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GAZETTE Carolina Wings ● NC H2 ● Durham, NC ● March 2015
Friends for Fun, Safety and Knowledge
GWRRA Ray & Sandy Garris, Ex. Dir. Region N (Appalachian) Mike and Angie Mitchell, Dir. NC District Bob & Dorothy Richards, Dir. NC-H2 Don & Susan Harden, Dir.
NC-H2 NC District Region N GWRRA
Join us for our Chapter Social March Join us for our Chapter Social March
19 at Mayflower Restaurant, 3742 19 at Mayflower Restaurant, 3742
SW DurhamSW Durham--Chapel Hill Drive in Chapel Hill Drive in
Durham.Durham.
Dinner 6:30, Gathering 7:30Dinner 6:30, Gathering 7:30
Directors
Don & Susan Harden [email protected]
919-801-1759
Assistant Directors Open
Ride Programmer Gary Harris
919-971-0345
Educators Sid & Terry Chambers
Membership Enhancement Coordinator Dan Eakright
Treasurer Terry Chambers
[email protected] 919-598-7843
Care Bear
Vanessa Battle [email protected]
919-368-1281
Fun Coordinator Dale Hyde
Special Events
Charles Glosson [email protected]
336-213-7896
Ways and Means Rex & Diana Temple
[email protected] 919-528-0503
Couple of the Year
Sid & Terry Chambers [email protected]
Welcoming Committee
Newsletter Editor Webmaster
William Prince [email protected]
252-528-9462
Chapter of the Year Coordinator Blanche Dean
Chapter Mascots El Toro & Sophia Winger [email protected]
On the Cover You don’t have to be Irish to join in the fun. Clovers are among the first things to burst through the ground, thus signaling the com-ing spring. This is especially good news for us bikers, most of whom put our bikes into hiberna-tion for the winter. Don’t worry guys, March 20 is right around the corner.
On the Foldover We had a full house at the Sweet Heart dinner at Melo Tratoria and Tapas. Some brought their sweetheart and some brought their sweet heart. In any case, we all had a blast. Chapter Team
Page 3
Chapter Directors Don & Susan Harden
A s we dig out from under 9 to 12 inches of snow at my house in Person
County, March is finally here. March brings a few great items to the table, our Swap Meet and we hope warmer weather which will be arriving none too soon. I really hope that the weather gives us a break for our Swap Meet. The numbers have been dropping over the years and bad weather could really hit our attendance numbers right in the gut. I was really impressed at the number of folks that attended the Chili Cook-off in Smithfield be-cause it was on the heels of snow, ice and cold weather. Hopefully those die hard GWRRA members will come to see us on March 14 even if the weather is not per-fect. We are trying to add some new games to our Swap Meet this year as we try to liven up the party. We are going to have a Golf Putting game and a Cake Walk. The Cake Walk really takes us back in time and we hope that it is a big hit for those that attend this year.
Speaking of the Chili Cook-off we really had a great time over there on 2/21. Attending from H2 was Sid & Terry, Gary, Grant and me. I won a great pair of boots that came in really handy in this recent snow fall that we just had. I wish that a lot more of our H2 mem-bers could have joined us. The following day was our 4th Sunday
Breakfast. Dan, Gary, and Susan the girls and I were there. We had a great time.
Plans are underway for another bike maintenance day at Gary’s house and this comes with Lunch for all of those that attend. We are going to do it earlier this year than we have in the past as we try to get those bikes up and running in tip top shape before the riding season gets too far underway. So if you need your oil changed, Rear End serviced, tires changed or just about anything else we hope that you plan on joining us and let’s do it together while enjoying lunch on the Chapter.
With the Swap Meet taking up so much of our time in March we don’t have a lot on our ride calen-
dar. The weekend of the Swap Meet is our normal 2nd Friday din-ner ride & our operations and planning meeting. These have all been cancelled for the month. Our next ride on the cal-endar is the Blessing of the Bikes in Rocky Mount on Saturday March 28th. We hope that the weather is wonderful and every-one can join us as we support Chapter Z and their event.
We have a new MEPC at Chapter H2, Dan Eakright. Dan is working hard and is very active with our leadership team. We are happy to have him aboard and look forward to working with him.
