National Newsletter_2010

May / Jun 2010

The Official Publication of The Motorcycle Touring Association

May / Jun 2010

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Fresh from the Chef’s Kitchen .................................... 3From The Forums ......................................................... 4Galena, Illinois: An AMA Sanctioned District Rally ... 5Carol & Elm’s Polar Bear Cycle Ride .......................... 7K&N Fun Riders visit Robbers Cave, OK ................... 7The Fat Old Men—A Tale Of Touring Bikers .............. 8MTA Gathering Registration ...................................... 10Meeting At The Cross Roads ..................................... 132010 Spring Fling ........................................................ 14Motorcycle Safety Tips: Tires & Trailer .................... 15Ride For Kids ............................................................... 17MTA Membership Application ................................... 19

May / Jun

Vol. 26 No. 2

Publisher

MTA, Inc.

Production Director

Howie Klix

Motorcycle Roads® ISSN #1088-9175

is published bi-monthly by MTA,Inc., located at N7068 County Road C, Casco, WI 54205, (920-837-7325).Copyright © 2009 MTA, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this publicationmay be reproduced without written consent of the publisher. Single-copy price$2.00, plus S/H. Publication deadline is the 1

st

of the month, one month pre-ceeding cover date. For advertising information or rates, contact AdvertisingDept. at (586) 203-8935.

All letters, art, articles, and photographs submit-ted are subject to editing and alteration. Send material to:

MOTORCYCLE ROADS(articles and advertising only)

24737 Cushing Ave.

·

Eastpointe, MI 48021(586) 203-8935

·

webmaster@mtariders.com

MTA OFFICE / MEMBER SERVICES

N7068 County Road C

·

Casco, WI 54205(920) 837-7325

·

(877) 833-3687bikenut@centurytel.net

·

www.mtariders.com

Advertising

:(586) 203-8935

Subscriptions/Member Services

:(920) 837-7325

Periodical Mailing:

POSTMASTER: For information send request to Motor-cycle Roads, 24737 Cushing Ave., Eastpointe MI 48021.The opinions expressed in this publication are those of the authors and do notnecessarily reflect the viewpoint of the MTA, the general membership or itsboard of directors. Any technical advice is not intended to substitute for theadvice of your authorized dealer or professional mechanic, and the MTAaccepts no liability for ensuing workmanship. All material available for sale issubject to change without notice and only at the current issue listed prices.

This edition’s cover photo was provided by Fred Vogt in memory of Ron D'Alessio. This pic- ture was taken at Muncho Lake in the Yukon in Canada on their trip to Alaska.Ron was one of the founding fathers of VTS in 1984, which later became MTA.Ron, 66, of Las Ve- gas Nevada, passed away March 7, 2010.

More information can be found in the Memo- rials section at www.mtariders.com

MTA OfficersJOEL BACHHUBER

(President)239-772-2402 – jbachhuber@netzero.net

PHIL ANDREASSEN

vikingbike@mindspring.com

FRAN HURLEY

jojofe11@gmail.com

PATRICIA KLIX

734-459-5865 – snolprd47@wowway.com

HARVEY WILSON

804-795-7723 – hwilson723@comcast.net

THOMAS SMITH

alpha659@juno.com

RIC ZITTENFIELD

zittenfields@juno.com

SUSAN FRYE

(Treasurer)smf@nifongrealty.com

May / Jun 2010

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I

hope this edition of Motorcycle Roads finds all of you in good health and spirits. As the Gathering inGalena Illinois looms all of our volunteers are busyfinishing last minute tasks and beginning the planningfor the next years’ Gathering.The Board of Directors has chosen a location for 2011and I am excited at their choice. While I won’t divulge thelocation until we meet in Galena I can tell you this spotshould provide some of the best riding in the country andthe host hotel has been very accommodating in its pricing!While the preparations for 2011 are underway I want toask all of our members to seriously consider the most im-portant part of putting on the Gatherings: YOU! Yes you!Can you volunteer some of your time to the MotorcycleTouring Association? Are you a recently joined memberthat can fire things up? Have you been a member for a longtime that wants to be heard? Now is your chance to step upand have a direct impact on the polices and direction of theclub.This year the Board of directors will be seeking somenew blood to continue the work that others have started. Iurge each one of you to consider volunteering for a postwith the MTA.I look forward to seeing who stands up for the job at thebusiness meeting in June.Ride safe and ride with friends!

by Joel Bachhuber MTA President

TRUISMS

—Collected from the ‘Nets

There is a great need for sarcasm font.Bad decisions make good stories.How the hell are you supposed to fold a fitted sheet?I would rather try to carry 10 plastic grocery bags in eachhand than take 2 trips to bring my groceries in.The letters T and G are very close to each other on a key-board. This recently became all too apparent to me andconsequently I will never be ending a work email withthe phrase "Regards" again.Was learning cursive really necessary?I have a hard time deciphering the fine line between boredomand hunger.Whenever someone says "I'm not book smart, but I'm streetsmart", all I hear is "I'm not real smart, but I'm imaginarysmart".I love the sense of camaraderie when an entire line of carsteams up to prevent a punk from cutting in at the front.Stay strong, brothers!What would happen if I hired two private investigators tofollow each other?MapQuest really needs to start their directions on #5. Prettysure I know how to get out of my neighborhood.I find it hard to believe there are actually people who get inthe shower first and THEN turn on the water.If Carmen San Diego and Waldo ever got together, their off-spring would probably just be completely invisible.You never know when it will strike, but there comes a mo-ment at work when you've made up your mind that you just aren't doing anything productive for the rest of theday.Can we all just agree to ignore whatever comes after DVDs? Idon't want to have to restart my collection again.There's no worse feeling than that millisecond you're sure youare going to die after leaning your chair back a little toofar."Do not machine wash or tumble dry" means I will neverwash this ever.I hate leaving my house confident and looking good and thennot seeing anyone of importance the entire day. What awaste.Sometimes I'll look down at my watch 3 consecutive timesand still not know what time it is.I keep some people's phone numbers in my phone just so Iknow not to answer when they call.