It’s Friday June 4^th 2021! It has been impossible to guess when our pandemic lock down would end and yet here we are. There is still a ways to go but I think we can agree that we are bathing in the light at the end of the tunnel! Finally! At least it feels that way to me and I hope you are feeling that way also.

Tomorrow will be our first club meeting in a loooooooong time. It will be fun seeing all of our members again, together! We will have a chance to meet new members that I know we have and reacquaint ourselves with our club friends. We as humans are social creatures and we need this interaction as it has been a long time coming. I know our esteemed rafflemeister Gordy has some great prizes for our first post pandemic meeting. Should be a good one so, bring cash and win something cool. You new club members take special note as, it seems like new members win quite a bit in their first raffles. Not sure why but, it is true. Following our meeting, Capt. Ken will lead us on club ride n romp to Calistoga and have lunch at Buster’s. Great roads and a fun ride. Fill your fuel tank and come ride with us!

Thanks to all who have responded to our request to know if you are attending the BMWMOA Intl. in Great Falls, Montana. We need it to compete for the most attending in a chartered club award. Once again, we will be sharing a large shelter tent with our friends at the Norcal club. Our camping site will be adjacent to that tent so we don’t have to worry about too much sun as Montana sun can burn you up. Bring sunblock folks and we hope to see you in Great Falls. The Int’l is a great time and if you have never  been to one and can, you should go, you won’t regret it. The MOA does a great job with this event.

We will resume BOD meetings and do what we can to produce an events calendar as all our events have been cancelled and right now, the only thing in cement is Manchester Beach in October which, is our biggest event of the year. Camping is HUGE right now so, if you want a cabin or an RV site, I recommend you do it now. No one knew how long this thing (pandemic) would last and we should be optimistic that normalcy will continue to improve.

On a little different note, it has been brought to my attention that we have many folks that need to renew their membership and I would like to request that you do so please. Dues and raffle revenue is the life blood of the club and I understand that the last year has been trying for all but now that we are becoming active again as a club please make sure your membership is up to date! Thanks to all!

I could go on but, I won’t. I hope to see many of you tomorrow and together we can start to get the RCB train back on the track! See Ya!

Mike

I know, May 10^th and here I am with May’s Prez Corner. I have waited a bit this month cause times are a changing for the first time in 14 months of pandemic lockdown. YAY, it’s about time! So let’s get right into some good news for a change!

We will see our first official club meeting this next month with an actual raffle! That’s right, a meeting and raffle followed by a club ride. Sounds weird I know but, you are reading this correctly. The light at the end of the end of the tunnel is becoming clearer and I am hoping it continues to do so. We all need it. I am looking forward to seeing you all, and getting this train back on the track. Or, at least closer.

We will also have a BOD meeting this week at the usual venue. We have many things to discuss to include our pretty much non-existent events calendar. At this time the only event on the calendar is Manchester Beach. So, we have some work to do. As always, the meeting is open to all members.

The MOA needs a guesstimate as to the number of RCB campers attending the International at Great Falls, Montana. They need this information so they can properly cordon off an area that will be the proper size for our tents. I will create a new post on the forum so we can get a tally on who is attending. Even if you are hoteling it please post that you will be at the event as we would like to compete for the “ Most members of a charter club in attendance”. So look for that post on the forum.

So, here we are. Easiest Prez Corner in over a year! Great news for a change! It will be nice seeing everyone and, getting the club rolling again!

Mike

I am sitting at home going through the latest  BMW ON mag realizing that things are changing in this pandemic and a new riding season is upon us here in California and beyond, as I have read a couple of articles in regard to the upcoming MOA event in Great Falls, Mt. Everything I am reading points to all systems “GO”!, and I couldn’t be happier. Granted, we are still operating under covid restrictions but, things are improving. We need to be patient in regard to returning to being able to gather in large groups as we do with our club meetings but, I hope that will be soon. We did actually go on our first official club ride this last weekend to Gott’s Roadside burger joint in St. Helena. That is over a year with no club ride. See? We are making progress! Gott’s has extensive outdoor seating so sticking with protocols was very easy. The ride there and back was spirited and we all had fun far as I could tell. We were gonna stop and take pictures for the newsletter but sadly, as usual, we failed. My wife is always complaining we never stop for the flowers. When you're right, you're right! Good day, great ride, and it was nice to get out with 10 other club riders for our first ride in a year! Things are improving. If you know of a restaurant with extensive outdoor seat that would accommodate a group of riders, please bring it up so with can plan a ride around that restaurant.

