NORTHWIND RIDERS TANKBAG

July 2009

From the Director’s Chair

While the weather has not been the greatest for riding, there have been days to ride. We were out as a group a week or two ago and ran into some high winds. It got me thinking that we haven’t had much discussion on what to do when you get caught in a gust or sustained wind.

My HOG magazine has a wonderful two page article I would be happy to let anyone read, if you would like.

Basically, the article says to anticipate the wind; you can do this by watching the trees around you, the sky above you and road signs. Sit up with a slight bend in your elbows to help you have a better response to the wind. Do not hold your handgrips in a death grip; keep your grip firm but flexible. Apply pressure to the upwind grip as needed, but keep the bike pointed straight down the road. Don’t forget to gear up for the wind; you may want to put a bandana or face mask to protect your face, put on long sleeves to protect your arms from blowing debris. Finally, drink more water and keep yourself hydrated.

Have a safe and happy summer.

Cindy

Chapter Director

Minutes of Meeting – June 20, 2009

Cindy called the meeting to order at 9:30 am and the WOW Mission Statement was read.

Secretary's Report:

There were no corrections, deletions, or additions noted for the May meeting minutes.

Treasurer's Report:

Judy read the current financial status report. It was moved and seconded to accept the report as read.

Road Captain’s Report:

C.J reported that the 2009 Midwest Gathering held June 5-7 in East Peoria was a huge success and very much enjoyed by all who attended. She has received many favorable comments on the venue and the Saturday ride to Princeton planned and led by Barb Allen and hubby Ron who took some great pictures on the ride. This event replaced the Mr. Lincoln Campout held annually in Springfield. After discussion, it was decided to move the event to the 2^nd weekend of June next year because there will be more local attractions available for the attendees to participate in.

Saturday, June 13, the scheduled ride to Lacon was postponed due the nasty weather early in the day but those who gathered at the McDonalds in Plainfield hoping for a break in the rain entertained themselves with a game of Mexican Train. The rain finally stopped later in the morning and we decided to ride to Seneca for a Point Of Interest. It had turned into a beautiful day by time we got back home.

Sunday, June 14, the group met in Elburn and Ginnie led us on a great ride on some great country roads to Belvidere and Freeport for Points of Interest. The big find of the day, however, was a wonderful ice cream shop in Freeport right next to the Lincoln-Douglas Memorial Park.

Kim reported that the Fox Valley Cycle Dirt Days at Wedron was great fun, especially watching the kids on the track. Spectators were also able to demo dirt bikes.

Committee Reports:

Cindy reported that the NWR static clings should be ready by the July meeting.

Regarding the possibility of holding an Accident Management Course for NWR, Judy found that the people who used to present at a club meeting no longer do that. Kim, who just completed a course hosted by the local Abate chapter, will contact another group to get more information.

Old Business

The Fox Valley Cycle Open House was held Saturday, May 30. NWR had a booth set up to give out information to potential members. Unfortunately there was not as much traffic that day as usual, and few women stopped at the booth.

New Business

Cindy received an email from Dairyland Riders regarding the WOW-WOW (Women on Wheels® - Women Only Weekend) events normally held the weekend of the WI Ride For Kids (August 2). The chapter is moving their WOW-WOW gathering to another weekend but will still guide a ride on Saturday, August 1.

The Fountaindale Library where the NWR chapter currently meets is going to be closing soon so we need to start looking for a new meeting venue. If you have any ideas, please check them out and bring information to future meetings.

Marilyn reported that Chapter Y is inviting riders to participate in the Palos July 4 Parade. Meet at the NE corner of Harlem and 127^th in Palos.

Liz F suggested we plan a group ride to the Point of Interest in Goshen, IN. It was agreed to make this trip on Saturday, Aug 22. Liz is the point of contact for information.

LaVerne reports that the Motorcycle Safety Foundation Riders Course in Lyons will take used helmets for their students to wear during the riding portion of the course. If you have any helmets which you are not using, consider contacting a location which offers the motorcycle riding courses. Our older helmets have to be better than what they can offer which have been used (and probably abused) for many years.

Because there have been several inquiries about acquiring chapter shirts, the decision was made to order more this year. Judy and CJ will get information.

