2014 - Issue #3 - Summer
COGnitions Random thoughts and ramblings from your Area Director Each issue I review Northeast Area membership statistics to report our area health to you. I was astounded when I counted an impressive 40+ new members since April. WOW!! Welcome to all the new members. Our area membership is 584 members + 137 associates. Overall, these are very strong numbers as the NE Are is more than 25% of the club total of 1968 members + 374 associates. While COG continually gains new members, the trend over the past decade shows a similar number of members lost. The indicates an improvement opportunity for member retention club-wide, but I’m not sure if it is possible to offset the naturally occurring ebb and flow of members. If you have any feelings or ideas on this, please send them my way. I am very pleased to announce that Ben & Abbe Otunu have joined the COG Northeast staff as AAD-Hudson Valley. Many of you know Ben & Abbe. They are wonderful people and avid riders who have been active hosting several rides and meet & greets over the past few years. They are a great addition to an already incredible Northeast Staff. Early in the season I decided to run a membership contest targeted specifically at attracting new members from the ranks of forum subscribers. I made a post in the forum that at the end of each month May through October, one new member joining each month selected at random wins a $25 COGBucks gift certificate good toward COG merchandise in the online store. Congrats to Loern Pierson and James Dagostino, the May and June winners. These certificates are something new, and you may see them show up and given away at different COG events. Just another way the club is giving back to the members. The big news is we had an incredibly successful annual National Rally in Johnson City, TN, with a record breaking registration that topped 500 people. The club set out to make this event extra special being COG’s 25th Anniversary... And it was, thanks to the tremendous efforts of many volunteers. Thanks to all. If you missed it, you can live vicariously through the stories and photos of the attendees when the rally edition of the Concourier magazine is published later in the summer. A very hectic schedule keeps me from attending all the COG activities I would like to get to. I try not to miss what has become an annual activity scheduled on an adjacent weekend to Fourth of July... The ride/meet & greet at Big W Roadside BBQ in Wingdale, NY. About two dozen people come out for great eats and riding in the Hudson Valley. After lunch I took familiar roads through Wingdale, Pawling, Patterson, Brewster, Carmel, Somers, Purdys, and North Salem before slabbing it back to Connecticut.
ule Event Sched ! Pages 8 & 9
photo courtesy Bob Barbanti #7134
Until next time… Ride Safe
Concours Owners Group NORTHEAST AREA NEWS
New Members
First things first, a warm welcome to a huge list of our newest NE area COG members! Cobourg, ON Anton Wallenburg 11497 Brooklyn, NY Lenny Melendez #11499 Lusby, MD Jim Barron #11517 Philadelphia, PA Terrence Pitts #11526 Williamstown, ON Guy Raymond #11532 New Berlin, NY Patrick Thomson #11533 Sloatsburg, NY Guy Hoovler #11534
Westwood, MA Dave Conner #11545 Northford, CT Loern Pierson #11449 Oshawa, ON Hugh McDonald #11551 Great Neck, NY Larry Schatz #11553 Cranston, RI Raymond Skinner #11562 St. John's, NF Louis Greene #11563 Le Roy, NY Gin Shear #11566 Toronto, ON Warren Tingle #11568 Milford, DE Thomas Smith #11576 Norwich, UK Jim Sayer #11577 Greentown, PA T. Kevin Fisher #11578 Montpelier, VT Douglas Hoyt #11579 Portsmouth, RI Walter Baetjer #11580 East Amherst, NY Michael Jackson #11581 Burlington, ON Kim Campagnaro #11583 Midlothian, VA John Hopkins #11584 New Market, MD Charles Hinshaw #11586 St. Johnsbury, VT James DAgostino #11589 Marion, MA Josh Hunt #11596
Centerport, NY Raymond Littmann #11597 Buffalo, NY Wayne Robinson #11606 Stratford, PE Eugene Mackay #11608 Punxsutawney, PA Michael Burkett #11609 Harrisburg, PA Howard Carey #11611 Marstons Mills, MA Gregg Atwood #11612 Frederick, MD Robert Dyer #11613 Phoenicia, NY Dean Winchell #11614 Montreal, PQ Real Cadieux #11618 North Beach, MD Patrick Peyton #11620 Toms Brook, VA Bruce Copley #11625 Bedford, VA Kevin Martin #11632 Guelph, ON Derek Pugh #116736 Toms Brook, VA Brian Kessel #11637 Toms River, NJ David Semanchik #11638 Toronto, ON David Brusegard #11639 Johnson City, NY David Stratton #11644
Meet & Greet on June 7, 2014 at the Old Towne Restaurant in Trumbull, CT
Editor’s Corner NORTHEAST AREA NEWS is published 5-6 times a year for Northeast Area members of the Concours Owners Group. Submissions are welcomed and members are encouraged to share their COG experiences. Email: NECOGEditor@gmail.com Snail Mail: Tim Anderson, 1040 Ocean Avenue, New London, CT 06320.