Page 4
Refresher Rider Training
Ride Educators Sid & Terry Chambers
A s a former member of the NC Precision Drill Team from 1993 to 1998, a cer-
tified Motorcycle Safety Founda-tion (MSF) instructor, and NC-H2 Chapter Educator during the same time, I was initially surprised to learn that Drill Teams operated under the auspices of GWRRA Rider Education. And it still does today. Riding on a Drill Team is not “showing off” to fellow Gold Wingers. It is visual proof that proper riding techniques can make us better riders. Just look at the similarity between some of the Drill Team maneuvers and Ex-perienced Rider Course (ERC) range exercises, particularly turn-ing, cornering, braking, and riding in a straight line. I became a bet-ter rider on the street by using proper riding techniques which made me a better MSF instructor which made me a better Drill Team member. A rider training course will not automatically qual-ify you to be a Drill Team member, but it will certainly make you a better rider.
If you have not taken a rider train-ing course, I highly encourage you to do so. I guarantee you that you will learn something that will save your life. If you want to work on the basics in the meantime, please read the following article written by Bill Lowry, NC-D2 Chapter Edu-cator and a current member of
the North Carolina Precision Drill Team. Each sentence contains valuable information and is not just filler. Read it carefully!
We’ve all been riding throughout the winter, but not as frequently as previously. Our riding skills do diminish due to lack of use so some refresher training is a good way to ease in to the riding/drill season. I’ve put together some information for all to share. Although these practice exercises are not dangerous by themselves, precautions should be taken. First, we’re fortunate that the Drill Team has an inter-ference-free environment where we can concentrate on physically controlling the motorcycle with-out worrying about passing cars and pedestrians. However, we do have a potential for oil spots from school buses and other vehicles; sand, gravel and other debris can also cause the tires to lose trac-tion. Second, (ATGATT). There is always a chance that we will fall. Riding gloves, for example, can mean the difference between being a little annoyed and a trip to the emergency room. "Full riding gear" means a helmet, eye protec-tion, long sleeves/jacket, gloves, pants, and boots. Third, make sure that your motorcycle is in good working condition. Good brakes, tire tread, and proper tire inflation are key elements to prac-
t icing proper technique safely. Most exercises involve ma-neuvers in restricted space and may require the use of both small and large cones to mark bounda-ries and indicate the path of travel. Tennis balls cut in half, empty coffee cups, or plastic bot-tles filled with water for stability and capped to prevent spillage also work if necessary (maybe practice on your own). The dia-grams provided can be used as guidelines for setting the cones, but can be modified as necessary.
For all practices, you should sit firmly on the motorcycle, with your knees against the tank and your feet firmly on foot pegs. For slow speed maneuvers, counter-weighting may be useful but too much moving around will inter-fere with your steering in-puts. These exercises don’t all directly apply to drill team riding, but are still good practice.
A key take away from this prac-tice is that proper use of the con-trols will lead to smooth riding which leads to increased confi-dence in yourself and your ma-chine which will make you a safer rider!
Basic Exercises
Exercise 1: Slow Ride
(Continued on page 9)
Page 5
WHAT IS “ 40 TO PHOENIX?”
