Cognitions: Random thoughts from the Northeast Area Director by Steven Smith #3184

Issue 5, 2010

October is here - Time to get out and do some riding to take in some great northeast fall colors and the nice crisp air. This is by far my most favorite time to ride. One word of caution… be cautious of wet leaves.

I’m sitting here thinking of what has happened over the past months to share with you. I was quickly overwhelmed in retrospective thought of some significant celebratory milestones. Several birthdays and my one year anniversary of reemployment is shadowed by the news that our daughter recently got engaged. No dates contemplated yet, but they took the leap and purchased a starter house nearby. How fast they grow up. Can I really be THAT old?

Something that comes up this time each year is the COG elections. Although my term is not up for another year, this year the terms are up for Executive Director [and three other Area Directors]. Members may send an Executive Director candidate suggestion to me and I will forward it to the board. By the way… Ken Ford, our current Executive Director will be running for the position again. The six Area Directors will vote to approve which candidate will be our next Executive Director. The candidate must be a COG member in good standing. If you wish to make a nomination, send me an email that includes this information: 1) The name and COG # of the person being nominated. 2) The name and COG # of the member making the nomination.

These are exciting times for COG. It has been just over two years since we launched our new web site that provides members with services such as emailed membership renewal notification, online membership and rally registration, club merchandise store, and the ability to make payment online. More and more last minute & impromptu rides are added to the online calendar and online forum that are to new to post in the newsletter. Use of the web services allows notices to get out to members easily and more timely than any other method events. The web site has been hugely successful and over 80% of the membership is using it. I encourage all Northeast members to sign up, and more important, to use the online services. This is you dues at work for you.

This month COG is rolling out a new, modern, full featured web forum. You can login to the new forum with the same login information (username and password) as you use at the COG web site. If you do not have an online account, you will need to create one. If your current Alias is blank you need to add it to your profile in COGMOS (www.cog-online.org) so that it gets imported into the new forum. Please try it out. I think you will be impressed with the features. The web address for the new forum is: forum.cog-online.org

I want to bring your attention to a few upcoming events. The International Motorcycle Shows are coming to Washington, DC and New York. You can read in Terry Faherty’s report about his plans for the annual NYC lunch after the show. Something similar happens in DC too, but I have not heard about it yet. Check the online calendar in a month or so, or give the AADs a call. Norm & Lorie Walton are hosting another “End of Season Bash” and the invite is also in this issue. We had a great time last year and I plan to go again. Kevin Martin is hosting a COG Halloween Social at the end of October. Don’t forget the annual November Brrrrrrr Ride in Virginia.

Until next time… enjoy the fall colors.

Thanks to Jason, the COG Northeast 2011 Spring Fling rally is locked in. Mark your calendars:

Dates: May 19-22, 2011

Location: Wellsboro, PA

Lodging: Penn Wells Lodge will be primary. Penn Wells Hotel, and Sherwood Motel secondary.

Camping: most likely we will again recommend Stony Fork Creek Campground.

Preliminary info about room booking and registration will be in the next newsletter and posted in the COGMOS calendar. Registration will open in early 2011.

The all new Progressive® International Motorcycle Shows® are coming to Washington, D.C. and New York City. Buy your tickets online at motorcycleshows.com and save with discount promo code: COG2011

As part of its plan to re-invent the 30 year old powersports event series from the ground up and offer more value for its customers, the Progressive International Motorcycle Shows will introduce a completely new visual design and show environment, more entertainment and learning opportunities, gifts and prizes custom-built for each unique lifestyle enthusiast, and more ways to interact with and buy product than ever before. Powersports enthusiasts, recreational riders, and aspirational fans from all lifestyles and riding abilities will be engaged in a brand new way on the show floor and spend more time connecting with exhibitors and the community, leaving the show with a tremendous sense of satisfaction and tangible value from their experience.

Page 2 NORTHEAST AREA NEWS

NORTHEAST STAFF Area Director Steven Smith, #3184 203-720-7575 nead @ cog-online.org

Newsletter Editor Neil Baldwin, #5762 905-875-8607 baldwin@peacockforest.ca

Web Editor Wayne Geiser, #8542 Tewksbury, MA, 978-851-2710 Wayne @ MyPowerCouple.com

Assistant Area Directors: Massachusetts (VT, NH, ME) Kevin Martin, #145 Dracut, MA, 978-459-6275 cog145 @ verizon.net

Connecticut (RI) Norm & Lorie Walton, #7011 Cromwell, CT, 860-836-5162 ctaad @ live.com

Metro NY/NJ Terry Faherty, #792 Staten Island, NY, 718-227-2099 tmcefah @ aol.com