© 2014 Concours Owners Group
2
Tim Anderson #9470 First, welcome to all the new COG members above! I had to drastically expand the section above to accommodate all the names—a good thing! We’re halfway thru the summer so the Ride & Event Schedule is getting smaller, but that has made room for some great reports from recent events. I’m sure most of you made it to the National Rally and had a great time. I did some excellent riding thru the back roads of PA to visit family on the way
down, and enjoyed most of the Blue Ridge Parkway getting to Johnson city. I started at the top end at 6:30 AM and went 90 miles before seeing another car… my kind of road! 2,480 miles all together, and only a few hours of rain on the first day. Perfect! We have info in this issue on TWO new Fall Rallies. Page 5 has details on the Twistin’ Thru The Notch Rally in Lincoln, NH, and Page 10 has details on the 1st Annual Mountain State Rally that will be held in Elkins, WV. As always, see the calendar for full details and the latest updates. Ride well!
- Tim
2014 - Issue #3 – Summer
Concours Owners Group NORTHEAST AREA NEWS
Around the NORTHEAST
News from your Assistant Area Directors (complete list of AADs on back page) NY/NJ Metro Area Terry Faherty #792 Well all I can say is....WOW!!! What a week we had at the National! All those involved deserve all the kudos I can muster for an outstanding job. The weather was fine and I have to say that the roads in the area were probably the best I've ridden. Good pavement and twistilicious! All within an hours ride from Rally Central to boot! Seminars, socials, movie nights, and all the COG camaraderie one could want. The swap meet table worked out well for me, I scored an Airhawk 2 for 50 bucks and it came in handy for the long ride back home. It looked like the folks from Klim did pretty well too, thanks to them for their generosity. It was good to see Murph again, thanks for the ice cream! Having the Kawasaki demos present was icing on the cake...although now I am lusting after the Ninja 1000 even more. In the interest of marital serenity it will have to remain an unrequited love affair, alas! Unfortunately due to a last minute family obligation I was unable to attend the Big W Ride, I hope everyone enjoyed the good BBQ and had some for me. Looking at the schedule it looks like my personal riding schedule might be a bit bare. The Fall Rally looks like a winner but that happens to be my anniversary weekend and the weekend before we will be attending a wedding in Baltimore so budget and vacation time makes it unlikely at best. Now that most of my projects around the house have progressed I'll try to get some rides going in the northern NJ and Catskills area. I haven't done one of my Hawk's Nest day rides in a bit so stay tuned to the forum for one in the near future. There's also some nice rides coming up in August, the West Virginia one being on my radar for sure. Re-
2014 - Issue #3 – Summer
member folks if you have any riding ideas don't hesitate to drop any AAD a line and we can help you get it organized. Until next time, ride safe! - Terry
PA (Western) Joe Cyprych #4665 Hello fellow COGgers, I hope everyone had a great time at the Rally. I was following the links on the forum because I was unable to attend this year because of a busy schedule but it seems all had a good time. There’s a ton of riding left in the season including the Mountain State Rally in Elkins WV. We are moving it to Elkins this year because with the remodeling of Canaan Valley it has become pretty pricey for us frugal COGgers, lol. Same great area for riding, affordable hotel and low cost rally fee makes this a must attend event this year. All the details are located on the COG home page in the schedule section, if you need more info contact myself or Jason Kaplitz. I am also making plans to attend some of the other events that are on the schedule and am looking forward to seeing old and new friends. As always if you have any questions as to what’s going on in our area or want to hook up for some riding feel free to contact me. Take care. - Joe & Michele
CT, RI Brian & Andrea Felice #9125 Though winter never seemed to let go, it seems April thru June went by in a blink and we jumped right into summer. The weather has been hot, lots going on and we’re already into July… We had a vendor’s spot representing COG at Twisted Throttle’s open house in May. Twisted Throttle had a good turnout but not as large as the previous year, probably due to the threat of rain that day. Of course there never was so much as a single drop of rain and the weather was fantastic but the forecast did look pretty poor.
& Greet, by joining this time with Ben & Abbe Otunu from the Hudson Valley, NY area as well as AADs Roger & Susan Mercer from Long Island, NY. We all met up at the Old Towne Restaurant in Trumbull, CT, centrally located among the 3 of us. Even though it was only one week before the national, a total of 25 joined in the fun, with everyone finding the restaurant terrific and we even managed some group rides back to each area. A leisurely ride and trip across river using the Hadlyme Ferry by Gillette Castle topped off the CT to RI ride for us. After the 800 mile ride to Johnson City, TN, for the National rally, we spent the next week working registration, putting on a couple of seminars, and ‘Shaving the Reverend’, helped out in hospitality and performed about 29 tellings of “The Cat Joke ™”. The best time however was when our guest speaker Perry King came over to join us with his girlfriend for one of the “tellings” and just loved it. She was actually screaming with laughter on the way up the elevator. You must know it’s making its way through Hollywood as we speak. We shared lots of laughs with many of the other 500 crazy Cogger’s and finally got to spend time with friends we had made years ago over the forum and were meeting for the first time. All in all it made for just a spectacular 25th Anniversary National Rally and though we were very busy, we loved every minute of it from beginning to end. Kudo’s to all who were involved in putting the event together. We were fortunate enough to be able to tack on some extra time after JC and ride east to visit our oldest son, fiancé and 3 grand-puppies in NC, then made the 800 mile run back in one day, a new one- day record for Andrea. So now we’re back to planning Meet & Greets for the upcoming months. Both July and August will be the first Sunday of the months. July in RI and August will be back in CT. Please watch the calendar for details. Hope to see you all soon! - Brian & Andrea
We tried another combined areas Meet
3
Concours Owners Group NORTHEAST AREA NEWS
Around the NORTHEAST
MA/ME/NH/VT Greg & Tracey Habel #7010/7010A
(continued from page 3)
ON (Eastern) Richard Beaudoin #9318 Hello all from Ontario East! Finally we have some stunning weather for riding. On May 24th the Ride for Dad Kingston area chapter again took to the roads raising funds for prostate cancer research. COG member and long-time Ride for Dad supporter Ken Fader represented COG at the event. I had the chance to ride to the event with Ken while going to work. It was a foggy Saturday starting out for around 600 bikers. Yet again the event managed to surpass its goal raising over $77,000
Steve Morris, Tom, Coup, a local gent and Art. There was deep conversation at every stop and more smiles as we rode. (Well, something was deep)
As mentioned at the rally about the founders of COG who shaped this club as with the people who step up and contribute on a daily basis - we wouldn’t have the opportunity to experience
John & Joe, new friends, met riding the BRP on the way home. Thanks for the company!