T his is the Sixth Annual Ride across the US from the east coast to the west
coast paying tribute to the His-toric Route 66, now named Inter-state 40 – thus, “40 to Phoenix.” This ride is a great 10 day adven-ture starting in Wilmington, North Carolina and crossing 3 GWRRA Regions, 12 states and ending in Chula Vista, California. There is also a short ride across the US border into Mexico. A very impor-tant stop on April 16th is our Home Office in Phoenix, Arizona. At the Home Office, more than a hundred local GWRRA Members will be on hand to greet the 150 plus riders from 40 to Phoenix. Some of these riders started in Wilmington, and many more will join up with the group enroute to Phoenix. The Home Office will have guided tours available most of the day along with 50-25-15-10 drawings, great door prizes, games, meet and greet with our Founder, Paul Hildebrand, Co-Founder, Shirley Stephens-Garcia with their spouses Dottie Hildebrand and Benny Garcia (Bodyguard.) There will be some seminars and local Chapters have arranged some games and some short scenic rides that will include a lunch stop. At 6:00 PM dinner at a local buffet starts with award presentations to follow. Let’s talk about the journey from Wilming-ton, NC to Phoenix, AZ. This well
planned ride is loaded with lots of very special stops along the way. This wonderful extended family we have in GWRRA has played host each year to the “40 to Phoe-nix” riders with incredible meals, celebrations and lots of hugs, hand-shakes and hospitality. Local media has been present to publi-cize this unique and now famous ride across the USA. Some of the favorite stops and side trips in-clude the Barber’s Museum and Speedway, Deals Gap, and many others. Many dealers offer special welcome celebrations with prizes, food, group photos, etc. in several cities. This ride is a very unique event. It is one of the longest or-ganized motorcycle/ trike rides in the US. It is also unique within GWRRA. It originated as a 100% Member-driven, Member-organized and Member-directed event. We thank the Home Office and several Region, Districts and Chapters across the country who
have helped make this event pos-sible. What can you do to help support this really great event? How about offering your support as a Region, District, Chapter or just an interested Member? Help welcome these folks to your town as they pass through or stay the night. Be a part of the celebration and encourage all of your Mem-bers to do the same. Or, feel free to join the ride and we will wel-come you in Phoenix. For more information please go to www.facebook.com/40tophx, or go to gwrra.org and click on “40 to Phoenix” on the main page. Our sincere thanks to Russ Schaffer, the Ride Coordinator once again for the entire ride. His entire crew of assistants and all of the many Officers and Members of GWRRA, as well as the many dealers and sponsors who have supported this ride each year. We look forward to seeing you all in Phoenix.
International Ray and Sandi Garris
GWRRA Directors
Page 6
Regional Brenda Perkinson
Region N Motorist Awareness Coordinator
A s I was working on getting my N23 report ready for the 4th quarter of 2014, I
realized that there may be some confusion on just what Motorist Awareness activity is for a Chap-ter, District or Region. Most peo-ple think of a Mall Show as Motor-ist Awareness but not much else. There are a whole range of activi-ties that can be done to raise the “awareness of the motoring pub-lic” concerning motorcycles. We need to be able to correct some of the misconceptions concerning motorcycles, such as “they are small and they can get out of our way easier”. Unless you have rid-den a motorcycle as the rider or co-rider, you probably don’t know just how false that statement is about motorcycles. Other ways that you can help make people more aware are parades, public service announcements, organiza-tion or community meeting as well as driver education class. The driver education class would allow you to reach the next generation of drivers. Even something as sim-ple as a yard sign or bumper sticker, which states to watch out for motorcycles is effective. You never know who will see that sign and make them look for us on the road. Too many people state after being in an accident with a motor-cycle that “I didn’t see them”. We need to this to change. It is not just my responsibility at the Re-gion level to spread the word but each people who rides should as
well. We don’t have the extra pro-tection of a steel cage when we are out on our motorcycles. The more that we can make the mo-toring public realize we are on the road, the more “protection” we can have each day. After all, it is our lives on the line each time we go for a ride. Please help share the message.
Fun at the Chili Cook-off. Gary and Don pose for a selfie.
More fun at the Chili Cook-off. Sid, Terry, and Grant also pose for a selfie. The Chili Cook-off in Smithfield is a welcome first event of the year.
