This month found us riding one of the shorter rides of the year. We had perfect weather for a ride to the USS Midway in San Diego. This ride was different as Dan nor I was available to go on the pre-ride so Ed and some of the other ride crew members stepped up and made all the arrangements, thanks everyone for helping out especially Ed and Susan! Riders began arriving around 7:30 for coffee, socializing and raffle ticket sales. 

Our meeting started around 8:00AM. I introduced our new rider, Tod Withey, welcome and we hope to see you back next month.  I then told stories of our Star Days trip which lasted longer than I had

originally planned but it’s difficult to explain 3 weeks of fun and riding with great friends in a short time. We wrapped up the meeting with our normal raffle with the majority of the raffle items donated by Keith and Stacy Limbach, thanks so much guys!

 We then assembled in two groups headed south on I-5 with a final destination of San Diego. Our first stop on the route was the rest area between Orange County and San Diego, half way there John Ruhland had to pull over to reconnect a spark plug wire that had come off during the ride. After our rest stop we prepared to leave and John’s bike had mechanical problems and wouldn’t start so he contacted his brother to come rescue him, once we knew he had made arrangements we bid John farewell and continued down to San Diego. We hit some fairly heavy traffic coming through the Del Mar area but arrived at the Midway around 11:30. The majority of the group went onboard to enjoy the tour and a tasty lunch at the “Fantail Cafe”.

After lunch, tours and souvenir shopping we regrouped at the bikes around 1:30PM and left the pier for a quick gas stop before heading back. Shortly after getting back on the interstate we hit heavy traffic which would continue all the way to Orange. It made for a long ride back but we all arrived at The Block in Orange safe and sound around 4:30. After our post ride meeting I announced the end to another successful ride. Kudos to Ed for his job as road captain for group one, considering the heavy traffic this was a difficult ride to lead. Great job Ed!!
I’ll see everyone next month for our ride to Ventura Harbor.   

Ride Safe Everyone, Terry

June Chapter Ride aka Annual Fundraiser

This month’s ride was all about the event and not so much about the ride. This month was our annual fundraiser for the Orange Senior Center and their Meals On Wheels program. This event is always special to the chapter as we get to give back to the community and especially our local charity.

We started arriving at Starbucks at our usual time however, there wasn’t any urgency in getting started with our meeting as the ride for today was only about 40 miles to Carol and Charlie Wolf’s residence where we were holding our fundraiser and BBQ.

Several members arrived in vehicles as they were transporting food for the BBQ. Around 9:00AM the vehicles departed for the destination to set up for the BBQ. Shortly after they left we held a very short meeting to announce the upcoming rides and safety brief.

We departed around 9:30 in two groups with me leading group 1 and Dan leading group 2. The route took us north on SR57 to Lambert Rd and through Carbon Canyon to Chino Hills Parkway and south on SR71 to 91 east and exiting onto Weir Canyon to Charlie and Carol’s home.
After arriving we enjoyed socializing and a great meal of hamburgers, hot dogs, chicken and all the side dishes provided by various members. During the event we had a representative from Cookie Lee jewelry who agreed to donate 20% of sales to the senior center. The final total is yet to be determined but she will be donating around $200.00 from the chapter member’s purchases.  

After lunch we had our regular chapter meeting where the first order of business was to introduce the Executive Director of the Orange Senior Center, Tom Maldonado. Tom said a few words about the Meals On Wheels program as well as the other happenings of the center, including the date of the upcoming annual poker run. Once Tom had finished I had the pleasure of presenting him for a check in the amount of $1000.00, which was all donated by chapter members. The donations and the jewelry sales for the day, we donated over $1200.00, it just shows what giving caring members we have in Chapter 230. After the presentation, we held the raffle that included several items donated by chapter members. I would like to personally thank Charlie and Carol for hosting the BBQ at their beautiful home. I would also like to thank all the members that stepped up and donated dishes as well as their time to make this year’s event such a success, along with everyone’s monetary donations. Without you, we couldn’t have had such a great time and helped out the senior center like we did in true 230 style.