Ken and Mickey
dollars for the cause. Great job Ken! How about those Nationals? Val and I had the chance to attend our first National rally. What a great job by everyone involved. We can’t say enough to all the people that stepped up and put forth their time and energy. I must say after getting home we were just overwhelmed with all the riding and socializing at the event. There were so many new faces and names from all over. It was great matching a face to a forum name after reading all those posts. On the ride down we bumped into old friends from past rallies. On the way home we met more new friends and rode the BRP. The smiles on people’s faces in photos and at the event plus all those conversations taking place paid tribute to the events success.
4
these rallies if it wasn’t for their work. I know I get more from the club by putting back into it. I encourage anyone to be proactive in setting up a day ride in your area. We’re working on a couple lunch rides with possible dates of August 16th and 23rd, both Saturdays. Possible destinations are Lanark Highlands and a border hop to the Adirondacks. Keep an eye on the forum and calendar for further info. Thanks to everyone for making this the best Rally to date for Val and I. We hope everyone has a wonderful summer and safe riding. I hope we can get together. Drop a line to me at Sailor_rich@sympatico.ca for calendar postings. All the best, Rich and Val.
OK, so I now have road envy after coming back from the 2014 National!! They certainly have some nice roads down in Tennessee! We went out to tame the “Snake”, the “Rattler” and take in some of the beautiful Blue Ridge parkway. We certainly could have enjoyed a few more days of riding but we had to head home and go back to work L Greg and I had a wonderful time at the National Silverdammit Rally in Johnson City with our 498+ friends. Kudos to the Rally team for putting together a fantastic schedule; chock full of things to do and the expanded women’s events. Maybe they did the job a little too well as it actually became challenging at times deciding between on site activities or getting in some more riding. Greg & I want to thank all of the folks that volunteered to help us out with the task of Hospitality at this year’s National. Our volunteer crew was awesome! Thank you to: Jerry Gowen, Kathy Fregans, Steve & Sue Cerutti, Andrea Felice, Lyle Cooper, Donald & Mark Lundstrom, Roger & Susan Mercer, John & Laurel McClean, Pat & Sher Mulloy, Wayne & Maryann Geiser, Karl & Barbara Schenkel, Dave & Denise Scott, Russell Fleming, Jim Snyder, Ted Adcock, Jurt & Kay Brown, Al Norcross, Paul Heydemann, Richard & Julie Salkind. Without the help of everyone on our team we would not have been able to provide all of the services that we did to the attendees of the rally. It was so nice to have so many come forward to help us out which allowed us to provide our services without having to schedule our folks on multiple shifts. In early June, Bob Dallon’s Bike & Stroll with a bag lunch picnic was a big success with 12 people in attendance. Thanks Bob for a great day! Coming up later this month on Saturday July 19th is Kevin Martin’s MA State Parks ride followed by Greg’s No frills camping overnighter on Friday 7/25—Saturday 7/26 with a ride on Sat-
2014 - Issue #3 – Summer
Concours Owners Group NORTHEAST AREA NEWS
Around the NORTHEAST (continued from page 4)
urday through parts of NW MA & VT. Our NE Fall Rally in the beautiful Franconia Notch area of New Hampshire is fast approaching! See full details below and on the COG online calendar, registration is open! Register for the rally prior to 8/11/2014 to save $5 off of your registration fee. We currently have a limited block of rooms held for a lim-
ited time under COG for a special discounted rate. Please call and ask for the “Concours Owner's Group” group rate before August 21, 2014 to book your reservation at the discounted rate. So come join us in the Notch and take in the scenery; get in some great riding and spend time with a bunch of wonderful people at the Woodward Resort in Lincoln, NH. Keep an eye on the forum and the calendar of events for any updates to the rally activities and ride routes which will be updated as the rally gets closer. If you have an idea for a ride route or some favorite
roads in the area, please let us know by dropping us an email at: cog7010@verizon.net Hope to see you in September! Please be sure to register on-line at on the N.E. events calendar at www.cogonline.org , if you plan to attend an event. This will help us to make reservations for lunch and plan accordingly to keep the ride group size at a safe number.
Until next time!