Page 7
District Susan & George Huttman
NC District Educator
T he mission for all NC edu-cators is to do all they can to inspire safe riding
through preparation, training and peer support. A key to chapter participant retention is making a variety of opportunities available that will both entertain and edu-cate. Adult learners are often hesitant to tackle something new or outside their comfort zone. It is part of the chapter educators’ job to instill the importance of im-proving riding kills through prac-tice and increased knowledge. This can be a discouraging task and causes many educators to step back and lay low. One of the best ways to influence a chapter’s participants is to serve as an ex-ample. Rather than single out an individual you believe is not dressed appropriately for a ride, present information about safe riding apparel in a newsletter arti-
cle or during a gathering. Should you observe less than safe riding in a group, be sure there is a safety briefing before the ride, share information on team riding. Make the briefing a regular part of every ride, every time. If you do not have an assistant educator look to your other chapter partici-pants for the person you feel most strongly supports your efforts and can serve to offer a pre-ride talk if you can’t be there. Talk with your chapter’s director and ride coordi-nator and suggest scheduling a road captain course both riders and co-riders can take part in as a chapter event. Think about plan-ning a parking lot practice. This is a terrific way for every chapter participant to see best practices in action and experience the differ-ence it can make when they ride (or travel as a corider). Partnering with other chapter educators to
expand events like these can lend itself to conserving chapter and program resources while serving more members and providing a way to come together sharing a common passion for motorcycling. During the NC District RE Program breakout session it was noted that while some of the more seasoned educators were familiar with the materials distributed, there were other educators who, while in their position for some time needed to be brought up to speed for one reason or another. Whether an educator has held the position for several years or just a few weeks, we will support their efforts and recognize the positive impact they can make on the well-being of their chapter’s riders and co-riders. We are confident the NC District’s chapter directors and participants will do the same.
None This Month
Don Harden—10 Emily Eakse—25
Chris Hieegnbotham—31
Connie Lyon—1995 Sara Rojas—2002
Page 8
Fuel Alert William Prince
NOTE-This is a reprint of an article that appeared in Elizabeth City’s Wing Writer. I did further research I have included additional infor-mation following.
S heetz Convenience Stores announced on January 21, 2015 that they will offer
E15 (or gasoline with fifteen per-cent corn-ethanol) at 60 or more of their locations in North Carolina beginning in early 2015. Because this fuel is often the cheapest that is offered at multiple fuel choice stations (regular, premium, ultra, etc.), you may unknowingly pump E15 into your bike if you are not paying attention. Please take an extra moment when filling up to ensure you are NOT filling your bike with fuel containing more than 10% corn-ethanol. There is not a single marine engine war-ranted to run on this higher blend and the damage it does to your car, boat, bike may not be cov-ered by the manufacturer’s war-ranty. It is not only unsafe for you to use this fuel in a boat engine, but you are prohibited by law from using it in marine engines as well as other small engines such as lawn mowers, leaf blowers, snowmobiles and line trimmers. I believe this caution applies to mo-torcycle engines as well. There is lobbying action being taken in an attempt to get Congress to repeal the requirement that E15 must be offered; but in the meantime, avoid using E15 fuel. Hopefully Goldwing or some other group
will provide us with definitive or even “official” guidance regarding E15 use in our motorcycles, the damage it might cause, symptoms to look for if we inadvertently use E15, and/or our warranty rights if we encounter engine problems due to the use of E15 fuel. Read the signage, look at the pump, look for anything that says 15%, and avoid that one. We only hold 6.4 gallons of fuel. The extra five to ten cents a gallon for the good stuff could save you hundreds or even thousands of dollars in en-gine repair or replacement.
The EPA has serious cautions against using this untested fuel, especially in vehicles that have small tanks, like motorcycles, and
in vehicles built before 2001 or any vehicle that is not FlexFuel. They also suggest that you be careful about pumping fuel at a pump that dispenses E15 along with regular gas because there can be enough E15 left in the hose from the previous user to damage motorcycle engines. There may be enough E15 fuel left in the hose to fill our smaller tanks, thus giving us a full tank full of this fuel, meaning that you will feel any negative effects from using this fuel much, much sooner. Some-one created a serious problem by allowing this fuel to be released to the public before we know its ef-fect. We must therefore use due diligence until the fuel has under-gone the proper testing.
Page 9
The goal of this exercise is to prac-tice moving very slowly along a straight line in 1st (maybe 2nd) gear. This is a common real-world scenario for a lot of riders. Set your cones in a straight line. Go to the start of the line. Start rid-ing along at walking pace, trying to keep as close to the straight line marked by the cones as you can. Don't fixate your attention on the cones. Keep your head and eyes up, look ahead where you want to go. With practice, you’ll become more confident at low speeds.
Exercise 2: Slow speed cone weave
Set cones in a straight line, 12 feet apart from each other (maybe 15’ to start). The goal is to weave be-tween the cones at a slow pace, keeping your balance and control-ling your speed using the throttle, the clutch and/or the rear brake. There is no speed require-ment; just try to go as slow as you can.
