VERMONT CHAPTER A

“Green Mountain Road Runner

December Gathering will be the Christmas Party, Sweet Caroline’s, West Rutland, at 2:00 PM.

CELEBRATING OUR 35th YEAR

2021
Chapter October/November 2021 Vermont Asst. District
Team CELEBRATING OUR 31st YEAR Directors
Chapter Newsletter George and Pat Parizo
Chapter CELEBRATING OUR 31st YEAR gparizo@fairpoint.co
Directors
Chris &
2021 Couple of the Year m
Carolle Fish 802-249-8922
cfish288@gma
il.com
207-745-6835

Asst. Chapter
Director
Jerry and
Cheryl Clark
deweynpop@y
ahoo.com

Chapter
Treasurer Favorite Sites
Rick Hurd
802-259-2158
rhurdjr@aol.c GWRRA WEBSITE
om
Rick and Betty Hurd http://gwrra.org/
Chapter
Membership
Enhancement
Coordinator
Chuck and
Judy Fowler NH/VT DISTRICT
802-368-2936 WEBSITE
whitewing195
3@gmail.com http://gwrra-
nhvtdistrict.weeblycom/

Chapter VT CHAPTER A
Sunshine WEBSITE
Coordinator
Cheryl Clark
https://gwrravta.weebly.
Chapter Ride com/
Educator
Ron Clark gwrravthttps://gwrravta.weebly.
802-770-9746 Please check out the new Chapter A com/a.
ron.clark@lav
alleys. Website
com

Chapter
 https://gwrravta.weebly.com/

Chapter Director’s Notes

Hh

Hello, members of VT-A

W hris.
Congratulations to Rick & Betty on couple of the year!!!!!!!!!!

Congratulations to Rick & Betty on couple of the year!!!!!!!!!

Hello to you all !!!

As some of you know Carolle & I will be stepping down as Chapter A Directors as
of the 1st of the year.
Ron & Jerry Clark (these are brothers in arms) will become your new directors for
VT Chapter A and we are sure their wives will be helping them also. So give the
brothers a hand in keeping this chapter going strong. Wayne Snow will be your
chapter Ride Coordinator.
We had our November gathering here in the garage. Carolle and I cooked a 20 lb
turkey, stuffing, & gravy. Members brought everything from mashed potatoes,
squash, turnip, 3 bean casserole, gingerbread plus a whole other table of
homemade desserts and other goodies.
THANK YOU to all that helped make this a wonderful gathering of great comradery
and meal with friends & family.
A great time at our Maine Weekend was had by all and be sure to get your rooms
booked for 3rd week of September 2022 at Wells-Ogunquit Motel 207-646-
8588. Be there to see what will be new for next year.
Our Chapter Christmas Gathering will be at Sweet Caroline’s on December 11
2021 be sure to see the flyer that was just put out.
There will be SUGGESTION BOX at the Christmas Gathering on places to go, rides
for the long haulers and rides for the ones who just like to keep the trip short. So,
bring your suggestions and put them in the box for the 2022 ride season.
It's been fun serving as Directors the past 3 years. Be sure to thank Ron & Jerry
for taking over, give them your support.
PS. On November 8 2021 Carolle fell and broke her right leg. Spent 2 hrs. in the
woods behind our garage at 28 degrees. God was with her during that time. Gave
her the strength to drag herself backwards up a tractor road (quite steep) so she
could see our driveway and called out to Cindy Messar who was 15 min earlier than
planned. Carolle was able to get her attention. Cindy call 911 and me as I was out
doing errands. Carolle had surgery Tuesday & had to get a plate and screws in order
to heal properly. Has to stay off her leg completely for 10 weeks. She is home resting
& healing and I am her gofor & helping as best I can. She may not want me around
after 10 weeks but I will stay by her anyway.

Thank you again.

Chuck and Judy Fowler Membership Enhancement Coordinators
We are happy to say we have resumed regular meetings again, the first Saturday
of every month. We have missed seeing our friends, hope to see you all on Nov. 6
for our Thanksgiving feast!

We are all open to suggestions for the club, let us know your thoughts, 802-368-
2936, feel free to leave a message on our electronic secretary if we are out we will
get back to you. Have a blessed day! Chuck and Judy, MEC

For those members who have not stopped by our monthly Chapter gatherings in a while,
please stop in and be a part of the” FUN”. We hope to see you soon!
 GWRRA.Vermont.A@gmail is the new email for any communication to
Chris Fish relating to Chapter A
Chapter A has classified section for anyone that has something to sell or trade or if
they are looking to buy. Check it out------

https:// gwrravta.weebly.com/classified.html

OCTOBER
Congratulations to Rick and Betty Hurd as Couple of the year for VT Chapter A!
Well deserved!!

Our October meeting was held in Brandon at the new Ultravation Building! It was a
great space! Many thanks to Wayne and Judy for letting use that space.

Chris spoke some about the Maine weekend and how everything went with the
Chinese Auction, Chicken wings and 50/50 raffle. As always if there are any
suggestions for next year you’re welcome to share with the members.

The Chapter Christmas party will be On December 11, at 2pm at Sweet Carolines.
Remember your gift for the Yankee swap if you want to participate, $20-25.00 new
item.

The director spot for our Chapter is still available, please speak with Chris.

As this year comes to and end, if anyone has any ideas for rides, overnight trips,
places we can have our meetings, suggestions to recruit new members, we will put
out a box at the Christmas party for any ideas .
 Our Current Sponsors:
LaValley’s, Pro Cycle, Sportline Honda, Sweet Caroline’s, Sand Hill Dirt Works,
Apple Creek Furniture, Win’s Trikes
Maine 2021 Pictures
 SMIDSY (“Sorry Mate, I Didn’t See You”) & the SIAM
October, 2021

SMIDSY is an acronym for “Sorry Mate, I Didn’t See You” referencing traffic collisions in which the
driver of a car or larger vehicle claims not to have noticed a two-wheel motorcyclist or biker. LBFTS, “Looked
But Failed To See” is similarly used by the UK Government with respect to a class of traffic accidents.

In a previous article (May 2021), I discussed how Inattentional Blindness is part of the reason these
types of collisions may occur. A driver can either a) be focused on only one thing, like making a left turn and
failing to see other things like a motorcycle approaching or b) experience perceptional blindness where their
brains can’t process every detail of their surroundings all the time, so they concentrate on what’s expected –
many people just don’t expect to see a motorcycle sharing the roads.

The movement of a motorcycle is difficult to see when it’s directly along a driver’s line of sight because
it appears stationary with respect to the background. In addition, the cross-section or profile of a motorcycle is
very small compared to larger vehicles and surrounding objects. As a motorcycle gets closer, its size seems to
suddenly grow larger. When an observer is startled by this, it’s called the looming effect. The startled driver
may even stop right in front of you, making a bad situation worse.

The good news is there is a strategy to avoid a SMIDSY! Do a SIAM, (SMIDSY Identification and
Avoidance Maneuver). SIAM refers to riding a smooth, gentle, single, zig-zag path to break the line-of-sight of
the approaching driver. Your movement of swerving left and right, along their line of sight, breaks the
inattentional blindness they may have.

Of course, you’ll pick up on a possible SMIDSY situation by searching the area ahead that you’ll reach
within the next 12 seconds. You’ve already assessed the possible dangers, identified some escape paths and
“covered” the throttle and brakes while slowing.