- Tracey & Greg
Twistin Through the Notch Northeast Area Fall Rally September 11 - 14, 2014 Lincoln, NH Join hosts Greg and Tracey Habel for their first official Rally in the beautiful Franconia Notch area of NH. Rally Headquarters: Woodward’s Resort, 527 Rte. 3, Lincoln, NH. http://www.woodwardsresort.com (800) 635-8968 or (603) 745-8141. A full feature resort with amenities: Lounge, Restaurant, indoor & outdoor pools, hot tub, sauna, tennis and racquetball courts, game room, horseshoes, and shuffleboard. Each room includes either two queen or one double with one twin bed, compact refrigerator, coffee maker, iron and ironing board and complimentary Wi-Fi and cable TV. Room Rate: $99 plus tax/night for up to 4 guests. Rooms accommodate up to four people. Group rate does not include 9% NH sales tax. Please call the resort and ask for the “Concours Owner's Group” group rate before August 21, 2014 to book your reservation at the discounted rate. At time of booking, a one night room and tax deposit will be required to confirm the reservation. Cancellation policy: 1 week prior to start of event, if less you will be required to pay 1 night room rate. (We have a block of 40 rooms being held for us until August 14th; if they are not sold the block will be reduced to 30 rooms until August 21, 2014. After August 21st reservations will be based on resort availability, and are not guaranteed.) Rally Fee: COG Member rate: $40 per person for regular members and associates. Non-Member rate: $50 per person. All can save $5 by registering before 8/11/2014. Save time & postage – register online through the COG Calendar. Walk-in registration accepted at standard pricing and subject to seating availability. Register early - Banquet dinner seating limited to first 100 registrations received. Rally fee covers Saturday group dinner, door prizes, and other rally expenses. Wristbands will be used to identify registered attendees. Saturday evening banquet dinner buffet will consist of: Garden Salad, Roasted Sirloin carved to order, Chicken or Fish dish, Pasta Primavera, Roasted potatoes, fresh vegetable coffee, tea and soft drinks with Homemade Apple Crisp with whipped cream for dessert. Refund Policy: Rally fee paid less $5.00 per person before 9/01/14; no refund after 9/01/14. Events: There will be a Saturday evening banquet at the resort, Bug Splat, Bike n Hike, and more. Riding: Sample self-guided ride routes download available from online member library or from link at event listing in the COG calendar of events. General or Registration Questions: Greg and Tracey Habel: 508-444-2235 or COG7010@verizon.net Rally web page: can be found on the Northeast Area online Calendar of Events at: www.cog-online.org If registering by mail: complete & mail form below with rally fee payable in $US to “Concours Owners Group” to: Greg and Tracey Habel – Fall Rally 2014, 80 Jones Road, Hopedale, MA, 01747 (Cut & return this section — Please PRINT Clearly)
Name: (One form per person) ____________________________________________ AMA # _____________ COG #____________ Street: ____________________________________________________________________________________________________ City: ________________________________________________ State/Province: ________________ Zip Code: _______________ Phone: __________________________ E-Mail: __________________________________________________ Country: _________ I will be a: rider / passenger / guest Motorcycle model: _________________________ License plate: __________________ Emergency Contact Information: Name: ________________________________________________________ Phone No.: _________________________Relationship: ____________________ Please read and sign the following Concours Owners Group Release: I understand that the Concours Owners Group (COG) cannot assume responsibility for my personal safety in this event. I choose to participate in this event voluntarily, based on my own assessment of my abilities, the routes conditions and facilities, and therefore assume all risks. I release and hold harmless COG, its officers, agents and members from any and all injury and/or loss to my person or property that may result from my participation in this event. I further certify that my vehicle and I are in compliance with all applicable licenses, insurance and financial responsibility laws applicable to my participation in this event. All participants under 18 years of age must have their parent or guardian sign the following additional release. As the parent or guardian of the above participant, and being informed or familiar with the risks normally associated with motorcycle events, I hereby consent to his or her participation in this event, and accept and adopt all the representations and assumptions of risk set forth in the foregoing release.
Participant Parent or
Signature: ________________________________________ Guardian (if applicable) ___________________________________
2014 - Issue #3 – Summer
5
Concours Owners Group NORTHEAST AREA NEWS
Around the NORTHEAST (continued from page 5)
Northeast MD and South Central PA Russell W. Fleming #599 The weather has became hot & humid. I’m getting ready for the North South Get Together 17, if you miss this get together you missed one of the best rides in the Northeast. I would like to thank Jerry Amacker, #10256 for the following write-up on the May 4 ride: C14 Riders & Friends Ride My hat is off to Russell Fleming for a spectacular outing at the C14 Riders & Friends Ride held on Sunday, May 4. The event had a great showing of 25 riders. Riders came from as far away as Charleston, WV to Pittsburgh, PA. All skill levels were represented as we gathered for breakfast at the Golden Corral in Frederick, MD. As the initial group started breakfast, riders continued to trickle in until many of the tables filled up. Old friendship were renewed and new friendships were made. After breakfast the riders broke in to three groups and took off on Russell's preplanned ride that was completely awesome! Does anyone still say “awesome” anymore? Yes, I do, and this ride was AWESOME! The ride took us through rural Maryland and Pennsylvania, and all the roads were picked with the Concours in mind. There wasn't a straight road in the mix! Twistiest was the word of the day. If you didn't trim your chicken strips down to about a ½ inch, you were cheated. The roads took us along the C&O Canal and many other streams and National Forests. The views were Spectacular! Fisherman were out in force and the live stock on the many farms were frolicking in the spring weather. I think I may have seen a llama or two! We ended up at the Milky Way restaurant for lunch near the intersection of Hwy 30 and PA 75. Lunch topics include the MotoGP horsepower, motorcycles, yard
6
leave, precious rides and the next ride. Until then, I look forward to Russell's next outing! - Jerry Check the NE calendar for up coming rides here in MD and South Central PA. Martha and I had a great time at the COG National in Johnson City. We were able to make it a family event with me riding the C14 and my niece driving Martha in the car. We spent a day with Aunt Ann who lives in Johnson City and we went over to the hills and hollows of Mitchel County, NC where my mother was born and raised.