Back to the BMWMOA in Great Falls. If you are going, “and I hope you are” start thinking about preparing now. June will be upon us before we know and this is not an event you don’t want to not be ready for. If you are camping, I recommend you are ready for dealing with rain. I worked in Montana for 14 years in all seasons and the weather can go off the rails in a heart beat. Usually it doesn’t, but it can snow anytime of the year. When it rains, it is in HUGE buckets as in, you can’t see worth a darn and you can be soaked quickly. Be prepared. If you are gonna camp, bring a good tent. I would bring a sleeping bag rated at 30 degrees at least. Will you need it? Hopefully not, but sleeping cold is not a great time to figure out you brought the wrong bag. If you are not camping and you plan on motel glamping I suggest you make your reservations sooner, rather than later.

As far as your bike is concerned, take a good look at tires. There are tire vendors at the event and there can be a looooong wait to buy and have tires installed, so I would leave home with pretty fresh tires. Why spend your time at the event dealing with tires. There probably will be a bunch of vendors there that will want your hard earned money as much as the tire guys. Also, check your tire repair kit. Worst time to figure out your tube of glue is dried out is on the side of the road. I ain’t waiting for a tow truck!

Enough for now! So hopefully next month all things will continue to improve and we can keep moving on. Until then, everyone take care, ride safe, and keep your bikes up to snuff!

See ya soon! Mike

Been about a year now since we started our journey down the pandemic path we have been on and I’m not sure whether I wanna cry or laugh about it. Some counties have moved to the red tier, whatever the hell that means, and others, like Placer County remain in the dreaded purple tier, whatever the hell that means! My travels recently have been that there is inside dining in many places, albeit at reduced capacities. Still, a huge improvement in retrospect of 6 or 7 months ago so, we will take it right? All the numbers are showing things are going in the right direction, so I am optimistic that we will  begin resuming club activities very soon. Looking forward to a full blown club meeting, so keep your fingers crossed.

It is nice to see Terry Lee leading the resumption of the Coastal Classic in Fortuna on April 23^rd -25^th. Info for this trip is under Rides and Destinations. They still have reduced capacity for dining but as Terry said, that could change by late April and I hope it does. Everyone have fun!

Get your camping gear together or make motel reservations, cause things are ramping up for the MOA  Int’l in Great Falls Montana. I received an e-mail, as a few other club members have from the Norcal BMW club in regard to sharing a 20x40 Pop up if you will. These are very nice shelters in my experience. My riding group last weekend which included 3 board members all agreed, ”That’s a no brainer!” So I contacted Norcal’s contact Michael and secured our half of this shelter. Montana is a beautiful state but the sun is very intense even when not hot and it can rain buckets in a flash. You want a shelter for these reasons, and we have that. One less thing to consider. This will be a great event. If you haven’t been to one you need to go to this one. No regrets! Thanks to Jack K. for being RCB’s point of contact with the MOA. In regard to this event! There are many great routes to Great Falls, so if you are interested in leading a group there, then post it and see who wants to ride along. Make sure you bring rain gear or wear Goretex in this country. Afternoon rain showers are totally possible.

……….This just in from Michael at Norcal! It is confirmed that our Chartered Club campsite will be right by the shelter per the Rally Chair!  Nice!

With spring upon us the weather improves, and the days grow longer, keep an eye open on this forum for Wed. night dinner rides. Marv knows the good places to go so check this forum often.

As a club we are beginning to look at ways to get activities rolling again. The last year has in many ways just plain been a disappointment for everyone. So look at it this way. The Coastal Classic, the MOA Int’l and The Stofer Memorial at Manchester Beach are on the calendar, so compared to 2020 that is mucho better and 2021 is gonna be ok for RCB. Not perfect maybe, but heading in the right direction!

See ya soon!

Mike

Here we are in early Feb. and the weather has been outstanding here and there. It will be darn near 70 degrees today. It has been a fairly mild winter and I hope and expect that many of you have been able to get in some good riding throughout this time.

It has been almost a year since this stinking Pandemic changed ALL of our lives possibly forever. The ups and downs have been aplenty this last year. We’re closed, we’re open, we’re closed, we’re open etc….. stay at home orders and curfews not to mention the mindless hoarding we tolerated.  As stated in past columns riding has not been an issue during the pandemic. Oh, to be sure, protocols affected camping at most all campgrounds but, it could be done and we did and still enjoyed ourselves in spite. Even tho’ some restrictions are lightening up a bit, it may be some time before we get to normal if ever. I hope so as I’m weary of it as I am sure you all are. I understand the reasons for some of it but still yearn for returning to maskless times. Hopefully the vaccines will help brighten the bit of light we are seeing in this tunnel. I know some folks believe in vaccines and some don’t and that is a whole nuther Dr. Phil show which I will not address. We may have never thought this situation would  last as long as it has but one thing is for sure, until we can gather as a club en masse for our regular meetings we will continue on until protocols relax to the point where we can meet without restrictions. Sad but the reality.

