Welcome

The Border Riders Motorcycle Club (BRMC) is an organized group of guys who like to ride and camp. Our membership spans the Pacific Northwest, with the greatest participation in Portland, Seattle, and Vancouver B.C. We have one of the largest memberships of gay clubs in North America, and welcome like-minded guests to join us on our monthly club events and local activities during the riding months. Check the main page of the website at http://borderriders.com for additional information.

Finally, the long winter days are over, and the sun breaks through the gray skies of the Great Pacific Northwest to the sound of our motorcycle engines rev'ing up for the season.

Early Registration for Victoria Day

Border Riders Motorcycle club

49th Annual Victoria Day Weekend Run

May 18th thru 21st, 2017

Ardenvoir, WA, Pine Flats Campground

BRMC has hosted the riding season kickoff each year for 48 years on Victoria Day weekend. This year, our 49th, again will be held at the US Forest Service Pine Flats Campground near Ardenvoir, Washington. This primitive campground is fully reserved for BRMC, where seclusion and privacy is a feature of this central base camp for day rides throughout the central Washington area.

We truck in a full kitchen to provide breakfast and dinner meals for the weekend. This event also allows 4 wheel vehicles (except RVs), so you can bring your non-riding partner or friends as well as that tent that is too large for your bike (but really, we are a motorcycle club, so at least try to rough it out).

We expect a good group that always has a great weekend. Early registration gets you a discount. All vehicles (except RVs) welcome, no pets. See the website for additional information.

Registration closes May 14th at 9:00 pm. Registration is $135 US Members, $105 Canadian Members, $150 US Guests and $117 Canadian Guests. Guests require a member to sponsor them for this event. If you don't have a sponsor and would like to attend please send an email to captain@borderriders.com for information.

Monthly Recap - Club Meeting

The March club meeting was hosted by John D at his home on Capital Hill in Seattle. The group gathered in his living room and snacked on chips, dip and homemade lemonade in anticipation of dinner.

John was assisted in meal preparation by members Dan S, Dennis, H and guest Ramon P. Dinner consisted of tossed salad with a variety of dressings to choose, rotisserie chicken, fresh asparagus, and a wild rice dish. Dessert was cheesecake.

Prior to dinner being served the club meeting was held with Victoria Day and the 50th Anniversary being the main topics of discussion. Following dinner a group photo was taken outside in the driveway.

From the Handlebars of the President

I would like to start off by extending a thank you to John D for opening his house and hosting the meeting. Dan S did an excellent job of assisting John in providing a scrumptious meal.

Our 49th Victoria Day is just around the corner and our Vice President, along with the board and other members, are busy making plans for the weekend. Be sure to reserve the dates now so that you can attend. The official run dates are Friday, May 18 through Monday, May 21, however many arrive a day early on Thursday with most departing on Sunday. Some stay over until Monday and enjoy another day of camping and camaraderie. Registration will open soon and everyone is encouraged to register early as this helps with the planning process. Registration price remains the same as last year at $135 for members and $150 for guests (before the exchange rate adjustment). At the April meeting the duty roster will be circulated with everyone requested to volunteer for various duties and tasks. One of the best ways to get to know your fellow members and our guests is by working alongside them.

Thursday afternoon will involve moving all the camp gear out of Storage in Entiat and to camp. If you are available to help please consider coming over on Thursday to assist. Grocery shopping and camp set up will be completed on Friday morning and afternoon. Again this is a big task that requires many hands to get the job done. Being able to have everything stored in Entiat and the shopping all done in Wenatchee has saved the club money and time in prepping for the weekend.

Once again we will have meal captains to oversee the preparation of each of the four meals. The menu will be basically the same as last year with a few minor tweaks. As always we are prepping for some great food at camp.

Dave Jackson has once again designed a run t-shirt that will be available to order before the run. Please be on the lookout for an email announcing the ability to order the shirt on the website. Additional information will be available at the April meeting.

Lastly, if you haven't had your bike out yet this year, be sure to do a thorough safety check before hitting the road. Also be sure to have the bike serviced and clean up that riding gear.

As always if any of you have any questions or concerns about the club please feel free to contact me at president@borderriders.com. I hope to see you all at our meeting on April 21st.

Jeff C.

Road Captain Rumblings

I’m still hoping for suggestions and ideas for 2019 season as I prepare the information for preferences voting to be ready at Victoria Day. You can think about that while you’re primping and getting your bike for riding season.