22 C equals 72 F, shorts and t-shirt weather in any country! Because of the higher numbers of C10 owners in COG GTA and COG GTA East, we concentrated on the older bikes. And limited space narrowed the scope of operations we could perform so we focused primarily on carb syncing. I have a Morgan Carbtune and it performed its usual magic for the operation. After I showed folks how to
Martha’s highlight was Gary Murphy giving her some stickers to put on her walker. If you see a red head with a walker passing you by with Murph’s stickers, say HI! - Russell
ON (Greater Toronto Area) Dave Perkins #5932 I hosted a COG Tech day on May 24 at my home in east Toronto. My wife and I live in an older neighborhood near the lake (Ontario) with narrow, tree-lined streets and narrow house lots but we have something rare in the area: a private driveway and a garage (converted into a large storage shed!!) And we turned the majority of the backyard into an interlocking stone patio which made for excellent footing for the bikes. Nonetheless the word went out to the COG GTA lists and about a dozen replied to confirm their attendance. Many
Men at Work with Peanut Gallery
more had hoped to attend but "honeydo" lists posed an obstacle. The weather co-operated in a typical southern Ontario spring fashion: clear skies, a light breeze and the temp in the low 20's. Now before you start thinking of all those Canadian weather stereotypes, we are on the metric system so
C10 Air Filter as Growth Media!
use it on one bike, the other owners felt confident to use it themselves on their own Connies. On that note it became clear early on that the knowledge base among the attendees was wide and deep, whether about bikes in particular or things mechanical in general. Many were car buffs in their misspent youth (present company included) and this served us all well. And the few maintenance neophytes in the group started asking good questions whose answers prompted follow on questions which lead to light bulbs coming on and new confidence to take on more maintenance themselves. A true teaching and learning experience in a collegial environment. Though small in numbers I feel the tech day was a success. The response was 100% positive from the folks whether they worked on their bikes or dropped by for a visit and a burger and a soft drink. I hope this becomes an annual event whether hosted by me or another COGger. For future years we should try to do it a little earlier if the weather cooperates. I'd like to thank Greg Habel, AAD for New England. Greg offered good info on how his events were organized. - Dave
2014 - Issue #3 – Summer
Concours Owners Group NORTHEAST AREA NEWS Ben & Abbe Otunu—New AADs for NY (Hudson Valley NW) We live in the beautiful Hudson Valley. I first caught the motorcycle bug as a little boy growing up in Northern Uganda. I was in awe when my elementary school principal pulled up one morning on a big old Harley— the biggest bike I had ever seen. Not only was it the biggest bike I had ever seen, it was also the first time I had ever seen a woman riding a motorcycle. It was love at first sight. Obviously, I was too young to own one so I had to repress my passion for the next 30+ years. Photo courtesy of Marty C., taken in the lobby of Rally Central at the National Rally, Johnson City, TN. From the left: Vic Salisbury, FL, standing, Cassie Salisbury, Vic’s daughter, sitting (red hair), Pat Mulloy, MA (blue cap), Shar Mulloy, MA (barely visible behind Pat),Terry Flaherty, NY (behind Pat, blue shirt), me (Brian Felice) in the yellow shirt, Marc Herring, NJ (one of two people known who are immune to The Cat Joke apparently), Chuck Kimball, TX (behind the wine boxes), Andrea Felice, losing control of various bodily parts, next to Chuck, Gary Murphy, KY (Murph of Murph’s kits) in the green shirt, Linda Smith, CT (Mrs. Steve Smith), Glenn Harriman, VA (foreground, yellow shirt), Steve Smith, CT (red shirt, sitting with Linda). Not Shown Martin Cobb, taking the photo.
Ruminations from the National Brian Felice #9125 My view of COG is perhaps a bit different than most others, and perhaps even unusual but the above photo sums up COG and my participation in COG perfectly. To me, COG is not about riding; Andrea and I can, and do, ride whenever we want so COG does not really have much to offer us in that regard. COG provides some technical resources of course, and I participate in that as well as benefit from it but again, that is a very small piece of what COG is to me. For me, COG is nothing more or less than a group of the nicest, best people I have ever been associated with and I immensely enjoy spending social time with and I really do not care about the environment. In that photo from the National Rally, it happens to be a very comfy spot in the hotel lobby but more often it is just outside the hotel, often standing, and enjoying the interaction with those people. Now this specific photo is most interesting to me because not only does it capture a very typical evening spent with COGgers, but it just happens to contain the entire spectrum of COG friends: some local folks that Andrea and I have known since first
2014 - Issue #3 – Summer
joining COG some years ago, some friends that we had never met before in person (but knew pretty well from the forums), and some new friends we had never met before either ‘in the flesh’ or across the ‘Net. Now that I have said that, look at everyone’s faces and see if you can tell the old friends from the new friends. My guess is that you cannot tell the different groups apart. And that sums up COG for me- some of the best friends I know of, both old friends and new friends. So in the end, while COG has rallies with lots of riding, a banquet meal, door prizes and at the large rallies, various seminars, contests and other things, all geared up to please the motorcycle enthusiast, my very favorite part of COG, by far, is merely hanging around with those people. By the way, the photo is taken right in the middle of another thrilling rendition of The Cat Joke. We are not anywhere near the punch line yet and note everyone’s expression; in fact, Rev Rider (Chuck, in the blue shirt just behind the wine boxes) is kindly getting some newspaper for my wife, Andrea (next to Chuck in the red shirt) to sit on as the joke intensifies…. Just in case.