Next month’s ride will take us to Mt. Pinos.

Ride safe, Terry

Our most recent adventure was a three day trip to Sedona, AZ for the chapter overnighter. This trip began very much like our last one, at the Best Buy parking lot on Friday, May 14th. Members began arriving around 5:30AM to a beautiful morning and ready to ride. By the time we started on our journey we had 30 members, 19 bikes, 10 trailers and 1 automobile. This was the biggest participation for an overnight trip we’ve had since I joined the chapter.  We head out in three groups with our route taking us up SR57 to I-10 and into Banning, CA where we stop for breakfast at our new favorite restaurant for road trips, the Farm House. We all enjoyed a very tasty meal with friendly conversations.

We leave the restaurant on I-10, traveling east to Dillon Rd. where we stop for our first gas stop. Once we arrive, we fill our tanks and start shedding “layers”, as the temperatures were already starting to climb. We continued  on I-10 across the state line into Arizona to our second gas stop in Quartzsite at Love’s gas station where Jim assured me was located on exit 19, apparently Jim has an issue with numbers as the correct exit was 17. We did a quick about face back to exit 17 where we met the other groups. At this point the temperatures were well into the 90’s so off comes additional layers. We hop back on the interstate to SR60 where we travel to our lunch stop just north of Aguila, AZ in the booming metropolis of Coyote Flats where we enjoy a great lunch at Coyote Flats Café and Bar, which of course is located next door to the exquisite 4-star resort of Burro Jim’s Motel. I was amazed to learn that such an upscale hotel had vacancies.

Our last gas stop of the day was located in Congress, AZ where we stopped for a quick fill-up. As we leave Congress, we immediately start into beautiful mountain scenery and twisties all the way to our destination of Oak Creek Terrace just outside Sedona. During our last leg we travel through the western town of Prescott and the quaint little town of Jerome, both of which are rich in history. That night we enjoyed conversations about the day’s travels, laughs, snacks and drinks on the back patio of the resort.

Saturday morning brought us blue skies and warm temperatures. We left the hotel around 7:00AM headed back into town for breakfast at the Coffee Pot restaurant which is famous for “101 omelets”, no seriously!!! The food was excellent but again, I’m somewhat concerned about some of our member’s choice in food. Larry ordered a peanut butter and jelly omelet, it’s the group’s opinion he has no taste buds. After breakfast we split and go in various directions, some on rides to different locations while some opted for shopping in Sedona and one group went hiking. Everyone had a great day!! That evening we met for dinner at The Barking Frog for a nice dinner and a final toast to a fabulous trip.

The next morning we awakened to rather chilly 40 degree temperatures, we ran the gamut from hot to chilly weather during this trip. Unfortunately, Gary woke up to a nail in his rear tire so he kept a close eye on the air pressure during the ride home. We departed the hotel shortly after 6:00AM onto I-40 and our first stop was in Williams, AZ for breakfast at the Pine Country Restaurant. After breakfast it was agreed that we need to make a mental note on this choice as the food and service was excellent. After breakfast we were back on the interstate headed west towards Orange County. Our first gas stop was Kingman, AZ where once again we were greeted with warm “t-shirt” level temperatures. Once our tanks were full we were back on the road to our remaining gas stops of Seligman, Az to Parker, Az to Vidal Junction, Ca and our final stop in Yucca Valley. We then said our goodbye’s and headed to our respective homes. With the exception of Gary’s tire it was a perfect weekend with fun and great great friends. I would like to personally thank everyone that went on the ride, without you we couldn’t have had such a wonderful weekend. In all, we traveled a total of over 1100 miles in three days, for some it was the longest ride and most individual day’s mileage. Congratulations to you all!!

Till the next adventure, Terry

May Chapter Ride Recap

This month found us with beautiful weather and preparing for a scenic ride to the quaint little town of Julian. Riders began arriving around 7:30 for coffee, socializing and raffle ticket sales. 