NY Hudson Valley south Mike Flynn, #4493 Bedford Hills, NY, 914-239-3721 Keltwolf @ optonline.net

NY Hudson Valley north Bob Barbanti, #7134 Wallkill, NY, 845-895-1130 ny.neaad @ yahoo.com

Western NY Help needed—please inquire!! Pittsburgh (Western PA) Joe Cyprych, #4665 McDonald, PA, 724-796-1401 cyprych @ windstream.net

DelMarVa & Philly burbs Bob Chappell, #1283 Claymont, DE, 302-791-0582 cog1283 @ comcast.net

Maryland/Southern PA Help needed—please inquire!! Virginia/West Virginia Kurt & Sue Nordstrom, #6049/A Spotsylvania, VA, 540-582-9414 ironhorsefun @ mindspring.com

Greater Toronto, Canada Dave Clancy, #5452 Hamilton, ON, 905-389-7681 davecla2 @ sympatico.ca

Eastern Ontario, Canada Ken Fader, #8534 Brockville, ON, 613-865-7995 kensc14@g.mail.com

Connecticut Report By Norm & Lorie Walton, #7011+7011A

Greg Habel planned a 9/11 ride from MA to the Vanilla Bean Café in Pomfret, in the Quiet Corner of Connecticut. This seemed like a terrific opportunity to set up an impromptu CT ride to meet the MA crew for lunch. Meeting at Dunkin Donuts in Middletown, CT. In attendance were myself, Lorie, Steven Smith and friend Bill Meagher, Jim Watermen on his new Gold Wing, Dave Dutton and Andy Howgego. Following a route provided by Bruce Jansen, we wound our way through some awesome roads in the Eastern part of the state. We arrived at the “Bean” not too long after the MA crew, who were already sitting down to eat. We ordered our food and mingled with the others. Lunch was tasty as always and was made better by the company of fellow COGers and the many bikes to check out. After lunch Steve, Bill, Lorie, Andy and I made our way home by heading south, and west through Hebron and catching the Glastonbury-Rocky Hill ferry. It was a beautiful day made better by great people and some sweet riding!! (Pictures on page 6)

Gerry Barnett provided this Oct 3 Hillbilly Mystery Ride report. “We started out freezing our tails off. Brian and Andrea Felice, Lorie Walton, John Griffin, Carl Dye, Chris Constantine, Pete Elovich, Bruce Jansen, Jim Waterman, Craig Rabin and myself made our way out to East Otis for a warming breakfast at Berkshire Hillbillies. Back to the mounts for about an hour in the fresh air to a stop at the Savoy Hol-low General Store. We took off for a ride down Rt 112, a great twisty in Western MA. All was great til we came upon a spankin' fresh rock slide in our lane. Thanks to whomever put out the road flares. Woo Hoo! We stopped for another breather at the Huntington Country Store. What a great little find that place is. As with other COG rides, the next question was, ‘whats for lunch?’ We decided that Bub's BBQ was the destination of choice. Soon we were enjoying some fine BBQ and fixin's. The day started to get shorter and we all had long rides back home, so off to the races one last time. Thanks to everyone that made the trip. It was a great turnout and most enjoyable riding.”

Happenings from Virginia & West Virginia by Kurt & Sue Nordstrum #6049+6049A

August brought us the Dog Days of Summer, hence the Dog Days Campout Weekend in Boyer, WV (see pictures on page 6).

This weekend had a special aurora to it this time; one of the main attractions of going to WV is a visit to Rella’s Café / Restaurant / Eatery in Hacker Valley, WV. Rella’s is operated by Rella who is a sweet little old lady that will make you up some of the best home cooked vittles this side of the Mississippi and she doesn’t take American Express.

Rella normally has one of her daughters waiting tables while she is busy in the kitchen. It was learned through the grapevine that Rella’s daughter was seriously ill and she was in the hospital. Rella was trying to keep the restaurant open and visit her daughter at the same time and she was having a very rough time of it mentally, physically and financially.