Speaking of prepping your bike for riding, a little Physics 101. I’ve seen people look at the pressure rating on the sidewall of their tire to determine how much air pressure to put in – that’s the wrong place to look. For a tire the weight on the tire divided by the pressure equals contact area on the road. An example would be max load xxx pounds at 41psi printed on the tire. For this example, the manual for the bike (and sometimes printed on the frame) gives the tire pressure as 28psi. The same tire can be used on multiple different bikes so the manufacture knows what range of weight will be on that tire on that bike. Using the example of 41psi versus 28psi, the bike inflated to 28psi will have about 35% more contact area on the road than if it were inflated to 41psi. That 35% difference of surface area could be the difference of staying upright through a slippery turn or having effective braking on a wet road.

Looking forward to seeing everyone on the road this season.

Riding Skills Class - Stan C.

I am putting together another motorcycle skills enhancement class. I am not sure if it will be in Oregon or Washington yet. I'm waiting to see where the interest is and then I will see if I can find an organization that will work with us.

As a reminder, I periodically try to book a motorcycle skills enhancement class and close it for the club and our friends exclusively. I have done it twice now with Team Oregon and I think it has gone very well. I am planning to do this in the spring. The cost is normally a little more than $100 for the day.

I will also try schedule an advanced class for the fall. This advanced class is like what the police do so they can compete on those obstacle courses we wish we could try.

It's truly an advanced class so it will go first to those who have already completed one of the motorcycle skill enhancement classes I have set up.

This event is NOT sanctioned by the club so hit me up for additional information stanley.v.christiansen@gmail.com

Volunteer Opportunity

The Club has received a request to see if any of our members would be interested in volunteering to help out with the St. Jude's Seattle Rock 'n' Roll Marathon and Half Marathon on Sunday, June 10th. The organizers are looking for 2 to 4 riders to carry still photographers and/or videographers during the event. The organizers will provide each rider with a t-shirt and gift card to compensate for time and fuel.

Both the Marathon and Half Marathon begin at 6:30 in the morning. The race routes begin and end at the Seattle Center.

I have not been provided specific details yet but if anyone would like to help out please contact me president@borderriders.com. I will put together a list of those interested and provide additional details as it becomes available.

Register for the April Meeting

The past couple of years have been favorable for riding to the April meeting and hopefully the trend will continue – picture is from last year’s meeting with the bikes lined up. There is still a lot of work to do for us to get ready for our Victoria Day weekend in May. The April meeting will be devoted to the business and planning for our upcoming events. Our April 21st meeting is being hosted by Dan S in Oakville (about halfway between Portland and Seattle.)

Attendees can arrive any time after 3pm for socializing, the meeting is at 5pm, and dinner at 6pm. The cost is $15USD for the dinner option (Canada payments will be adjusted). You can register at http://borderriders.com using Stripe. Confirmation will be emailed to you upon registration. Registration closes at 9 pm on Wednesday April 18th so we can get a head count for food. No refunds after close. Guests need to indicate a sponsoring member when registering for the meeting.

MENU

Roast pork loin, Mashed potatoes

Grilled vegetables, salad and dessert

Vegetarian option yet to be determined

Paying using Stripe

Please be careful when registering/paying for a club event and be sure to check the "Cart" before paying so that you don't accidently pay for more than one item. If you do have problems paying please contact either the treasurer@borderriders.com or president@borderriders.com.

Calendar of 2018 Events

January 20 Annual General Meeting – Seattle
February 17 Anniversary Banquet – Vancouver, BC
March 17 Club Meeting - @ John D's home
April 21 Club Meeting - @ Dan S's home
May 18-21 Victoria Day Weekend Camp
June 15-17 Milo McIver, Estacada, OR & Portland Pride
July 20-21 Evans Group, Kettle Falls, WA
August 17-19 Goldstream Provincial Park, Vancouver Island, BC
September 14-16 Bear Hollow Camp, Fossil, OR
October 20 Club Meeting - @ TBD
November 17 Club Meeting - @ TBD
December 8 Holiday Party - @ TBD

Birthdays

We have 4 members with a birthdays this month. Please take a moment to wish them a great day.

Dale C - Apr 29
Tom C- Apr 23
Dennis H- Apr 11
Jason W- Apr 03

Meet & Greets

BRMC members will be available for new and returning guys to connect and learn more about the club and opportunities to participate. If you are interested, check out when and where in the cities listed below. Also, in addition to the club's monthly events, local rides may be organized, weather permitting. To lean more, email the Road Captain for specific details, or to ensure a member to meet you, at captain@borderriders.com.

Portland: Meet & Greet - 1st Tuesday of the month, 7pm at The Portland Eagle
Seattle: Meet & Greet - 2nd Wednesday of the month, 7pm at The Cuff
Vancouver BC: Please contact the Road Captain for arrangements

Contributions of Photos & Stories

If you have photos and stories to share, please send to news@borderriders.com