Webmasters RoundTable

Poker Run for Brinkley Chandler

Benefit for John Fiedler

CH M will be supporting this ride - John is a brother to our member, Gary Fiedler. This is the Benefit that I mentioned at the CH C Fun Run on Sunday. Below are the hotels in the area. 2009 listing for Willow Creek Campground in LeMars (712-546-8360). Thank you for your support.
Barb CHM

If anyone's interested in attending let me know. Would probably be an overnight fun run based on the start time and length of run. Remsen is about 2 1/2 hours from Omaha. LeMars has a number of Motels if needed.

America's Best Value Inn         712-546-8800

Baymont Inn & suites              712-548-4910

Bel Air Motel (older units)         712-546-4189

Holiday Inn Express & suites    800-345-8082 

Amber Inn ( Biker Owned)         712-546-7066

If interested I can contact the Motels for a group discount

Region C Red Book

Good News,

Please get this out to your Chapter Directors and their members. Region C will be offering a Region C Red Book to our Region C Members for a nominal cost.

Remember the blue book? This will be very similar to that as we are asking our members that want to participate in this to supply information for us to produce a book for members traveling through our Region C area. Time is critical in this as we would like to get this book produced as soon as possible. I have attached the forms we need filled out as well as a letter explaining our Region C Red Book

The way I would like to see this handled is the State Directors forward these forms to our Chapter Directors. The Chapter Directors would then take these forms to their Business meeting and ask any of their members that would like to participate in this to supply their information. Once this is done they would then forward this back to the State Director and either  mail it to me or email the information to  gwtaregcredbook@gmail.com

We would also ask that if you have a favorite Camp ground, Hotel, Restaurant in your area  that you let us know as we would love to include this with the information.

The Deadline for getting this back is August 1, 2010. Please get this out to our Chapter Directors as soon as you can so we can get this going.

Donna McCullough and Karen Green have been instrumental in getting this going and they both will be very involved with seeing this done.

GWTA Region C Directors,

Rick and Kandie Hinrichs

Restaurant Gift Cards

Here is a note from Allison,

Region C also has Restaurant cards available and will match the $15.00 price. This can be a tremendous opportunity to help cut costs not only for Gold Rush but for any area you might be dining at. If you are interested please contact your State Directors.

GWTA Region C Directors

Rick and Kandie Hinrichs

Subject: Restaurant Cards

Hello everyone!
I just wanted to let everyone know that we have restaurant.com gift cards still for sale and we have lowered the price to $15. This gift card is worth $50 in restaurant coupons. This would be a great item to have for Gold Rush. The restaurants that participate in Billings are Alpine Casino, Cowboy Bar and Supper Club, and Montana Jacks.

If you have any questions, please let me know. Please pass this on to members and those attending Gold Rush.

Thanks,
Allison

Super Bowl Party 2010

Superbowl Party
Phil & Judy's House
Sunday, February 7

We had 14 in attendance for the Superbowl Game with the Indianapolis Colts & New Orleans Saints.  Phil & Judy's son-in-law, DJ, Steve Duff, & Stephanie Brem were cheering on the Indianapolis Colts.  The rest of us were for the New Orleans Saints, especially Judy. 

The Colts got off to a good start which really made DJ happy to "rub it in" to his mother-in-law, Judy.  After halftime, the Saints got fired up.  The New Orleans Saints went on to win with a final score of 31 to 17.  DJ had quieted down towards the end.  After it was all said & done, DJ said it really didn't matter to him he just was going against the team Judy was cheering for. 

The following predictions were made at the start of the game:  DJ said Colts winning 28 to 24, Jackie said score of 26 to 6, & Judy said Saints winning by 3.  We had another fun evening at the Schaefer house with food & fellowship.  If you were unable to make it, you missed a really fun time, even if you don't watch football.  Jackie calls the "white line" the whatamacallit line".  You learn something new every day.

Click HERE to see all of the photos submitted.

NNTS - Minding My Own Business

Don't even think of parking here

So I pull into this gas station in the middle of nowhere after a long day of wandering and I decided that after I filled the tank that I should step into the cafe and get something to eat.  It was a warm sunny day, not a cloud in the sky and the sun was beating down pretty good so it was good timing.  I stopped the cafe only to find out that Chicken Fried Steak with gravy hashbrowns was the special.  Oh boy!

