Upcoming Chapter Events
Sep 5 (Sat) - Ride to Chimney Rock. Leave King's at 9:00 a.m. Steve Clark, 412-781-4141
Sep 10 (Thu) - Dinner ride to Springfield Grille, 7001 Crider Road, Mars, PA. Meet at restaurant at 7:00 p.m.
Sep 13 (Sun) - Tall Oaks ride. Leave King's at 9:00 a.m. Dan Mitchell, 724-284-1421
Sep 19 (Sat) - Covered Bridge Festival. Leave King's at 9:00 a.m. Tom Banks, 724-301-2121
Sep 20 (Sun) - Seven Springs brunch ride. Leave King's at 9:00 a.m. Mike Ammerman, 412-795-6685
Sep 22 (Tue) - Tony Guerrera's ice cream ride to Putt-Putt golf course across from McConnell's Mill entrance off Rt. 422. Leave King's at 6:00 p.m.
Sep 26-28 (Sat-Mon) - Gordon's Mystery Ride. Reservations required. Gordon Synder, 724-524-1500
Oct 3 (Sat) - Hyner Park ride. Leave King's at 9:00 a.m. Steve Clark, 412-781-4141
Oct 4 (Sun) - Franklin Apple Festival. Leave King's at 9:00 a.m. Mike Ammerman, 412-795-6685
Coene’s Considerings
By: Chris & Linda Coene
September, and slowly the riding days of Summer come to a slow end. But I think I speak for most when I say that nothing beats the beauty of Autumn in Pennsylvania. We have a lot of riding time still left and plenty of rides scheduled. Make sure you check the ride schedule and join the Chapter for some of the many rides left. There are also dinner rides and ice cream rides still on the schedule so join us for some of those.
Don't forget the Christmas Party on December 4th. That is a FRIDAY night! We will have a $10.00 gift exchange as always. You do not have to participate. If you bring a gift you will get a ticket. We also need some white elephant items for the games if you have anything laying around just bring it to the gathering.
The Anniversary Party Theme has been decided. This year we will be rootin' and tootin' in the Old West! Get out your Stetsons and your chaps and get ready!
I want to make sure everyone knows that we have completed our staff, finally. Greg Scott has graciously volunteered to be our ACD. We are very pleased and hope you all give him your help and support.
RuthAnne and Ken Fredrick have become our MED (Membership Enhancement Director). We know they will be very helpful in keeping us all on our toes at renewal time as well as hopefully getting a few new members.
I would like to ask each of you to help Chapter D by thinking of some of our members who we do not see much anymore. If you could give them a call or just remind them of our gatherings, we want to see some new faces of course, but we want to see the "old" faces also. Ask them to keep in touch, even if they are not riding any more.
Lastly, I want to thank everyone who has called, e-mailed, sent cards, etc. about Chris. He is doing GREAT! I am fully confident that we will be riding in a few weeks. His knee will now straighten with six degrees which they are very pleased about and he is going everywhere with no cane or crutches. We are thrilled but not quite ready to trust it to the Gold Wing.
See you all on the road soon!
Ride Safe!
| 7 | Jim Thomas |
|
27 | Tony Guerrera |
| 12 | Ralph Ferguson | 28 | Jim Delo | |
| 12 | Cathy Bertuca | 29 | Marilyn Banks | |
| 15 | Clayton Buck | 30 | Peggy Garing | |
| 17 | Lynne Cressman | |||
| September Anniversaries | ||||
| 12 | Tony & Irene Guerrera (50 yrs.) |  |
27 | Larry & Barb Kubek (42 yrs.) |
| 16 | Gene & Nancy Montini (37 yrs.) | 30 | Dave & Nancy Reeder (48 yrs.) | |
| 22 | Tom & Birdie Clifford (5 yrs.) | |||
| 23 | Rich & Barb Bach (49 yrs.) | |||
Quote of the
Month...You cannot legislate the poor into prosperity by legislating the wealthy out of prosperity. What one person receives without working for, another person must work for without receiving. The government cannot give to anybody anything that the government does not first take from somebody else.
