The Bear Facts! - CA-C

The Bear Facts!
The OFFICIAL Journal of GWRRA Region F’s
Capital City Wings!
Join Us At Our Next Meeting—February 21, 2016
Chapter CA-C “Capital City Wings” meets the 3rd Sunday each month
Elks Lodge #6, 6446 Riverside Blvd. (@ Florin Rd.), Sacramento, CA.
Friends for Fun, Safety and Knowledge—What Else Is There?
Volume 12
February 2016
Issue 2
Barri & Mike Critzman, GWRRA Directors of Motorist
Awareness, asked each chapter in Region F to submit
squares to be made into a
quilt. The quilt will be raffled
off at Wing Ding in Billings, MT
to raise funds for the Motorist
Awareness Program. The
theme of the quilt is “Winging
the USA”. Following the specifications given, I’ve sent them
a 9 inch square from our
chapter. Based on the vote
from the last meeting, here is
a picture of what I submitted.
Nancy Redding
In This Issue:
Hello California!
……….... 2
Greatest Tool Ever? ……….... 5
Helmet up for the crash? ... 4
18-Wheelers
The Fun Side ………….....… 5
Breakfast!
And much, much more!!!!!
1
.………………… 7
……………………. 8
Hello California!
W
ow!!! What a ride! We
had the best time at
Officers Conference. If
you weren’t able to
attend…I’m sorry. We weren’t sure
what to expect, or how everything was
going to work, (especially since we
weren’t able to begin set-up until 1am).
With everyone’s help, it was a great
success. We were honored to be able to
serve California, by installing some
wonderful new officers. California is in
good hands. Be sure to thank your
Chapter team (officers and support
staff) for all they do for your chapter,
but better yet, join the FUN they have
by volunteering to assist in any area…You
can’t have FUN if you don’t participate.
If you weren’t at Officers Conference, you
may not know that this year’s Rally theme is
Football. We are already having a lot of FUN
with this. One of our slogans is “Don’t be
Sidelined… Participate”. Your chapter has
chosen an NFL Team for the District Game
and also to represent your chapter at our
California District Rally. Yes, we can call them
Rallies again, because our goal is FUN.
We also introduced our new mascot and
retired “Dude” to a life of leisure with Vince
and Pam. Our mascot is a bear, and he wore
a turtle hat in honor of “Dude”. We had
many good suggestions for a name for our
mascot, but we settled on “Huggy-bear” or
“Huggy” for short. This being appropriate
since this year’s theme is “The Year of the
Bear-Hug”. Little did those who suggested
this name know how special that name
“Huggy-bear” is to the both of us. Our first
Foster baby, which we dearly loved, but had
to release after 8 months, was named Huggy
-bear, and has always had a special place in
our hearts. As soon as that suggestion appeared (numerous times), we knew that was
the name. “Huggy” is looking forward to
spending a lot of time having FUN with you
all throughout the year.
As we start this year out riding, we hope
to see many of you out supporting chapters,
attending gatherings and rallies. Our first rally is coming quickly - the Valentine’s Run
with CA-1I, on February 13th. Hope to see
you all there. There will be the announcement for the Chapter of the Year and possibly another big surprise.
We look forward to a great year.
Thank you California!
Nancy & Bob Clark
2
Is Your Helmet Up to the Crash?
Tom “Hammer” Whitson
CA-C Chapter Director
S
ome interesting facts I ran into.
We all wear a helmet when riding a motorcycle - it’s the law in California. Have you
ever asked yourself, “is my helmet up to a
crash?”
How many of you have read the care instructions
provided by your helmet manufacturer?
The general rule is to replace your helmet every
five years, but what if you drop it, sweat heavily or
wear it every day?
The biggest myth is that if your helmet falls off
your parked bike, you should change your helmet.
That is probably put out by helmet retailers. Certainly you should check it and it depends on how far it
has dropped. Most helmets will easily withstand the
general knocking around they get in daily life. That
doesn’t mean you can throw your helmet around.
You need to treat your helmet with respect and care
and store you helmet in a cool dry place.
