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Summer Picnic Thanks to Mary Schoenrock, the summer picnic at Fort Fizzle came off without a hitch. Approximately 16 folks showed up with 16 plus dishes to share with the group. Every one of the dishes was outstanding. The weather was great and there were a few test rides up the mountain during the picnic hours. Our thanks to Mary for a great picnic.
Ride to Mexico September 10th delivered a weather blow in the form of rain and snow on the passes. The emergency telephone tree/e-mail program enabled the group to “re-group”. The ride was cancelled but the group met in Missoula at the Golden Corral instead. 19 of the 28 who were going to go to Gibbonsville huddled near the fresh baked rolls at the Corral hoping that Joe had brought the deck of cards for at least the Poker Run portion of the program. No luck…he cleverly left the deck at home. We did all get a look at Dusty Samouse’s newly purchased Honda Valkyrie though. Thanks to all who hung in there and made the switch without a complaint. Next Ride The next and last scheduled ride of the year is on October 8th beginning with breakfast at the Hayloft in Lolo, at 10:00 AM. Terry Pohland will be making contact with the membership shortly for confirmations. The ride, hopefully, will be up to Lochsa Lodge. If the weather is forbidding, those at the Hayloft will make an alternative decision. Legislative News Like everything else…change is inevitable. Our contact on the Governor’s committee for Motorcycle Safety matters had been Michele Hand. However, she was not renamed to the committee this year and was replaced by Steve Holland from Helena. So, we will need to dig hard to make sure we are kept current on Motorcycle and Off Road Vehicle legislation. Our many thanks go out to Michele for an outstanding piece of work over the last 4 years. |
A Recent
News Article Reports So far this year, 26 riders have died on Montana highways, a 37 % increase since last year and the highest number since 1985 when Montana saw 34 motorcyclists killed. Since 1997 motorcycle registrations nearly doubled to 34,433. The total amount of wrecks increased from 307 in 1997 to 400 in 2004. What does that mean to us Retreads? We thought you ought to be aware that more folks are riding and more of them are older riders who have recently come back into the sport. We also suspect that many of those new riders have had no training, other than what they remember from 20 or 30 years ago. Thus, with registrations up and coincidentally, our membership up, we strongly suggest that every member take part in some form of training before getting on a motorcycle. Even if you’ve ridden forever, a refresher course is a smart choice. Next spring, we will again offer to organize an exclusive Experienced Ride Course for members. I’m going…how about you? Speaking of accidents…we gladly report that member John Torma and his wife, Linda, are recovering from their spill on Highway 212 in June of this year. John and Linda took the spill in an unmarked construction zone and there was no way to avoid the mishap. Since their spill…with the help of Member J.T. Meenach, the Montana Highway Department is paying more attention to signing construction spots and hazardous situations, especially those that effect two-wheeled vehicles. John or JT would like to know if you encounter a hazardous situation as they will gladly pass it on to the MDOT. John showed up at the summer picnic on his BMW LT and shared his thoughts about how sometimes, no matter how well trained you are, an accident cannot be avoided. He is grateful for having the proper equipment on when it happened. Without helmets, I’m sure they both would not be riding with us next year.
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