When half of the people get the idea that they do not have to work because the other half is going to take care of them, and when the other half gets the idea that it does no good to work because somebody else is going to get what they work for . That my dear friend, is the beginning of the end of any nation.
You cannot multiply wealth by dividing it."
~ Adrian Rogers, 1931 ~
Ride for Kids Raffle
By: Phil Pirozzi
This month we were fortunate enough to have two raffles, one at the Pig Roast and the other at the gathering. At the Pig Roast we raffled off a cutting board that I made and the winner was Theresa Brown. We were able to collect $100.
And at the gathering we raffled off a battery tender, donated by June and Brownie Statler. And second prize was a set of walnut based oil lamps that I made. The 1st prize winner was Theresa Brown (yes, again!) and Ray Vaupel took 2nd prize, the battery tender. We collected $94!
So our beginning total collected for RFK is $194! We are off to a great start!
Thanks for all your generous donations, we couldn't do this without you! If anyone has something they want to contribute to the raffle, please call or e-mail me! Or see Chris and Linda Coene! All contributions are welcome!
A 'Downer' on an 'Upper'
By: Bill Cressman
I apologize up-front for the following comments and observations on what are otherwise great events.
Since joining GWRRA back in 2000, I have enjoyed tremendous camaraderie with, not only the folks in my local Chapter PA-D, but others across this and other states. I marvel sometimes at the hard work the people of this great organization are willing to do for others, as well as the total generosity of it's members everywhere, not only for the less fortunate, but for each other as well. It sometimes boggles the mind.
During these hard economic times, it is understandable the drop in participation in some of our functions. This year's State Rally in Johnstown was no exception. The vendors and hosts have suffered through this also, but I can see a comeback on the horizon in that area. Things out of our control will get better.
There is, however, one facet of the state rally in Pennsylvania, as well as other functions I have attended, that the lack of participation cannot be attributed to the economic times. It is the lack of, and seemingly dying interest in our Bike Shows. I have heard many different excuses over the last few years as to why people do not participate more, and frankly they are simply, in my opinion, lame. "PA always seems to change their rules from year to year." "I entered Bike Shows after spending all day cleaning the bike and didn't win anything." "The judges are looking out for their friends." (That last one irritates me more than the others. The judges that I know attempt to be as fair as they can possibly be, regardless of who from their chapter enters.) They go on and on with one excuse after another as to why they do not participate. Excuse me, but when did we lose sight of the 'Fun" factor in these events? To my way of thinking these excuses tell me there is way too much ego involved rather than focusing on the real reasons we, as a group, get together in the first place.
I have entered the bike show quite a few times and in some of those I got first place simply by default because no one else in my class entered. I'm sorry, but that takes a lot of the 'fun' out of participating.
When I attended Wing Ding in Madison a couple of years ago, one member got second place in his class and was so incensed that he did not get first place, he threw the plaque onto his bike seat so hard it ripped the seat. I know we all take pride in our bikes, but this type of attitude is reprehensible and really has no place in our great organization.
Maybe I'm too much of an idealist, but if we cannot have friendly competition and accept things for what they are without coming up with unreasonable excuses and attitudes, then we have lost sight of part of our group's motto and focus. Over the past few years I have personally witnessed people leaving our organization simply because someone, or a group of people, had a wrong attitude and displayed that attitude like a badge of honor. So, things don't go our way all the time. Big deal!! No organization can make everyone happy all the time, no matter how hard they may try, and believe me, GWRRA tries extremely hard. Take the good with the bad and move on.
Let's get back to basics and check our bad attitudes at the door. We'll all have more fun in the long run. It definitely will make us better and safer divers on the road.
Humor of the
Month...A little boy was waiting for his mother to come out of the grocery store. As he waited, he was approached by a man
who asked, "Son, can You tell me where the Post Office is?"
