiting new places and welcome your input. At the August Chapter gathering the following took place: we had visitors from Chapters J, Y, and V. The Patch drawing was won by George Bird. Door prizes were won by: Geno Jette, Loretta Coughenour, Jan Harney, Bob Manes, George Bay, Terry Hartley, Bruce Hutchison, Jeff Cox, Mike 6, Judy Rutherford, Dee Louden, John Moody, Chuck Bennett, Kathie Jette and Sweet Harold. The drawing for those who brought door prizes was won by Bill Coughenour. The evening s drawings were won by Fred Baker and Ralph Mathis (third month in a row). The Ride Jar drawing was won by Geno Jette. Guess the number of candy bars in the jars were won by Ralph Mathis and John Moody. Restaurant Reviews by Mike 6 For almost every ride we go on, that is attended by our Webmaster (Mike 6), he does a little write up and posts it on Facebook. Below are a few of the most recent entries that he s made. We hope you enjoy them: Woodpeckers 12 Wingnutts met up for a late lunch at Woodpeckers. They were already out of turkey so 3 chose to go elsewhere. For those of us who remained, the food and service was up to their expected standards. Place was busy but we got in right away. Beautiful Florida day for a ride by the river. Florida Cracker Kitchen A good number of Wingnutts met up for a lunch ride to Keystone Heights, think it was 10 bikes/trikes and two cars. We could not sit together and 3 left before eating, so I didn t get a definite head count. Always a little disappointing when we must be divided into smaller groups, but everyone seemed to be happy with the food. Five of us also rode to Starke for ice cream which was well worth the ride. With beautiful skies and no rain clouds in sight it was a great day to be out enjoying friends. Dairy Queen Good group of Wingnutts meet up for ice cream tonight at our favorite Dairy Queen. Dee, knowing I had never ate black walnuts, brought me a loaf of homemade black walnut bread. Ate two pieces as soon as I got home and it was delicious! Thank you for thinking of me! Rain was in the area this evening but stayed mostly dry coming and going.

5 Mudville Grille Monument 10 Wingnutts met up for this week s R.O.M.E.O. ride over to Mudville Grille. Two more met us there for a total of 12. Short ride so had to wait for them to open, but they were kind enough to let us wait in the air conditioning! LMAO Everyone seemed to enjoy the food and had a good time. A little rain was in the area going home but nothing to fuss over. These are just a few of Mike s comments and I m sure you ve seen them if you re friends with him on Facebook. We would love to see and hear what you think about the places we visit. You are most welcome to send the staff a note and we will include your comments in our newsletter. We appreciate the little write ups Mike does after every ride that he goes on (which is many) and look forward to your comments as well. Congratulations to the following members on their GWRRA Anniversaries: Geno & Kathie Jette 8/95 Mike Bible 8/98 John Lowinski 8/15 Elizabeth Moody 9/99 Sue McKay 9/07 Effie Lasoff 9/14 Robert Williams 9/11 Jim & Judy Rutherford 9/11 Dayle Manes 9/13 Ralph & Glynda Mathis 9/13 Mark & Rena Oakley 9/13 As always, ride safe and remember (ATGATT) All the Gear All the Time! Gary & Terry Hartley, Membership Enhancement Coordinators

6 Motorist Awareness Reducing the odds of a motorcycle accident is the greatest gift you can give to yourself and your fellow chapter members. First and foremost is wearing "all the gear all the time". Always being at the top of your game when riding your motorcycle and being totally focused and aware of what's around you in the front, sides and in the rear. Our safety depends on us doing just that, every time and all the time. Stay focused and pay attention. Your fellow riders look to you for your attentiveness. When riding in groups, we must always not only pay attention to our surroundings but, we must maintain our distances between each other at all times. The lead bike in each group will ride in the left track with the other bikes to be staggered at a safe uniform distance behind the lead bike. The tail bike in each group is to ride the center of the lane so, his/her visibility of the complete group is enhanced. Maintaining safe riding distances between each other is ultra important. When in proper riding formation, we provide a larger footprint of ourselves and ultimately increases our overall safety. Always, Always, Always, assume that the oncoming motorist making a left turn and crossing your lane is "NOT GOING TO STOP!" Do whatever you can do to make yourself more visible and safe. Slow down!!! Flash Lights!!! Swerve back and forth!!! ABOVE ALL BE PREPARED FOR THE WORST!!! When in traffic, always try not to ride in the blind spot of other vehicles traveling in the same direction. Either slow down or speed up so, the other driver sees you. I also try to always ride in traffic with my thumb on the horn button just in case. BE AWARE, & STAY FOCUSED, Bob Manes, Motorist Awareness Liaison

7 FROM OUR SENIOR DISTRICT EDUCATOR Are you one to watch the news? Do you pay attention to the weather? I am an advocate for watching the weather daily! Pam gets all over me for watching the news every day. It s the same ole thing every day, she says. Well for the most part she is right but, the weather changes very quickly! During a 90 minute news broadcast I have seen it change drastically at times. This is something I want to be aware of! Why?? You may ask. Well, I ride a motorcycle, that s why. Simple as that. No, I don t mind getting wet, I just mind getting dead. Was speaking with a Final Wishes Planner just the other day and he says I have at least 16 + years left so I want to make the best of them all. Florida is a peninsula and we have wind attacking us from three different sides as well as weather conditions. Often there may be rain and or storms on one side of the state and beautiful sunshine on the other and in a very short time the storm has moved in and no more sunshine. If the two weather fronts meet as they cross the state it could cause disastrous effects, especially for a motorcyclist. Keeping a constant vigil on the weather is a must. Again, I say, I m not worried about getting wet. I do worry about LIGHTNING!! You say, Well I m on rubber tires just like a car. Too bad, so sad., doesn t matter, NO PROTECTION! A car has a METAL BODY surrounding it and true, it is on rubber tires. If it is struck by lightning the metal body generally conducts the electricity to ground, protecting the inhabitants if they are not touching any metal. On a motorcycle, NO PRO- TECTION! YOU HEAR THUNDER, GET UNDER COVER! I have downloaded the app WeatherBug to my phone and use it religiously. I m not saying it is the best. It is just the one I use. There are a gazillion free weather apps out there that you can download that are very simple to use. Pick one that you like and get familiar with it. Most of all, USE it when you are out having fun to stay safe. Ride Safe, Ride Aware, Rick Northrop Senior District Educator

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10 NEXT MEETING THURSDAY, OCTOBER 4, 2018 Friends for Fun, Safety, and Knowledge he Gold Wing Road Riders Association T (GWRRA) is the World s largest singlemarque social organization for owners and riders of the Honda Goldwing/Valkyrie motorcycles and some say the world largest family. Dedicated to our motto, Friends for Fun, Safe and Knowledge, GWRRA members enjoy the freedom of belonging to a non-profit, non-religious, and non-political organization. Once you join GWRRA, you can participate with as many Chapters as you choose. You decide your own level of involvement and time. Wherever you go, whenever you travel, you are welcomed. GWRRA membership opens doors to friendship everywhere you ride! Monthly Chapter get-togethers often lighthearted changes of information at a breakfast location are pleasant, social occasions, There are no expectations, riding requirements, elections, politics, required uniforms or Chapter dues.