Contents
Welcome
Monthly Recap
Monthly Pictures
Upcoming Events (2 months)
Members Birthday’s
Meet & Greet Update, (Portland, BC, & Seattle)
Club Business
Reader’s Corner
Day Rides
The latest news regarding rider skill enhancement classes
Officer Reports
The BRMC 2020 Calendar of Events
Non BRMC Motorcycle Events
Request for pictures & closing comments.
Welcome
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. We welcome like-minded guests to come meet us at our monthly Meet & Greets and to join us at one of our club events and our local activities.
Check out our website. We are very proud of it. www.borderriders.com
Monthly Recap of (March)
The March Meeting was short. Attendance on zoom was good. There were twenty members present, and nineteen of them were eligible to vote. Unfortunately our president, Jeff C., was not present because of the burden of work at his bank dealing with Covid Relief funds.
The only business taken care of was the approval of the January 2021 minutes. The rest of the time was spent on reports from the various officers and their plans for this summer. Dennis H. announced that the Pine Flats campground is reserved for our June 25 run. The reservation does not include a stay over to Monday like on Victoria Day runs.
Stan C. reported on the planned classes for this summer. The dates are for June 5 & 6, another is in August and the last class will be in October. These classes are described in Stan’s report in this newsletter.
Alan H. reported that the plans for Victoria Day will be simplified from a normal Victoria Day run. This means that there will be a lot less work for those attending.
The rest of the evening was spent socializing.
Monthly Gallery
Photos from members and guests from last month’s rides and adventures (or stolen from Facebook pages due to a lack of submissions). No photos were submitted this month.
Upcoming Events
April 17th - Membership Virtual Meeting
May 1st - Regional Day Rides - Follow us on Face-Book for last minute details.
May 15th - Membership Virtual Meeting
Upcoming Birthdays
We have 4 members with a birthday in April.
Jason Wyatt on April 3rd
Dennis H on April 11th
Tom C on April 23rd
Dale C on April 29th
Meet & Greets
Due to Covid-19, the monthly M&Gs were canceled for this month.
Reader’s Corner
A place for you, the reader, member and/or guest, to contribute.
Tell us about your travels, adventures, mishaps, etc.
To contribute, send your story & pictures to President@BorderRiders.com
Stan C Submitted
Have you ever wondered how the wind chill impacts the ambient temperature when you are out on the bike? I found this chart on CycleFish.com & thought it was interesting. I hope you do too.
Day Rides
BC’s Day Ride -No upcoming plans for day rides. Watch the newsletter and Facebook for updates.
Seattle’s Day Ride -No day ride in the works forks for April 3, weather looks marginal. Watch for emails or FB for updates.
Portland’s Day Ride - There was no March day-ride in Portland.
Motorcycle Training 2021 - YAHOO!!!!
Registration for ALL the upcoming BRMC/Team Oregon classes is open. To register, call Ronda at 541.737.9660. You will likely need to leave a message, but she will call you back. Their system is not set up for this kind of bulk buying so be patient. Ronda will need to charge you for each class as she registers you, so it does take a little longer than I expected. The good news is, the entire schedule is ala-cart so you can pick and choose which classes you want.
Each class has a limited number of openings and it is first registered, first reserved, so don’t delay registering. Once classes are full, I will keep a waiting list just in case someone can’t make it. You may e-mail me at Treasurer@BorderRiders.com to be placed on a waiting list.
Also, the classes will be open to the public on May 1st so you need to register before then.
FYI
The Advanced Breaking Clinic scheduled for June 6th has only 3 openings left. If you want to attend this class you will want to register soon.
OTHER NOTES:
Cancelation Policy – Team Oregon has a cancelation policy of 30 days prior to the class with a full refund. Instead of canceling, please contact me first and let me see if I can sell your reservation to someone on the waiting list. If not, then we can cancel.
June classes - There will be a social function for class attendees at Alan & Stan’s house on the evening of Saturday, June 5th. We will pass a hat to cover the cost of food. I will supply more details when we get closer.
August Classes – These classes occur on Monday the 23rd. We are hoping to have the August campout that same weekend. The intent is to have a group ride from the campout to Alan & Stan’s house on Sunday & a social function that evening. We will pass a hat to cover the cost of food. I will supply more details when we get closer.