Fast forward to 2003, when I had the urge to own a motorcycle. I enrolled in an MSF class and two weeks later I bought a Honda Shadow which we kept in Brooklyn where we lived. The Shadow was a great bike until we rode a Gold Wing at Americade and realized that an upgrade was necessary. Soon, the Shadow was sold and we bought our "Barneymobile" (the ‘99 C10 we chose as we were too young for the Gold Wing crowd). In 2009, we joined COG as it just seemed like the natural thing to do after attending the wonderful Tech Session in Monson, MA. From the Shadow until our present C14 (Queen of Sheba), Abbe has been there with me. "Happy Abbe" (what she calls herself when she is on the bike) greatly misses our "Barneymobile" which we used for our first really long treks. We put almost 200K on that bike before sadly it was taken out by a pick up truck. There is never a complaint as to how many miles we ride in a day or how really, really early we have to wake up to ride through thousands of miles of corn fields in order to get to our destination. Abbe just loves to ride and enjoys meeting all of the people we encounter both as part of COG and as part of the motorcycle community in general. - Ben & Abbe
7
Concours Owners Group NORTHEAST AREA NEWS
RIDE & EVENT SCHEDULE
Time listed is START time. Visit www.cog-online.org for updates. (MD) Fri-Sun 11-13 July 2 PM North & South 17 Get Together Martha & Russell Fleming's House at 2610 Old Fort Schoolhouse RD, Hampstead, MD. Come setup your tent on Friday and have a cookout in the evening. Plenty of tent space in the backyard. Saturday Breakfast, Ride and Cookout. Breakfast will be in the driveway, serving bacon and eggs, juice and coffee. Rides start at 8 AM, you can enjoy one of many ~250 miles routes that could take you into PA, VA, WV and MD, or one of two 100 mile routes or a Dual Sport Ride. Around 6:30 PM will be the evening cookout. Sunday breakfast again in the driveway. A guided ride will start at 8 AM. Local lodging and directions on the online calendar. RUSSELL FLEMING, 410.374.9687H, fleming@qis.net
(MA) Sat 19 July 8:30 AM State Parks Ride Join Kevin Martin for a ride out to western MA to the town of North Adams to visit 3 MA State Parks. Meet at Bickfords Restaurant, 526 N. Main St (Rte. 12) Leominster, MA. Ride leaves at 8:30 AM. 1st stop will be Natural Bridge State Park to view the only naturally formed white marble arch and man -made white marble dam in North America. The ‘natural bridge’ for which the park is named is 550 million year old bedrock marble that was carved into an arch by the force of glacial melt water over 13,000 years ago. A $2 parking fee per vehicle is required to visit the quarry. 2nd stop will be the Western Gateway Heritage State Park to visit the Hoosac Tunnel Visitors Museum, one of the greatest engineering feats of the 19th century. Parking & admission is free. 30 minute documentary film and exhibits. We’ll have lunch at the Freight Yard Restaurant & Pub. 3rd stop will be a ride up to the summit of Mt. Greylock for a view of North Adams and surrounding areas. A $2 parking fee per vehicle is required to view the summit. The ride will end in Leominster at Jackie’s Dairy Bar at 525 Main St. (Rte 13). KEVIN MARTIN, 978.459.6275, cog145@verizon.net
(NY) Sat 19 July 11 AM Hudson Valley Meet & Greet Location for this month is TBD. BEN OTUNU, 845.423.0373H
(VA) Sun 20 July 8 AM Breakfast and Ride, Front Royal, VA
8
We'll gather for breakfast at L Dee's at 8 AM and ride some pretty roads afterwards. www.ldeespancakehouse.com, PATRICK SPRAGUE, 540.743.4874H, 540.743.5132W, pesprague@comcast.net
3rd Monday EVERY MONTH at Tartan Tavern, 555 Rossland Road East. All welcome, members or not - friends, wives, girl/boy friends. Arrive early to kick tires and tell lies in the parking lot (weather permitting) Menu is good pub grub. A social function to meet other riders, discuss tech issues, shoot the breeze, and plan rides. DAVE PERKINS, 416.691.2191 H, perkins43@rogers.com
North Woodstock, NH. We will be leaving Peg's at 9:30 AM. Come early for coffee or breakfast. Kick off the weekend with a ride along the Lost River and the Green Mountains! We will start this ride heading west on Route 112, also known as the Lost River Road. We'll continue west on Route 302, then turn south on Route 100. West again through the Mad River Gap on Route 17 Bristol, VT, where we'll break for lunch at the Almost Home Market, then turn south again on Route 116. Picking up route 125 east, head back to Route 100 south, turning east on Route 4, to end our ride at the Long Trail Brewing Company in Bridgewater Corners. Roughly 4 hours and 167 miles. WILLIAM SULLIVAN, 603.344.8635M.