The little boy replied, "Sure! Just go straight down this street a couple ‘o blocks and turn to your right."
The man thanked the boy kindly and said, "I'm the new pastor in town. I'd like for you to come to church on Sunday. I'll show you how to get to Heaven."
The little boy replied with a chuckle. "Awww, come on...You don't even know the way to the Post Office."
Thanks to Jim Thomas for this month’s humor.
The Mis-Adventures of “Wingman” • Part 2
As told by Wingman to Renee Beck
Hello again!
Day 2: Sunday July 12, 2009
5 a.m. Reneé woke me up to get ready for the day
6 a.m. ate breakfast
7:30 depart Coralville, IA
Sad day today….One of the Gold Wing's was put on a trailer. Not because it broke; but because Bob Gilkey wanted to ride; and Skip Jr. didn't want his dad Skip Sr. to drive the truck by himself. He's a good son!!
The people decided to split up today. They originally had 8 bikes riding and 2 bikes trailering all trying to get to the same destination at the same time. It wasn't working well. 2 riders & passengers (total of 3 people) & the truck (total of 2 people) stayed together at a slower pace, while 6 other riders & passengers (total of 8 people) rode at a swifter pace. Swifter isn't the best word to describe these people. Mole was leading and liked to go
a bit fast…sometimes going well over 90 MPH. Reneé wasn't liking that kind of speed, but we had to keep up. We made our first fuel stop with no incident. As we are travelling, Ron & Reneé notice this HUGE dark cloud in the sky that is getting increasingly darker and closer by the mile. Mole kept on going, like he didn't even notice the cloud (we found out later he was trying to beat the storm). Reneé got so ticked off about riding 90 mph and the storm cloud looming above us, Ron finally gave in and pulled off the interstate so we could put our rain gear on. Mole, Ron Meyers, and Dave & Cathy kept on going. Ron, Don, Frank, Reneé and I put our rain gear on and got back on the interstate, when all heck broke loose. We aren't talking tiny rain drops that you can drive though…No we're talking buckets and buckets of rain with the wind whipping us almost on our side. If we were closer to the ocean I would say that we were in a Typhoon. Needless to say, Reneé was very frightened at this time (so was I, but I kept a brave face so she wouldn't worry about me). I have to commend Ron. He handled the driving quite well. He asked Reneé to not move and she didn't (neither did I…didn't want to knock him over with all my massive weight moving). We made it to the closest exit and ducked under interstate 80 to wait out the storm. We waited and waited and waited. Skip Jr. called to see where we were at. We couldn't tell him because no one cold read the sign as we were getting off the interstate. It was raining that hard!! He was behind us in the truck with his dad. Ron & his wife Bonnie and Ron's dad Bob were on the bikes. They tried to head south to avoid the mess. Don't know how long that lasted because this storm was nasty. They actually were calling for tornadoes!! Well, as I mentioned earlier; Mole, Ron Meyers, Dave & Cathy had kept going. We knew they were at a Connoco (they had gotten off the interstate too), we just couldn't figure out which exit they took. We had contacted them via cell phone and said we'd find them after the storm. The rain was letting up; so we decided to go up to the gas station about ½ mile up the road. Guess what…they were there!! Yes, inadvertently we got off the same exit and didn't know it.
We waited out the storm for over an hour. It let up so we decided to try our luck again. We got about 40 miles when the lightening started striking. None of us like to see lightening that close; so we got off the interstate and got fuel. The big people debated about calling it a day because the weather forecast was not looking good. As they ate lunch the sky turned crystal clear, no storm clouds on the horizon. They said saddle up…so we did an off we went….
The rest of the day was beautiful! 7 of us made it the whole way to Rapid City, SD. Frank decided after 500 miles he had enough for the day; so he called Skip Jr. and told him where he was going to be; so the slow group would be with him. No one liked leaving Frank alone, but he insisted. We think he wanted to play a little poker while no one was around. Another 700 plus miles for us. Exhausted isn't the word today. They tell me it should be an easy ride tomorrow. We'll see. We get to sleep in a little. That's exciting.
