JUNE 2013 Sunday, June 9, 2013 at 12 Noon 1096 Petaluma Blvd

JUNE 2013
BMW MOA Charter #147
CCBR Web Site www.ccbr.org
BMW RA Charter #203
Sunday, June 9, 2013 at 12 Noon
1096 Petaluma Blvd N, Petaluma, CA 94952 – (707) 773-0925
For Details go to www.ccbr.org
Many thanks to Jon Beining for organizing this meeting.
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The President Says!!
By Bob Kuykendall
HOW FAR WOULD YOU GO IN SEARCH OF THE LEGENDARY ROUNDEL?
At a recent Spring Fling held in distant Angels Camp, we
observed how far a newer CCBR member (aka
Roundelspelunker) would go in a daring search to find the
legendary Roundel. To the right are examples of the legendary
Roundels through time.
There was a rumor that the Roundel could be found at the
bottom of a cavern in Sierra foothills. So Roundelspelunker
tells the wife - “I will go to
any length (of secured
rope) to find the legendary
Roundel . So Roundelspelunker gets up the courage to get
rigged up to explore for the legendary Roundel . Of course,
Roundelspelunker demanded to have the latest in AGATT –
so he was appropriately outfitted with the Höhlenforschung
Sicherheitsausrüstung (legendary Roundel spelunking gear).
He had no need for the GPS. It was a straight track down. He
needed courage as he was ready to explore new vistas in his
search. He was lowered into the Höhlenforschung Loch
(reputed gateway (hole) to the legendary Roundel). So he
descends foot by foot by foot by foot (about 168 feet to be
exact) in his search past crystalline outcrops and overhangs.
When he emerged from the Höhlenforschung Loch he found
to his surprise not only that he had survived the transit but that
there were about ten Central Cal Roundelettes at the bottom
to greet his descent. He was so thrilled that he and his better
half went soaring (via zip line) through the trees above the
Der Roundelspelunker (aka Todt
underground knowing that he had found the true holders of
Clark ) in AGATT about to
Roundels. This is as true a recollection as anyone has of these
descend.
events.
There were no winners in the guess who wrote “Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Riding” in
the April 2006 Exhaust Notes. Ride Director Phil James was asked three times if he knew who
the author was and he did not. Erika James, CCBR President in 2006, wrote the Exhaust Notes
article Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Riding” in the April 2006 EN. Well, maybe he will have better
luck next time and there will be a next time. Stay tuned.
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HUGE CONTEST WITH $750 IN PRIZES
Continues for One More Year!
Listen up all you CCBR’ers. There’s mucho money to be made. We have a great contest going
for members who submit the most half page or larger pieces for the 2013 Exhaust Notes.
Stories? Captioned Photos? Yes…..anything goes. Now for the really great part. Prizes will
be awarded at our December 2013 meeting. So dust off the old Remington, put on your Ellory
Queen hat, pour a Scotch over, light up your Camel and let the words flow.
1. Send the text of your article in the body of an email or attach as a .DOC file.
2. Please do not embed pictures in your text. Attach your pictures to the email as .JPG
files.
3. Identify and write a caption for each picture. Include this in the body of the email
or in the .DOC file.
Send your e-mail to our Exhaust Notes Editor, Rich Alves at ralves1@comcast.net.
2013 EVENT CALENDAR – For details go to www.ccbr.org
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CCBR RIDE TO THE MOA NATIONAL RALLY IN SALEM OREGON
July 16 through 23, 2013
We will leave from the Boulevard Café, 1096 Petaluma Blvd N, Petaluma, CA 94952, (707)
773-0925, at noon, on Tuesday, July 16th. If you want to eat lunch, show up an hour earlier. If
you want to leave earlier or later, we'll meet you at the first nights motel in Garberville.
Day 1:
Tuesday, July 16. Sherwood Forest Motel in Garberville, CA, 707-923-2721. 200 mi.