A variation of this exercise is set-ting your cones 16 feet apart with a 4 to 8 foot offset from the straight line.
Exercise 3: Slow Circles and Fig-ure Eights
We already have some circles, but they’ll need refreshing or maybe more of different sizes. Practice riding both clockwise and counter-clockwise. Do not focus your at-tention on the circle markers or on the asphalt immediately in front of you. Look at the road where you want to go. When you start feeling comfortable doing this exercise, try a smaller diame-ter circle. Stay in the friction zone and use steady throttle. The goal is smooth controlled speed.
After getting dizzy riding circles, practice riding figure-8 maneuvers around the circles at slow speed. Sit upright (scooting for-ward will help), use the clutch and/or rear brake to adjust your speed, and look through the turn where you want to go. When you get comfortable with this exercise, try smaller circles. Again, the goal is smooth control.
Medium-level exercises
These exercises can to be per-formed at medium speed. Start out slow to get a feel of your tires and familiarize yourself with the maneuvers.
Exercise 1: Weaves
Set the cones in a straight line, 30 feet apart (approximately. You may use the parking lot markings to set up).
The nature of this exercise is es-sentially the same as for slow cone weave, described in Part 1. However, the increased speed requires you to lean your motor-cycle through the weave. Start at 10-15mph and then go as fast as you are comfortable, but strive to maintain steady speed. Keep your eyes up and use countersteer-ing. After practicing the 30-foot weave, set your cones 20 feet apart and repeat the exer-cise. Smooth controlled riding is the goal.
Exercise 2: Sharp turns at speed
Practice tight left and right turns by running along the parking stripes and then making a sharp left or right turn at the end. The goal here is being smooth. See how fast you can get up to and still brake/downshift smoothly and make a nice sharp corner.
Exercise 3: Circles/Figure-8s
Draw two large, 50' diameter cir-cles next to each other so they form a figure "8". Ride this layout in circles (clockwise and counter-clockwise) to practice leaning and to get the feel of your bike. Ride
(Continued from page 4)
(Continued on page 10)
Refresher Rider Training
Page 10
around the oval to practice brak-ing and turning and as a figure-8 to practice side-to-side transi-tions. Start slowly, and build up your speed gradually. This layout should allow you to ride at about 20mph. Be careful, speed and lean may cause low parts to drag. Don’t be startled by your foot pegs scraping the ground; slow down, adjust your body posi-tion, and decrease lean to main-tain control.
Exercise 4: Obstacle swerve
Position your cones as depicted in the diagram below:
The distance between the cones is not set in stone. Use parking lot markers to approximate. Before starting each exercise decide in which direction you will swerve. For a left-hand maneu-ver, start riding towards the cones in a straight line. Upon reaching the cones you should be travelling at steady 10-15 mph. As you pass cone "A", push the left handlebar to swerve around cone "B". Also
practice swerving to the right. If the maneuvers are too difficult, the cones can be set farther apart a n d s l o w i n g a p p r o a c h speed. Your steering inputs should be quick, smooth, but not abrupt.
Exercise 5: Hard braking
Use of both brakes is needed to achieve the shortest possible stopping distance. The key to hard braking is smoothness. If you quickly squeeze the brake lever, you will most likely lock the front wheel and crash. If you pull the lever in very gently, you won't stop quickly enough. You should progressively increase pressure on the brake lever as the motorcycle is slowing down and its weight is transferred forward. More weight on the front tire means better traction between the road surface
and front tire. Better traction means more force can be applied to the brake. You must under-stand this concept before per-forming emergency braking from higher speeds. Your brakes are more like a volume control than they are an on/off switch.