Our meeting started around 8:00AM. I introduced our new rider, Bob Wood, welcome and we hope to see you back next month.  I then made the announcements for dates of the remaining long trips for the year i.e. Sedona Overnighter and Star Days. It seems the year just started yet we only have two road trips left!  

Stacy Limbach made the announcement for the Chapter 422 fundraiser which is being held on 8/21/10 to help support children and families of Olive Crest and Mariposa Women & Family Center. These are two Orange County charities that help families and children in need.

Our Lead Shepherd Rick Sherrill presented our Sergeant-At-Arms, Ed Palaoro a rocker for Shepherd and in true 230 fashion Lead Tail Gunner Keith Limbach consequently presented Ed a rocker for Tail Gunner, great job Ed!! 

We held our raffle which included gifts from some of our vendors, along with a couple gifts donated by chapter members.

We then assembled in three groups with 22 bikes and headed out SR 57 on our way towards Temecula with a final destination of Julian via a very scenic ride over SR 79. Our first stop on the route was at a Chevron gas station in Temecula where members filled their gas tanks and munched on snacks. We left the gas stop and continued out SR 79 to SR 78 and into Julian for lunch. Once in Julian, we encountered an interesting parking area for our bikes. The parking lot was located behind the Rong Branch Saloon where we were going to have lunch. We parked 22 bikes in an area designed for 15 which made for some fun and light hearted ribbing plus a great photo opportunity. Once parked, we enjoyed a tasty lunch and great conversation.

We headed back home down SR78 and eventually north on I-5 and back to El Torito in The Block safe and sound. Once all three groups arrived, we assembled for our post ride meeting where we voted in Brian Hefter with the assistance of Stacy Limbach and Carol Wolfe. Luckily the ladies stepped in to help because without them it wasn’t looking real promising for Brian J.  Congratulations Brian, welcome to the 230 family!!!

I’ll see everyone next month for our ride to Carol and Charlie’s for our annual fundraiser for the Orange Senior Center. 

Be well, Terry

Our most recent adventure to Kingman, AZ for the Laughlin River Run began at the Best Buy parking lot in Orange on Thursday, April 22nd around 5:30AM. Members began arriving shortly after that to a damp and chilly morning. We assembled with 11 bikes, 6 trailers and 15 members. In my opinion, a very good turnout for the trip!

We head out in one group with our route taking us up SR57 to I-10 and into Banning, CA where we stop at the Farm House for breakfast. Before we arrive I receive an inquiry of how far it is till we stop, it appears that Chuck says Patty needs a restroom break. We all doubt the validity of this request given Chuck’s history with restroom breaks.

Once we arrive, it’s the consensus of the group that we all need something hot to drink since the temperatures along with the damp conditions have caused a very chilly ride so far. We all enjoyed a tasty breakfast of varying dishes including a shrimp omelet that Dan ordered. I’m still somewhat concerned about his taste in food.

We get back on the freeway and ride to SR62 where we exit I-10 heading for 29 Palms and our next gas station. Once we arrived, we got split up and filled our tanks at different stations and then assembled once again to continue our trek in the rain. We continued down SR62 to Vidal Junction, CA where we filled our gas tanks with several other bikes also headed to Laughlin. This is not a strange occurrence as there are thousands of bikes headed to Laughlin this weekend. We hopped back on 62 and crossed the Colorado River and the state line into Arizona just outside Parker, AZ. As we’re traveling up SR95 past Lake Havasu we look towards the northeast at what appears to be a torrential downpour and we decide to stop before we get on I-40 and don rain gear. After everyone “gears up” we turn onto I-40 east and continue into Kingman, AZ and our destination at the Days Inn. That night we attend a STAR dinner at the Golden Corral with several other chapters and Ron and Debi Green and Jodi Munch, the Rocky Mountain Regional Director. After dinner Scott and Richard decide it would be quicker to walk back to the hotel than waiting on the taxi, a decision I suspect they regretted. They got about half way there and a hail storm hit, I believe about that time they were questioning their decision however, Deana the hotel manager was nice enough to go pick them up which they were quite grateful for. Of course, I think they would have gotten in the vehicle no matter who was driving.

