Events at a Glance / Events In ReviewEvents at a Glance(Construction Zone)Keep in mind that it is now November 2003 and most of the 2004 dates have not been established/announced yet, so we will work with what we know so far and publish the remainder as they are confirmed. International Motorcycle Shows When: Friday, January 30, 2004 – 4:00pm – 9:00pm Saturday, January 31 – 9:00am – 9:00pm Sunday, February 1 – 9:30am – 9:00pm Where: I-X Center (International Exposition Center) 6200 Riverside Dr. Cleveland, OH 44135
For more information and sites in your area, check out the web: www.motorcycleshows.com Bike Week Classic Races, Daytona Beach, Florida February 27 – March 7, 2004 Daytona International Speedway
I will be at the infield at 10:30am on Monday, March 1. Plans for the CWC infield lunch and the Wednesday night dinner will be announced in January.
Ride for Kids – Glen Helen RacewayMarch 2004 San Bernadino, California
Exact date for the 2004 season has not yet been announced. For a complete listing of states, dates and times, please go to their website: www.ride4kids.org
Wing Nuts Annual Open HouseApril 2004 Fairfield, California
The Wing Nut is an independent shop specializing in Gold Wings and is located off of I-80 and CA-12 in Fairfield, CA. Fairfield is located about 30 miles SE of Sonoma. Wing Nut Website is: www.goldwingspecialist.com (as of November 9, 2003 the date for 2004 event has not been announced.
Niehaus Cycle Customer Appreciation DaysMay 2004 Litchfield, Illinois
CWC has attended this event for the last 6-7 years. While the 2004 date has yet to be announced, Charlie Germann is already working on dinner arrangements and George Adamson is checking into hotel rates and accommodations. More information to follow. www.niehauscycle.com
CWC 7th Annual Keystone Event May 30 – June 5, 2004 Breezewood, Pennsylvania
We are looking at the Quality Inn Breeze Manor to be the operations center for this event. Motel reservations and rates are pending, but Jerry Gossert and Charlie Bricker are hard at work planning our daily 200-mile rides from headquarters. So far we will be visiting covered bridges and the great Johnstown Flood Museum. No matter what else we see, these are some great riding roads. If you can’t make it for the whole week, plan to join us for a day or two. Rides usually leave the motel at 9:00am daily. More details will follow in January.
CWC 4th Annual Canadian Tour Mid June, 2004
The exact dates have not been set but this is definitely a premiere event. By popular request this event may be extended to five days to allow us to include the Agawa Canyon Tour. Ridemeister Rick is already making plans. More details will follow.
Mid Ohio AMA Vintage Motorcycle DaysMid July 2004
More information to follow when the AMA has announced their schedule for 2004.
March 2003: Daytona Bike Week – No reviews submitted – 15 members attended
May 2003: Niehaus Appreciation Days – No reviews submitted – 11 members attended
May 2003: CWC 6th Annual Pennsylvania Event – no reviews submitted – 9 members attended
June 2003: CWC 3rd Annual Canada Lake Huron Tour – 16 members attended
· From Alan & Shirley Gray, CWC Member #719We got home last night about 8:30, old green had a few problems but she finally caught her normal stride Saturday afternoon. I think the trials course to Frater shook the crud loose that was fouling out #1 plug. Saturday evening we hard rumors that 129 south was full of rattlesnakes, so much snakebite medicine was administered. Rick, Gower, Bruce, Shirley and I had a blast. Bruce finally got a glimpse of the northern lights. Sunday was a long day. We went from Chapleau to Lake City, I-75 from the Soo to St. Ignace shook us hard and broke a w/s mount, but with some zip ties we were on our way. We had a great time. It was fun to put faces with names. The scenery was beautiful and it is hard to imagine how remote some of this area truly is. Thanks All for a great time!
