Gold Wing Road Riders Association, GWRRA, SOUTHEAST REGION "A" ALABAMA CHAPTER "N", GADSDEN, AL.  "FRIENDS FOR FUN, SAFETY AND KNOWLEDGE"  MONTHLY MEETINGS: FIRST SATURDAY OF EACH MONTH. EAT AT 5:00 PM. MEET AT 6:00 PM AT WESTERN SIZZLIN . Breakfast Meeting 8:30 AM every Wednesday Poor House Restaurant, 12th & Meighan.

Coosa Valley Wings Chapter Newsletter http://www.kerrywilson.com/coosavalleywings.htm

         For The Month Of        

Chapter "N" Officers & Staff

Chapter Directors: Tery & Barbie Cleveland 256-538-1443 mailto:tcleveland@microxl.com

Asst. Chapter Directors: Sammy & Donna Conn 205-274-8345 mail to:swconn@otelco.net

Safety Educators. Chapter N & Alabama District 2003-2004 Couple Of the Year,  Rick & Laura Brothers 256-442-6351 mailto:tworiverrats@excite.com

Newsletter Editors: Jim & Virgie Banks 205-681-0297 mailto:jbanks5509@aol.com 

Chapter Historian: John & Shelly Smith 205-467-2673 mailto:jstrav@aol.com (photo not available - requested)

Membership Coordinator R&R: Dewey & Alice Cole 256-442-2458 mailto:travelordcac@netscape.net

Ride Coordinator: Wayne & Liz Gargus 205-274-8670 mailto:wayneg@otelco.net

Webmasters: Kerry & Joyce Wilson 256-546-2811 mailto:kwilson@kerrywilson.com

Secretary & Treasurer: John & Sandra Irwin 256-543-8509 mailto:jeirwin1@bellsouth.net

Technical Coordinators: Butch & Diane 256-593-7053

Ways & Means Coordinator: Bob & Pam Ray 256-442-4383

District Officers

District Directors: Ray & Cindy Erickson 334-298-8485 mailto:racyguns@att.net

Asst. District Directors & District Trainers: Bill & Dian Gulley 256-229-8833 mailto:bamawing@dav.net

District Educators: Paul & Paula Howes 205-938-3961 mailto:phowes1@cs.com

Region "A" Director: Larry & Patty Lingo RegionDirector@gwrra-regiona.org  

      Two Month Events Listing     

4/16 – (FRIDAY) Birthday & Anniversary Dinner Ride to Sonic in East Gadsden. Meet at the restaurant (across from K-Mart) at 7 PM.

4/17 – (SATURDAY) Chapter T (McCalla) Fun Day. Depart Cowboys 7 AM, meet others at the Chevron in SPRINGVILLE and breakfast at Cracker Barrel in Trussville about 7:45 AM. Continue via I-59 S to I-459 to I-20/59 S to exit #86, N toward Brookwood, 6 mi to traffic light, R ½ mi. to Brookwood school on R

4/18 – (SUNDAY) Chapter N staff meeting. Eat at 2 and meet at 3 PM.

5/1 – Chapter J (Tuscaloosa) Tuscaloosa City Fest & Chapter J Bike Show. Depart Cowboys 7 AM. Meet others at the Chevron in Springville & depart at 7:30 AM to Cracker Barrel in Trussville for breakfast at about 8:00 AM. Depart at 9 AM and take I-459 to I-59/20 S to Tuscaloosa.

5/14 – (Friday) Birthday and Anniv. Dinner Ride to Top-of-The River, Gadsden. Meet at restaurant 7 PM.

5/15 – Chapter Z (Prattville) Birthday/Fun Day in Santuck. Depart Cowboys 6:30 AM, meet others at the Chevron in Ashville (I-59 & 231) & depart at 7 AM to Western Sizzlin in Pell City for breakfast about 7:45 AM. Hwy 231 S & 280 E to Hwy 9 S, (North of Alex. City) to Santuck. Free camping available.

5/28 & 29 – Chapter G (Sampson) Fun Day. ("N" IRON BUTT RIDE). Depart Cowboys 5 AM. Stop at McDonald’s in Springville about 5:30 AM for a quickie breakfast and meet others there. Then I-59 S to I-459 to I-65 S to Montgomery. Hwy 80 E (South Loop) to 331 S to Opp, then Hwy 52 to Sampson. Should arrive about 10 AM. Jaybird & Yavonne always support us, so let’s not let them down.

 Articles

One Scary August Ride

Several years ago, Jim and I were meeting a group, at the Race Track Service Station just off I-65 in Gardendale. The destination for dinner was the Old York Restaurant in Oakman, AL., about ten miles South West of Jasper, AL. Many years ago, the little town of Oakman, was known by the name "Old York". At that time, it was a booming coal mining town.

A local resident decided to build on some of his property a small version of the town "Old York". It has several old houses plus the restaurant. Each year they have what they call "Old York Days" where they have a lot of arts and crafts vendors, food, and pottery making and civil war reenactments.

