March 2021 Newsletter
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 (February)
It was great to see everyone at the virtual anniverary banquet. It was a small turnout and wouldhave been nice had more members participated. Those that did attend had a good time socializing and checking out what each other had fixed for their Italian dinner. Pizza seemed to be the Italian meal of default. Thank you
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
March 20th - Membership Meeting
April 17th - Membership Meeting
Upcoming Birthdays
We have 3 members with a birthday in February.
Doug H on March 1st
Randy T on March 3rd
Dave H on March 9th
Meet & Greets
Due to Covid-19, the monthly M&Gs were canceled for this month.
Club Business
Annual Banquet - Virtual Banquet in February
Awards
· High Mileage presented to COVID 19
· Rider of the Year - Tom Curley
· Special Secret Surprise Award - Honorary Membership presented to Jeff B
2021 Board of Directors
The following members were elected at the AGM to serve for the coming year.
President: Jeff C
Vice President: Alan H
Road Captain: Dennis H
Secretary: John D
Treasurer: Stan C
Membership Renewals
Thank you everyone for registering before the banquet. It helps me, your Treasurer, immensely when doing the budget to know how many members to budget for. Unfortunately, we are having to say goodbye to 3 well loved brothers who have decided to pursue other interest.
Our former Web-master Joe C, Mr. RV himself Pat T, & one of our newest brothers Aaron M have decided not to renew their membership. They have been assured they are welcome to attend our functions as guests as we hope to them frequently.
I am currently making arrangements to get our patch back from them and return their deposits.
Reader’s Corner
A place for you, the reader, member 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 - When the last newsletter went out the weather for the February day ride looked promising., but it changed for the worse and didn’t have one. Looking ahead to March 6th doesn’t look good, but watch for an email or on Facebook if things change.
Portland’s Day Ride - There was no February 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.
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,
Once again I was late for the Anniversary Banquet! I was scheduled for my second COVID vaccination at 4:00 that day and I didn’t want to miss the opportunity to receive the shot. It went smoothly and I was able to join the festivities during dinner time. It was good to see everyone and I was disappointed that we didn’t have a greater number of members present.
We continue to remain flexible in planning events for the coming year and take things one step at a time as we are allowed to. I am really looking forward to some good weather and time on the bike. I put very few miles on the bike last year and am hoping that will be different this year.
I look forward to connecting with everyone on March 20th for our membership meeting. Until then
…… keep the shiny side up!
Vice President Chatter
Hello Brothers
It was good to see so many of you at the Banquet, sorry not all could attend, hopefully soon life will start to get back to normal and we can start gathering in person.
I can smell and see spring is quickly approaching which means riding season is almost hear!
I really have nothing to share except that I am looking forward to getting things back open so we can start camping and riding again this summer.
Be well!
Road Captain Rumblings
Normally this is the newsletter that remind those that summer is just around the corner and a good time to get maintenance done before the May rush. Two weeks ago it seemed a lot further off with the snow that affected a lot of members, but the days are getting longer. Get out on the road for a few practice rides and blow off the dust.
Hope to see you all out there soon!
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”.
Additionally, I have issued checks to the 3 former members (Aaron M, Joe C, Pat T) all of whom promptly returned their patch. Thx, gents for sending those patches to me so I could check this off my To-Do list. Also, know you are always welcome to participate as a guest.
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
It has been a hard year. That goes without saying, but I bring it up because we Border Riders, against all odds, had our yearly February banquet anyway. We didn’t have a fancy venue to go to and we didn’t have the luxury of having a chef do all of the food preparation. No, we did it ourselves. And it was pretty obvious that some of us do pretty good cuisine on our own. Italian at that!
One good part of it all is that Stan C. is probably pretty happy because it didn’t put any financial burden on the club’s treasury. Another positive side of it all is that two thirds of us didn’t have to pack up and travel through winter weather to get to the banquet. No, we had it in our own living rooms. The most important part if this event to me, maybe because I am such an introvert, was that it gave us well over three hours of catching up with each other. And laughing!
I have to tell you, being able to make jokes, share stories, and laugh was the most important gift the banquet gave to me. However, our group at Dennis H’s home had to monitor our behavior in order to not to interrupt some of the conversations going on. In other words, “Shut up, or mute your damned mic.” That doesn’t mean that our interactions were dampened, it just means that this sort of venue is a lot different from having our group conversations at a table in a banquet hall.
By the way, I want to personally thank Dennis H. for having us at his home and to Dennis and Dale C. for preparing a great meal! It was far better than anything that the chef at my house could prepare! I also want to thank Stan W for being the one who made it possible for us to all get together for this special BRMC event. And Michael C., my riding buddy, it was good to see you. It has been a long time! Finally, I want to thank all of you who were able to make it to the banquet. It is really important for us to be able to see each other, to tell stories and to laugh together. Thank you all!
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