(MA) Fri–Sat 25-26 July 1 PM No Frills Camping & Ride in NW MA/VT
(MD & PA) Tue 3 August 11:30 AM MD & South Central PA Meet and Greet
(ON) Mon 21 July 6:30 PM GTA East - Meet & Greet
Join host Greg Habel for a no frills overnighter at Clarksburg State Park, 1199 Middle Road, Clarksburg, MA, followed by a ride. No Frills means you bring or purchase your own food. We'll have a nice campfire Friday night, followed by a ride on Saturday into VT. Note: when making reservations at www.reserveamerica.com, they require a 2 night minimum, but don't worry, 2 nights will only cost you $32.65 for MA residents, out of state folks pay a little more. I reserved site 41 for me for Friday and departing on Sunday. I may or may not stay over Saturday night. If you book Friday and don't show up by early Saturday morning, they can give your site away. Not interested in camping? Join me for the ride on Saturday morning - departure at 10 AM from the campground entrance, lunch stop is TBD. There are motels in nearby North Adams, MA for ‘motel campers’. GREG HABEL, 508.444.2235H, 508.377.8028M. COG7010@verizon.net
(MA) Sat 26 July 10 AM No Frills — Ride Only If you are only interested in the ride portion, meet at the campground entrance for 10 AM departure. See event details above.
(NH) Sun 27 July 1 PM Cookout in the Queen City—2014 Tom O'Neill and his wife Susanne will be hosting a cook out at their home at 51 Caron Street in Manchester, NH. Note there are actually 2 Caron streets, Tom's place is across the street from Crowley St. Menu will likely be chicken, burgers, hot dogs and some kind of salad along with soft drinks. Consider bringing a fold up chair and a dessert would be helpful. Please list in your registration comments. TOM O'NEILL, 603.540.8717, Tomskawi@hotmail.com.
(NH) Sat 2 August 9:30 AM Green Mountain 2014 Ride Meet at Peg's Restaurant, 99 Main Street,
C'mon out and join us for a meet and greet at the best BBQ in 5 states! Ricks Wild Hog Catering & BBQ Carry Out, 507 West King Street, East Berlin, PA. RUSSELL FLEMING, 410.374.9687H, fleming@qis.net
(CT) Sun 3 August TBD Meet & Greet in South Windham, CT C'mon out and join us for lunch, & a short ride afterwards, and Ice Cream. We will meet at noontime at the Apollo Pizza restaurant at 695 Windham Rd. (Rt. 32) in South Windham, CT, then enjoy a secondary roads ride to the Vanilla Bean in Pomfret, CT. BRIAN FELICE, 401.828.3354 H, Bdfelice1@gmail.com
(VA) Wed 6 August 6 PM Meet & Eat, Manassas, VA Join us on this Friday night for great food and COG Camaraderie. Okra's Restaurant, 9110 Center Street, Manassas, VA. PATRICK SPRAGUE, 540.743.4874H, 540.743.5132W, pesprague@comcast.net
(ON) Tue 12 August 6:00 PM South Central Ontario Meet & Greet 2nd Tuesday each month at Mohawk Inn, 9230 Guelph Lane, Campbellville, ON, just North of 401. All welcome, friends, wives, girl/boy friends. Many hungry people arrive earlier to get their dinner - road house food, salad, wings, burgers, fish & chips, etc. A mainly social function to meet other riders, shoot the breeze, plan rides. DAVE PERKINS, 416.691.2191 H, perkins43@rogers.com
(WV) Thu-Sun 14-17 August 2 PM Dog Days Ride Weekend It's time for another great escape to the cool Mountain State for the Dog Days Ride weekend. No fee, no banquet, no door prizes; this is an un-rally get together for riding, relaxing, and COG camaraderie. Host facility will be the Inn at Snowshoe (10 Snowshoe Drive, Snowshoe, WV), located on Route 66 very close to Route 219. The Inn
2014 - Issue #3 – Summer
Concours Owners Group NORTHEAST AREA NEWS
RIDE & EVENT SCHEDULE (continued from Page 8)
travel days, with ride routes available for Friday and Saturday. There will be some 'mostly' paved routes and some 'mostly not' paved routes to chose from. Details on the COG on-line forums. Excellent riding is in the offing here, with lodging at a comfortable, kick-back place. I look forward to seeing you there! PATRICK SPRAGUE, 540.743.4874H, 540.743.5132W, pesprague@comcast.net
(NY) Sat 16 August 11 AM Hudson Valley Meet & Greet Location for this month is TBD. BEN OTUNU, 845.423.0373H
(ON) Mon 18 August 6:30 PM GTA East - Meet & Greet (see 21 July info) (VA) Wed 20 August 6 PM Meet & Eat, Richmond, VA Wednesday is bike night at Quaker Steak and Lube, 8000 West Broad Street, Richmond, VA. Live band and good eats! PATRICK SPRAGUE, 540.743.4874H, 540.743.5132W, pesprague@comcast.net
(PA) Sun 24 August 9 AM Sport Touring Camaraderie Ride All makes/brands Welcome! Meet for breakfast at 9 AM at the Iron Skillet at the Petro truck stop,1201 Harrisburg Pike in Carlisle, PA. There will be 9 rides to choose from 150 to 240 miles long. All rides end at the Middlesex Diner in Carlisle, PA. One of the rides will be a mix of PAVED AND UNPAVED ROADS. RUSSELL FLEMING, 410.374.9687H, fleming@qis.net
(NH) Sat 30 August 7 AM White Mountains Day Ride Join Kevin Martin for a full day of riding up through the White Mountain National Forest and back. This is a 290 mile loop so we will be using a mix of State roads and Interstate Highways to make better time. Meet at the Acton Bickfords, 20 Nagog Park on Rte. 119 for breakfast, ride leaves at 7 AM. Please gas up before the ride starts to minimize delays. 1st Rest Stop is planned to be the Mobil On The Run at the junction of Rtes. 125 & US-4 in Lee, NH. After going through North Conway we’ll pick up US-302 and ride through Crawford Notch into Twin Mountains and down Rte. 3 into Lincoln, NH where we’ll stop for lunch and gas before heading back. Lunch stop is Peg’s Place, 97 Main St. (Rt-3) North Woodstock, NH, on the Lincoln town line. After lunch we’ll head south on Rte. 3 for about 15 miles then jump on 93 south into Hooksett then pick up Rte. 3 to the Rte. 28 Bypass, stopping at the Windham, NH Mobil on the Run at Rtes. 111 & 93 where we’ll finish. KEVIN MARTIN,
2014 - Issue #3 – Summer
978.459.6275H, cog145@verizon.net.