Off to bed…Ron & Reneé decided to share a room with Dave & Cathy; so I went with them, of course. We all settled in around 1 a.m. Ready for a good nights sleep…..well, that lasted 5 minutes….someone began to snore really, really loud. I'm not going to be a snitch, but Dave, you need to get checked out man. Ha!ha! Reneé had ear plugs; so she put them in. She had an extra set that I borrowed; so I could sleep too. She's such a nice step mom. I hear we got off lucky. Skip Sr. is really bad in the snoring department. I don't think we'll be sharing a room with him on this trip.
TTFN
Wingman
Further adventures of “Wingman” continued next month
Chapter Raffle Winner
The winner of the chapter’s raffle, with the winning number pulled on August 15 at the pig roast, was Bill Corbett. Congratulations Bill.
And, no Bill, this one isn’t redeemable from “Yo Mama.” If you want to hear about this last statement, come to the September gathering and ask Mike Ammerman. He’ll be happy to explain.
Allegheny County WW II Memorial Fund
Last month in the August 6th issue of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, Howard Pfeifer appeared in a picture along with Rivers Casino President & CEO Ed Fasulo. Howard was thanking and accepting a check from the CEO on behalf of the Allegheny County World War II Memorial Fund, which was one of the recipients from the test day proceeds of the casino.
Howard was a member of the Merchant Marines during World War II and has some pretty hair raising stories about his experience. Ask about his shore leave in Russia.
August Gathering
If you were present at the August gathering, you would have notice a slight change to our format. Instead of meeting in the back room for dinner, we were seated in the dining area to eat and then attended the gathering in the back room. I asked Chris if this was part of the “change” we can expect from O’bama? Nope, just a scheduling mix-up with Domenico’s. Our September gathering will be back on track as usual.
Our guest for this month was Mark Forbes from Chapter P. Thank you for visiting us Mark.
Chris covered a short sick list (and we’re glad it is short), which included Ray Feather and himself. Ray is recovering from shoulder surgery (again). The surgeons had to repair their mistake. Chris is recovering from knee surgery and according to Linda, should be back on the bike in a couple more weeks. At least Linda is hoping it is only a couple weeks.
Greg Scott, our new Assistant Chapter Director got his feet wet by reading the list of August birthdays and anniversaries. Great job Greg. Next time tell Linda to give you the list with bigger print.
Roy Kinkead spoke about his Smoke Hole ride and it looks like next year’s ride will be going to New River Gorge instead of Smoke Hole.
Gordon Snyder gave us an update on this year’s Ride for Kids. The Pittsburgh ride collected a little over $44,000 with Chapter D being the biggest contributor amongst the chapters and clubs with Gordon and Linda being among the highest moneymaker with over $5000. Gordon suggested that we need to get out the word earlier about next year’s ride to generate more riders and with that, more contributions. The 2010 Ride for Kids will be held August 8.
The past pig roast was a success and everyone had fun. Bill Corbett was the winner of the annual raffle drawing.
Linda spoke about the District Rally. Chapter D took second place in the games. Next year’s District Rally will once again be in Johnstown, but it will slip one week to the last week in August 2010. Our new District Directors, Tom & Renee Wasluck, were introduced at the rally. It was announced that Region is giving away two full Wing Ding registrations for the 2010 rally in Des Moines, Iowa. Anyone who registers early either on line or via snail mail can send their confirmation numbers to Region and you will be entered for the drawing.
Linda presented Jim & Cathy with a Couple of the Year certificate that each of the Couple of the Year received at the district rally. They also received their Couple of the Year pins.
Ken & RuthAnne Frederick were introduced as our Membership Enhancement Directors (MED). You will be getting a phone call from Ken or RuthAnne if your GWRRA membership is about to expire or you have failed to send in your renewal.