As it turns out they didn't need a special because it was pretty good.  I would of paid whatever price.  I'll have to get back to that little cafe sometime.  I remember on the radio was playing Three Dog Night and it reminded me of this photo I have that was taken at Four Corners.  It's really amazing how a song can do that.

So I sat there thinking about it for like 20 minutes while my Chicken Fried Steak and gravy hasbrowns settled in.  The waitress brought the check and I wandered back outside. 

When I got out there I couldn't help notice this grumpy looking guy standing next to his bike.  He was parked in front of a sign that said "Don't Event Think of Parking Here".  I thought it might be appropriate to snap this photo for my records because it looked to me like he was in violation already. 

From there I thought I better move on.  It wasn't really any of my business and I didn't know what he was up to.  He could of been secret service for all I know.  I thought they normally wore suits and stuff though.  Maybe he was an undercover secret service guy.  He could of also been the decoy under cover secret service guy.  Yea that had to be it because those guys get away with illegally thinking all the time.  Don't they?  How would I know that?  What was I thinking... and where the hell was I?

Anyway, as I drove off into the sun (it wasn't really setting yet so I have to just say sun here) I looked into my rear view mirror and noticed that he was still just standing there.  I wondered what he was waiting for.  It was really amazing because now I was wondering and wandering at the same time.  It was a great feeling.  Then I just figured that I better get some Three Dog Night on the MP3 player if I get home. 

And that's not necessarily the story behind this photo.

GL1800 Front Fork Upgrades—First Impressions

The following is being printed with permission from Bill Seith, Ride Coordinator for Windy City Wings.

Fork Springs File Photo

As Mark Twain first said, when life hands you lemons . . . . As most of you know by now, my Wing suffered a catastrophic failure of the front fork seals when a pothole the size of Texas jumped in front of me while traveling down Rte 83. Having had a repair shop do the seal replacement before with high cost and limited success, I decided this time to do it myself.

While ordering the front fork seal kit from Wing Stuff, I was intrigued by the un-solicited offer for new springs. After doing a little research and reading all of the reviews, I opted for a set of Progressive Suspension springs (Wing Stuff part #TR771521). While some of the reviewers focus on reducing the amount of front tire wobble, the ones that hit home for me tout improved handling in the twisties.

Just for grins, I measured the amount of fork extension before and after the spring replacement. With 100% of the bike but no rider weight on both tires, the fork compresses 1/2 inch more with the stockers. When rider weight is added, there is another 3/8 inch of compression with the stockers and none with the Progressives. The net result is almost an inch of added fork extension to absorb the bumps.

Fork springs view on bike

The install is fairly straight forward. Because the Progressive springs take up more volume, the instructions suggest using less fork oil than the GL1800 manual calls for. Bottom line, you’ll want to use 1/2 ounce less oil in each fork with these springs.

The reviews on fork braces also intrigued me. The Kuryakyn garners the best comments. Again, my primary goal is improved handling in the turns, but the Kuryakyn looks nice too. I have less than 100 miles on the new setup as of this writing, but I gotta say, I’ve already noticed a huge improvement. The bike rides better and the cornering is completely effortless. I half expected the ride to be somewhat harsh. With suspension mods, that’s the usual trade-off—better cornering = harsher ride. But somehow, the geniuses at Progressive Suspension figured out how to improve the ride and cornering all at the same time. I’m sure the fork brace is helping too by eliminating the fork flex that otherwise occurs when cornering.

It’s too early to tell whether the upgrades will have any impact on tire wear. The same goes for fork seal wear. Here’s to hoping both will show improvement. I’ll have more once I put more miles on the setup, but as of right now, the results look VERY promising. Happy riding!!!

Bill Seith, Ride Coordinator

Windy City Wings

GWTA IL Chapter C

NNTS - Orange Bagger Band

The Orange Bagger Band File Photo

So I'm buzzing down the road one day just minding my own business and this really catchy song comes on.  I thought to myself, who are these people?  It sounds like a really old Abba song and for that I knew our Regional Director must know about them already.