That’s when former Executive Director Guy Young and the Richmond, VA area Adv Riders decided to spring into action and pass around a helmet (electronically so to speak) and take up a collection to help Rella out in her time of need. So while this was happening for about 2 – 3 weeks prior to our

(Continued, including pictures, on page 5)

What’s up in Metro NY/NJ by Terry Faherty #792

Somebody pinch me...cause I must be dreaming! There is NO WAY summer has already passed us by! The month of August was basically a blur for me, between the Summer Rally and my trip to Indianapolis for the MotoGP with my son. The races were great and I was glad I could bring my son to see the spectacle. Gonna have to take a break next year though, due to his 16th birthday falling on race weekend. Oh well, lets hope they decide to bring it back for 2012. As I write this I'm getting ready to head out to Vermont on Sunday the 26th for a Backroads Magazine Rally, which will pretty much put and end to my trips for the season. Other than some day rides that's pretty much all she wrote. As we speak preliminary planning has begun for the Fall Foliage Rally to be held in Lake George in late Sept 2011. It sure helps to have my rally co-conspirator living in Queenesbury, ten minutes away. For those who have been to our past rallies, we're again trying to mix things up a bit, hotel and dinner wise. We'll see how things develop, although O'Sullivan's as hotel and Mario's for the banquet is still a possibility. O'Sullivan's new owner has made some much needed im-provements over the last 4 years or so, so the accommodations will be a bit less...uh...spartan? but the price will probably be a bit higher too. Ole Terry will have to get off his duff too though since the bridge to Vermont is still down on Rt 17, I'll have to rework all my Vermont routes. The good news is they were starting to repave Rt 125 in Vermont this summer. If its done by then the good road quo-tient goes up quite nicely! I couldn't get the days for the COG Fall Rally in Natural Bridge, so all you folks are gonna have to do some extra miles for me while you're there!

Just a quick note about the Javitz Show, as usual on Saturday we'll be heading out for victuals between 2pm and 3 pm. This year I'd like to head to Blue Smoke, 116 E 27 St, right off of Lexington Ave. I've tried it out and it is some seriously good authentic BBQ. Anyone who is definitely interested please drop me a line and let me know. If I can get a set head count we can set up a group buffet, a set price and not have to split up for tables. Let's say by Dec 1st? Any method will do; e-mail, text, cell phone call, carrier pigeon...... I hope everyone had a safe and enjoyable summer, and I'll see you on the road.

SIWIK Stuff I Wish I Knew (sooner than later)

What a difference ear plugs make.

What an even bigger difference knowing how to properly insert ear plugs can make!

How Plexus can make my windshield clear again.

Pushing with the foot more than pulling with the arm when getting her on the center stand.

Send your Connie SIWIK to: baldwin@peacockforest.ca

Page 3

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Northeast Area NEWS is a bi-monthly publication for Northeast Area members of the Concours Owners Group. Submissions are welcomed and members are encouraged to share their COG experiences. Please send submissions to: baldwin@peacockforest.ca

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Many of the opinions stated in this publication may make no sense to those sound of mind and may just be conveniently ignored. If you use any of the information in this rag to incur damage to yourself, your motor or any innocent or not so innocent bystanders it is you own fault...you were warned!

©2010 Concours Owners Group

Pittsburgh (Western PA) Greetings by Joe Cyprych #4665 Hello fellow Coggers, We just returned recently from our Canaan valley weekender and we had about 12 or so that showed up for the event. We were treated to great weather, great roads and a few evenings to enjoy some beverages and kick some tires. I got the chance to meet and ride with some new members and I hope they enjoyed the weekend as much as we did. I hope to meet up with them again in the future. On that note, Canaan valley is very much interested in hosting us again and I am looking forward to setting up another weekender next year. There has got to be a reason this area still holds the record for a national attendance <LOL>. We’re still going to hold our Sunday meet & greet and rides until the weather tells us otherwise (no, I am not going to mention snow) so contact me beforehand if you’re planning to make one. Now that our season is winding down I would like to thank everyone that attended our rides this year and I hope to see you at next year’s. Thanks and take care. Joe / Michele

Hudson Valley northwest News By Bob Barbanti #7143

It's been an interesting summer, and I have a few things to tell you about.

First up, the COG NE summer rally at Mt. Snow in West Dover, Vermont: It started off with a little weather, but the weekend turned out to be absolutely beautiful. The wife and daughter were meeting me up there, so I decided to ride up with Marc Hering. Marc and I made a good days ride out of it on the way to the rally and rode to Mt. Greylock in Massa-chusetts on the way up. The road going in was smooth as glass since it had been repaved. But it was also wet and slippery. Visibility was non-existent at the top so Mt. Greylock turned out to be a bust and, to add insult to injury, we ran into the heavy rains during the rest of the ride there. But the sun came out as soon as we arrived! The COG contingent had some nice riding throughout the weekend. I wound back down to Mt. Greylock again on Saturday with Brian and Andrea Felice. The view was spectacular this time. All in all, the rally was excellent. I went with the family to Lake George from there so my trip continued for a few more days. It was a good dry run for my new bike. Too bad I had those terrible Bridgestone 021's on the bike, which took some of the fun out of the riding, especially on Mt. Greylock!