Friday morning brought us clear skies and cold temperatures for our ride to Laughlin for the STAR breakfast. Bob Barbano led us into Laughlin where we attended the breakfast at the Tropicana Express casino. We enjoyed a very tasty buffet and lots of socializing with chapters from all over the Southwest. Alan Cease was the speaker which is normal at this event, one of the first things he did was ask the chapter president’s to stand and one at a time we announced our chapter and where we were from. It was quite evident with the applause and screaming by our members that 230 had the largest contingent there. After breakfast we all dispersed in different directions to wander through the vendors viewing the sights and sounds of the Laughlin River Run. Several members purchased varying items from chrome to leather goods to t-shirts. We arrived back at the hotel at various times throughout the afternoon and that evening we all socialized in the parking lot and enjoyed pizza and drinks. 

Saturday morning several of us assembled in the Days Inn parking lot for a ride out historic Route 66 to Seligman, AZ and lunch at Westside Lilo’s restaurant and possibly the largest piece of carrot cake known to man. After a great lunch we continued on Route 66 to a gas stop outside of Seligman and then onto I-40 and back to the hotel. That night Dan and several members rode out to the Hualapai Mountain Resort for dinner. While there,  they got to take in a view several elk and deer during dinner. After dinner, they rode down the mountain while getting a beautiful view of the lights of Kingman. Once back at the hotel we enjoyed another night of socializing with stories and laughs from the day’s events.

Sunday morning we left the hotel at 6:00AM for breakfast at the Cracker Barrel with one more rider than we left Orange County with, Bob decided to ride back with us and it was great to ride with Bob again. I think he just misses riding with 230 and this was his opportunity to “come home” to his roots. After breakfast it was back on I-40 to SR95 where we met up with Keith who was staying at their plush summer home outside Needles. We continued down 95 through Parker and onto SR62 and a reverse route that we took coming out to Kingman. This was our first year to utilize this route for Laughlin and given the lack of traffic and amount of positive feedback about it, this just might be a chapter route each year. Our last gas stop was in Yucca Valley and about 30 minutes later than Susan would have liked, apparently Mother Nature was calling and the leader of group one wasn’t listening. Needless to say she voiced her displeasure with the extended distance and yours truly however, in the end she and everyone else had a great trip! We arrived back in OC around 3:00PM tired but filled with memories that we’ll keep with us for a lifetime. Now it’s looking forward to our next trek to Sedona in May.

Ride safe, Terry

Ride Recap for April 3rd ride to Idyllwild

This was the first time the chapter has ridden to the town of Idyllwild in over four years. This ride was originally scheduled for March but due to the unusually large amount of rain and snow that the area had received this winter, it was rescheduled to April. Members began arriving around 7:30 for coffee, catching up with each other and raffle ticket sales. 

Our meeting started shortly after 8:30AM. I welcomed back returning riders Mike Clabaugh, Mike Valentine and Brian Hefter.  Welcome back and we hope to see you back next month.

I then made the announcements for dates and of all the upcoming long trips i.e. , Laughlin River Run, Sedona Overnighter and Star Days. I mentioned that our ride to Laughlin was going to take a slightly different flavor, as we are going to meet at Starbucks at 6:00AM and ride to The Farm House in Banning for breakfast instead of our usual Coco’s location. This was apparently met with full approval by all members from the applause I received.

Scott Hamilton then made a special announcement that Lynn Shapiro has been certified as a Tin Star, great job Lynn! The Tin Star is a very valuable part of our chapter, for those that don’t know Tin Star’s are first responders in the case of an emergency.  
 
We held our raffle which included gifts from some of our vendors, along with a couple gifts donated by chapter members.

