Spring always brings transitions – changes in the weather,
changes in the variety of wildlife we see around us, and a major
shift in our club’s focus – from our charity fundraising
activities to the beginning of our riding season.
I would like to start by thanking everyone who participated in
our chocolate sale. I realize that not everyone has a large “market” for
our goods – some members can’t sell at work, for example – but
every little bit helps. Our “Chocolate Diva”, Mickey,
did a wonderful job of organizing the sales and inspiring the membership
to do whatever we could to help out. Thank you, Mickey! And a big
thank you to Laura S. & Stephanie who helped sell – no,
make that “shamelessly hawked” – chocolate
at the Polar Bear destinations. And a big thank you to our top
sellers as well as everyone who participated in the organizing,
manufacturing and sales of our delectable treats. As you know,
all of our proceeds go to very worthy charitable causes.
Now it’s time for our focus to shift to the riding season
at hand. While some of us ride all winter (with the Polar Bear
Grand Tour and other events), there are many of us who hibernate
over the winter and bring the bike out only in the spring when
the temperatures warm up a bit. We will be scheduling rides to
go on after each meeting beginning with the May meeting, so please
keep in mind that the meetings need to start at 9:00 sharp, no
refreshments are provided, and that we want to keep the meeting
times to a minimum so we can get out and RIDE. Please remember
to show up at the meeting with a full tank of gas; that saves a
little time, too.
There are some wonderful destinations on tap this season. Several
members are planning to travel to Keystone, CO for the AMA Women & Motorcycling
Conference: http://www.womenandmotorcycling.com/ .
We’ll also be participating in some of the AMA District 2
rides http://www.amadistrictii.com/ ,
and we are planning some two or three day weekend type rides – perhaps
both the Maryland and New Jersey Lighthouse Challenges http://www.cheslights.org/ , http://www.njlhs.org/challenge/challenge.html in
September and October, respectively. Another proposed set of destinations
is the State of New Jersey’s Passport to Adventure Program: http://www.state.nj.us/dep/parksandforests/parks/passport/passport-index.htm.
The ride committee will try to keep in mind that there are fees
or other costs associated with some or all of these destinations
and we’ll try to make sure that there are plenty of affordable
rides. The ride planning meeting has not taken place yet, but if
you have any suggestions to submit, please make sure you get them
to Carol P. as soon as you can so we can work them into the schedule.
I’d like to wish everyone a safe and enjoyable riding season.
Let’s have some fun, and I’ll see you on the road!
--Liz