(Continued, including pictures, on page 5)

ISSUE 5 , 2010

Eastern Ontario Report By Ken Fader, #8534

Well it is fall again seems the riding season is just to short or life is just to busy, when I look at my odometer I see that I did about 60% of the riding that I did last year, kind of tells me My life is too busy. Anyway I am working on a ride for next summer for this area would like to make it a 2 day event so if anyone has any ideas, it would be good to hear from you. Also if the members from this area would like to get together for a regular monthly meeting I will hopefully have something in place in the next month, so keep a eye on the COG web calendar for a time and location or send me your e-mail address and I will let you know this way. (kensc14@gmail.com) For the ride date I am looking at the first part of August 2011, possible 3 self guided routes, with a destination that shows how lovely this area is and has something that interests just about anyone, so stay tuned for updates, and any of the local members that would like to help let me know. Well that’s all for now stay tuned.

Greetings New England Coggers! by Kevin Martin #145

.Post Labor Day can be one of the best times of the year to go bike riding. This time of the year however generally requires riders to plan better on the type of riding gear they need to carry due to significant temperature swings during the day. Morning rides often start out with fairly cold temperatures often requiring heated gear or layering. Mid day often requires the use of vented gear or the removal of layering as temperatures rise into the 70”s or even higher. Late afternoon things cool off again requiring riders to switch back to layering to keep the chill at bay. Because there is a shortage of daylight during the Fall season, a day ride could often find riders ending their ride in darkness and along with it comes cold temperatures once again.

Even though the Fall riding season may bring big temperature swings, it’s still a great time of the year to ride if you’re dressed for it. It’s also a very scenic time of the year for the observant rider as we notice signs of fall foliage creeping in along the roadsides and in the valley areas making for a very pleasant seasonal ride. The downside though is that it won’t be long before the Thanksgiving holiday season is here and the cold November temperatures and yes eventually snow ending another riding season up here in the Northeast. The good news is that we’re not there yet so for me, I’ve still got a couple of more rides planned for October and any November rides will be ad hoc if a good weekend comes along. So for now let’s reflect on a few events that have recently passed and pray for a delayed winter.

(Continued, including picture, on pages 4 & 7)

Page 4 NORTHEAST AREA NEWS

Vanilla Bean Ride by Greg Habel COG# 7010

Thirteen of us started out this September 11 ride with a hearty old-school breakfast at Lowell’s restaurant in Mendon, MA just off RT 140. We welcomed prospective COGer Scot Chin who had contacted me via the www.cog�online.org web forum to see if he could check out the club on his first ever COG ride. My wife Tracey joined us for breakfast and made sure everyone signed the COG waiver. After discussing the ride route I went over basic riding etiquette and instructions should an accident occur. Out in the parking lot we donned our gear and prepared for departure with Bob Watkins riding sweep and AAD Kevin Martin in the middle, both with GMRS radios so all 3 of us could keep the group in check. This was very helpful especially as we encountered a few stop lights. We rode our way through Mendon, Rock-dale, and Uxbridge before passing through a nicely unpopulated conservation area just outside of Douglas which allowed us to up the pace through some nice twisties. I counted 3 golf courses; all requiring some careful road scan-ning for rogue golf balls. Although Thompson Speedway wasn’t racing cars that day, we did get a glimpse of the short oval track. Maybe we should have stopped in for a quick lap! Now in northeast CT we found our way to RT 197. A friend of mine who lives just off this road says he hears bikes all day long on the weekend and now I know why. Mostly farm land and reduced population areas along with good twisties make for good riding. We veered off of RT 197 to eventually reach our fuel and bio break at a truck stop at the intersection of RT 395 and RT 320. Our blad-ders empty and appetite build-ing we rode over the “320 roller coaster” on our way to the Va-nilla Bean Café to meet up with more CT COGers. I chuckled as we passed a transmission repair sign that read “We keep your rear in gear”. At the Bean we found the parking lot already well established with motorcy-cles, but there was still room for our bikes. CT and MA COGers greeted us with smiles. We quickly took over the horseshoe shaped outdoor dining area along with a few tables. AD and MSF instructor Steve Smith made a surprise appearance after his MSF class had been cancelled. Soon we were standing in the food order line taking in the scrumptious aroma of the Vanilla Bean spe-cialties. Recently turned vegetarian I had extreme difficulties resisting order-ing their chili but settled with a veggie burger. After lunch 11 of us headed south on RT 169 for a 45 minute stop at Motorsports International in Plain-field to check out bikes and gear. Our credit cards still below their maximum limit, nine of us meandered northeast through CT and northwest RI via RT 102. GPS quirks put me in unknown territory in MA, but eventually brought us to our final destination back at Lowells for ice cream. An hour of pleasant company and revelling in the day, we each went our separate ways with smiles on our faces from yet another great day of riding. Life is good.

