By: Bob Ulrich
I had decided, soon after the club committed to putting Gary Paine’s name on the memorial, that I would attend the annual re-dedication ceremony scheduled for the Saturday of Memorial Day weekend. My departure time forced me to take the interstate as much as possible, and after leaving Dayton my first stop was for gas near Zanesville.
I was gearing up after the gas stop when the first drops of rain began to fall. I encountered nothing more than light sprinkles until I got off I-70 east of Cambridge. The last 40 miles to Hopedale are on US 22, which is full of twists and turns. I kept getting glimpses of this increasingly ugly black cloud through the trees, and finally stopped in a very light shower to don rain gloves and boots. Of course, once I was prepared, the rain soon ended.
I missed the “main” exit for Hopedale, but Old Hopedale Rd soon crossed 22 and I headed back to town. As I rolled up the hill toward the memorial, two young men, beers in hand, came out from under their tent to collect my entrance fee. When they started to comment about my tank bag and how they had never seen one before, I knew I was out of my element.
I rolled on up to the Legion hall and searched for a good place to park the bike as well as familiar-looking iron. I picked one other BMW out of the crowd and pulled up next to it. As I prepared to make my way to the memorial at the top of the knoll I looked the other Beemer over. It was a ratty bare bike with unidentifiable exhaust and it was painted orange.
I made my way up to the memorial just as the ceremony was about to begin. After taking a few pictures I stepped back from the memorial and soon the bagpiper began to play Danny Boy. After that, one of the organizers took the microphone and invited friends and relatives of those memorialized to tell the assembled riders about their lost comrades. When all those who wanted to had the opportunity to speak, a scholarship was presented to a local high school graduate who had won an essay contest. The winner read his essay to an appreciative audience. Next the bagpiper played Amazing Grace. Then while seven riflemen presented a 21-gun salute, the piper moved to the crest of the knoll to sound taps.
After the completion of the ceremonies, folks continued to mill about the memorial, placing roses, pictures and other mementos around the site. I signed the visitor’s register, located in a gazebo near the monument, then meandered about the grounds and toward the Legion hall.
As I entered the patio of the hall a group of younger riders said as I passed “Hey, he’s wearing ‘the suit’”. I spoke with them for a few minutes and answered their questions about my Aerostich. I guess it’s safe to say that this crowd doesn’t see too many riding suits. I took a quick pass through the bar, which was doing a bang up business, before heading back out on the patio. An older fellow, apparently quite inebriated, asked me if I was going to set myself on fire later. He didn’t know what else my funny get-up could possibly be for! His final comment was “A leather jacket’s always been good enough for me”.
After grabbing a tasty barbecue sandwich from Ed’s Road Kill Barbecue wagon I headed back to my bike to prepare to leave. The other Beemer pilot was there, attempting to affect repairs to his broken clutch cable – the barrel had broken off at the hand lever. He regaled me with stories about how he used to ride a Harley, and all the things he had done to his BMW: removed the RT fairing, burned up the ignition using octane booster, replaced the ignition with a Saab unit, mounted a Yamaha headlight, installed Harley mufflers…He wandered off in search of some way to reattach the barrel, but was soon back having decided that he would use his vice-grips to hold the cable in the hand lever. In the meantime he had left his ignition on while he wandered the grounds, so now his battery was dead. I never did get to hear what an airhead sounds like with Harley pipes.
Probably my most unusual encounter was with the man whose initials were BMW, something like Brian Michael Walker. After telling me of his initials from the other side of the patio wall, he said “My ol’ lady’s comin’ ‘round to see your bike”. A somewhat large woman wearing sweats came around from the patio, but I don’t think she cared too much about seeing my bike. When she got to me, Brian said “Go ahead, show him”, and she proceeded to pull her sweat pants down over her left cheek. There, tattooed on her ample backside in letters 2 ½ to three inches tall was BMW. Made my day.
Soon after I took my leave and headed for St. Clairsville, where I spent the night. The next morning I waited for the rain to move east of me before hitting the road. With most of the day to get home, I found a nice crooked way back to Lancaster where I stopped for lunch. With the terrain in that part of the state it’s hard to find a road that’s straight for very long. There was hardly any traffic either. It was a very enjoyable ride. I managed to find a couple more brief showers before I got home, but nothing I stopped for.