Roy took the floor once more and thanked everyone who helped sell the raffle tickets for District. Because we sold all the tickets we were tasked with, the chapter received $320 as our share of the proceeds.
Ross Brown congratulated and presented Linda with a certificate and patches for becoming a certified GWRRA instructor. Linda is now qualified to teach any of the GWRRA certified courses. If you go to the next Horizons Training, Linda may be your instructor. Way to go Linda.
Ross then discussed a new product that was being offered at the district rally. It is the Low Rider, which will lower your GL1800 from 9/16“, 1” or 1 1/4”. Ross sat on the demo bike at the rally and confirmed it does work. So, anyone who is vertically challenged and thinking about going to a trike might want to investigate this before committing to a trike. Check with Ross for more details.
Theresa Brown won (again) the monthly RFK’s raffle. Ray Vaupel won the second RFK’s prize. Greg Scott won the 50/50 drawing. Phil Pirozzi, Ron Salamone. and Ray Vauple won lottery tickets. Ron also won tickets for next month’s 50/50 drawing.
Not Getting Your E-mails?
If you are not getting e-mails from Chris & Linda, please send them an e-mail and let them know. They will add your address to their distribution list. Their e-mail address is
coenewing@zoominternet.net
From the Chapter Educator
By: Ross Brown
There was a new vendor - Lower Wing Products- at district rally this year with a really innovative idea. He found a way to lower the GL1800 replacing the suspension bracket that connects the swing arm to the bike's frame. He makes three brackets to lower the bike 9/16, 1 inch or 1 ¼ inches. Doesn't seem like much of a change but when you sit on the bike it is quite noticeable.
The change renders the stock center stand virtually unusable so you'd need to replace it or as some owners have done remove it all together. Also since the bike is lower the kick stand needs modified to allow it to swing forward more from perpendicular to allow the bike to still lean on it. The fork tubes are then pushed up thru the triple tree ½ to 5/8 inches to help level the bike some. There are draw backs, ground clearance is reduced - watch out for speed bumps- and cornering clearance is reduced, so if you're a bold rider that likes to drag parts in turns it might not be for you. But, then again motorcyclists are a lot like pilots. There are old ones and bold ones but no old bold ones and most of us fall in the older category.
I'm an average guy with a 29 to 30 inch inseam and generally don't have too much trouble at low speeds but I've dropped a bike or two and still sometimes get little too close to tipping over for comfort- a church in West Virginia comes to mind. So I can see where lowering the bike could be a big help. So if you think this product could help you ride more confidently and safely check it out on the web at: http://lowerwingproducts.com/index.html
From Our 2009 Chapter Couple of the Year
By: Jim & Cathy Schantz
As I sit here trying to think of something to write for this month’s newsletter, all I can think about is the fun Jim and I have had this last year. I am not sure if it is GWRRA or the fact we had said yes to Chris and Linda to be the Couple of the Year. I myself can say I am enjoying the experience that has come my way the past 9 months. Jim and I have met many of new faces (some names we remember and some not) over the last 9 months. We both have stepped out of our comfort zone and I must say for the better. Last month we led our very first ride and the feedback was great. Maybe next year another ride. We have shared many evenings with friends that have grown to be like family. Jim and I enjoyed a ride to the rally in Johnstown with two other couples and had a great lunch with many other chapter members. We have met people from many other chapters and are looking forward to our camping trip Labor Day weekend with Chapter Q. Everything that has occurred this past year will always be remembered. As my final words are typed out, it is hard to believe that summer is almost over and riding season will be coming to an end. Lets all hope for an Indian summer and nice fall weather. Remember you can always plug in the Gebring. Be safe..
Kids are Quick!
Teacher: John, why are you doing your math multiplication on the floor?
John: You told me to do it without using tables.
Teacher: Donald, what is the chemical formula for water?