General helmet use means a helmet will last for
about five years. The glues, resins and other materials used in making of the making of the helmet can
lose their effectiveness and also deteriorate the lining. Another good reason to replace your helmet
every five years is that helmet technology is advanc-
ing all the time and a new helmet is going to offer
more protection than something five years old. It
goes without saying if your helmet is involved in a
crash replace it.
Remember, take care of your helmet and it will
take care of you!
SOME HELMET STATISTICS




In 2008, 43 percent of all victims fatally injured in a motorcycle accident were not wearing
helmets.
According to the Department of Transportation, only the District of Columbia and 19 other states mandate universal helmet laws, even though research has proven that helmet
use is the easiest way to save lives in a motorcycle accident.
In 1997 seven states had repealed the universal helmet law, leading to an increase in motorcycle deaths with Louisiana leading with a 108 percent increase.
In 2004, nationwide helmet use increased. As a result, motorcycle accident fatality rates
drastically decreased.
3
4
The Fun Side of the
Officer’s Conference...
Diane Knox
K
en, Hammer, Kathy,
Gordon and I left for
the conference in
Bakersfield
on
a
stormy Friday. The weather improved in Fresno and it was
sunny in Bakersfield. We
checked into our rooms at the
host hotel, the Doubletree, and
rested in our respective rooms
- enjoying our warm chocolate
chip cookies provided by the
hotel. We then traveled .3
miles to the Buck Owens Chrystal Palace for dinner. We had a
fabulous dinner, met new
friends from Bakersfield (Hammer even
shared some of his delicious ribs with the
people at an adjacent table) and enjoyed
wonderful country music from the Buckeraoos. Most of the band members had
played with Buck Owens for years.
The walls of the restaurant were display
cases of Buck's coats, hats, awards, gold records, pictures and thousands of other mementos. We would have liked to have stayed
to see more and enjoy more of the band, but
had to be ready the next morning for an 8:00
am meeting.
The new District Directors, Bob and Nancy
Clark, started the conference on time and
kept to the agenda! The theme for the next
year is Bear Hugs.
Bob and Nancy announced the new chapter game, gave the
oath of office to the new officers, introduced
the new District team, etc. Come to our next
Chapter meeting to hear more about the
game and some of the great ideas that were
shared at the conference. To everyone's delight, the conference ended an hour early!
Kathy and Gordon had a commitment on
Sunday morning, so they had to leave right
after the conference. Chip and Charli Chipman joined us for a great steak dinner at the
Hungry Hunter. It was another evening with
good friends and good food, plus a wonderful Russian River wine Charli introduced to
me.
Early Sunday morning, we drove up Highway 99 and made it home in time to watch
the playoff games.
5
Greatest Tool Ever Invented???
A
Rick McCusker
nyone who knows me well also knows I’m not
afraid to dig in and get my hands dirty. I have
always maintained my own vehicles (unless
they have a maintenance contract) as well as
just about everything around the house. My favorite subjects in school? Shop classes, of course. They taught me
just about everything I know about fixin’ stuff. My favorite toy store? If you ask my wife, she will say it’s Best
Buy. But if you ask me, it’s the tool department at Sears.
I can walk around that department for hours and dream
about my next gotta-have-it tool. Sound familiar?
The big problem is the speed at which stuff
“improves” and becomes harder and harder to work on.
Two examples – back in the early sixties Chevrolet had
the 283 and 327 small block engines. Those were a
DREAM to work on. I could tear one completely down
and rebuild it with no problem at all. Do I want to work
on a modern car with all the fuel injection and smog stuff
on it? No way! Couple that with all of the computers involved in a modern car and it has put the shade tree mechanic like myself out to pasture. Sure, there are a few
things I can fix like the brakes, but that’s about it.
Another example is the electrical panel for our hot tub
had this device in it that burned out twice and required
replacement. I called the manufacturer of the part and
found out it was no longer available. I had a few options
to consider – one of which was to get a similar part for
about $250 – which wasn’t going to happen. So I spent
$90 and installed a new subpanel for the hot tub. Electrical problems don’t scare me unless there is BIG power
involved. I’ll call a professional for that stuff.
Last week I tore into my Goldwing and did some of the
maintenance items mentioned in the owner’s manual.