The motorcyclist memorial is definitely worth visiting, although I’m not sure Memorial Day weekend is the best time to appreciate its solemnity. Were it not for the brand of machines in the majority, the preponderance of black clothing, and the regular “thunder” contests amongst the attendees, it was a lot like any other rally. Of course I left early in the evening …
It’s a good 220 miles one way to the memorial from the northeast side of Cincinnati, so a one-day run up there and back would be a real butt-buster. Not to mention the fact that such a whirlwind trip wouldn’t allow any time to enjoy the wonderful roads of the area. I’ll work with Greg to see if we can’t put together an overnight ride to eastern Ohio.
Proposed Amendments to the By-Laws
of the Greater Cincinnati BMW Club Inc.
Point IV.1.C.1, which reads “A prospective member must be sponsored for membership by a current member of the Greater Cincinnati BMW Club Inc.”, is to be deleted.
Points IV.1.C.2, 3, and 4 will become Points IV.1.C.1, 2, and 3 respectively.
In the third sentence of now Point IV.1.C.3, which reads: “The voting will be by secret ballot and will be held in the absence of the applicant”, the words “will be by secret ballot and” are to be deleted. The sentence will then read: “The voting will be held in the absence of the applicant.”
The current Sections 3 and 4 of Article IV will become Sections 4 and 5 respectively. Section 3 will now be “Honorary Membership” and will read
¶A. Any current Charter, New, Associate, or Conditional Member is eligible to become an Honorary Member. Ownership of a BMW motorcycle shall not be a condition of honorary membership. An Honorary Member shall not be assessed annual dues. An Honorary Member shall maintain his or her voting privileges unless otherwise specified in their nomination. An honorary membership shall have no expiration date.
¶B. The potential honorary member must be nominated for this membership by another current member. A 2/3 majority vote of the members present is required for acceptance as an Honorary Member.
By Mike LaBar
Changing jobs at mid-life can be stressful and unnerving, but with change brings new experience and that’s a good thing. I have moved from the IS department to the Corporate Communications Department. From a department of 120 to a department of 12… me, my boss, and 10 very talented female co-workers. Whether that’s a good thing or not, that’s not a concern. We all have projects to pursue & deadlines to meet.
I work for American Modern Insurance Co. and we have recently acquired GuideOne Motorcycle Insurance out of Des Moines, Iowa. Part of my responsibilities include motorcycle communications promotions, policyholder advocacy, and attending rallies to hand out goodies and talk motorcycles. It gets better. We just recently got the endorsement from the MOA for motorcycle insurance. Way cool. I immediately went to my new boss and asked if I could go to Redmond. Sadly, riding out there would take too much time. Our Des Moines office gets that assignment. Bummer. So I’m off to the upcoming Wing Ding in Greenville, SC to kiss babies, shake hands, and give away motorcycle trinketry - be vendor and learn about marketing motorcycle insurance.
http://www.hcfa.gov/medicaid/hipaa/content/nondfact.pdf
This bullet point has me worried.
· The Interim regulations also contain a specific rule regarding source-of-injury restrictions. While a person cannot be excluded for engaging in certain recreational activities, benefits for a particular injury can, in some cases, be excluded based on the source of the injury. The interim regulations, however, clarify that if a group health plan or group health insurance coverage generally provides benefits for a type of injury, the plan or issuer may not deny benefits otherwise provided for a treatment of the injury if the injury results from an act of domestic violence or a medical condition (including both physical and mental health conditions).
Evidence of insurability includes participation in activities such as motorcycling, snowmobiling, all-terrain vehicle riding, horseback riding, skiing, and other similar activities. The regulation directly defeats the Congressional intent of the Health Insurance and Portability Accountability Act (HIPAA), the source of authority by which the regulation is issued. Furthermore, the omission allows unwarranted and impermissible discrimination against persons involved in normal recreational activities.
I plan to ask our benefits administrator a few direct “What if” questions.
The Prez Sez
“Worth checking out.”
A Century of Indian will officially open on Saturday, July 11 at 2 p.m. More info should be available at www.motorcyclemuseum.org
Motorcycle Safety Tidbits
Internet Notes as of 6/24
GCBMWC.org hit stats 955
Egroup messages 246
Egroup members 38
FTWO – Tip of the Day
I've heard it said that if a gas tanker is at a gas station filling the tanks, pass it by. The pumping stirs up the sludge that normally settles to the bottom of those tanks. Better in someone else's tank than in yours.Return
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6/17/01