In the beginning, practice the gradual braking technique at slow speeds without concerning your-
self with stopping distances. Feel how the bike's weight gets trans-ferred to the front. Practice squeezing the brake lever (gradually) harder and harder as the bike stops. When you get a feel for gradual braking it will be time to limit your stopping dis-tance. Set two cones about 25 feet apart. Your speed for the first few runs will be no more than 10-15 mph. Ride towards the cones at steady speed. Upon reaching cone "A", start brak-ing. Remember to be smooth. Don't grab the brake lever. You should be able to come to a full stop before reaching cone "B". As you feel more and more comfortable stopping between the cones, start increasing your speed little by little to about to 20 mph. After you get comfortable with this exercise, try braking from 30 and then 40 miles per hour. Don't forget to increase the distance between the cones for higher speeds! You should be able to stop your motorcycle in 30 feet from 30mph and in 60 feet from 40mph. Increase the exer-cise's level of difficulty in small increments.
This was a lot of information but riding a motorcycle requires a lot of mental and physical skills. Are you ready for the riding season?
(Continued from page 9)
Refresher Rider Training
Riley’s Bike and Trike
510 W Center Street (HWY 70) Mebane,
North Carolina 27302
(919) 304-4580
Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday
1 2 3 C2 Smithfield
4 5 G High Point
D Greenville
V Statesville
6
7 G2 Waynesville
Y2 Monroe
8
9 X Wake Forest
10 B2 Winston-
Salem
P2 Forest City
Z Rocky Mount
Birthday, Don
Harden
11 12 A Greensboro
T2 Albemarle
13
14 Swap
Meet L2 Mooresville
X2 Wilkesboro
U2 Laurenburg
15 Operations and
Planning Meet-
ing
O2 Hickory
16 D2 New Bern
W Eden
17 E Cary
L Gastonia
M Salisbury
18 19 F2 Garner
E2 Elizabeth
City
Chapter Social
held at Swap
Meet Mar 14
20
21 M2 Henderson-
ville
Q Wilmington
22 Fourth Sunday
Breakfast
23
24 R Thomasville
25 Birthday Emily
Eakes
26 N Burlington
27 28 Y Morganton
S2 Sanford
I Asheville
29 30 31 Birthday, Chris
Higgenbotham
Mar 13
Swap
Meet 9 AM Corri-
gador St.,
Mebane
Mar 22
Fourth Sun-
day Breakfast.
9:30am Silver
Spoon Restau-
rant. 5230 N.
Roxboro Rd.
Mar 28
Blessing of the
Bikes 9AM Bo-
jangles, 908
English Road,
Rocky Mount
$10 per person
Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday
Apr 16
Chapter Social
6:30/ 7:30.
Mayflower
Seafood Res-
taurant, 3742
Chapel Hill Blvd
Apr 12
Operations
and Planning
Meeting 3 PM
Gorman Chris-
tian Academy,
3311 East Geer
Street
1 Birthday, Fran-
ces Averette
2 G High Point
D Greenville
V Statesville
3
4 G2 Waynesville
Y2 Monroe
5
6
7 C2 Smithfield
8 9 A Greensboro
T2 Albemarle
10 Birthday, Tom
Wilson
11 L2 Mooresville
X2 Wilkesboro
U2 Laurenburg
12 Operations and
Planning Meet-
ing
13 X Wake Forest
14 B2 Winston-
Salem
P2 Forest City
Z Rocky Mount
15 16 F2 Garner
E2 Elizabeth
City
17
18 M2 Henderson-
ville
Q Wilmington
19 O2 Hickory
20 D2 New Bern
W Eden
Birthday,
Charles Glosson
21 E Cary
L Gastonia
M Salisbury
22
23 N Burlington
Birthday, Larry
Dean
24 25 Y Morganton
S2 Sanford
I Asheville
26 Fourth Sunday
Breakfast
Birthday,
Randy Jackson
27 28 R Thomasville
29 30 Apr 26
Fourth Sun-
day Breakfast.
9:30am Silver
Spoon Restau-
rant. 5230 N.
Roxboro Rd.
Page 15
March 14 Swap Meet
Mebane Arts Center 622 Corregidor St.
Mebane, NC
March 9-21 Florida District Convention
Kissimmee, FL
March 22 Fourth Sunday Breakfast Silver Spoon Restaurant
5230 N. Roxboro Rd.
March 28 Blessing of the Bikes
Bojangles 908 English Road
Rocky Mount
The Open Road Calls
Upcoming Events in March
GWRRA-NCH2 c/o William Prince 1149 Shasta Court Creedmoor, NC 27522
