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MID-MICHIGAN BMW TOURING CLUB
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Mark and Trina West |
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I've been riding since I've been about 10 yrs old and have had a lot of different bikes over the years. I started riding Yamaha's mostly when I was younger, started with a 100cc then a 350cc then moved up to a 650cc and 750cc. In '95 I bought a Honda 1100 Shadow ACE (you know, the Harley wanta be) I put about 33k shaken miles on it and decided it was time to move up. I decided it was time to buy something that was made to put miles on and bought my K12. All though the years of riding my wife and I would frequently take evening rides of 100 miles or so and a trip out of state once in a while. We took the 650 to the Smokies and the ACE to OH and PA a couple times. When we had the 750, it was during the years when the kids were young. Once I (we) bought the BMW we have done quite a bit more traveling, 54k miles since 2000. I am happily married and have three lovely Daughters. My wife Trina loves to ride almost as much as me, and our daughter like to go for rides when they can. A man couldn’t ask for a better wife, she asks me if I want to go riding as much as I ask her. We still keep up our evening rides even after 23 years together; it’s our way of getting away from it all and relaxing. My other interest are cars and working on them, carpentry,and web pages. I design A/C systems for new cars for a living. Trina's interests are sewing, floral arranging, stamping, and animals. She has owned and operated a few businesses over the years like a Hair Salon, Small Gift Shop and a Florist. Well that’s my story and I’m sticking to it. January 2003 Upon purchasing a newer K1200LT, I thought it would be nice to find a club to become a part of. I decided to get on the Web and do a search for "bmw motorcycle." The 7th link on the list was a link to chartered clubs. Clicking on the link, I found Michigan?s link and discovered there were 6 clubs in Michigan. For the area I live in, there were two clubs both having web sites. After looking at both sites it appeared that a club called the Mid-Michigan BMW Touring Club did most of their functions closer to where I live. I proceeded to send them an e-mail asking for information on becoming a member. They promptly replied, sending me out the latest newsletter, which would give me an idea of what the club was all about and the exciting things they do. A few e-mails and newsletters later, I had decided that this club sounded like what I was looking for. A group of people that liked to get together, do some riding, and have a good time. So I e-mailed Sue, the secretary at the time, informing her that I would like to join. She told me where to send my membership fee and that she would announce to the club there was a new member joining. Well, I had procrastinated a while on sending my dues in and decided that a better way to go about it was to just attend one of the breakfasts. Sue let me know where the next breakfast would be held and I sent her an e-mail that morning informing her that my wife and I would be attending. The breakfast was held in Kingston, well I didn?t know where Kingston was so I wiped out the trusty map to check it out, "Not too far" I thought. That September morning was a little cool but we jumped on our bike and took off. It took a little longer to get there than I thought it would, but I knew we had arrived when we saw a bunch of BMWs, there were even some sidecar rigs, sitting in front of a little restaurant. We headed in to find a bunch of tables lined up to make one long with what looked like 20 or 30 people sitting around it. So we grabbed a table on the other side of the small restaurant and ordered some breakfast. After it looked like they were done eating, they started doing other activities, which appeared to be a 50/50 drawing, and it sounded like they were organizing a ride. I thought that this would be a good time to go introduce myself. As I did so, Sue asked "Are you Mark?" And I said I was. She proceeded to introduce me to everyone there. I gave her my information and dues and she have me the latest newsletter, an application, and the by-laws of the club. As my wife and I finished our breakfast a few of the members came over to introduce themselves and invite us on the ride they were organizing. This ride was what they called a Mystery Ride, where someone picks out a route and everyone else guesses how many miles it would end up being. So we make a guess, not having a clue how many miles we might be riding. After chatting a while out in front of the restaurant, we all headed down the road to gas up at a close by gas station. From there we left on a ride that took us around the country side and by a small post office as well as a miniature ship in a glasses in box, all part of getting pictures for the Grand Tour contest. When we had reached and stopped at the ship, the Mystery Ride was officially over, no beginners luck for me. A few of the members were not ready to finish riding for the day, so off we went again. We rode until mid afternoon, stopping for rests at a park with a swinging bridge and later at a roadside park along the Lake Huron shore. From there my wife and I had to start heading toward home our daughter had a horse riding function, but the rest of the group was stopping by Cliff?s house for hot dogs. During our stops they had talked about a camp out coming up called the Color Tour. This sounded like a fun time so we planed on going. Sue e-mailed me directions to the camp out, my wife was unable to attend due obligations she had at home but I decided to go myself. This was a fun filled weekend with lots of riding, eating, and an overall good time. Upon arriving late Friday night, I was able to park my bike in the barn so it was out of the weather. Ysedro, another member, helped me set up my tent and made sure that I had everything I needed. This group of people made me feel as if I had known them for years, including me in everything and making sure I didn?t feel like a stranger. When I left the camp out that weekend, I knew I had found the best club there could be. To this day, 7 months later, we can?t wait for the next function to come around so we can see our new friends. Heck...they even let me take over the club?s website. I?d like to take this opportunity to say thanks for making us feel like a part of the family. Mark and Trina April 2002 |
