mountain blue j’s - chapterj.gwrra-ga.comchapterj.gwrra-ga.com/newsletters/oct 2013...
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Chapter Directors
Peg & Mike Jones
678-464-7340
Treasurer
Nestor Morin
706-379-3126
Ride Coordinator
Gordon & Sandy Tomb
706-219-2281
Asst Chap Directors
Bob & Kathy Hill
828 321-3472
Educator
Ron & Bev McDonald
828-494-7506
Webmaster
Bob & Kathy Hill
828-321-3472
Co-Activity Coordinator’s
Sunshine
Susie Beach
813-416-2253
Greeter
Kathy Hill
828-321-3472
Newsletter Editors
Dennis & Sue Bible
706 781-7400
MOUNTAIN BLUE J’S
GEORGIA DISTRICT HIAWASSEE, GAOctober 2013
CHAPTER ‘J’ ‘BLUE NOTE’
REGION A - GOLD WING ROAD RIDERS ASSOCIATION
Director’s Drivel Time certainly does fly. I just read the email regardingFall Colors and the one regarding the Christmas Party. Whew, where did the year go??
We have just completed our 3rd annual garage sale and again I am amazed. Thank youto EVERYONE that donated and/or worked it. We made a grand total of $600.50 tobe used towards our Backpacks for Kids charity next year. I initially thought we mightnot have as many items to sell this year but again, you all amazed me with your dona-tions. It truly does surprise me what sells. The old statement that says one man’s junkis another man’s treasure is definitely true! Items I thought would sell immediatelydidn’t and others I thought we’d be taking to the VFW Thrift store sold right away.We couldn’t do this without the help of all of you. Thank you again! It’s the childrenof our community that will benefit from your generosity.I believe the meeting on Saturday was the biggest one I have presided over. We had52 in attendance and that did not include those left at the garage sale to keep it going.We had visitors from four different chapters plus a couple from the district staff.
It’s always a good time to get together with others that enjoy riding. Representativesfrom Chapter A of McDonough, B2 from Douglasville, O from Cleveland, Tn and ChapterV from Chattanooga, Tn were present. The large group from B2 told me (as they wereleaving) that we are as rowdy a chapter as they are! I take that as a compliment! Weare in this for FUN!With some cooler weather coming please continue to watch your emails for upcomingrides. Dennis is doing a great job of putting together some dandy ones. If anyone hasan idea for a ride, please contact Dennis. It takes EVERYONE to make this a thrivingchapter!Until next time…….Ride Safe!Peg
EducatorsRon & Bev McDonald
Dawn or dusk conditions? Those are potentiallydangerous times but not what I'm thinking.Riding in heavy traffic? Another potentially dan-gerous time but, again, not what I'm looking for.Riding in the mountains with all the curves andstuff? Possibly a dangerous time but no.The majority of motorcycle crashes (90% ac-cording to the Hurt Report conducted in the1970's) occur within the first hour of riding.More interesting though is that 50% of thecrashes happen within the first 6 minutes!That's why most crashes happen within 5 milesof home.The factors involved here are ATTENTION andCONCENTRATION. We don't readily transitionourselves from one activity (like being at homeor work) to another (riding the motorcycle). Howfocused can we be on the inherent hazards ofriding when we are still waking up or thinkingabout the problems at work?That's why becoming an ATGATT (All The GearAll The Time) rider can be so valuable. In mycase, I have to go get the motorcycle key fromthe key box, take my riding suit off its hangerand put it on, put on my gloves, put on my helmet,take my gloves back off so I can fasten my hel-met, put my gloves back on, walk out to the bike,take my gloves back off so I can un-zip my ridingsuit to get to the key that's in my jeans pocket,etc. etc. Yes, I'm a goofball who can't rememberto keep my keys out (I doubt that I'm alonehere). The point is that all these small stepstake some time. During that time that I'm un-consciously getting myself READY TO RIDE.Being READY TO RIDE and having my head "inthe game" helps me to ride more safely. Are youtaking steps to make yourself READY TO RIDE?Ron
Ride Reports
Ride to JasperBy
Gordon & Sandy Tomb
On Saturday we had the largest
group of riders we have had for along time.Our ride began in Blairsville at 10AM and headed for Jasper Ga. Westarted on Old Blue Ridge Rd. andfrom there I don't know the names
of any other Rt. except for 136.
Along the way we stopped at the ap-ple farm to get apples and appleturnovers and apple pies. There wereall great and fresh.From there we headed for R and RTrike so Tom and Jill and I could getneeded cords for our Gerbings .Next we stopped for lunch at theLast Catch. This restaurant is just upthe rd from R and R and has goodseafood. Everyone got a refreshinglunch and we headed for home.
On this trip we had 22 people, 8bikes and 10 trikes.I wish to thank everybody who rodewith us.Gordon and Sandy
Fall Colors RideBy
Dennis Bible
We rolled out of the Blairsville BParound 10 am with 6 bikes, 2 trikes
and 11 riders. Woodstock joined us onthe roll at the State line as we head-ed up Hwy 129 for Tellico Plains sothat added another bike & rider. Westopped for lunch at the very busybut always good "Tellico Grains Bak-ery", there were raves about thesandwich's!
After lunch we headed for Bald RiverFalls which was beautiful but verybusy with weekend traffic. Lot's ofcars, bikes/trikes and bear huntersout, nowhere to park.
From there we headed up the Cherohala Skyway and found some great Fallfoliage colors in the 4,000 to 5,000 foot elevations. Beautiful ride!Descending on the east side of the Skyway, we took a comfort stop at thelocal Ingles store in Robbinsville before heading home!Great weather, beautiful Fall colors, nice day all around!