We then assembled in two groups with 20 bikes and headed out I-5 south on our way towards Oceanside with a final destination of Idyllwild via a scenic ride out SR 76 around Lake Henshaw to SR79 and onto Idyllwild. Our first stop on the route was at the Pala casino for gas. We left the gas stop and continued out SR 76 to Lake Henshaw. The weather was perfect for a ride, in the low 60’s and sunny. We continued into Idyllwild for lunch, where members enjoyed a tasty meal at various establishments in the mountain community.  

We saddled up and headed down the mountains and into Banning. We turned onto I-10 and headed west to our next gas stop, a Chevron station in Calimesa. Surprisingly, we didn’t encounter any heavy winds so the return ride was comfortable and enjoyable. Once on SR57 Group 2 did have a harrowing experience when a truck stopped on the freeway with no notice to pick up a bicycle tire but due to the great riding abilities everyone escaped with no issues. Great job everyone!! Special recognition goes to Scott for his quick thinking and reactions as road captain to avoid any problems and help his group out of a dangerous situation. My hat is off to you Scott. After that everyone arrived back at The Block in Orange somewhat shaken up but safe and sound.

Once both groups arrived, we assembled for our post ride meeting where I called the ride.

I’ll see everyone next month for our ride to scenic Julian. 

Sincerely, Terry

Ride Recap for March 13th ride

This was our second chapter ride of the year since we’ve had some issues with the weather in sunny Southern California. This ride was originally scheduled for the previous Saturday however, since the rain precluded that, I decided to make a crazy call and reschedule it for the 13th vice cancelling yet another ride. The call was apparently the right one because the weather was absolutely beautiful for the ride. Riders started arriving around 7:30 for coffee, socializing and raffle ticket sales. A special thanks go out to Johney Harper and Rich Von Luft for stepping up and selling raffle tickets for us. Great job guys!!

Our meeting started shortly after 8:00AM. I next introduced our new rider, Brian Heafter and returning rider Ryan Leavy.  Welcome, we hope to see you both back next month.  I then made the announcements for dates and of all the upcoming long trips, i.e. SW STAR BBQ, Laughlin River Run, Sedona Overnighter and Star Days.

I then presented Glenn Sandstrom and Stan Partin “Past Officer” rockers for their service as chapter Sergeant at Arms and Star Vet Rep respectively. Then our lead Tail Gunner, Keith Limbach presented Jim Rawlinson his tail gunner rocker.  I also recognized Jim and Larry Barton for their accomplishment of successfully completing the MSF Experienced Rider Course (ERC), congratulations guys!  

We held our raffle which included gifts from some of our vendors, along with a couple gifts donated by chapter members.
We then assembled in three groups and headed out SR 57 on our way towards Temecula with a final destination of Palm Desert via a very scenic ride over SR 74. Our first stop on the route was at a Chevron gas station in Temecula where members added additional layers in preparations for the cooler weather in the mountains. We left the gas stop and continued over SR 74 where the temperatures dropped and it was a little chilly but sunny and beautiful. We continued into Palm Desert for lunch, we ate at a pizza restaurant where everyone enjoyed a variety of tasty morsels of pizza, sandwiches and salads. While at lunch Dan presented Keith with some “special” birthday gift items, I won’t go into describing them but you can always ask Keith, I’m sure he’d be happy to describe them to you J.

We headed back home on I-10 where we immediately encountered some pretty heavy headwinds with the occasional swirling gusts that was a good test for our members. It was especially eye opening for members that are traveling to Chandler, AZ for the SW STAR BQ since this could have been a small taste of the potential weather we’ll experience on our trip across the desert. We stopped in Cabazon for our last gas stop and then it was pretty smooth sailing into The Block in Orange.

Once all three groups arrived, we assembled for our post ride meeting where we voted in Ryan Leavy. Congratulations Ryan, you are now a member of a great family!!

I’ll see everyone next month for our ride to beautiful Idyllwild. 