The Ride Schedule was discussed to clear up questions on changes. The revised schedule will be emailed out to NWR members.

Upcoming Events

After the July meeting, we are riding to Leipold’s in Ottawa to participate in the Annual Babes Cruisin’ for St. Jude’s. There’s a $10 registration donation; food and beverages, 50/50 drawing, and prizes will follow the ride.

Coming up on August 9 is Women On Wheels® Night at the Kane County Cougars Baseball game. A bike show starts at 10:00, 2:00 ballgame starts and is followed by a Jim Buffet Concert. The Cougars are playing the Clinton Lumber Kings on that date. A block of 100 seats are being held for members of WOW chapters but you must buy your tickets by July 6 to guarantee a seat in that block. Reminders will be going out via email.

The Ride Schedule has been changed for Saturday, August 22 to a ride to Goshen, IN to pick up a Point of Interest. Also, the Lacon, IL ride which was rained out is moved to Saturday, October 3.

There being no further business to discuss, Judy moved to adjourn, Kim seconded, the motion passed. The meeting was adjourned at 10:50am.

Respectfully submitted,

Jan S.

Secretary

Tankbag Tidbits

DON’T LET THIS HAPPEN TO YOU

Unfortunately, it did happen to me. Is there a lesson learned from this experience? Probably. On July 3^rd, I was traveling behind my husband riding my own bike when a driver from the opposite direction decided to make a left hand turn between the two of us.

As WOW members, we have received training and held many discussions concerning riding distances between bikes. We don’t want to be riding so close together that we cause an accident nor start a chain reaction due to an accident in front of us. Some riders will tell you that having too much distance between bikers may invite drivers to break in the middle too.

Which was my situation or did the driver just not see me? I am not really sure. But one thing I can comment on is that I can’t stress enough the importance of wearing the proper safety equipment.

I hit the vehicle almost head on even though attempting to avoid it, but there simply wasn’t enough time to do so. I was thrown over the handlebars and made contact with my bike’s windshield with my head. My helmet was immediately pushed back making slight contact with my cheek and chin. Anything less than a full face helmet probably would have allowed greater damage to my face.

I was wearing a mesh jacket containing armor in the shoulders, elbows, and back. Fortunately, I did not sustain any back or neck injuries. However, I did receive a broken right wrist caused by the force when I made contact with the car while still holding onto the handle bars. Fortunately, the bones in my wrist did not separate requiring surgery to have them reset. I will be wearing a cast for 6 – 8 weeks and feel very lucky.

I sustained a lot of scrapes and bruises as a result of being thrown from the bike. I was only wearing blue jeans which made it easy for the scrapes to occur even though looking at my jeans you would never have known. If I had been wearing something offering protection to my knees and shins, I might have been able to avoid a compressed fracture to my tibia and the deep scrapes. Again I am fortunate because the leg fracture does not require any treatment.

My riding future is on hold while my injuries, pride and emotions heal. I am going to be fine, but wish I could say I hadn’t had this accident and consider myself lucky and very thankful that things didn’t turn out worse than they did.

Pam R.

Note to NWR Members:

This portion of the newsletter is for any topic which is of general interest to our members. It is also open to anyone who may want to send in an article about a ride or other motorcycle activity she participated in, and if a digital photo is emailed to the Editor, it will happily appear along with the article. Don’t allow worry about grammar or spelling to hold you back, just send in the facts and grammar and spelling will take care of themselves with a little help from a friend.

Birthday Announcements

We have only one birthday in July: Michelle Desmond, FVC (7/5). Happy Birthday, Chelly.

Happy Cruising,

Editor

Rusty’s Ramblings...

I was supposed to send out the Ramblings... on the 5^th. I’m sorry; I got so busy getting things ready for the Midwest Gathering that I forgot about it until I was heading out the door. It was my plan to go down to Peoria earlier in the day and visit a few of the bike shops to leave flyers and brochures. One of my sister River Riders, Kristie, decided to go with.