Ride Report for TennesseeAquarium Visit
Chattanooga, TN. 10/8/13
We rolled out of the Blairsville BPstation at 08:40 with 4 trike’s, 3bike’s and 10 riders under overcastskies at a chilly 48 degrees. Theovercast burned off by the time wehit Ducktown, TN, and it was a gor-geous ride down the beautiful OcoeeGorge. We took a comfort break atthe McDonalds on the Hwy 64 bypassat Cleveland, then continued on toChattanooga via I-75 south.Guest member Paul DeHaven, AlaskaADD, was concerned about a frontwheel bearing problem and elected todetour to a local Honda shop for re-pair. The rest of us continued to theAquarium on the banks of the Tennes-see River in downtown Chattanooga.Paul got his bearings changed andjoined us at the aquarium later.After parking our rides we moseyedover to a local grill& brew house forlunch, then walked to the Aquarium to
see the exhibits.We’ve been to many
aquariums but this one is differ-ent than most. You ride the es-
calators to the top of
the facility then takea walking tour whichwinds around and downthrough the exhibitsvia hallways, ramps, grotto’s and cavesthat give you views of tanks large andsmall full of all kinds of local and ex-otic fish’s, turtles, birds, butterfly’s,snakes, gators, salamanders, jellyfishand more. It’s quite a display and verywell done.After our feet got sore and time gotshort, we migrated to guess where?Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream shop acrossthe street of course! Knowing rushhour was approaching we headed outof town about 4 pm via I-24& I-75south. After taking the Hwy 76 by-pass around Dalton we hit Hwy 52 fora twisty ride over Ft. Mountain (al-ways breath taking views) and homevia Ellijay, Blue Ridge & Blairsville.A great day with a wonderful group of
spirited riders that found beauty &wonder in all they saw. High five’s all
around!
Dennis Bible
Chapter Members Bio's
We want to get to know you!
Bio for Jan and Art Upchurch
Most of you already know but in case you don’t, Art an I married in May of last year.We were introduced by our illustrious Chapter Director, Peg. She and Art hadworked together until he retired this year for 25 years. She had known me about 8years through the Chapter. We met, fell in love and got married. I have been aGWRRA member since the late 90’s starting in Florida. I started riding soon afterstarting with a Suzuki then eventually buying a VTX 1300 Honda. I rode it for sever-al years then sold it. Art started riding in his 20’s mostly BSA’s and Triumps. He hadnot owned a GoldWing until we bought our 1800 Trike last year. Art was an insuranceagent for 52 years. In his career he never applied for a job, he was always offeredjobs from different companies. I worked in the clerical field for most of my workinglife. I have two girls and four grandchildren ranging in age from 25 to 4 years. Arthas three boys and four grandchildren ranging in age 16 to 2 years. I was born andraised in Florida and Art is a genuine Georgia boy born in Lawrenceville. We both
love the mountains and are so happy to have found each other at this time of our life,the golden years so they say. We feel so blessed to be a part of the Chapter and havingacquired so many friends to share all of the activities and fellowship with. We look for-ward to the future to see what God has in store for us and pray that we continue toenjoy life in the mountains for a long time surrounded by good friends and family.
Coming District Events:
November 9, 2013Wind Down '13
Dublin Civitan Club10am - 2pm
February 15th. 2014Chapter GA-S Sweetheart Fun Day
Winder, Ga.
Jul 2 - 5. 2014Wing Ding 36Madison, WI
Weekend At The OpryLabor Day Weekend 2014
Nashville, TN
Wow is it turkey month already? Here we are winding down another goodyear of GWRRA Friends shar-ing Fun, Safety & Knowledge. We just re-turned home from the last 2013 District Convention in Region A; the Mis-sissippi Convention was held in Gulfport, MS at the Courtyard Gulf-portBeachfront Hotel. Vicky and I won 1st place in the District Chal-lenge.Vicky also had fun making her donation at the roulette table and taking ashort stroll on the beach. We had a great time visiting with our friends atthe Mississippi Rally, but there’s a lot more fun to be had in 2013.Next on the agenda is “WIND DOWN” and you won’t want to miss it. TheGeorgia District Team invites you to join us for a day of fun and fellowshipwith your GWRRA friends and family on Saturday, November 9th at theDublin Civitan FairgroundBuilding, located at 2593 Hwy 257 South, Dublin, GA 31021.A free lunch will be provided for the members by the Georgia Dis-trict andserved by the Georgia District Team in appreciation of your supportthroughout the year. The 2013 Chapter Couples of the Year will compete inthe District Couple of the Year Selection. The 2013 Travelers Plaque will bere-tired and the New 2014 Travelers Plaque will be introduced. There willbe Games, Door Prizes, 50/25/25 and also a swap table for that “stuff” youhave lying around the house. We look forward to seeing you at Wind Down.We are approaching the Holi-day season and some Chapters have cancelledtheir monthly gathering during the months of November and/or Decem-berdue to conflicting holiday activities. If you plan to visit your neighboringChapter, it is suggested that you call ahead to make sure their gatheringhasn’t been cancelled for that date.We wish you a Happy Thanks-givingTommy & Vicky
WINDING DOWN 2013
For Sale!We have 2 3/4 black Nolan wireless helmets for sale size small and medi-um.$300. EachAlso some kuryakin floor pegs $50.ThanksSylvia Barineau850-545-6673
Services!
Art & Gloria Lecours…………10/13Nick & Sandy George…………10/14
Ray Hansen..….………10/08Gordon Tomb….…...……10/12Gloria Lecours..………….10/15Bill Tribble.……..……...10/20Elizabeth Dickey…………10/25Mo Rodgers…………….10/25Peg Jones……………....10/28Ted Hart.………...…….10/30Art Upchurch…………10/30