Sure enough he knew all about them and said it was the "Orange Bagger Band".  Apparently, he said he mixes it in with his Abba collection when he rides.  That's good for him because there is only so much Dancing Queen to go around on any given day.  So I did a little research and found this file photo.  Reviews for OBB are really good too...apparently.

Anyway I thought I'd check for tour dates and that's when I noticed that nobody was around.  Where did everyone go?  Was Arbys having another roast beef sale?  Hmmmm  So I called the regional director back and his wife said he was out at the OBB concert.  I missed it.

So I decided to keep buzzing down the road and wait for the next OBB hit to come on the radio.  While I was riding I noticed how clean the highways looked that day.  I eventually found ice cream and then headed back to the barn for reflection.

Nowdays whenever I hear a song on the radio from OBB, I think of that nice sunny day when I was out riding around trying to stay out of trouble.  It is not an easy thing to do but I get by...as far as anyone knows.

And that's Not Necessarily The Story about this photo.

NNTS - Sign Post Ahead

So I'm riding along on a lonely mountain road, West of Omaha and I can't help thinking to myself, man oh man I hope my guitar string doesn't wrap around a sign post.  It was about that time that I saw a sign up ahead and I decided I better pull over before I get pulled over.  That's when I snapped this photo. 

It was only by accident that I elected to present the bird to my own camera and it never even occured to me that it was even happening until sometime later.  That was about the time I decided, "Gee maybe I should have a razor handy in the morning". 

Anyway, it was very challenging to sit on the side of the road thinking about hamburger toppings while cars and bikes were flying by so I decided I better get going. 

Before I left, I thought to myself "HEY! was that tree back there falling"?  Was it making a noise?  Should I stick around and find out?  I could be helping science.  I think many people would want to know. 

Unfortunately, I didn't stick around to find out and because I didn't stay, I'm now back at home wishing that I had.  Anyway, I hopped back on my bike and ventured down the hill to see Old Faithful and my guitar string never did get wrapped around that sign post.  I think that's good because I probably saved a 6 foot cop some pain and suffering and myself a ticket stuck in a pickle.  On the way down the hill I turned the radio off.

And now you know that's "Not Necessarily The Story" of this photo...

Fall Follies Video Released

For those of you that attended the 2009 Fall Follies or heard about the video created by Doug and Michelle, this is to officially announce the release of said video on the Region Website.  The video is about 50 MB and you can download your own copy HERE.  Please let me know if you have issues downloading.  Thanks!

For those of you that did not attend (myself included) the Fall Follies is an annual event that the state of Nebraska puts on in Grand Island Nebraska.  If you have never attended one of these events you should plan on doing so in the future.  You really get a good feel for what happens to people when the weather turns too cold to ride. 

Enjoy the video.

Is GUCCI Having a big Sale? Be Careful!

Ride N Rave Update

 The time is coming to an end to recruit business for the Ride and Rave Program. If you have someone you have been working with please try to get this wrapped up as soon as possible. So Far Region C has nothing to contribute.

Rick & Kandie Hinrichs
GWTA Region C Directors
402-578-2368
12215 Signal Drive
Omaha, NE. 68137

RE: Raffle Tickets

Hello,

This years Raffle tickets are well underway. For this year Region C will be rewarding the high Chapter Sales for raffle tickets with a $100.00 cash prize for top sales, a $75.00 prize for second place and a $50.00 prize for third place. This will be awarded to our Region C chapters at Gold Rush. In addition the high personal member raffle ticket sales will be given a free Registration to Region C Rally for 2010 and a paid registration for Gold Rush in 2010 from Region C. 

As you all know Raffle Ticket sales are very important to GWTA and they help keep our membership rates low. I know that not everyone is able to sell as many tickets as they would like. If every member in GWTA would by just 10 tickets for them sleves we could raise enough money to support GWTA. Do you carry Raffle tickets with you? There are so many opportunities to share a chance to win a new motorcycle or ten thousand dollars with others but first you have to have them in hand to sell them.

