Who’s who in GWRRA

GWRRA President,
Directors of GWRRA
Anita Alkire president@gwrra.org
Jere
800-843-9460 Goodman JereGood@aol.com
and Sherry
540-623-0447
Director of GWRRA,
Jere&Sherry Goodman director@gwrra.org
Director's Assistant
Tom
NH/VTandDistrict
Renee Wasluck
Directors,
tom.renee11@gmail.com
David & Bonnie Bolster
570-239-2353
gwrranhvt.district@gmail.com
603-315-9471
NH/VT
NH Asst.District
DistrictDirectors,
Director,
David & Bonnie
Ron & Susie Bolster
Black darkcat1@myfairpoint.net
gwrranhvt.district@gmail.com
603-562-7288(Ron) 562-4813(Susie)
VT603-315-9471
Assistant District Director’s
NH Asst. and
George District Director,
Pat Parizo gparizo@fairpoint.net
District Educator, goldwing5507@gmail.com
Ron & Susie Black
603-562-7288(Ron)
Dick 562-4813(Susie)
Bernier richardbernier530@comcast.net
VT978-496-4363
Assistant District Director’s
George and
Assistant Pat Parizo
District gparizo@fairpoint.net
Educator
District Educator,
Bruce Luhrs bruce.luhrs@comcast.net
Bruce University
District Luhrs bruce.luhrs@comcast.net
Coordinator,
District University Coordinator,
Doug Melanson dougmel@outlook.com
Doug Melanson
District Treasurer, dougmel@outlook.com
District Treasurer,
Julie Bernier nh-vttreasurer@outlook.com
Julie Bernier nh-vttreasurer@outlook.com
District Membership Enhancement Coordinator,
District Membership Enhancement Coordinator,
Don Clarke gwrra.nhvt.district.mep@gmail.com​
Don Clarke gwrra.nhvt.district.mep@gmail.com​
District MFA (Medic First Aid)
District MFA (Medic First Aid)
Meri Hirtle
Meri Hirtle
District Webmaster, Newsletter Editor,
District Webmaster,
Bill Bascom Newsletter Editor,
gwrrahn.webmaster@gmail.com
Bill Bascom gwrrahn.webmaster@gmail.com

DIRECTOR’S NOTES;

Happy New Year and Welcome to 2022!

John F. Kennedy is quoted as saying “Change is the law of life”. And 2022 is greeting some
changes in the chapters of NH and VT.

Four of the five Chapters within the NH/VT District have new Chapter Directors for the 2022.
 Ron and Susie Black are the Chapter Directors for NH-E and they are remaining in their
position for 2022. They are also the Assistant District Directors for New Hampshire. Thank you, Ron
and Susie, for all you do and for your dedicated service to NH-E, the District, and to GWRRA.

George and Pat Parizo are the Assistant District Directors for Vermont.

In our last newsletter, we announced that Muriel Morse was appointed as

Chapter Director of VT-K with the retirement of Dave LaJoice. Muriel
was installed in November at VT-K’s monthly gathering. VT-K is
meeting the first Sunday of the month at 1:00 pm at Zachary’s Pizza in
South Burlington, VT.

VT-A has a new Chapter Director with the retirement of Chris and Carolle Fish. Ron and Patty
Clark are the new Chapter Directors for the Chapter. VT-A meets the first Saturday of the month.
They are currently meeting at Denny’s in Rutland at 2pm.

Kelly Smith was appointed as Chapter Director of NH-A with the

retirement of Chris and Lynne Christensen. Kelly was installed this
month at NH-A’s monthly gathering. NH-A currently meets at
Wingate Hall at Bethany Chapel in Manchester, NH on the third
Saturday of the month @ 9:30 am. In March, the chapter will be
moving their gathering back to the third Friday of the month at 7:00
pm at a new location, the Airport Diner in Manchester, NH.

And the latest announcement is the appointment of Russell Neal as the new Chapter Director of
NH-G with the retirement of Carole and John Sheehan. NH-G meets the second Sunday of the month
at 11:00 am. They have a new gathering location at the Wyatt Family Restaurant in Franklin, NH.

Thank you for a job “well done” to all the retiring officers and WELCOME new Chapter
Directors! We look forward to meeting all the new chapter core team members soon. We are looking
forward to visiting VT-A and NH-G to install Ron and Patty Clark and Russell Neal in the near future.
Will share pictures in the next District newsletter!