October Classes – The weekend of the October classes is also the weekend of the club meeting which Alan & Stan are hosting. The cost of dinner will be a part of the registration for the meeting. There will be a social function Saturday night as part of the meeting. I will supply more details when we get closer.
When You Register for the Classes – Please send me a quick e-mail letting me know when you register and for which classes you have registered. Send this to Treasurer@BorderRiders.com. This will allow me to keep a head count and will allow me to make sure you are kept current of any extracurricular activities happening that weekend.
Wait List - Each class has a limited number of openings and it is first registered, first reserved, so don’t delay registering. Once classes are full, I will keep a Wait List just in case someone can’t make it. You may e-mail me at Treasurer@BorderRiders.com to be placed on a waiting list.
The class schedule is listed below. All classes are for 2 wheel motorcycles only, sorry.
Saturday, June 5th is the Rider Skills Practice Class. This class will run from 12:45 to 5:30. This class is appropriate for an endorsed rider with 1+ years riding experience. This class is a great way to shake off the cobwebs acquired during the non-riding months of winter. This class permits 12 attendees & cost $99.
Sunday, June 6th is the Advanced Braking Clinic. This class will run from 8:45 to 11:30. This class is appropriate for an endorsed rider with 1+ years riding experience. I have yet to take this class and am looking forward to it. This class permits 9 attendees & cost $79.
Monday, August 23rd is the Cornering Clinic & the Advanced Rider Techniques Class. Both classes take place on the go-cart track at Pat’s Acres in Canby.
The Cornering Clinic focuses solely on cornering skills. The Cornering Clinic is appropriate for an endorsed rider with 2+ years riding experience. The Cornering Clinic runs from 8:45 to 11:30. The class permits 18 attendees and cost $99. Successful completion of the ART class is required for this class.
Shortly after the Cornering Clinic is the Advanced Rider Techniques. The ART class provides riders expert instruction on the clean, smooth curves of a closed course. The ART class is appropriate for an endorsed rider with 2+ years riding experience. This class will run from 12:30 to 4:30. The class permits 18 attendees and cost $179. This ART class is a prerequisite for the Cornering Clinic.
Saturday, October 16th is the Precision Maneuvering Clinic #1. The PMC-1 is appropriate for an endorsed rider with 2+ years riding experience. This class will run from 8:45 to 1:45. The class permits 9 attendees and cost $99.
Sunday October 17th is the Precision Maneuvering Clinic #2. The PMC-2 is appropriate for an endorsed rider with 2+ years riding experience who have completed PMC-1. This class will run from 8:45 to 1:45. The class permits 9 attendees and cost $99.
GO REGISTER !
From the Handlebars of the President
Hey Everyone,
How can another month come and gone already? Life continues to be hectic with work and the Paycheck Protection Program. The program was extended to May 31st and my bank is still taking applications as well as processing applications for loan forgiveness. This past month saw me receiving a promotion at the bank and now I officially oversee the group of 12 folks working under me on the PPP Program. Basically the change is that now I can approve their time cards.
I am getting anxious to get on the bike and get some miles in. I need to dig the bike out from under the clutter that accumulated on and around it over the winter. Time to get the annual maintenance scheduled and start riding. Hopefully you all have had your bikes serviced and ready for another riding season. In the meantime
…… keep the shiny side up!
Vice President Chatter
Happy April Everyone
Not much to report out this round for the Newsletter, life is pretty uncomplicated this time of year except for taking care of Stan during tax season.
It was good to get together with Chris, Richard, Buck, Bill and Kas for our 30-year anniversary! Being together for the March meeting at our house was a lot of fun, good laughs and great company. I sure do miss hanging out with my BRMC brothers so having them here and being together for the meeting, gave me a much-needed fix and will tie me over for the next couple of months until we meet up in May, I hope many of you will be able to join us for that event.
Be well and see you soon!
Road Captain Rumblings
What a challenging year. Things are finally starting to open up - vaccination numbers are improving and they are re-opening the ability to book group sites; still likely a long time for a border crossing so don’t know about a Canadian run this year..
The board expected that May would be unlikely for a group event like the VD campout. We are hoping to do a run to Bruceport instead. This is near Raymond (about halfway between Portland) and where Seattle & Portland met up for a joint day ride last year.