Day 2:
Wednesday, July 17. Motel 6 Coos Bay, OR, 541-267-7171. 312 mi.
Day 3:
Thursday, July 18. Air Museum and then on to Salem. Several of us are staying at
the Salem Crossland Studios, 503-363-7557. 269 mi.
Days 4 and 5 in Salem
Day 6:
Sunday, July 21. Super 8 Motel, Klamath Falls, OR, 541-884-8880. 265 mi.
Day 7:
Monday, July 22. Sherwood Forest Motel in Garberville, CA, 707-923-2721. 305 mi.
Day 8:
Tuesday, July 23. Back to Petaluma via Ft. Bragg, Hwy 128 and Cloverdale. 192 mi.
Or, head for home on a route of your chosing.
Contact me if you would like a Garmin file of the route emailed to you. This is a suggested
itinerary, so make it work for you. You may want to stay longer or make it a shorter trip. Make
your own reservations and let's have a great, safe ride. If you are staying in a motel in Salem, I
hope you have already made your reservations. Camping comes with the price of admission to the
rally.
Trying to keep a large group of riders together is too much work and not enough fun. I suggest
that you all form small riding groups for a low work, high fun, safe experience. Jon Beining, Rich
Alves, Terry Tracy & I will ride together as one of the groups.
Phil James
Ride Leader
925-787-1013 Cell
925-372-8155 Home
p.james@comcast.net
If you are looking for a roommate, contact
me by email. I will match you up if I can.
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EXPLORING THE DELTA
On April 24, Phil James, Jon Beining, Rich Alves
and Jim Cyran from RCB, explored the Delta
prior to the CCBR ride later in the month
The older and newer – in 1946 a steel
drawbridge was built across Three Mile Slough
where it joins the Sacramento River
Wild flowers along the Sacramento River
fronting a backdrop of windmills on the Hills of
Montezuma
Phil, Jim and Jon, surrounded by death at
Fosters Bighorn in Rio Vista
No wallet, no food. Phil James
begs for help.
CCBR DELTA RIDE – APRIL 28
It was a beautiful day. Many pictures were
taken. The ride ended at Fosters Bighorn
Restaurant in Rio Vista. Happy rider diners
included Bob Kuykendall, James Howard, Neil
Hansen, Karen Clark, Dan Smith, Dick Wade,
T J Forsyth, Todt Clark and Phil James.
Unfortunately, when the picture was taken of
them sitting at the table, a puff of gray smoke
blew out of the camera and all was lost.
Their lunch having taken all of their strength,
Rich, Phil and Jon rest outside
page number 8
TEXAS: BY THE NUMBERS
By Jay MacDonald
I left Mariposa on April 26, bound for Houston, Texas. My goal
was exploration and camaraderie. I used the NRA Annual
Meeting and Show as my excuse to go. I achieved both goals.
This article is a recounting of the trip, by the numbers.
Total days = 16. Riding days = 10. Total miles = 4662 BMW odo
miles. The GPS miles are different but I lost some tracks. Gallons
of gas consumed = 108.6. Average mileage = 43. Worst = 40
Turkey, Texas home to Bob Wills, mph on fast headwind freeway.
the co-founder of Western Swing Oil inserted in bike, 1/2 liter. Oil
sprayed on my left leg, 1/4 liter.
Music
Max speed = 85 mph. Max
moving average speed = 65.5 mph = boogity, boogity!. Fastest
moving average day = 65 MPH. Slowest day = 0 MPH of course.
Most expensive motel was the
Days Inn Flagstaff at $169 plus $30 taxes. Tip, in May check if the
city you are passing through will be holding university graduation
that weekend.
Highest elevation of 8550 feet
near Alpine, AZ. Also lowest
temperature at 40 F. Highest
temperature in Rio Grande canyon near Presidio, TX at 95 F.
Birds killed = 2. Bugs dispatched = uncountable. Rain days =
zero!