I’ve changed the spark plugs, oil and oil filter and brake
pads. Thanks to Ken Knox, I have a shop manual that
pretty much covers my 2010 Goldwing. A year or so ago I
added some LED lighting to my ride and found that Tom
Jefferies had a wiring diagram for my bike. Checked out
the schematic and easily found what I wanted to tap into
for power at the back of the bike with ease. Tom was
amazed that I can read a wiring diagram…
Let’s talk about tools. I have a pretty complete set of
woodworking and mechanic’s “toys” to play with that
makes it relatively easy to get stuff done – usually in a
fairly short amount of time. However, one task had me
sweating bullets last week and was absolutely NO fun at
all…. Changing a headlight bulb on the ‘Wing. Getting my
fat arm down the tunnel, not being able to see what I’m
doing and getting that damn retaining clip put back was
taking a long time. So, being the resourceful individual
my wife knows and loves, I went to Harbor Freight and
bought the longest set of needle nose pliers they had.
Once back at the bike, I had that clip in place in a couple
of minutes… No problem!
Now I’m going to divulge one of the greatest resources available for those of us not afraid to get our
hands dirty…. Youtube!!! There is a video for just about
anything you could ever want to do to anything on that
website! When we bought our Goldwing, one of the concerns was, “How am I ever going to pick that monster up
if it falls over?” Found the answer on a Youtube video.
Piece of cake – if you’ve seen the video. If you haven’t,
you’re going to hurt yourself! Next up on the maintenance schedule on the Goldwing is changing the air filter.
Some of you would rather take it to a shop, but I’ve seen
the Youtube video on how to do it and it doesn’t intimidate me one little bit.
The moral of this story is don’t be afraid to just jump
into a project – AFTER you’ve used the greatest tool invented in the last 10 years – Youtube!!!
6
18-Wheelers—Often Good Riding Buddies!
James R. Davis
W
hen I was on jury duty a few months
ago I had occasion to spend a lot of
hours with a trucker who explained
to me many of the things that I have
always been curious about. Not the least surprising
of which, considering the setting, was how many
truckers manage to accumulate far more miles in
their rigs than the law allows with the illegal use of
a second set of log books. (The message here is
clear - many truckers out there are TIRED - morning,
noon, or night.)
[I have only been inside the cab of an 18-wheeler
once in my life, when I was a kid. The driver had allowed me to ride with him between LA and Monterey along the California coast. I could not believe
how hard it had been for him to drive that rig - it
had a 'brownie' (second shift-lever) that he managed by looping his arm through the steering-wheel.
Well, technology has come a long way in longhaulers and brownies are a thing of the past. But
the driver's job remains a tough one, and motorcycles often just add one more worry for them to have
to deal with.]
This trucker that I mentioned above claimed that
two-wheelers, particularly those driven by women,
(though they often get 'cat-calls' from his friends),
are actually held in high regard by truckers - especially if they seem to know what they are doing.
Motorcyclists, he said, are smart to keep their distance from the trucks. He said that though retreads
have been banned from automobiles for many
years, there are still trucks that ride on them and if
one should blow the energy released is roughly
equivalent to a stick of dynamite. A motorcycle that
happens to be nearby would not stand a chance.
And though it is not possible to completely avoid
riding on one side or the other of an 18-wheeler, he
said, a smart motorcyclist would not linger there
and would pass as soon as they could. He also said
that motorcyclists that pass a truck only to then pull
in front of it are smarter still if they do not pull in
too quickly. He described a nightmare accident he
once had where a small Toyota had pulled in front
of him on the open highway then hit its brakes. He
was hauling a load of steel rebars and there was ab-
solutely no way he could even slow down before
running over that car. Mass and inertia have their
own rules.
As to motorcyclists in general, he said that he
was no longer surprised at the number of times he
would say something about a 'good looking bike' on
the road near him to another trucker in the distance
only to have that biker thank him with his CB. This,
because he has come to understand that most touring bikes have CB radios and that they seem to have
realized that truckers can make good 'riding buddies' when the motorcyclist is riding solo. He described dozens of times riding 'escort' for a solo biker, and sharing a meal with a few of them along his
way. That they invariably talked about their bikes
(and he about his rig) while eating and how impressed he had been that they were really 'into' and
knowledgeable about what they (the bikers) were
doing.