For June we really had hoped that we would finally be able to ride in the Seattle PRIDE Parade. That has been worked on by many people over the past few years to make it happen and have a site close by --- but also anticipated the likelihood of PRIDE being cancelled. Another goal was to have an event similar to VD at some location this year even if Jeff’s backyard.
The culmination of all of this is Seattle PRIDE Parade isn’t happening in June. Maybe we will have our own PRIDE at Pine Flats, sort of a mini VD -Thursday through Sunday (no Monday like a normal Victoria Day) meals Friday evening through Sunday morning. We may not have as much use of the lower campground as that part is first come, first served. We’ll be able to have our normal Sunday morning ceremony at the tree and see how much has recovered from the fires in the intervening two years. A likely bonus is the weather is likely to be better in June in comparison to what we sometimes get in May.
Put it on your calendar for PRIDE June 24th to 27th at Pine Flats and maybe we’ll have our own parade. More details to follow.
The rest of the year will cement up shortly since group sites are opening up.
Keep the shiny side up until then!
Treasurer’s Ramblings
All amounts owed to us have been collected. All the bills I am aware of have been paid. All our account balances are where I expect them to be. Briefly stated, “Piggy Bank Be Balanced”.
On a personal note, the 2021 tax season deadline was extended until Monday May 17th which take a little stress out of this years’ ever-changing process. Unfortunately, that is the weekend of the May Meeting & Campout, if we can have one. This means I’m not sure if I will be able to make it that weekend or not. I am glad this is not the normal VD weekend as that would be a horrible decision for me to have to make. Work or Play?
Please feel encouraged to reach out to me if you have any questions. Otherwise, stay safe, stay healthy and let’s get together soon.
Secretary Thoughts
Well, it’s beginning to feel more and more like Spring. There are more days with sunshine; Spring flowers are starting to bloom; and I am getting out more for my long walks. What I haven’t done as yet is to get my motorcycle ready for the riding season and I also have to start doing short rides to get back into my riding self.
Now that some of my friends and I have had both of our Covid shots, things are beginning to feel a little bit different. Five of us got together for dinner and a couple of hours of conversation indoors without our masks last Friday. This in no way means that the Covid thing is over and it won’t be until most of the population is vaccinated.
That being said, this bodes well for the BRMC this summer. The more of us who are vaccinated, the more of us will be showing up for the summer time rides. When comparing the attendance of our 2021January and March zoom meetings, to the regular meetings in 2019 there were from eight to ten more members attending than those attending the regular meetings in 2019. Remember there were no meetings in 2020. What the increase in attendance to our 2021 meetings means to me is that we are all ready to see each other.
The summer rides aren’t too far into the future and we will be able to hang out together. Until then, Be Safe!
2021 Calendar of Events
January 16th - Annual General Meeting - Virtual
February 20th - Anniversary Banquet - Virtual
March 20th - Club Meeting - Virtual
April 17th - Club Meeting - Virtual
May 14th thru 16th - Camp-out Bruceport County Park near Raymond WA
June 13th - BRMC rides in the Portland Pride Parade
June 24th thru 27th - Pine Flats celebration
July 16th thru 18th - Camp-out at TBD
August 20th thru 22nd - Camp-out at TBD
September 17th thru 19th - Camp-out at TBD
October 16th - Club Meeting - TBD
November 20th - Club Meeting - TBD
December 11th - Club Holiday Party - TBD
Meet & Greets
(March M&G’s have been canceled due to COVID-19)
B.R.M.C. members will be available for interested individuals to meet and learn more about the club and how to get involved. For locations and times, check out the cities listed below for your area. Also, in addition to the club's monthly events, local rides may be organized, weather permitting. To lean more about local event’s, check out our F.B. page or email the Road Captain at Captain@BorderRiders.com.
Portland: Meet & Greet - 1st Wednesday of the month, 7 pm at The Portland Eagle.
Vancouver BC Meet & Greet - 2nd Wednesday of the month. 4 to 6 pm at The Met Hotel, New Westminster
Seattle: Meet & Greet - 3rd Wednesday of the month, 7 pm at The Cuff
Non-BRMC Motorcycle Events
If you know of an upcoming motorcycle event or something of interest that we might want to attend, please send the information to News@BorderRiders.com and we will be sure to get it added to the newsletter.
Contributions of Photos & Stories
If you have photos and stories to share, please send to news@borderriders.com