We left the Quad Cities around 10 am and had a pretty good ride down to E. Peoria. After getting checked in at the Stoney Creek Inn, we first headed to an A&W for lunch, next the CVS across the street for a Peoria map, and then off on our adventure. Please note, we don’t get lost, we have adventures. So, yeah, we had to turn around a couple times. It helped later when someone was telling how to get someplace else and we found that we had already seen a few of the landmarks. We met nice people at the four stops we made and left information with the local Harley Davidson dealership about the new partnership between Harley and W.O.W. Jackee also asked for information about the Participating Dealership program, so hopefully Walters Brothers will become the 5^th Participating Dealership in IL. That will make IL the state with the most P.D.’s.

We headed back to the Inn to see that many other W.O.W. members had arrived. It was even more fun watching from the pool as members pulled in the parking lot. The water was warm, but there was a breeze and you got a chill when you first got out of the water. I’m not sure of the official head count for the Gathering, but I believe it was somewhere in the 40’s for the weekend.

The whole weekend was a blast. Because we were such a large number we didn’t really have any meals together as a whole. There were 4 eating establishments within walking distance, and several more just a short ride down the road. CJ of the Northwind Riders had contacted ladies in the Peoria area beforehand and between them they put together a great ride on Saturday. We rode thru small towns and countrysides. We rode on straight roads thru crop fields, and winding roads thru wooded areas. We rode along the river, and thru a few miles of fields full of wind turbines. The weather only messed with us a little and some of us were lucky enough to be sitting in a Culvers restaurant eating ice cream when the worst of the rain hit. The ride was also a poker run. I think everyone won something. I had a lonely King and won a small keychain flashlight in my prize bag. I’m adding it to my first aid kit on the bike.

I’d love to go on about the Gathering, but I’ll run out of room. You’ll have to check the Chapter websites for photos. I’m sure there’s gonna be plenty. The weather was pretty crummy on Sunday as everyone was leaving. I had no problems on the way home, and hope everyone else made it with no mishaps.

Now, for the month of August, the schedules look like this. On the NCI Wild Roses’ schedule for Aug. 1-2 is the W.O.W.-W.O.W. (Women On Wheels-Women Only Weekend) in Madison, WI, and on Aug 22^nd they’re doubled up with their meeting at the Winner’s Circle and with the Overnighter in Galena with the Chicago BWM Riders. I also happen to know that the NCIWR have plans to attend a baseball game on Aug. 9^th. And I also happen to know that the night at the ball game has grown into an all day event with a bike show and rodeo; face painting; a meet and greet with the W.O.W. President, Cris Baldwin; and a preshow bike parade. There is listed a Jimmy Buffet Concert, and I’m wondering if it will be Jimmy Buffet or a cover band, but for $9.75 who cares. I’m sure it’ll be a great show.

The Northwind Riders list the W.O.W.-W.O.W. on the 1^st and their meeting in Romeoville on the 15^th. The AMA Women’s Conference is Aug. 19-22 in Keystone, CO and they’re heading east Aug 22 to Goshen, IN for a Point of Interest.

The Shawnee Riders don’t have the Aug. 22 weekend listed on their schedule, but on the 6^th is their meeting in Herrin and the 13^th is the Bike Nite at Mike’s Drive In in W. Frankfort.

The River Riders are going to Big Muddy’s in Burlington, IA for brunch on Aug. 2^nd and on Aug. 13^th is the Ice Cream Dinner Ride to Muscatine, IA for Mexican food. The Aug. 27^th meeting will be at Eagle Point Park in Clinton, IA.

The IL Red Hawk Riders plan to go on a Ride for Kids on Aug. 2^nd in WI, and I know they’ll be attending the baseball game on Aug. 9^th. On Aug. 15^th they’re going to either ride to Farnsworth House in Plano, or ride along the Rock River, or ride up to Madison, WI. Aug. 19^th is the AMA Conference and on the weekend of Aug. 21-23 they’re heading up to Door County in Wisconsin to visit Fish Creek, Whitefish Bay, and other sites in that popular part of WI.

I’ll end with my Thanks to the Northwind Riders for putting together a wonderful weekend. I must have had a good time; I slept 12 hours Sunday night. Don’t forget to check the websites for photos!

Ride Safe,

Rusty

By Rusty Harmening,