Sincerely, Terry   

Ride Recap for February Chapter Meeting

This month’s ride was scheduled to be a scenic ride down Pacific Coast Highway to the beautiful Ventura Harbor area, unfortunately Mother Nature had other ideas and we cancelled the ride due to inclement weather.  Obviously she didn’t check our website calendar or she wouldn't have let this happen :-).  We normally hold our meetings during adverse weather at Hof's Hut on Chapman but since it's changed to a Lucille's BBQ we met at Coco's Restaurant on Imperial Hwy in Brea.

Our meeting started shortly after 8:00AM with everyone enjoying a tasty breakfast as we looked out the windows at a torrential down pour. I welcomed back returning new riders, Wayne and Tammy Singer.   It was great seeing you back again, although I’m sure you were hoping for a ride. Keep your chin up folks, I’m sure next month’s weather will be better! I then made the announcements for dates of all the upcoming long trips i.e. SW STAR BBQ, Laughlin River Run, Sedona Overnighter and Star Days.  I asked for a show of hands attending the SW STAR BBQ and our Sedona overnighter and I was very pleasantly surprised at the show of hands. We are going to have a GREAT showing in Chandler, thanks to everyone attending!! Bob Barbano announced if anyone was interested in traveling in a car, his wife Anna will be driving. If anyone is interested, please contact Bob.

We held our raffle which included gifts from some of our vendors, along with a couple gifts donated by chapter members. I want to personally thank all of you that ventured out into the bad weather to join us for the breakfast and meeting. Afterwards we enjoyed some laughs and good times with friends and we adjourned shortly thereafter.

Ride Recap for January 9 ride to Old Town Temecula

This was our first chapter ride of the year so we had several administrative items that needed to be completed prior to staring our meeting, which made for a rather long morning meeting.  A well done to all that pitched in and helped Ken with getting the ride waivers completed in a timely manner.

Our meeting started shortly after 8:00AM. The first order of business was Dan Dobler, the outgoing president announcing me as the new incoming president and presenting me with the chapter president rocker. My hat is off to Dan, for the last two years he has done a spectacular job leading the chapter and I have some very big shoes to fill!! GREAT job Dan!! I then introduced the new chapter officers for 2010.

I next introduced our new riders, Wayne and Tammy Singer, Barbara Laird and Scott Lolmaugh.  Welcome to you all and we hope to see you back next month.  I then made the announcements for dates and of all the upcoming long trips i.e. SW STAR BBQ, Laughlin River Run, Sedona Overnighter and Star Days. 

We held our raffle which included gifts from some of our vendors, along with a couple gifts donated by chapter members.
The next order of business was to read our chapter charter which is done annually on the first ride of the year. Thanks to all who assisted in reading.

We then assembled in three groups and headed out for Temecula via the Ortega Highway. This was the first time we had ridden Ortega Hwy in over three years so it was nice to ride and see new scenery.  Our first stop on the route was at a 76 gas station, well group one lead by yours truly stopped at the Chevron station next door. I blame the confusion on Dan, since he was the one that recommended the stop in the first place :). We left the gas stop and continued over Ortega Hwy, as we were headed down the east side we came upon a photographer (www.cornerpics.com) randomly snapping shots. This was a nice surprise as members can obtain photos of themselves riding from the website for a nominal fee. We continued into Temecula for lunch. Several of us had a tasty Mexican meal at “The Bank” and others at various other establishments within Old Town.

We departed Temecula and stopped at the edge of town to gas up. We headed back home with a somewhat eventful trip home with a accident on SR 60 that slowed traffic to a crawl and as we transitioned onto SR57 from 60 the traffic came to an almost dead stop only to reveal several bales of hay in the road. Yes, that’s right I said hay. We now have our first hay ride for the year completed. Once by the “livestock” feed, it was onto El Torito where after a short meeting I deemed the ride a success and called it. I look forward to seeing everyone again next month.

Sincerely,