Now, on to what I think is great news! YAY!!!! The news from the BMWMOA is that the plans are on for the Great Falls BMWMOA International June 24-27^th in Great Falls, Montana. If you have never been to this event, it should be on your bucket list. These are a ton of fun and you need to attend at least one. I really enjoy the vendors at these events. About anything that relates to motorcycles is available for purchase. The MOA really does a fantastic job with the Internationals. I will contact the Club Camping Chairs to ensure RCB has a site to pitch our tents. According to Tom Moe, our RCB Montana Ambassador at large, motel rooms are filling fast, so if you prefer that route then you should reserve a room soon. This brings up another subject. If you taking your RV to Great Falls it would be fantastic if you could maybe carry a couple of pop ups and ice chest for the club campsite. You would forever be our hero if you would do this for the club! I am sure there will be many route discussions before June but I would recommend including LOLO pass in Idaho as part of your route. RCB won MOST MEMBERS ATTENDING FROM A CHARTER CLUB at the International in Salt Lake City during Pres. Klauschie’s tenure and I think we could do it again in Great Falls.

So, it seems as though things are improving and I hope they continue to do so for the common good, not only for the club. Everyone stay healthy and I hope we can have a good ol’ RCB monthly meeting complete with a raffle sooner, rather then later! Stay tuned as things WILL change!

See ya on the road!

Mike

Finally, The year 2020 is over. Who could have predicted the mess 2020 would become and how it would affect us all.  Many of us continued to ride to places where we would find little to no services and began to develop our “bring your own food” rides and it worked well and actually gave us a bit of a different perspective to our rides and destination. So, that was a good thing. Then we saw the economy begin to open and we began to think things might be returning to normal only to be disappointed by surges in the Covid. It has been a bit of a yoyo thing, which is a bit frustrating. I hope you have all been healthy throughout this time and that no one has contracted the virus and if you have, that you had a speedy recovery and are well. Masks, sanitizer, and having to tolerate toilet paper shortages along with all the other mindless hoarding became the norm. Adios 2020! The bar is set low, so we can only go UP from here I hope.

In spite of the conditions we tolerated throughout, I hope you all continued to ride during the year. Motorcycles are a great way to social distance and I and my small riding circle have and continued to do just that to include multi-state rides and many weekend day rides. There is no reason to not ride in this time! I think I have ridden as many miles if not more this last year as I ever have. Not sure cause I really didn’t keep track but, based on tire wear I’d bet on it! So, ride on RCB!

So the good news! We now have numerous vaccines to hopefully end this mess once and for all. When it does, RCB will return strong as ever. I see Manchester Beach 2021 becoming a particularly HUGE event for the club. I feel the club is so ready to see some normal. As soon as things improve, rest assured our club meetings will return. We already have raffle prizes ready for meeting return. We also have an election we need to execute when we return so I encourage folks to think about running for a position in the club. I think it is a great idea to get new blood and ideas in these positions. So, think about it!

Even though we are locked down now I optimistically feel that our lives will begin to return slowly back to a normal so that we can get our freedom back to do what we do as a club and as humans.

Be patient my friends, 2021 will be so much better then 2020! How could it not?

Be well my friends. See you soon!

Mike

It is November and I wanna wish all of our veterans a Happy Veterans Day/Month! Thank you all for your service. One of a few things I’ve done in my life that I’m most proud of is my service to my country. It was a long time ago but it feels like it was yesterday. Once again, thanks to all that have served!

Along with Nov. comes quite a change in our weather. Couple of weeks ago it was still in the 90’s and now it is winter riding time. Actually used my heated vest last weekend. Looks like a good chance of rain tomorrow and hopefully it will finish the last of the wildfire season. We rode in more smoke than ever this year. It was a horrible year for smoke inhalation but it is better now. Speaking of fires, we did a ride around Berryessa last weekend and HOLY CROW that whole area is scarred from the fires. Made it to Calistoga and saw a lot of that area also burnt up pretty good. I don’t want to hear the word “lightning” ever again.

Normally we would be preparing for our annual Christmas party now and it is disappointing we will not be celebrating it together as a club. Who would have thought we would still be where we are in this pandemic thing.  Seems like a one step forward and two steps back deal.  Would like to see some light at the end of the tunnel. And, until we see that light, club activities will remain as they have been this year.

So, 2020 has been a disaster in mind. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not a sky is falling guy but, we have been beat up pretty good this year and I am looking forward to 2020’s exit and maybe a little normalcy for us all. I will keep riding in my small group as riding gives me a feeling of relief and freedom from our current situation. I know many of our members pretty well and I am pretty sure you are doing this also. Riding is the best way I can think of to social distance.