On this beautiful, weather perfect evening, we rode the back roads to highway 78, then West to the Sumiton area where we took a left onto the Cordova—Sumiton road. In Cordova we turned left again onto the Oakman—Cordova road. The ride down was absolutely breath taking, not a cloud in the skies. When we arrived at the restaurant and parked the bikes (no one expected rain) most everyone hung their helmets on the trunk hooks.

While we were inside enjoying the delicious food and having a great time, the heavens opened up and poured out buckets of rain. It was lightening, thundering and pouring rain. It was too late to save the helmets. We knew at this point most everyone would be wearing wet soggy helmets.

When we finished eating and got ready to leave it was still raining. The decision was made to go back the same way that we came, to keep us off the heavily traveled main roads. After we had gone a few miles, Jim removed his eye glasses and gave them to me, as the rain was blowing in his face and he could not see. Well, he needs his eye glasses to be able to see. When we would meet vehicles, I would tell him how many were coming toward us, so he would make sure to stay in the right lane, until they went by.

We had this idiot in a truck traveling much to close, trying to pass. This is when the CB was a God send. Everyone was told to be careful and let him pass. He passed and got between some of the motorcycles, due to on coming traffic, but fortunately, he was able to move out and get around the other motorcycles.

We made one stop, after we exited off highway 78, to check with each one and make sure everyone was ok and wanted to continue toward home. When we got back to Gardendale, the group began to split up to make their way to their prospective homes. Home sure looked good as we pulled into the basement, as it was still raining. That is an August ride to "Old York Restaurant" that will be long remembered.

Virgie Banks

Chapter "N Director's News:

Hello Chapter N,
The month of March started with our monthly meeting. We had 48 in attendance. The March meeting was conducted by the ladies of the Chapter. Barbie, Donna, Laura, Deborah and Alice done a great job and judging by the response, we may have to let them do it again. Thanks ladies for a great meeting. Sixteen members Rode to Al & Mick's BBQ in Sneed on March 12th. We enjoyed good food and fellowship and celebrated birthdays and anniversaries. We are planning on having one of these rides every month, so come out and join us. Nineteen Chapter members attended the Maintenance Day at Butch & Diane's, and although we had to leave early we still had a great time. Seeing Diane's helmet with the bird nest in it was worth the trip. We have pictures if anyone would like to see them. Thank you, Butch & Diane for the use of your home and hospitality. On March 27, we had our parking lot drills at Cross-Point Community Church. Twenty One people and 12 bikes practiced slow U-turns, obstacle avoidance and sudden stops, and swerving. While the riders drilled, the co-riders attended a Co-Rider Seminar.  It was good practice and instruction for all. We hope everyone got as much out of the Parking Lot Drills and Co-Rider Seminar as we did. We enjoyed Danny's demonstration "wheelie" on the GL1500 ("Don't try this at home, folks - this was a professional rider on a closed course"). Thanks to Rick & Danny for their instruction and advice, and for setting up the course. We are planning to have another Parking Lot Drill and CPR Course this summer. If you missed this one please try to participate in the next one. We had a good time at the Alabama Rally. Congratulations to Rick and Laura for winning the Couple of the Year Competition. We will see you Saturday April 10th for the Dogwood Ride and the Monthly Gathering. 
Ride Safe
-Terry & Barbie

Assistant Chapter Director News

As unbelievable as it is March is now a thing of the past! With the early warm weather, we have had many opportunities for riding. We enjoyed two rides to Jacksonville to pick up and deliver one of our" college kids" cars. On the 19^th we enjoyed a ride to Cycle World and supper at the Top of the River in Guntersville. We really like Donna’s new work schedule!

Chapter N also had several opportunities for riding – our monthly meeting, tech day and the parking lot drills on the 27^th. The 27^th turned out to be a very exciting day in our family. As I was riding home from the parking lot drill, I sort of laid the bike down. Luckily, I was not going very fast, landed in a very grassy ditch and experienced only minor injuries. The bike is now in Cycle World General Hospital – no diagnosis as yet but we are sure she will have an excellent prognosis!

Don’t forget our upcoming Fun Day. Cycle World is looking forward to hosting us again this year. Be sure to gather your door prizes and VOLUNTEER! We need participation from all our members for another successful day.

Due to the acute injuries to the bike, the Alabama District Rally will be a four-wheel event for us. We look forward to seeing all of you there. 