Another announcement on the District team. Doug Melanson, NH/VT District University
Coordinator, retired at the end of December. Doug was always dedicated in keeping our District
trained. Unfortunately, Covid has been a BIG obstacle in getting this done but his quarterly newsletter
submissions certainly keep us well informed. Doug and his wife, Debbie, are looking forward to
traveling in 2022. Thank you for the your great work, Doug and we look forward to seeing pictures of
your travel adventures!

Many of the chapters are working on their ride calendars. Yes, despite the
recent snow, spring and riding weather is ONLY a few months away. And there
some great and exciting events already planned across the Chapters for the
remainder of the “non-riding” months. Just look up the FUN on the Teamup
calendar. There are links to each of the Chapter websites available on the District
website @ http://gwrra-nhvtdistrict.weebly.com. And if you are not a member of Teamup, see the
calendar tab on the District website for the calendar and how to use the calendar on your mobile
devices.

Another sign of Spring, Membership has announced that this year’s GOLD BOOK service
directories will be delivered with the April WING WORLD magazine. Did you know that there is also a
GOLD BOOK app available to members? It can be downloaded from the Google Play Store or iTunes
store. You can also access the book online @ www.goldbook.gwrra.org.

January has been busy with all the Chapters and District completing our 2021 financial reports.
A special thank you to all the Chapter Treasurers in getting this information to our District Treasurer,
Julie Bernier, so QUICKLY.

Lastly, some of you may have noticed some problems on the GWRRA website. The internet
server that GWRRA uses is supplied from an outside provider and it has been affecting the website.
There have been delays in getting the monthly Area Reports and updates/accessibility to the Riders
Education Database has been affected. The Home Office is working with the provider to get these
issues resolved.

“The new year stands before us, like a chapter in a book, waiting to be written.” -Melody
Beattie.
LET’S MAKE IT A “BEST SELLER”! BRING ON 2022!

Warm Wing Wishes

Bonnie & David Bolster
NH/VT District Directors
VT Assistant District Director’s

Know this article has been posted before, but thought for those doing winter maintenance, it might
bear repeating!

To adjust Taper style Roller Bearings - Trailer

Starting out with fresh clean **low tack wheel bearing grease packed into the clean
roller cone @ 50/75 % load (amount of grease). The grease should be seen from both
sides of the cone between the rollers. It’s ok to lightly smear the outside of Roller cone.
Install the bearings on to the shaft. Be sure there is a washer between the inner outside
roller cone and the adjusting nut. Install the nut finger tight. But do not spin the wheel
as that will come later. Tighten the bearing nut to about 14 lbs.( 7lbs per bearing) Back
off the nut and repeat 2 more times ( don’t spin the wheel yet.) after the third time try
to put the cotter pin in the slot of the nut and the hole in the shaft. If you have to back
the nut off to line the cotter pin and the hole, Stop right here! You may have to shim
between the nut and washer to keep some preload on the bearings. If you can line up the
holes without moving the nut install the cotter pin and back the nut off to put the cotter
pin in tension. Now very, very slowly rotate the tire in the forward direction. This will
allow the grease to push out of the way of the rollers and cause a “dam of grease “to
form around the outside of the cup (you will need this later) slowly increase the rotation
for a couple of minutes. Stop the wheel and check for light preload and no shake in the
bearings. The wheel should not stop rotating abruptly but to coast a little when you stop
rotating the wheel. If everything is “OK” bend the cotter pin tabs over( anyway you
like). If you feel more grease is needed it’s ok to put some in the dust cap as this may
help to keep water out.
Now about that grease dam.
Grease is a soap product infused with low temp. Flow Oil. The grease holds the oil in
suspension until low heat releases the oil on to the source of heat [the bearing rollers and
cups.] when the source of heat [warmth] stops, the oil is infused back into the soap base.
The grease dam stops the oil from leaking away to outside of the wheel. We have all
seen hard cake grease. No oil left in the soap = no lubrication . Gee where did the oil go?
Where did the Indians go? Snuck away!
But my Dad told me to run the bearing on the loose side, not preloaded!
Now you know why Dad had to repack the bearings often and had to replace the bearing
seals as he didn’t know he had to create the oil dam and the oil leaked away and the
loose bearings wore the seals out allowing the grease to make a big mess on the back
side of the wheel and the loss of more oil and early bearing damage. Too much grease is
as bad as too little as the rollers will have to fight their way through too much oil and
will build too much heat causing the oil to burn and the bearings to fail. Do not mix
Brands of grease as this could cause a chemical reaction and destroy the bearings.
Pick a brand and stick with it. Best to clean the hub, seals, shaft and bearings if in
question as what grease was used.
But I don’t have any shim stock!
The sign on the Milk Truck reads “Got Milk?” Of course you do! It now comes in
plastic Gallon containers! The flat sides of the container are about .010 thick just cut the
required amount required to assure the bearings have a light preload.(14lbs) Just as good
as plastic shim stock that you can purchase in an Auto. Parts store and it’s free, plus you
get to drink the Milk.
When wheel hubs are installed on new trailers, the assembler selects the proper
thickness washer required. Sometimes it is correct, but often it is too loose a fit for the
correct preload on the bearings. A loose set of wheel bearings can cause poor handling or
tracking of a trailer as each wheel wants to find its own path of travel and that also
causes poor tire life.
After all the above procedure is completed on both wheels hubs, the tires should be
balanced for long life by any method you can afford.** If you have a can of sticky high
fiber Wheel bearing grease, please take it to recycling as it’s made for wagon wheels,
not precision high speed taper roller bearings.
Synthetic Bearing grease can be used also. Torque wrench required in Pounds.
Retired Trained Vibration Analyst, Precision Machine Tool Assembler and Repair.
George Parizo
************************************************************
Training Update from the District University Coordinator