On September 11th, Greg Habel hosted his Connecticut Vanilla Bean Café and Mo-torsports Nation ride. We met at Lowell’s Restaurant in Mendon Mass with a big group of riders and spent the day riding south western Mass and north eastern CT. It was a beautiful day for riding and the size of the group didn’t delay the ride or cause any problems for the leaders. We met up with several other Coggers from the Ct area at the Vanilla Bean including our own AD Steve Smith. As usual the place was hoping with customers and the parking lot was full of bikes of all types. The Vanilla Bean is a great place for bikers to stop for lunch or a snack. If you’re ever in the area be sure to stop in and check it out. The Bean is located on the intersections of �Rt 169, Rt 44 and Rt 97 in Pomfret, Ct.

he following week in September, I hosted an overnight ride up in Acadia National Park, staying at the Kimball Terrace in Northeast Harbor where we had the 2008 Fall Rally. We arrived in Northeast Harbor Thursday afternoon after a full day of riding up through Maine. When we arrived, we were greeted by new members Steve and Mista McDonnell from Manchester NH. I believe this was there first COG event and hope to see them again some time. The only rain we received that weekend was overnight Thurs-day into early Friday morning. A slightly delayed start on Friday offered dry roads and great riding weather the rest of the weekend. I don’t have an official count but off hand I’d say we had about 12 people attending this weekend event.

Friday we spent the day touring Acadia Na-tional Park and several coastal areas. On Saturday we took the long ride up to Lubec Maine, the furthest point Northeast in Maine along the Bay of Fundy and the Canadian border. We stopped for lunch at a place I found back in 2008 overlooking the Bay of Fundy called Cohill’s Pub, a family owned eatery that has great Angus burgers, but unfortunately was out of blueberry pie, a story for another time.

After lunch a few folks had their passports with them and opted to cross the bridge and ride over to Campobello Island, Canada while we headed back for Northeast Harbor stopping off at scenic Shoodic Point, another part of Acadia National Park overlooking the Gulf of Maine. We walked the rocks at Shoodic and watched waves crashing the coast as the tide slowly rolled in. We de-cided to head back to the main park loop road in Bar Harbor to re-visit Thunder Hole that was so calm a day earlier. With the tide coming in this would be our last chance before heading home to see why Thunder Hole was such an attraction for the tourists.

When we got there, I was surprised by the number of people visiting the attraction so late in the day, but it didn’t take long to see why. As the tide rolled in, the waves fun-neled through the narrow opening in the rocks slamming against the rock face forc-ing the water straight up and over the walk-way with a loud roar that really did sound

(New England Report, continued from page 3)

(Continued on page 4)

ISSUE 5 , 2010 Page 5

Next up was the August monthly Meet & Greet in Newburgh, NY. Six people showed for lunch and socializing. Fred Whitaker and Brian Butler were both from Newburgh, Ken Cahill from Hopewell Junction NY, along with me made up a fairly local contingent. Mike Aldea from Hawthorne, NJ continued his per-fect attendance for the actual Meet & Greets. Our long distance award this time goes to Bruce Jansen for riding out from Waterford CT. After the lunch group broke up, three of us went for a ride so that two of us could escort Bruce toward home with a ride. Ken and I took Bruce for a ride out on RT301 be-tween Cold Springs and Carmel, NY heading in the homeward direction.

Here's where we hit a snag. Riding on RT 9D headed to 301, we had an accident. I was lead-ing when a young lady decided to make a left hand turn directly in my path. I had approxi-mately 20 ft to stop, which wasn't feasible. So I aimed for the double yellow since it was my only possible escape, if at all. I almost missed her, but struck the rear of her car. I was lucky and kept control of the bike. The damage to my brand new bike was light and has already

been repaired. But this could have been much worse. She said she never saw us (3 motorcy-cles!) and my headlight was on high beam. So take this a reminder that people just will not see you. Take precautions to protect yourself. Make yourself visible. I immediately installed a headlight modulator on the bike. As with other bikes, I have again noticed a drastic reduction in close calls since I installed the headlight modulator. I should not have put it off. So take this as a reminder. Since we were delayed waiting for the police. Ken had to go and couldn't finish the ride, leaving it to Bruce and I to finish the ride, which we did to the finish point as planned!