Donald: H I J K L M N O.
Teacher: What are you talking about?
Donald: Yesterday you said it's H to O.
Teacher: Millie, give me a sentence starting with ' I. '
Millie: I is..
Teacher: No, Millie..... Always say, 'I am.'
Millie: All right... 'I am the ninth letter of the alphabet.'
Trike conversion parts from 2003 Candy Red GL1800. Contact Ray Vaupel at 412-364-9245.
1984 Midnight Blue 1200 Gold Wing Aspencade, 45 accessories (chrome, Hartco Seat etc.) costing over $3,000, 93,000 miles, asking $3,250, Have purchased a GL1500. Contact Gary White at 412-767-4712
2005 Silver Wing, silver in color, less than 3000 miles. Have cover and manual to that goes with it. Like new.
$4995.00 firm. Contact Bill Corbett at 724-679-2000
1985 Gold Wing Aspencade 1200 • Mileage: 50,500; Runs great. Since June 2009, it has a new Gel Cell Battery, a new rear tire, and has been Inspected until July 2010. Price: $2,800.00. Contact Ken Purvis at 724-321-1681 or send an e-mail to ken@purvisheating.com. Reason for selling: Moved up to a 1500.
From Our NW Assistant District Director
By: Dana Hartle
Attitudes
As I was sitting at my computer tonight to write my monthly article, the concept of attitudes was on my mind. I didn't want to write an article and I was not in the mood to share my thoughts. Danise and I just returned from a short supper ride on the bike and both of us were in foul moods (bad attitude) because it was cloudy and a balmy 59 degrees on August 30, 2009 at 6:30 PM. It was supposed to be sunny and in the mid 70's but nooooo, it was chilly and ugly.
We should have been satisfied that we got to ride the bike. With Danise not in the best physical health we were lucky to be on the bike at all. The dark clouds all around produced rain, but it didn't rain on us, and by the time we got to where it did rain the roads had dried. We should have been happy that we didn't get wet and the bike didn't get dirty. We had a good meal with good friends and should have been thinking about how blessed we are to have friends. But instead we concentrated on the dark clouds above us and cold temperatures surrounding us.
The point I am trying to make is that we as people tend to look at the problems and miss the opportunities. We concentrate on what we don't like instead of enjoying what we are given. We make ourselves miserable when we could have just as easily made ourselves happy.
What does this have to do with GWRRA? I submit to you everything. We just returned from the district rally where I saw hundreds of people having a great time. They were involved and participating which brought joy to their hearts. They made a choice to enjoy the rally. I saw some folks with frowns and heard them grumbling about nothing to do. They chose not to participate and then found fault because they had nothing to do. I heard some folks talk about how great the vendors were and I heard others talking about how there was nothing there. I heard people talk about how nice the facilities were and others complaining that there was too much walking.
Attitude was the difference. There were many who came looking for a good time. Others came looking for problems and something to complain about. Both groups found what they wanted because both had a self fulfilling prophecy. If you want to have fun, you will find fun wherever you go. If you are looking for problems they will manifest themselves just as easily.
I asked my pastor years ago, "How is your day?" He answered "Dana, I MAKE everyday a good day".
Enjoy your life, enjoy your friends, and enjoy what GWRRA has to offer. There are many great things about it if you look for the fun instead of searching for the problems. Go MAKE a good day, everyday, for yourselves.
Misplaced that flyer or form you picked up at the last gathering?
Want to print out the newsletter or ride schedule?
If so please go to our "Flyers and Forms" page.
Thank you to the
folks who support GWRRA Pennsylvania Chapter "D".
Francis J. Craig Agency, Inc. (724) 935-5753
Lutzs Leather
(724) 843-6220 - Lutzs Leather
McMahon's Cycle Sales - (724) 846-6251
Youngs Auto Sales & Service - (724) 728-3374
Your The Star - Karaoke and DJ Services
Bob and Ruth Messenger - (724) 495-1653