I thought I would post this here because we often
hear bikers describe 18-wheelers in rather nasty
ways - like they were generically dumb, illiterate,
drunk, mean, and dangerous. Truth is they are just
people with a hard job and they are on the roads
with people that do not have sufficient respect for
how much time it takes to slow/stop those rigs so
are constantly put in risky situations as a result.
My experience with truckers has been almost
universally good. Hope this little Tip causes a few
readers to re-think their attitudes about them. A
trucker can be a life-saver in time of need. Why not
maximize the odds?
Reprinted by permission msgroup.org
7
Breakfast!
Good Food!
Wayne Bellows
H
ere is a compilation of area diners that
serve great breakfasts at reasonable prices.
I frequent several of them. CAC members may wish to try them when on nonchapter rides, as seating and parking may be too
limited for a large group.
Babs Delta Diner 770 Kellogg St. in Suisun City is
the only one that isn't local, and I have not been
there. However, it recently received good reviews
by Sam McManis of the BEE.
Bud's Pub & Grill 110 S. 1st St, Dixon does not
serve breakfast, but offers lunch and dinner. It is an
eclectic 'local's' spot and has a large collection of
mounted big game heads. The dining room is separate from the bar and is nicely appointed.
Cricket’s Country Kitchen 4745 Auburn Blvd,
Cartmichael serves breakfast and lunch only. Several of CA-C’s members have been here several
times and the breakfast menu is excellent. If you
leave here still hungry, it’s your own fault.
Uptown Café 1121 Del Paso Blvd., Sacramento
Pitts Stop 6610 Martin Luther King Jr., Blvd.
Sacramento
Brain Teaser
Can you name the 10 states in the United
States of America that only have four
letters in their names?
Find the answer somewhere in this newsletter
8
CA-C Level Achievements
III MARGARET MARSHALL
DENNY ALLISON
BOB FLEMING
BEVERLY BARBER
JAMES BARBER
WAYNE BELLOWS
JAMES BONDESON
EDWARD BROWN
JAMES CHIPMAN
KENNETH COLEMAN
GARY CONKLIN
MYRNA ERNST
STEVE ERNST
JON INGENTHRON
JOYCE MCCUSKER
KEN KING
VIRGINIA KING
ROBERT ONO
LAURIE PARQUER
BESSIE WONG
TODD WRIGHT
II
PAUL BARBER
ANITA BROOKS
BILL FOX
RICHARD JAMES III
KENNETH KNOX
JENNIFER HUGHES
MARILYN KASPAR
KENNETH BECHTHOLD
RODNEY BROOKS
RANDY DAVIES
CATHY FLOWERS
GORDON FLOWERS
NANCY HARRIS
EMERICK KASPAR
LEE MARSHALL
MELANIE MAYO
NOLAND MAYO
SENIOR MASTERS
NEAL GRAHAM
BOB HARRIS
RICK MCCUSKER
IV
MICHAEL PAETZOLD
ERNEST PALMER
THOMAS ROCCO
ERNEST SCOGGINS
SHARON SCOGGINS
KATHLEEN STEPHENS
ROBERT STEPHENS
ELMER TIVNER
JOAN TIVNER
THOMAS WHITSON
GRAND MASTERS
BARBARA JEFFERIES
THOMAS JEFFERIES
HARRY KARNOFSKY
LINDA KARNOFSKY
9
And the “Winner” of the
Wingnut is….
Neal Graham
Want to check and see if
Neal
has it on him?