In September, I decided to cancel the Septem-ber Meet & Greet to do a ride instead. Since the second Saturday of the month turned out to be on 9/11. I decided to do a memorial ride that ran from Chester, NY over some very fine roads out to Hamlin, PA. Hamlin is the home to Kundla's BBQ. And we seem to like BBQ around this area. This is the second BBQ ride this summer. We met in Chester before 9 AM. The riders consisted of Mike Aldea from Haw-thorne NJ (I have to thank Mike for his help in the planning and logistics of the ride.), Alex Benoit form Bronx NY, Bruce Kassof from

Valley Cottage NY, new member Jack Ng from Greenwood Lake NY, and Fred Whitaker from Newburgh NY and I were the crew!

We had a moment of silence in remembrance shortly after 9AM (the second tower was struck at 9:03 AM). After a little discussion, we were on our way. We ran all nice back roads with lots of turns the whole way. We made a stop in Sparrowbush, NY on Rt 97 at the world famous Hawks Nest! <LOL> The viewing was nice and the bikes were out! From there we continued on to Hamlin where we had some awesome BBQ. I'm pretty sure everybody enjoyed lunch. We spent quite a while there with after lunch discussions that were anything from 9/11 to about anything you can think of. The ride back was fairly spirited once we were back in NY. One of the riders had decided to take his own way home, but rode with us until we entered NY. We ended the ride in Middletown, NY. The ride was approximately 75-80 miles each way. But the routes each way were totally different. With no roads repeated on the routes. Every-body seemed to enjoy the ride. So maybe we'll do this ride again!

(Hudson Valley Report, continued from page 3)

campout weekend; a plan was laid out for the COG Riders and the Adv Riders to descend on Rella’s es-tablishment at 1:00 PM in the afternoon on the Saturday of our scheduled campout weekend.

Starting at about 12:30 about 30 riders started to arrive during a driving rain storm and dense, dense fog. Shortly after 2 PM Guy was nominated as spokesman for the group and made the presentation to Rella and there was not a dry eye in the joint. I believe the helmet held approximately $1350.00 and it was greatly appreciated.

Other than Saturday’s Sog Fest ride to Rella’s the rest of our time in WV was beautiful with sunny skies, daytime temps in the 70’s and low 50’s at night, great weather for August. Most of the attendees made it a Thursday through Sunday event, while others stretched it even further into the following week. For 2011 Dogs Days will be interrupted by the COG Nationals in VT, so we here in VA & WV have moved our event to September and it will be called the 911 Remembrance Campout Weekend, mark your calendars!

September brought us to White Post, VA for a meet, greet and eat at Mr. B’s BBQ. This has become an annual event for us; the date and month might change from year to year but the attendance keeps growing because the BBQ is so damn good and it’s cheap. Once again Coggers and their friends started to descend on Mr. B’s about 11:45 and we stayed until about 2 PM. Lots of BBQ was devoured and many tales were told.

By the time the membership gets this newsletter the NE Fall Rally will have past or will be in full swing. A full report will be forthcoming in the next newsletter. Also, check the NE COG calendar for an added event in December. Pat Sprague has volunteered to put together an event/ ride, this will be a rain, sleet, snow, or shine event, cage it if you must, just be there.

Till next time, ride safe… Kurt & Sue

(VA & WV Report, continued from page 2)

Page 6 NORTHEAST AREA NEWS

1. Why we come to West Virginia!

2. Bikes at Rella’s

3. Rella with COG and ADV riders

Pictures from Norm & Lorie’s CT Report:

Dog Days Ride Pics, courtesy of Kurt Nordstrum:

1

2

3

Crossing the Connecticut river on the Rocky Hill ferry

Hanging out at Vanilla Bean Café. Hey Pat… You dissin’ the photographer?

9/11 Rememberance Field of Flags

Waiting for the Rocky Hill ferry

ISSUE 5 , 2010 Page 7

Northeast Activity Schedule You’re invited!

The COG End of Season Bash 2010 Greetings COG Members! Last year’s event was a huge success so we decided to plan a second annual End of Season Bash. Like last year, the event will be catered and will be BYOB. This event is open to all COG members. Nearby affordable lodg-ing is available for those wishing to stay over. When: Saturday, November 6, 6:30PM, Where: Fox Meadows Clubhouse, 9 Meadowbrook Dr., Cromwell CT 06416 RSVP: required by October 17. We would love to see everyone attend. Unfortunately if there is not sufficient interest in the event, we will have to cancel so please let me know ASAP if you are coming. Tickets are $20 per person and includes Starters, Dinner,

Dessert and Coffee. 6:30 to 7:30 - hors d’oeuvres and cocktails (BYOB) – Soft drinks

and water provided. 7:30 to ? - Dinner, desert, conversation and more cocktails. Affordable accommodations are available: Super 8 Motel, One

Industrial Park Rd., Cromwell CT 860-632-8888 (ask for Kim or mention COG) A block of rooms are reserved, but indi-viduals must make their own reservations before October 23. Single room: $53.89 + tax; Double room: $62.89 + tax.