· From Gower Bradshaw, CWC Member #329Sandy and I had a beautiful ride along the shores of Lake Huron’s Georgian Bay, Lake Simcoe’s western shore and finally north shore of Lake Ontario. Arrived in Napanee at 7:30pm. I switched on my cell phone during a coffee and cigar break at Lindsay (2 hours from home) and found that I had a message. The friend from Vermont that I had my new Nolan N100E helmet delivered to was in the neighbourhood of Napanee with my new helmet. So, Sandy and I made a little extended trip to Kingston to pick it up. It’s a beauty. I think that I’m going to be very happy with it. I logged 1,564 miles for the tour. I got back into the office this morning and left Sandy to get organized for her trip back to Connecticut. She left Napanee at 3:00 p.m. It was great to see old pals again and to meet new ones. Thanks Rick for another well organized tour. Hope to see most of you at Open House in September.
Like a fine wine the Huron Tour gets better with each year that passes. The beginning was inauspicious, preceded by a week or two of rain and generally miserable weather. My ride to Bruce Sharer’s was damp, but I hunkered down behind the Plexifairing and blew by most of the rain without really getting wet, until I reached the Bluewater Bridge in Port Huron. The borde was backed up and I was forced to sit in traffic for a half hour to clear customs. (Note to self – try to avoid border crossings at 5:00pm on a weekday).
After a pleasant evening, catching up with old friends and meeting new ones at the Casa Sharer, the ride began on Friday morning, under an overcast sky which turned sunny, with 5 riders working our way north from Rochester Hills to Lake City Michigan. There we met all but two of the remainder (Gower and Sandy were working the Northern Ontario Route to our rendezvous in Sault Ste Marie). Much has been mentioned about the beautiful ride through Charleboix, Petosky and the Forest of Trees, all of it true. We all arrived in SSM at the same time and actually managed to sit down for a great dinner all together at Giovanni’s, the best Italian restaurant in town.
Our first ride in 2001, took in much of the territory we would cover this weekend, but since most of the group had missed the extreme backcountry riding, I was anxious to get going and share the experience. Searchmount road was first on the agenda, nothing at the end, but 45 miles of great twisties with gorgeous scenery, there and back.
Next was a blast up the Lake Superior shoreline where we would (I thought) take a two hour excursion to Agawa Canyon on the train. Twenty years ago I had no problem navigating the VW camper up the Frater Road to the rail line. This year, well, the sign said “Road Not Maintained – Use at your own risk”. Well we did that and more. I got a taste of loose gravel when the front tire locked up and got away in a gravel filled pothole. No serious damage done so we continued up the road ‘til we found the Gray’s parked beside a hiking trail with red flags waving. The road was completely impassable – well at least with street tires. (Being the daredevil I am, I would have gone for it, but we lost a little time in the dust and probably would have missed the train anyway. And besides I had to consider the gentle souls behind me that might think hill climbing in a fully dressed Wing was a bad idea!
Later – a buzz up the Lake Superior through some light but fast moving traffic, our newbies treated to their first taste of “Poutine” in WaWa, then we made our way inland to Chapleau, a small railroad town with not much happening on a Saturday night, but we managed to experience it all. What a hoot and Northern lights to boot.
These two days were the highlight of the trip for me. With a hundred miles of truly deserted winding road with no traffic cops and only a theoretical speed limit behind us, we packed up the bikes in the early Sunday morning light and began the ride south. Although there are no real mountains to be seen, Chapleau sits atop the highest point on the Canadian Shield, where all streams flow to the Artic Ocean. The ride south is a low level flight, on a gentle downgrade full of sweepers and twisties. The throttle stays hard open for mile after mile and you realize what these Gold Wings were made for. Forty miles of hard twisties that follow the Mississagi River at about the halfway point, test your skills and allow you to experience something really special. I heard more than a few squeals of delight on the CB as we worked our way through what I will always think of as the “Mississagi Roller Coaster”.