Rick & Kandie Hinrichs
GWTA Region C Directors
402-578-2368
12215 Signal Drive
Omaha, NE. 68137

News Topics

These items were found in my INBOX.  I'm passing them on FYI.

John Hunrath, the National Webmaster has the Chapter Olympics information for us.  Congratulations to all of the chapters in Region C who qualified for a medal.  You are all awesome.

Chapter Olympics
 Silver:
 
 
 
 
River City Riders, Illinois, Chapter H
The Friendship Riders, Iowa, Chapter H
N.E.W. Riders, Wisconsin, Chapter GB
River Valley Riders, Wisconsin, Chapter Y
 
 
 Gold:
 
 
 
Heartland Wings, Nebraska Chapter A
Husker Wings, Nebraska, Chapter C
Country Wings, Nebraska, Chapter Z
Thanks,

Jen Lipe and Randy Nelson
Region C Directors
402-896-8541 Home
402-290-1376 Randy Cell
402-290-8690 Jen Cell

Monday, July 28, 2008
Gold Rush is just a memory now.  And they are very good memories.  This is the first Gold Rush in many years that we did not break any high temperature records.  But from the looks of the awards that Region C brought home it looks like we may have broken our own records. 

Eldon Ogorzolka (Chapter C/Nebraska)-1st Iron Eagle (two years in a row) Last year on a 1500 and this year on an 1800. 
Chapter G/Nebraska-Chapter Pride (three years in a row)
Patty and Dan Boatright (Chapter G/Nebraska) - 1st place best decorated door contest
Joyce Dolan and Carol Brush (Chapter A/Nebraska)-1st place in Music division of Talent show
Chapter H/Iowa won 2nd in Talent show in music division
Brian and Joyce Lees (Chapter H/Illinois) 1st place Best Dressed Couple
Rick Hinrichs (Chapter G/Nebraska) 1st place 1800 Show Class (Three Years in a row)
Norman Kirk (Chapter A/ Nebraska) 1st place Light Show 1800 Bike and Trailer
Mike Brush (Chapter A/Nebraska) 2nd place Light Show bike only
Norm Kirk (Chapter A/Nebraska) 1st place light Show bike and trailer
Zach Morgan (Chapter G/ Nebraska) first and Second place Trophy in the on Bike Games Hannah Sullivan (Chapter W/Nebraska) Family Games-The Bean Toss…. 1st Place
Doug Sullivan (Chapter W/Nebraska) Family Games- The Rice Game…. 2nd Place
 
Peggy Hakanson (Chapter Z/Nebraska)-preregistration drawing-cargo trailer
Hanna Rose Sullivan (Chapter W/ Nebraska) Youngest Rider
Congratulations to Don Thomason of Chapter I/Iowa who designed the Logo for Gold Rush
Region C-High region ticket seller
Region C-second place ice cream eating contest
Congratulations to Don Thomason of Chapter I/Iowa who designed the Logo for Gold Rush
 
Chapter Olympics-Chapter H/Iowa Bronze
I know there are other chapter’s who qualified for the Chapter Olympics, but I have not heard from State Directors or Olympic coordinators who those Chapters are. 

Thank you to Wayne Flora and Steve Houston for coordinating the Light Parade line up.  With the help of Mary Flora, Judy Houston and Tom and Sharon Hilgemeier the light parade went off without a hitch.  There were a total of 233 bikes that stretched 5 miles long.  We were lucky enough to have the light parade double back on itself so that all participants could see the light parade while still riding.
                               
While at Gold Rush the newest Chapter in Region C was signed up.  Welcome and Congratulations to Chapter RR of Mandan/Bismarck.  Keith LaCoe and Sandy Newcomb are the new Chapter Directors of the Rough Riders. 
 
A congratulation to the Larson’s of Region F as the new National Family of the Year.  Eric, Chris, Teresa and Stacie are from Michigan.
 
The bike raffle was won by a lady in Canada who originally chose the Harley.  But once she worked through the logistics of customs and shipping/handling she realized she would be better off with the $10,000.
 
