By Fred Jewell RCB Prez

 It sure looks like my karma with the weather continued last month with the poker run being postponed, but this Saturday it’s looking as if we’re finally getting the cooperation we need. If you signed up last month there’s no need to sign up again for this Saturday, we’ve got you covered. If you haven’t yet, please do so as soon as possible so we know how many to feed. I’ll be doing the cooking, so you know it’s got to be good.  

 I’m starting to get some texts and emails from members with their contest pictures of the locations, and I’m expecting a lot more now that the optimal time for riding is here. There are enough local sites to visit that you could gather a half dozen tickets in an afternoon if you don’t feel like exploring the rest of California. One member has already found the sprawling metropolis of Jewell, CA, so I know others can too and earn 12 tickets for the privilege. If you have sent me an email and I haven’t responded right away, please send it to my phone, along with your name and the location. A lot of emails ended up in my spam file last year. 

 I’m going to call this next section of my column “Things I Learned From Gary Stofer”. If you never had the good fortune to know Gary, he was president of the club for something like 9 years, and was truly the glue that held the club together, and a (mostly) very even-tempered guy. I succeeded him in my first tenure as president as I got the feeling he was glad to be finally handing the reins over to someone else. Which brings me to the first thing I learned from him, and that is you don’t campaign to be re-elected, you campaign to find someone to replace you. That being said, I would gladly step aside for anyone else wanting the position! The next thing was as president, you’ll never please everyone, so don’t try. Just do what you think most people would want to do, and if someone complains, maybe they could be president next! I did hear him say more than once “This job doesn’t pay enough to take your crap” or something like that. Gary had a very strong opinion on replacing your weak sounding horn for a louder one, something with which I completely agree. The point being that if you have time to think, react, and reach for your horn button, you have time to avoid the situation. If you’re using the horn in retaliation for some perceived wrong done to you, you should realize that you’re in a position of extreme vulnerability on your bike, so discretion is definitely the better part of valor. Just let them go on their way.  

 So let’s get going now that the time and weather are right. Go somewhere you haven’t been to before. Ride a road you’ve never been on. Ride until you’re lost and have to use your GPS to get home. Travel, get out of your comfort zone, you’ll be surprised at how much fun you’ll have.