Doug Melanson
Email: dougmel@outlook.com
Phone: 603-560-4738

Happy New Year everyone!

While 2021 proved to be a bit better than 2020 as we learned how to live in a world with
COVID, it was not a good year from a training standpoint due to COVID. However, I am optimistic
that 2022 will prove to be a marked improvement.

As I noted in last quarter’s newsletter, I have resigned from this position effective December 31,
2021, as I will retire in 2022, and Deb and I plan to do some extensive traveling. As such, this is the last
article I will contribute to the District Newsletter.

With the rise of the delta and omicron variants, we continued to be hampered by COVID,
making it difficult to hold in-person training events. Between this and the lack of demand during the
Q3 riding season followed by the holidays, no training sessions were held during Q4.
As we move into the New Year, I urge all GWRRA members in the NH-VT District to consider
training requirements and desires for 2022, and to make them known to your Chapter Directors and
District Educator so that they may be able to put together a training plan to address the district’s
training needs.

As a reminder, we still have the option to attend GWRRA University classes offered by video
conferencing (ZOOM). This continues to provide learning opportunities despite the limitations caused
by COVID restrictions and for those who may be uncomfortable attending in-person classes. To see the
list of classes offered and the schedule, check the Online Class Calendar on the GWRRA University
website found at https://gwrradot.com/online-class-calendar/. To take an online class, remember to
preregister on-line on the University website: gwrradot.com.
When in-person training does resume, remember that while various training events may be
delivered in conjunction with various chapter meetings or rides, these will all be sponsored by the NH-
VT District and will be open to all GWRRA members, so if you see a class scheduled for delivery at
another chapter’s location, you are invited and encouraged to attend any of these training events.

Despite stepping away from the DUC role as noted above, I will remain an active member of
NH-A and I plan to continue as a University Instructor and an MFA Instructor for the district. I thank
everyone in the district for the support given to me with the training programs during my tenure,
especially the district’s University Instructors who always stepped up to help with delivering the
trainings before COVID shut us down.
Also, I want to make a special shout-out to Dick Bernier and Bruce Luhrs, our past and current
District Educators, for their constant support and collaboration in support of the district’s training
offerings. I believe we made a great team and clearly showed that the whole is greater than the sum of
its parts.
Lastly, thank you to David and Bonnie for giving me the opportunity to serve in this role for the
NH/VT District, which I believe is the best district in all of GWRRA.

************************************************************

NH-VT District - Rider Education Q4 Quarterly Update

January, 2022

Happy New Year everyone! I want to thank all the members of the GWRRA NH-VT
District for their support in 2021. Without you attending gatherings, joining rides and having an
interest in riding safely – there wouldn’t be a GWRRA NH-VT District.