Small towns seen = many, each
unique. Big cities bypassed =
many, less unique. Best instant
detour was Sunday morning in
Albuquerque, NM when I dived
off I40 at the Historic Downtown
sign. The square block town
center came complete with
I wanted to go to Utopia, but I trees and gazebo and 100
singing parishioners of the
had to take a Leakey.
Catholic Church next door.
Special moment! Small towns in Texas with Dairy Queen, seems
like every one. Days with DQ Crispy Chicken Salad for lunch = 8.
Best hotel, Hampton Inn Westchase, Houston. Cheapest hotel,
Buck Owens Best Western in Bakersfield; also best courtyard and
pool. Best hotel not stayed in: Hilton Americas in Houston next to
the George R. Brown Convention center. Do it if you can afford it my uncle Chevron ain't paying no more. Best motel not expected:
Leakey Inn cabins in Hill Country. Miss Dallas, the new owner, is a
delight and very motorcyclist oriented.
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Redbear loves roads like this.
Headed into Big Bend Park.
McDonald Observatory is
worth a visit
Best TX roads: Highways 39, 335, 336, 337 near Leakey, TX, are called The Three sisters. 39 is a
bonus along the Guadalupe River out of Kerrville. All have real turns and twists. Best discovery, Big
Bend National Park. It looks like Nevada at first, and then startles you with a unique mountain
setting. Second best was the McDonald observatory – see next article.
People attending the NRA Annual Meeting, over 70,000. Zero arguments. Best speaker at NRA
convention, Glen Beck. (Your humble editor says, “Sorry.”) Best comedian Frank Caliendo
(www.frankcaliendo.com ) Best Mr. Lover-of-life: Ted Nugent. Houses given away to veterans at
Ted's event: two.
Close calls of the safety kind - one. A poorly thinking
gentleman of about my age, riding a blue K1600 BMW
managed to place himself between me and a Honda CRV
that I had just about passed. I didn't know he was there
until he was 5 feet away beside me. This was classic lane
splitting, but considering we were at 75 MPH and the only
three vehicles on an otherwise empty Mojave desert
freeway, this close call pass was startling, foolish and
Route 66 Wigwam Motel complete with unsafe. I spent the next 25 miles composing the things I
would like to say to him. Amazingly, I got the chance at the
period cars.
Dairy Queen in Ludlow, CA. His defensive response was
that it was lane splitting and implied everyone did it. You can all imagine my comebacks to that. The
man needs an Advanced Rider Course if anyone ever did.
New friends made from WY, MN, IL, FL, TX, OK. You meet the nicest people at "redneck" get
togethers and on motorcycles. My wife can expect some visitors she has never met. Best money
spent was a deal on a new Vortex rifle scope with stunning optics. Worst money spent was Chinese
food in Flagstaff.
**********
CONTEST CLOSES JUNE 8!
If you can correctly identify this important
accessory, Bob Kuykendall will give you one
free admission to the 2013 Autumn Beemer
BASH. Email your answer to prez@ccbr.org.
page number 10
TEXAS: BY THE HEART
By Jay MacDonald
My companion article explains the numbers involved in my Texas trip. But what was the real reason to
go? And how did my heart fare?
In January I realized the NRA would be having the Annual Meeting
in Houston. I also subconsciously realized that I needed some seat
time on the back of Big Red, my 1995 R1100GS. All of the work
Jeanne and I had done for a year was mostly done, and a little play
time was needed for balance. So a plan was hatched and eventually
executed.
It’s a Stallion by Thoroughbred
Motorsports.
During my Chevron career, I had spent more nights in Houston than
I can count. I have had a love/hate relationship with the place. It is
at once frenetic and dynamic, especially the oil business side. It can
also be ugly and traffic packed and frustrating. But it is never boring.
And the seafood is excellent.
It has been almost 5 years since
I was there, so I wanted to see some friends and what had changed.