Here’s a little good news in regard to club activity. Fred 2.0 has contacted The Children’s Receiving Home of Sacramento and they are excited about some of the RCB crack culinary team to provide a bbq. lunch for the kids. Dec. 5^th is the day. Of course there are Covid restrictions for the facility and the number of members who will be allowed to be on the grounds for everyone’s safety. I assume there will be a toy run as there usually is for this event. Watch the forum as Fred will keep all informed. I know, it ain’t Manchester Beach but it is a beginning! Thanks for your effort Frederd!

As we enter the holiday season I hope you are all in good health and stay that way. Enjoy your family. Hug them all a lot! With a mask on of course! In spite of our journey through this year, there are still many things to be thankful for.

Now go for a ride! Have fun! Stay healthy, your family needs you! Hope we can all get together in the new year! Take care all.

Mike

 My apologies folks. Oct. 12^th and I am struggling with this month’s Prez Corner.  It is not that I don’t have anything so say, it is just that anything I say will not change our situation as a club and our ability to meet together in our usual large group. Someone asked me recently if we will be having our annual Xmas party and I said I don’t see how we can for many reasons of which I will not go through here. Most of us know why.

So..in spite of Covid we can still get away and enjoy life even if we have to adhere to safety measures. I don’t know how many  were on site but I’d guess there were probably around 20 or so at Manchester. Most all did their own thing in regard to feeding themselves but it was nice to know there was a presence there. I talked with Yolanda on Sat. night by the big fire pit and brought up the fact that we would have been having our meeting and big raffle right about that time had it not been for the Covid. She was honestly sad we were not there. I could see and feel her sadness. She has been our go to contact at the KOA for a long time. I hope we return in 2021.

So let’s talk wild fires for a bit. A small group that was going to Lassen Nat’l Park last month were disappointed when ALL nat’l parks were closed in Ca. We shifted to the KOA in Trinity Center and rode the entire area looking for relief from all the smoke in the air. Didn’t matter what direction we rode, there was smoke, never light. We even hit a road closure going to Happy Camp because of fire. Problem was, we were getting very close to having fuel issues and if you have ridden that area you know there ain’t a bunch of fuel to be had up there! Ya gotta think up there and the fires made it more important to plan. The Caltrans crew at the road closure gave one of our riders some fuel to ensure he make it to the next available fuel stop. It all worked out and I think I can say we all had a good time that weekend. Thankfully the smoke has subsided and we can breath little easier now.

Even with the Covid and it affecting our club activites I can honestly say I have been ridin’ at least as much and probably more then a non Covid year. So yes, we can still get out and I hope you all have, too!

Winter will be upon us soon but we are lucky to be able to ride all year here in California. Get out and ride and we will all watch and wait for life to return to normal. Whatever that is. I hope it does soon. 2020 can’t go away soon enough in my book.

Everyone take care and ride safe.

Mike

Here we are in September and here we are in the same situation of social distancing and not being able to meet in large groups. Who knows when this will end. I’m ready.

As posted earlier, RCB at Manchester 2020 will not happen as a club event due to pandemic restrictions as they apply to large groups. The folks at the KOA were as disappointed as I when we spoke but, what can we do?

It’s not all doom and gloom tho’.  Even with Manchester being cancelled this year there will still be a small contingent of motorcyclists at the KOA on that very weekend that just happen to belong to a motorcycle club. We will all be taking care of ourselves and observing pandemic protocol but, we will be enjoying Manchester Beach. If you had a reservation at the KOA for that weekend then you still do. It will be under your name. Whatever reservation you made for that weekend will be honored. So, drop by and say hello, just don’t get too close! LOL.

Once again, who knows when we will return to being able to gather in large groups. Not during the remainder of 2020 I guess. Until that time, there isn’t a reason in the world why we can’t ride. As motorcyclists we are lucky that riding our bikes is nothing like riding in a cage. NON riders do not understand this. Like a dog hangin’ his head out a car window. He knows!

So, get out while the weather holds and make some memories in spite of the current situation.

Do a ride review and send it to Jack Klauschie, our newsletter editor. We can all read about your ride.

Have fun, ride safe and stay healthy!

Mike

After speaking with Yolanda at the Manchester Beach KOA it is with sadness that our biggest event will not take place this year. Because of Pandemic protocols the KOA cannot allow groups larger then 6 nor can they provide our Sat. evening feast. Not sure exactly how many years this event has been celebrated but it will not be happening for us as RCB. Sad.

The good news is, if there is any, would be, if you have a reservation at the KOA, don't worry, your good. A number of us will still be there in spite of our club cancellation, so there will be a small RCB contingent. We will be taking care of ourselves and are responsible for ourselves.

I know, sucks! Is what it is tho'

Stay safe and healthy!

Mike