As District Educator, I promote Rider Education. The NH-VT District has 4 University
Instructors and 4 Medic First Aid Instructors. There are 47 University classes, which include
the “Significant 7 Rider Courses”. Participation in the Levels Program encourages
members to become certified in CPR & First Aid every 2 years. Riders and Co-Riders should
take an approved Rider Course every 3 years. There are 15 Shiny Side Up Exercises listed
on the GWRRA.org website which can be used for riding skills practice any time.

Rider Education Levels Program: Achievement

 Bonnie Bolster: Level IV Senior Master Tour Rider (11/19/2021)
.
Congratulations Bonnie! Senior Master Tour Riders are dedicated members who have
maintained their commitment to the Rider Education Levels program, having continued
their renewal as Master Tour Rider for at least 5 years.

Rider Education cannot happen without the help and input from ALL our District’s members.

 Speak Up - tell your Chapter Director, or me, if you want to take a Medic First-Aid/CPR
class, one of the University classes or a Rider Course. Most University seminars can be
offered at Chapter Gatherings if the location is suitable. Road Captain, Medic First Aid
and Rider Courses are scheduled separately.
 Sign-up – for a Medic First Aid or Rider Course, show up and enjoy the class. If you plan
to take or take a Rider Course or equivalent course elsewhere, please let me know.

 Keep Your Riding Skills Up to Date – periodically take a GWRRA ARC, TRC or an
equivalent Levels Program Rider Course. Regularly practice the riding skills described as
Shiny Side Up Exercises individually with friends.

 Resolve to Ride Safely in 2022 - Gear up for every ride and encourage others to wear
ATGATT (helmets, sturdy boots, Hi-Viz padded jackets, pants and gloves).

Be Vigilant, Be Visible - “Safety, Knowledge, & Friends for Fun”

Bruce Luhrs, NH-VT District Educator, bruce.luhrs@comcast.net

****************************************************************

District Webmaster & Newsletter

Editor:

Welcome 2022.
As 2021 comes to a close, so to dose my duties in connection with NH-E and NH/VT District!
I’m hopeful Ron as well as Dave & Bonnie can find new volunteers to take over my duties! I’ll be able
to help remotely if needed!
Dee and I are sure enjoying our new digs and exploring the area..
Take care in 2022!
****************************************************
Hope you enjoy the NH-VT District's “NEW” Web site and the Newsletter.
Web site can be found at http://gwrra-nhvtdistrict.weebly.com/

If you have anything you want added to either, or needs correcting, feel free to email me at
gwrranh.webmaster@gmail.com
This Newsletter is chuck full of “Link’s:, can you find them?
***************************************************

NH/VT Calendar
NH/VT District Calendar shows events for all 3 NH Chapters & 2 VT
Chapters.
It can be found at http://gwrra-nhvtdistrict.weebly.com/calendar.html
Please sign up for email alerts for new/edited or canceled events!
********************************************************
*NOTE; Monthly Gatherings may change times and places.. so be sure to
check the Calendar!
SIGN UP FOR EMAIL ALERTS!

* You can now set it up to get event “Reminders”.

https://calendar.teamup.com/kb/can-i-set-event-reminders/

NH Chapter's
Chapter A- http://www.gwrranha.org/index.html
Chapter NH-A meets monthly, (except December) Wingate Hall, Bethany Chapel
54 Newbury Road , Manchester, NH 03103 at 7:00 PM on the third Friday of the
month.

Chapter E- https://gwrra-nh-e.weebly.com/
MONTHLY GATHERING Last Sunday of the Month @12pm at Emma's 321 Pub &
Kitchen . 377 US Route 202 Rindge,NH 03461

Chapter G-http://www.gwrra-nhg.org/
Ride & Meeting the 2nd sunday of the month. Check the calendar or Team-Up for current
information.

VT Chapter’s
Chapter A- https://gwrravta.weebly.com/
VT-A meets on the 1st Saturday of each month
Location & time to be announced..
Check the calendar
Chapter K- http://gwrra-vt-k.weebly.com/
Our monthly meetings are normally held on the first Sunday of the month at 1PM
at Zachary's Pizza in South Burlington, VT.
Summer meetings have been held Saturday mornings at a different location.

*****************************************************
Classified’s
To see NH/VT District Classifieds, go to
http://gwrra-nhvtdistrict.weebly.com/classifieds.html

**NOTE**
If you have an item you want posted/edited/removed on the District’s classified page let
me know at gwrranh.webmaster@gmail.com