And the NRA's wonderful firearms and equipment show is worth
seeing periodically. I also wanted to see more of Texas. I've been
to College Station (A&M), San Antonio, Austin and Midland-Odessa
for work. But what did the rest of the place look like? Now I have
seen NW Texas (flat) and the Hill Country (lumpy) and the ranching
middle near Dallas and the SW mountains of Big Bend Park. And I
learned there are places to miss and places to see again. Big Bend
Luckenbach, Texas still has
Park and the Hill Country are worth
daily music.
a repeat. And I saw for myself the
stark and wild lands along the Mexican border on the River Road.
I always thought a "fence" was a good idea. Now I know how
simplistic that idea really is and
how big the challenge is faced
by the Border Patrol.
I made new friends of like
persuasion in the hotel. I strolled
with a target shooting friend from
Livermore at the NRA show. I
Hell ya, there was some!
had dinner with a Chevron friend.
I struck up instant conversations with many people during the week,
each special and fulfilling. And I scored some good swag. I saw a
lot of new country in TX, AZ, and NM. I drove a lot of Interstate but
enough of the best back roads too. I recommend the McDonald
Observatory near Fort Davis in Texas and the roads to it are high
desert mountain splendor.
So, was the trip successful? Yes, indeed! Heart fulfilled.
Search it out!
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SPRING FLING 2013
The Spring Fling was held May 3-5 at the Angels Camp RV Resort in, where else, Angels Camp.
Pictures courtesy of Kim Dromlewicz, Chuck Brown and Rich Alves.
Chuck Brown and Phil James at the Sonora
Pass Summit. Unfortunately, there was too
much snow to visit Dave Williams close up.
Jon Beining explains that the best way to get
into Heaven is by attending the Autumn
Beemer BASH this September in Quincy, CA.
Spring Fling Chariman, Kim Dromlewicz, puts
on another great event. Thank you, Kim.
Doug and Shirley Ralston receive their 15 Year
Membership Pin.
Rich Alves is awarded five pounds of walnuts
for his work as Chief of Stuff. The walnuts
were lovingly raised, harvested and cracked by
Lammert and Rosemary Williams.
Ernie Lopez is caught thoughtfully thinking.
page number 13
Pictures continue on the next two pages
page number 14
Now, those are
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SHOES!
CENTRAL CAL BMW RIDERS
OFFICERS, BOARD MEMBERS and EXTRAORDINARY VOLUNTEERS
President
Bob Kuykendall
(925) 570-9957
Vice-President
Rich Alves
(925) 240-6970
Secretary
Rich Meissner
(209) 578-1933
Treasurer
Ellen Kuykendall
(925) 300-3512
Director and Co-Webmaster
Terry Tracy
(415) 760-1070
Director for Meetings
Jay MacDonald
(209) 966-3895
Director for Membership
Bob Kuykendall
(925) 570-9957
Director for Rides
Phil James
(925) 372-8155
Director for the BASH
Jon Beining
(707) 763-3063
Chairman for the Spring Fling
Kim Dromlewicz
(925) 672-2112
Exhaust Notes Editor
Rich Alves
(925) 240-6970
Webmaster
Rich Alves
(925) 240-6970
IT IS EXTREMELY IMPORTANT
THAT YOU KEEP YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS CURRENT
All of your membership information is filed under your email address on our web site. If
you change your email address you must also update it in your member profile.
Ÿ Go to www.ccbr.org and Login using your old email address and password.
Ÿ Click "View profile" below your name on the upper right.
Ÿ Click "Edit profile" / Update your E-mail address / Click "Save"
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Exhaust Notes is published monthly by Central California BMW Riders, 3064 Rossmoor Parkway #3, Walnut Creek, CA., 94595. Email:
denaligp@ix.netcom.com. All information furnished herein is provided by and for the members of Central Cal BMW Riders. Unless otherwise
stated, none of the information (including technical material) printed herein bears any endorsement or approval by CCBR or the Editor. The
Board of Directors and Editor cannot be held liable for its accuracy.
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