Call (916)454-5290 (Home)
(916)996-4336 (Cell)
3rd
Judy McHugh
4th
Jim Bondeson
7th
Ernie & Sharon Scoggins
13th Anita Brooks
15th Dean & Barbara Donnelly
17th Peggy Marshall
18th Harry & Linda Karnofsky
21st Neal Graham
28th Ginny Allison
10
Chapter Director
Tom Whitson
209-744-8560
sashadad@softcom.net
Ken Knox
916-261-1768
krk777@yahoo.com
Diane Knox
916-261-1768
krk7777@yahoo.com
Chapter Educator
Gordon Flowers
916-612-0978
gcflower@sbcglobal.net
Chapter Educator
Noland Mayo
916-276-8397
morweed@surewest.net
Treasurer
Cathy Flowers
916-363-4349
retiringyoung@sbcglobal.net
Newsletter Editor
Rick McCusker
916-201-9543
rickmccusker2564@comcast.net
Chapter Auction
Bob Stephens
916-372-2260
dadobiker@sbcglobal.net
Rich James
559-901-0092
rhjiii47@yahoo.com
Rick McCusker
916-201-9543
rickmccusker2564@comcast.net
Bill Palmer
916-416-8423
bpalmer210@msn.com
Sunshine Coordinator
Joyce McCusker
916-203-9543
joymom13@comcast.net
Chapter Photographer
Rick McCusker
916-203-9543
rickmccusker2564@comcast.net
916-682-3469
tjeffer293@aol.com
916-682-6869
spikered@comcast.net
Assistant Chapter Director
Membership Enhancement Coordinator
After Chapter Meeting
Ride Coordinator
Chapter Stores
Webmaster
Tom & Barbara
50/50 & Raffle
Jefferies
Wing Nut
Spike Redding
11
FEBRUARY 2016
SUN
7
MON
TUE
WED
THU
FRI
SAT
1
2
3
4
5
6
8 Business Mtg.
Denny’s
7900 Collegetown
Dinner 5:30
Meeting 6:00
9
10
11
12
13
El Novillero
4216 Franklin
Blvd.
Sacramento
6:30 PM
14 Chapter Mtg. 15
Elks #6
6446 Riverside
8:30 Breakfast
9:00 MeetIng
16
21
23
22
Dinner Ride
CA 2N
L8
7:15 AM
17
18
Day Ride
19
20
Training
Casa D’ Harris
759 Morgan’s
Ranch
Galt
9 AM
24
25 Dinner Ride 26
Barn Café
8976 Grantline
Sheldon
6:30 PM
28
Day Ride
29
Alice’s Restaurant
Woodside, CA
L8
8 AM
12
27
MARCH 2016
SUN
6
MON
7
TUE
WED
THU
FRI
SAT
1
2
3
4
5
8 Dinner Ride
9
10
11
12 Overnight
Calistoga
L4
9 AM
Kobe Sushi &
Steak
9134 E. Stockton
Elk Grove
6:30 PM
13
Overnight
Calistoga
14 Business Mtg. 15
16
17
18
19
23
24 Dinner Ride
25
26
Denny’s
7900 Collegetown
Dinner 5:30
Meeting 6:00
20 Chapter Mtg. 21
Elks #6
6446 Riverside
8:30 Breakfast
9:00 MeetIng
22
27
29
28
Dad’s Kitchen
8928 Sunset Ave
Fair Oaks
6:30 PM
30
31
13
Day Ride
CA 2K
L4
7:30 AM
Capital City Wings Departure Locations
L-1
Interstate 80 @ West El Camino Blvd.
(2738 El Centro Rd—49’r Truck Stop)
L-2
Hwy 99 @ Laguna Blvd.
(8296 Laguna Blvd.)
L-3
Folsom Blvd. @ Power Inn Rd.
(8098 Folsom Blvd.)
L-4
Interstate 80 @ Enterprise Blvd.
(4800 West Capitol Ave.)
L-5
Elk Grove Blvd & Interstate 5
(9615 West Taron Drive)
L-6
Sierra College Blvd & Interstate 80
(4211 Sierra College Blvd. North side of freeway)
L-7
Sunrise Blvd & White Rock Blvd.
(11250 White Rock Blvd.)
L-8
10420 Twin Cities Rd., Galt
(Raley’s Shopping Center)
7343 Home Leisure Plaza
Sacramento, CA 95823
www.norcalmotorsportshonda.com
(916)714-1350
14
15
16
Goldwing Cornering Class
July 24, 2016—Stockton, CA
Click Link below for information
http://www.superbike-coach.com/events/cornering-goldwings-day-1
17
18
19
20
21
GWRRA California Chapters
22
Got a story?
Send it in!!!
Do it—NOW!
Can’t write? I can fix it!
rickmccusker2564@comcast.net
Brain Teaser answer:
Alabama, Alaska, Hawaii, Indiana, Kansas, Mississippi, Ohio
Tennessee, Iowa and Utah
Thanks, Carl Blattenberg for the mind exercise!
23