All good things pass, and after a couple of incredible hours we found ourselves back on the TransCanada Highway heading east with no time to waste. The last ferry of the day left Manitoulin Island at 4:00 and we had to be in the parking lot an hour early for boarding. A breakfast stop at Tim Horton’s was all we could manage until we made Little Current, where we found time for lunch at the Anchor Inn, where they welcomed us like old friends. After the third visit, I guess there’s a reason for that.
The ferry ride as always was incredibly beautiful. An hour and a half across the North Channel of the Georgian Bay…simply breathtaking. Thirteen old wings led the parade of cars as we disembarked and made our way to the beer store, full of anticipation of the sunset pizza party to come later at the Bluewater. But not! Disappointment!! Management had decided that 4:00 was the right closing time on a Sunday, even though the last ferry wouldn’t arrive until 5:00.
Never one to let small setbacks bother me, I led the merry group of riders south to Southampton, snagging some libations along the way and made it to a warm welcome at the Bluewater, in good time for sunset. Various beverages (some supplied by the management) cigars and the traditional moment in the ride where we all kick back, mellow out and bask in the glow of real camaraderie.
I feel so lucky to have been motivated to organize this event. The participants are truly special, we are becoming more familiar with the territory. Our hosts along the way treat us like family, the pressure is off as we now have a good feel for the pace we need to maintain, new riders quickly become new friends and we all know we are sharing in a great thing – something that is truly “special”. I look forward to this weekend more than any other happening in my year. I’m glad that all those who joined us feel some of that same enthusiasm.
I get thanked a lot for organizing this ride, but I want to thank you, Huron Riders, for helping me live out one of my fantasies. I look forward to sharing this over and over again with you and all the new friends that will become Huron Riders in the years to come.
July 2003 Mid-Ohio AMA Vintage Motorcycle Days – 33 members attended
To Ten Reasons to Attend Vintage Bike Days a Mid Ohio in Lexington, Ohio:
#10. Go double or nothing if Andrew McNab will grow another inch over the weekend.
#9. Attend a late night seminar at Walmart on the history of Bucyrus, Ohio with the nephew of the great great granddaughter of Al Smith.
#8. Trouble oversleeping?? Room with Mike-THE FREIGHTRAIN-Puetz <g>
#7. Watch Bob Roe NOT smoke 14 packs of Camel non-filters over the three day event…congrats Bob! You next Lorraine!
#6. Observe The Right Reverend Bill Gundacker wheeling and dealing the vendors and attired in shorts and a sharecropper hat.
#5. Riding the back roads and seeing friends and future friends like Ed, Perry, Terry, Ken, Cathy, Gary, Bruce1, Andrew, Barry, Carl, Jim, Cody, Martin, Shawn, Bill, Jerry, Ed, Kim, Ed and a few that I am forgetting right now.
#4. Keith Fletcher and the “Ol Winnebago”…there is only one place to be at Vintage Bike Days for post-race cocktails, camaraderie, friendship and burgers and we was there!! But we missed Norma terribly!!
#3. Judy Hinsey for letting Carl take the best damn Honda Helix in Indiana to Mid Ohio this weekend.
#2. Ms. Anne E. DeChant and Seattle’s Coffeehouse and Bistro in Wooster, Ohio for a wonderful Saturday evening of music and fun! Great to see you Anne…you only get better. Looking for the next CD soon! www.anneedechant.com
AND…THE NUMBER ONE REASON for attending Vintage Bike Days at Mid Ohio in Lexington, Ohio……………..
#1. Getting tuned up for the CWC Open House August 29-31 in South Bend, IN.
The Ohio weekend was lots of fun Y’all!!