Congratulations to the Seven Chance winner was Dallas Craig of Virginia who walked away with the full $5,000.  These tickets will be available again this year.  However, a very accurate detailed process of this operation needs to be provided to ensure everyone understands how the Draw vs. Split in the final selection works.  This year proved to be slightly confusing and in all good conscience we need to be very clear when selling and/or buying these tickets to ensure everyone knows what they are doing.
 
If you have not already heard next year’s Gold Rush will be held in Lexington, Kentucky.  Start planning out your routes now. 
 
After some heavy deliberation and equally heavy pressure Randy and I have chosen to stay on as Region C Directors to help give Region C a chance to stabilize and gain some continuity.   This is only possible with the support of a fantastic staff that was in place long before we came along!  We look forward to that continued support and are ready to provide our dedication, support and service to GWTA.  Region C is the BEST!  We’ll all keep working together to prove it to everyone!!!

Thank you to everyone who is so supportive not only to Randy and me but also to GWTA.  We look forward to GWTA becoming stronger and fun.
 
See you all in Friendship,
 
Randy Nelson and Jen Lipe
Region C Directors
402-896-8541 Home
402-290-1376 Randy Cell
402-290-8690 Jen Cell

Just in case you couldn't open it I'm also sending this way....

“IOWA FUN FEST”

It’s almost here and I don’t remember seeing your registration!  There’s still time to get it
in and pay the lower price if you get it post marked no later than Aug 1st.....

This years looks to be the best yet.  Storm Lake Honda is serving breakfast on the 2nd
stop of the Fun Run this year and the members of Chapter L have given us a great route to
ride.  So don’t miss out on the fun, food, and of course the friendship....

The campground is really great and were all together in a big circle, there are games and
of course the wennie roast on Friday night, 50/50.  And Saturday has the Fun Run, games,
50/50, auction and lots of food.

So don’t miss out on this years “Iowa Fun Fest”

See ya in storm Lake, Iowa Aug 22-24th.

RIDE SAFE AND BE SAFE

PATTI & RICK HARVEY
IOWA STATE DIRECTORS
IOWAGWTA.COM (for flyer)

Omaha to Shreveport and Back Day 6 - 12

CMA members waiting to leave for Jefferson Texas.  It was hard to get all of the in one shot.

Previously...

Sometime in the middle of the night we were ripped out of our sleeping to a very loud crash sound just outside our bed.  I fumbled around for my 10 minute rechargable light and opened up the back door to look around.  I call it my 10 minute light because it takes me 10 minutes to find it and once I turn it on it only lasts about 10 minutes.  It doesn't matter how long I charge it either.

Anyway eventually I put my light straight back into the trees and I light up a set of eyeballs about 50 feet back into the woods.  The thing about Arkansas trees is they grow straight up into the air (no lower branches).  It sure makes it tough to hide if you're trying to. 

Now you may be wondering...what was it?  The answer to that question is quite simply I have no freaking idea what it was.  It was long and slender like a fox but it had a big bushy tail like a coon.  We have coons all over (even in our own yard back home) and I've never seen one this long before. 

I do know it was big and strong enough to lift the 25 pound off our trash can and eventually help itself to our T-Bone steak bones in the trash can.  It was sort of funny because I would shine the light on it and it would run off into the forest.  A few minutes later you could hear it rumbling through the leaves toward the can again.  This repeated several times until eventually the light had no effect. 

The best way to get around town if you're six and you have a good dog.

The next morning we did the dishes and packed up camp and hit the road.  Looking back at the camp we decided that this was for sure the very best campsite we've ever had so far.  Again I had set my trusty GPS for Shreveport and requestd that it take me there. 

This started out okay however it took me down some pretty skinny residential looking roads.  They look like nice bike riding roads but they weren't really anything for high speed interstate type travel.  Eventually it tried to turn me on to a gravel road which I promptly declined.  That was the final straw.  I think it's time to update my software on this thing. 

Eventually we did make it to Shreveport and for the next 7 days we would be spending time with family.  The camper was parked on the front yard where it sat the entire time.  When I loaded the bike up at the last campsite in Arkansas the tailgate broke and I had to back the bike off and figure out another way of loading it.  Eventually I did get it loaded by taking a good run at the ramp.  In Shreveport I made a few trips up to a Home Depot and bought some bolts (I say a few trips because I had to return twice for longer bolts), some paint and some ply-wood. 