We are working on reserving a shuttle service from the event to the hotel. However the hotel is only 1 mile down the road. Please specify if you desire the shuttle service and if you would be willing to kick in an additional $5 per head for this. Contact Lorie or Norm Walton (860) 635-0803 or email Lorie at lorwoman@comcast.net or Norm ctaad@live.com Hope to see you! It will be a great way to end the riding season! Thanks!

like thunder. There were lots of kids down on the railed walkway having fun waiting for the eventual splash of the thunder wave over the walkway soaking them in the process. Man the water must have been cold, but it didn’t seem to bother them at all, they were having a blast. At one point, I even noticed a wedding party arrive to watch the thunder wave. Even the bride in full white wedding gown walked down the steps to watch the waves crash into the rock face. No she wasn’t close enough to get wet, she was standing near us along the viewing section watching the kids have fun. It was getting dark early and fast so we headed out for dinner, I suspect that during the summer with more daylight it’s quite a sight in full tide, but I was happy I got a chance to see Thunder Hole partially come to life. The group broke up, some of us headed into Bar Harbor for dinner and others headed back to Northeast Harbor for local restaurants. Sunday was a gray cool day but dry for the ride home, eventually changing over to all sun and warm temperatures as we headed south and inland for the ride home. Thanks to everybody who attended this weekend event. If anybody would like to see the pictures we took during the Acadia weekend and even several videos posted by attendees, they’re all available for viewing on my Mac server at the following URL: http://gallery.me.com/ke.martin#100139

On Saturday October 16th I’ll be hosting my last full day ride of the season. If the weather cooperates we’ll be riding through the Massachu-setts Pioneer Valley and into the Berkshires for a Fall Foliage Ride. Hopefully we’ll still see some good color this late into the fall season. I’ll have more on this ride in the next Newsletter and hopefully my camera will be working this time so I can take a group photo. Thanks to eve-ryone for another great COG riding season.

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and bear right onto Rte 113 toward Dracut. Follow Rte 113 West for 6 miles to the Rte 38 intersection (Wendy’s on Left). Take Right onto 38 North and go 1 mile, Romano’s on Left in Bridgewood Plaza. Host: Kevin Martin cog145@verizon.net or 978.459.6275

(VA) Brrrr Ride, Natural Bridge KOA

11/12/10 - 11/14/10 - This ride and camp was started by Guy Young several years ago and has become a perennial favorite. We will gather once again at the Natural Bridge KOA just off I-81 and RT 11 to camp on Friday and Saturday nights. For those not wanting to camp the KOA has cabins available with heaters (sort of) that will keep the chill off. To make reservations with the KOA please call 540-291-2770. Hotels and motels (Budget Inn – 540-291-2896 & Relax Inn – 540-291-2143) are in the area for those that require hard top shelter. We will meet for breakfast at 8:00 AM at the Pink Cadillac Restaurant (RT 11) on Saturday morning just a mile north of the entrance of the KOA. The route will take us over some awesome roads with lunch then back to the camp for dinner and COG camaraderie. Hopefully there will not be a fire ban in VA and we will be able to have a nice campfire this year. Any questions or comments please contact Kurt or Sue Nordstrom @ 540-582-9414 or ironhorsefun@mindspring.com.

(VA) Williamsburg, Eat, Ride and Freeze!

12/12/10 - Friends and riders, anyone wanting to have breakfast and ride meet at the Capitol Pancake and Waffle house, 800 Capitol Landing Rd., Williamsburg, VA 23285, 757-564-1238 at 8-8:30 AM. This is not an official COG event, just a get together ride for those who would like to… Eat, ride, and freeze at your own risk! After breakfast we'll leave about 9-9:30 AM for a ride through Eastern Virginia if weather allows. Last year we had a frog strangler, got to be better this time. If not, arrive in your cage and enjoy the good food and friendship. Hope to see you there! Contact information: Pat Sprague: pesprague@comcast.net

Check the www.cog-online.org Event Calendar for complete and up to date activities listing.