Chapter N Assistant Chapter Directors

. Sammy and Donna Conn

Safety

FOUR EYES AHEAD!! We are very thankful for all of you who participated in our Spring parking lot drills and co-rider seminar. The annual Chapter Maintenance Day was a huge success, and now everyone's motorcycles are all “tuned-up” and ready for the coming riding season. As we discussed in last month’s safety article, we rarely have the opportunity to use our defensive riding skills because we have gotten so good at avoiding emergency situations. This was also a very good time to show some techniques to the new riders and co-riders in our “family”. Four eyes working together are always better than two (or in our case three eyes!). This month we would like to spend a little more time with the co-riders.   The person who occupies the back seat of a motorcycle has always been called the passenger. Now they're called co-riders and it isn't simply to be politically correct. The word passenger suggests a person who has no responsibilities for the operation of the machine; one who is simply along for the ride. A co-rider, on the other hand, shares some of the responsibilities for the safe operation of the motorcycle.   Sitting in the back seat means a lot more freedom to enjoy the scenery without worrying about the technical part of the ride. But with the freedom comes the responsibility. A blanked out person on the back seat is of absolutely no help and may even be an additional danger if the rider has to brake or swerve suddenly. Her reflexive actions (such as to grab the rider wherever she can or to lean away) will probably be exactly the wrong ones.   The co-rider should ride as exactly that, a co-rider. Not a passenger, but a second rider. While it is always preferable that the co-rider has had a motorcycle safety course, even the normal street skills used in everyday driving will help in spotting hazards. Being an extra pair of eyes for the rider doesn't mean just being a back-seat driver. It means spotting hazards and knowing how the rider normally reacts and being ready to help in that effort. If the rider does not show that reaction, the co-rider should speak up. An experienced co-rider knows how hard her rider brakes during normal braking, and whether hard-line braking will be necessary. She prepares herself by holding the grab rails or arm rests and bracing her feet. She does not slide forward, banging helmets and pushing the rider onto the tank. When she spots a pot hole or a large piece of rubber, she knows her rider will soon swerve, and she is prepared to let the bike move under her. She knows when it's OK to move around, and lets her rider know when she will make a move, such as scratching her ankle, which will affect the balance of the bike.   The rider also has the responsibility to communicate with his co-rider. Especially is she is one of us "vertically challenged" co-riders and are not able to see around him. He should let her know when a nasty bump is coming or if he wants to counterweight a turn. He shouldn't play "surprise" just because he finds her reactions funny. Two-up riding is a team sport and that means working together to make the ride fun and safe for both. Safety is a group thing! Rick & Laura Brothers Chapter N Rider Educators Alabama District "Couple of the Year" 2004-2005

  Rick & Laura Brothers Chapter Educators

Editors Corner

We haven’t had a real good month, but with Virgie’s Mom home now, we will be back in the swing of things by next week. We sure have missed everyone. Now, it is time for riding and fun! We have several birthdays and one Anniversary for the month of April. The Birthdays are as follows:

April 3, Donna Conn, April 18 Lisa Entrekins, April 23, Gary Fuller, April 26 Clifford Asuord and on April 30 Better Fuller. John and Sandra are our Anniversary couple on April 28. Congratulation to everyone!!

We have had more than our share of illness and we sure hope everyone is improving now.

Remember our fun day is coming real soon, we need to start getting ready for it. David’s Pig Roast is in June also, both of these should be some good eating for us!

We sure hope to see everyone next week!

Jim & Virgie Banks

Award Winners

Breaking News! Dateline: Madison, AL April 2, 2004 10:00 A.M. Chapter N's Couple of the Year, Rick and Laura Brothers competed in the GWRRA Region "A" Alabama District Rally's Couple of the Year Couple of the Year Competition, and won First Place. They will go on to compete at the Region "A" District Rally in Hellen, GA on September 9th - 11th. If they win that competition, they will compete at the GWRRA International Couple of the Year competition at the Wing Ding in Fort Wayne, IN July 5th - 9th, 2005.

Butch Harris won $25 from the Workers Drawing at the 2004 Alabama Rally.

Rick Brothers won 2nd Place in the Top Gun Competition at the Alabama Rally. Rick and Laura Brothers also won 2nd Place in the 2 Up Top Gun Competition at the Alabama Rally.

Prayer Request

All of the men and women who are fighting for our freedom

Our country's leaders

Tom Wilson, (Kerry's Dad)

Bob Brooks, (Chapter D)

Gary Fuller, Illness

Kerry Stephenson, Back trouble

Laura Brothers, Eye Surgery

Sponsors

Motorcycle and Automobile Insurance

Motorcycle Liability Only Rates, as low as $115 for the 1st year and $45 for the 2nd year for non-GWRRA members.

Motorcycle Liability Only Rates as low as $70 for the 1st year, and $45 for the 2nd year for GWRRA members.

Full Coverage rates (Example) for a 2003 Honda Gold Wing GL1800 as low as $292 per year for GWRRA members.

Auto Insurance Mandatory Liability Only Rates as low as: $100 Down, and $30 per month.

Call Kerry Wilson or Josh Dodd at 1-800-575-3779 (1-800-57-KERRY) or 256-546-2811.

David Santos, Santos Printing 256-54-PRINT

Jim Rogers TriKing Trikes of Northern Alabama

1127 Tom L. Smith Dr. Odenville, AL  35120 205-629-6009  www.trikingtrikes.com

Charity Pig Roast June 19 & 20, 2004

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