I placed the wood on top of the ramp and bolted it through the cheap metal grating that came with the camper.  I also painted the board black and added some sort of plastic stuff into the paint for traction.  The ramp worked very well and for the rest of the trip it was actually easier to load the bike than it was before I made the change.  I also added an extra board to place under the end of the tailgate because the wing would on occasion bottom out on the way up or down. 

I also made a trip to the local RV shop and tried to buy a new caster wheel for the trailer.  That turned out to be an adventure in itself.  They wanted like $25 and had to order it in.  They kept telling me it would be back the next day and it never came (after 3 trips to pick it up).  Eventually I found a place just down the street (suggested by a neighbor) called Tiger Axles and although they didn't have one in stock they did have a used wheel.  They took my old caster, put the used wheel on it and charged me $8.  Nifty.

The band at Tilley's.  They were very good and entertained us for an hour or so.

Saturday Uncle Tommie and Dianne took for a ride to Jefferson Texas with the local CMA group in Shreveport.  We met at this burger joint for breakfast and headed out bright and early in the morning.  It was fairly cool (especially for Louisana and Texas) so I was able to wear my leathers.  The local CMA chapter or director gave me their card but I can't find it right now.  I did find a card from GWTA Region C Chapter GB directors from Green Bay though.  I think I was supposed to contact them after the Region C rally.  Whoops!  I'll be sure to do that right away tonight.

Anyway I must say the roads in Texas are pretty awesome.  They are in tip top shape and they must be proud of them.  We took an indirect route to Jefferson.  To me it resembled that large coin funnel you find at Wal-Mart where you drop your penny in and it goes round and round for 60 seconds.  Am I complaining?  Heck no.  There must of been at least 30 bikes for the trip too.  When we got to Jefferson there were even more bikes.  Bikes were everywhere.  It was like a mini-sturgis or something. 

We parked our bikes in a grassy field and headed for the local burger joint.  I found myself waiting in line (which means out in the street) at this place called the Old Fashioned Hamburger Store.  If you ever get a chance to go in there you can't help but notice that all over any flat surface are one dollar bills that are autographed in some way.  I spent quite a bit of time checking that out.  The meal, as I can recall, was very good too. 

They were having some sort of civil war production that night in town and everybody was going every direction.  We hung out in town, tried some home made root beer and eventually headed back to Louisana.  On the way back we stopped at this lake which I believe was called "Lake O the Pines" to look around.  It was here that I learned that I couldn't get a photo because I had actually filled up my memory card on the camera.  I had yet to unload the camera to the laptop the entire duration of our trip.  Oh well no big deal. 

I would call this bike a board walk racer but I'm not sure what it's official name is.

The very next day we were invited yet again to a motorcycle and car show.  This time Laura rode along.  She didn't want to make the ride to Jefferson on Saturday (we have both been to Jefferson before too).  This even was, believe it or not, at a mobile home sales lot called Tilly's (if my memory serves me right).  They had all sorts of old classic cars and motorcycles lined up everywhere at the show.  Even better is all motorcycles got to park right on sight (others were parking a few blocks away and walking in). 

We stayed here for several hours eating catfish, listening to the band (which was very good by the way) and walking around to see all the cars and bikes.  When I'm in Shreveport visiting I tend to eat catfish as much as possible.  There is a restaurant there I like to eat at called Jans.  Try it out if you ever get down that way.  The CMA group won a prize for the club with the highest number of bikes present.  I think it was like $500 for the club.  Neat!

The next day we visited the largest garden dedicated to roses in Shreveport and it was there I got to push grandma around in a wheel chair.  It was great exercise.  As I found out the park is on a slight hill and of course you enter from the top.  It was here I took a photo of a dedication stone with Michael Crafts name on it.  I'm pretty sure we're talking about two different people but it shows that I did think of everyone back home every now and then. 

Soon we would dig out our camper and head North again.  Laura and I were both ready to head out on the highway and venture towards home.  This was two full weeks away.

TO BE CONTINUED...