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Methuen MA - James Denoncourt #9262 Newmarket ON (Canada) - Tom Kowalski #9263 Easton MD - Eric Jans & Shelly Schiera #9265/a Rockville MD - Richard Alexander #9268 Morristown NJ - Matt Murphy #9269 Lake George NY - Bud & Maureen Gerber#9270/a Northampton MA - Drew Walsh #9272 Fairfax VA - Eric Morrisette #9278 Hagerstown MD - John Hamilton #9279 Baltimore MD - Kenny Johnston #9280 New Brunswick NJ - Chris Franceschini #9283 Salem MA - Ken Leblanc, Jr & Maxine Small #9287/a Virginia Beach VA - Edmund Patejak #9289

Adams NY - Brian O'Keefe #9293 Glen Rock NJ - Glenn Grube #9296 Greenwood Lake NY - Jack Ng #9301 Montauk NY - Bob Ritter, #9304 Amston CT - William Billig #9306 Landing NJ - Chriss Horstman #9313 Cedar Grove NJ - Joe Vragolic #9324 Queensbury NY - Brian & Jeanne Nichols #9321/a Cardinal ON (Canada) - Richard Beaudoin #9318 Landenberg PA - Gregg Diener #9311 Collegeville PA - Wade Marshall #9328 Elverson PA - James & Rachel Robinson #9320/a

Welcome to Our Newest Northeast Area Members! (since the last newsletter)

Page 8 NORTHEAST AREA NEWS

Northeast Activity Schedule - View the most up to date info on the online Event Calendar at: www.cog-online.org Recurring Events (ON) S. Central Ontario Get-Together. Monthly Dinner Gathering: Meet at 6:30 pm on the 2nd Tuesday of each month at the Mohawk Inn, located on the northwest corner of Hwy. 401 at Guelph Line, Exit 312, next to the Mohawk Raceway & Slots. 9230 Guelph Line, Campbellville. (www.mohawkinn.com) 905-854-2277 Join us for dinner and socializing. All Welcome. Dave Clancy, davecla2@sympatico.ca or 905-389-7681.

(PA) Meet Greet and Ride Sundays. Meet Sundays at 10:00 am at Kings Restaurant located in Imperial, PA, located right off the Imperial exit of routes 22 & 30. We’ll decide a ride or destination with whoever attends, or I will have a route ready if we need it. Rides begin the 1st week in April until the 1st week in Nov. If you have a ride idea, or need info or directions contact Joe Cyprych 724.796.1401 or cyprych@windstream.net Hope to see you there.

Calendar of Events (MA) Pioneer Valley/Berkshire Foliage Ride

10/16/10 - This ride will include some of the best motorcycling roads in western Massachusetts, including The Mohawk Trail, 8A, 116, 112, and a number of unmarked county roads. We’ll be stopping for lunch in South Deerfield MA at Wolfie’s Restaurant. Meet at Bickfords Restaurant, 526 N. Main St (Rt 12) Leominster, MA. GPS: N42 32.985 W71 45.754. Ride leaves at 8:30 am. If anyone wants to ride to Leominster with me, I’ll be at the I-495 South Rest Stop in Chelmsford, leaving around 7:15 am. The rest stop is just south of exit 34 on I-495. Host: Kevin Martin cog145@verizon.net or 978.459.6275

(MA) COG Halloween Social

10/30/10 - Join us for our annual end of year Fall Social luncheon and, weather permitting, a Halloween Ride. We’ll return again this year to Romano’s Pizza and Sub Shop on SR-38 in Dracut MA. Hopefully the weather will allow attendees to ride to this event so that we can close out the day with a Halloween ride. Romano’s has great food and a good size seating area where we can hang out and enjoy the afternoon. There is plenty of parking within view of the dining area. This will be an “All Weather” event, so 4-wheel or

2-Wheel is your choice and Halloween costumes are optional. Arrive at Romano’s at 12:30 pm and relax. The food arrangement will be a little different this year than in the past due to Club budgetary constraints. Attendees are asked to pay ($5 per person) which will include All You Can Eat appetizers, pizza, and non-alcoholic drinks. Beer and wine available separately. Proceeds from the March winter social will offset any cost overages. As always, balances will be carried over to the next social event. There are several ways to get to Romano’s Pizza, 1794 Bridge Street (Rte 38, Bridgewood Plaza), Dracut MA 01826, (www.mypizzamenu.com) For out of towners, here a few ways to get there; contact me if you need specific directions. 1) From 495 North or South, take Exit 38 which is also Rte 38 and follow through Lowell and stay on 38 North. At intersection of Rte 38 & 113 (Wendy’s on right), go straight through lights, Romano’s is 1 mile up on the Left in Bridgewood Plaza. 2) From 93 North or South, take Exit 46 to the Methuen Rotary

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