Hello all CWC members in attendance at Mid Ohio this weekend. We all enjoyed each other’s company and bikes. Interestingly enough, only 4 ’75-’77’s showed up. The rest were ‘78’s and ‘79’s, 1500’s, 1800, one Helix and my cage. Two supercharged 1000’s snarled and snorted their presence. One supercharged bike even had a GEM 4.0 to 1 rear end installed. Now that is some tree stump pulling power! Not only are they powerful, but they really looked good in their new paint jobs. I give up; my bike will always be last or next to last in the “pretty” department when compared to the 1000’s that arrived at the meet this year. I thought this was a rally not a bike show! At the parts swap area, I found a candy bluegreen NOS right hand faux tank cover with about three small nicks of shelf rash. I went with the intent to find “Hondaline” luggage locks. I even had a sample of the rack lock and showed it to any vendor who would talk to me. Very few of the vendors were aware of such an item, let along have any. Carl and I found three vendors willing to make keys for the GL 1000’s. If anyone needs a key made, e-mail me for the address of the vendors we found. If anybody else bought items they kept them hidden or were too ashamed of the junk to show it to the rest of us. I didn’t see too much of the races – I guess I’m not into racing that much, just kicking tires and trading lies still suits me just fine.
August 2003 VJMC Show and Swap Meet – Jefferson, PA – No reviews submitted 16 members attended.
August 2003 CWC Open House – 47 members attendedReview submitted by Bruce Sharer, CWC #261Y’all: There is something refreshing and renewing about hooking up with old friends and pointing two Honda wheels towards Indiana, finally turning left on Technology Drive in South Bend on a Friday afternoon. After 8 visits to CWC World Headquarters, my reward comes in many ways…
My first reward is the hookup and camaraderie with other CWC members somewhere along the road to South Bend. This means meeting and greeting fellow travelers who can put the 6 PM news, wrenches and e-mail away for a few days and do with these bikes what they were intended for … ride the hell outta town for a long weekend!
Second reward is to pull in CWC World HQ, scan the parking lot and spot a familiar bike and an even more familiar face. That feeling of reward has grown every year since 1997.
Third reward is to look towards the big Hinco garage door and see Carl, Judy and MM scurrying about. This can only mean that there is a 95% likelihood that Jim Hughes is inside offering free advice, reasonably priced parts and a nominally compensated hand to dozens of folks gathered for CWC Open House.
My fourth reward: plain and simple… tire kicking with some of the Best Damn Tire Kickers for the next 50 hours or so and forgetting the cares and concerns of the outside world.
Wonderful friends, wonderful hosts, wonderful accommodations and a wonderful ride. I’ll dedicate this to MM… the hardest working and most wonderful person you could ever hope to meet.
September 2003 GWRRA Pennsylvania District Rally and Classic & Vintage Bike Show – Gettysburg, PA – 10 members attended
Steve Vollers, CWC Member #738 won third place in the GL1000-GL1100 class with his beautiful, light gold, ’76 1000. Carl Hinsey got third place in the trike division with his ’78 yellow GL1000 and Insta Trike Kit.
September 2003 “Middle Georgia” Ride Report
I do a monthly trek from Sylvester to Milledgeville (near Macon Georgia) to visit me Mom. It is a 277 mile round trip. When weather permits I do it on one of my bikes. Yesterday was a beautiful day in South and Central Georgia.
I’ve been swapping off between bikes for this trip and yesterday I took the Wing. I’ve been avoiding the interstate, but still used some 4-lane (US441) up through the piedmont area of middle Georgia. Yesterday I altered my course and took state road 112 instead of 441 from Cochran to Milledgeville. Turned out to be 65 miles of pure fun. No switchbacks but lots of sweepers with elevation changes and tricky banks. It was wonderful! Way less traffic and excellent road surface. I went through a town called Toomsburg. Strange name for a town and except for the blacktop going through the center, it looks like it’s straight out of the 19th century. Beautiful picturesque homes and old storefronts. Allentown was similar. There seems to be a trend toward preserving some of the beautiful homes of the 19th and early 20th centuries. I saw NO deer (relief) but I was definitely looking for them. The Wing performed flawlessly except that I’ve got the throttle spring (bell crank) just a bit tight.
I spent five soul regenerating hours in the saddle yesterday. I very much enjoy the visits with my Mother each month and now I’m looking forward to the journey too!
I installed the Sigma bicycle speedo on the Wing. Her are the results from the day’s ride:
Total Miles 277.78 Average Speed 55.35 mph (Yeah I know… I ride like your Grandpaw!) Max speed 81 mph Trip Time 5 hrs 7 min Gallons fuel 7.47 MPG 37.2
This is with stock coils, 1100 carbs, Dyna S ignition.
Considering that I was lucky to get 30 mpg before, I’m very happy with this. I may get the hotter coils later and see if I get an improvement.
October 2003 “Missouri Ride”
Got home at 3:00pm today after 451 miles from Missouri Ozarks to West Allis. What a great Thursday-Sunday. All Made more enjoyable by my leader, caretaker, roommate, Dennis Sullivan from Monticello, MN. (Met Dennis and wife Helen about 11 years ago at a Honda Sport Touring Association ride at Spring Green, WI.) Dennis left Monticello (North of Minneapolis) at 5:00ampm Thursday and we met at Anamosa, Iowa Motorcycle Museum at 1:00pm. Nice museum. Headed south to great ride along the Mississippi and our motel at an interesting old river town of Fort Madison. An easy 350 miles on Friday to Farmington, Missouri (about 70 miles SSE of St. Louis). About 120 bikes arrived for chili, hot dogs, and drinks and passing out of route map for Saturday. This ride is called FOF (Friends of Freddie) and a 315 mile loop mostly through Mark Twain National Forest on Alphabet roads laid out by Fred Zigler.
We leave in a slight fog Saturday morning about 7:30am but at stops for coffee other bikers stop in small groups and always a question to ask about their old bike or the new one they now are riding. This ride is almost totally sport or sport touring bikes from Honda, Buell, Yamaha, Triumph, Kawasaki, Suzuki, Ducati, and a few BMW’s that are at our ride instead of a newarby BMW gathering at Potosi, Missouri. This is a “riders” ride. None of this parade of side-byside Harleys on main roads making a lot of noise at 55 mph. (Hey whatever turns you on?) These are somewhat crazy young to middle aged guys on bikes that can rip through curves at 20-30 mph faster than the warning sign. They wear protective clothing and full face helmets and these are roads to die for. Just curve, curve, curve, thank you Mam rolling hill and more curves.
The previous two trips to this rally I was on my old ’75 Gold Wing. The old girl corners pretty fair but no speed between corners. This year I’ve never ridden with such fun and confidence. Not a single “pucker” corner in the total trip where I wondered if I was really going to make it through the corner. Each year you improve your skills and now that Dennis is a Motorcycle Safety Instructor he’s made me almost perfect!! Ha. I was really pleased with my ’91 750cc Honda Nighthawk. It corners like a dream and plenty of snoose between curves or hills. At mile 171 we ate lunch at Big Springs Park where you can’t believe the size of the flow out of this spring. It’s like a bunch of broken fire hydrants all pouring out of a single culvert. This was a beautiful spot with trees of color and there was a big outdoor wedding gearing up. I laughed, five years from now all they will remember about the wedding was 120 bikers rolling in to eat at the Inn next to the wedding garden.
Saturday night we had a banquet and more great cycle talk then off to bed – very tired and happy so even turned off Ohio State/Wisconsin game. A tired old guy (found out I’m 3 years older than the only other geezer there) slept well.
Up Sunday in the dark as Dennis had to be over to BMW rally by 6:00am to pal up for ride back to Cities. As we shook hands and I thanked him again for a great time, he said, “Guys probably wonder why we would ride 700 miles to come someplace to ride a 300 mile loop”. If you are a real “rider” you never wonder after experiencing this kind of a ride. Makes the younger guys a little nuts, but only two small crashes this year with only a broken finger and damaged ego.
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