(ON) Tue 9 September 6:30 PM South Central Ont. Meet (see 12 Aug. info) (NH) Thurs-Sun 11-14 September 4 PM Twistin’ Thru the Notch — NE Fall Rally See full details online and on Page 5.
(ON) Mon 15 September 6:30 PM GTA East - Meet & Greet (see 21 July info) (VA) Wed 17 September 6 PM Meet & Eat, Staunton, VA Join your COG friends for great grub at the neat section of town. Byers Street Bistro, 18 Byers Street, Staunton, VA. TIM STEELE, 540.649.7007H, svo68@hotmail.com.
(WV) Thu-Sun 25-28 September 12 PM Annual Mountain State Rally We will be heading to Elkins, WV for our 1st Mountain State Rally. Elkins is located smack in the middle of some of the best riding roads on the east coast. Home base will be the Iron Road Inn, 357 Beverly Pike, Elkins, with a great rate of $75/night + tax. The Saturday group dinner is not included in the rally fee, and will be next door at the Steer, a family style buffet. The COG member fee is only $10/person to cover insurance, door prizes and other incidentals and $20/person for nonmembers. Spouse/children pricing is as non -member UNLESS member has Member+Associate member plan. This a fantastic area to explore with great roads in any direction, a low cost rally fee, and great hotel rates which make this a must attend event. See full details online and on Page 10. JOE CYPRYCH, 724.796.1401, cyprych@windstream.net, or JASON KAPLITZ, 814.659.6865, cog62@kaplitz.com.
(NH) Fri 27 September 9:30 AM Petey’s Seafood Run Join Kevin for a Fall ride out to Rye Beach, NH for lunch at Petey’s Seafood Restaurant. Plan to meet at the Tewksbury RT-133 Cracker Barrel Restaurant for breakfast at 8 AM. If not interested in breakfast, there’s a Dunkin Donuts at the Mobil next door. Leave on a group ride at 9:30 AM, up thru southern NH via RT-111 thru Kingston, NH, out along the coast stopping for lunch at Petey’s at 1323 Ocean Blvd (1A), Rye NH, 5 miles south of Portsmouth, NH, or 8 miles North of Hampton Beach. We should arrive at Petey’s around 12 PM for folks who want to meet at the lunch stop. KEVIN MARTIN, 978.459.6275 H.
(MA) Sat 11 October 12 PM Foliage Run and Meet & Greet Come enjoy a foliage ride on Columbus Day weekend away from the ‘leaf-peeper’ clogged Mohawk Trail. The ride will run from the lunch location at the Four Leaf Clover,
19 South Street, Bernardston, MA, through the hill country of Bernardston, Leyden and Colrain ending up in Shelburne. The plan is for the ride to be self-guided using the linked route sheet to allow stops to take in the views, take pictures, etc. Ride is 30 miles, more or less with steep ascents and descents, stunning vistas, and farm scenes. There is one stretch of gravel road included. At the end, one may continue to Shelburne Falls/Buckland on the Deerfield River to the Bridge of Flowers and the Glacial Potholes. ED DYER, 701.201.4283
(MD) Sun 12 October 9 AM C14 Riders & Friends Ride Meet for breakfast at the Union Bridge Fire Hall, 18 West Locust Street, Union Bridge MD, for a 9 AM breakfast buffet. Route sheets will be provided for a 150-mile self guided ride that will end at East Berlin, PA. The ride will take you on some of the FINEST motorcycle riding roads in the area. Come out and show your support for Sport Touring at it’s finest. You will ride in MD and PA. If you want a copy of the ride in GPS format ahead of time contact me. RUSSELL FLEMING, 410.374.9687H, fleming@qis.net
(ON) Tue 14 October 6:30 PM South Central Ont. Meet (see 12 Aug. info) (WV) Thurs-Sun 16-19 October 3 PM COG in Coal Country at Mullens, WV We return to Coal Country for excellent lodging, camping, food, and riding. Twin Falls State Park, POB 667. Thurs/Sun are travel days to/from this remote but beautiful state park. Excellent riding in all directions. Rooms are $87 at the recently remodeled Internet Lodge Room. This is high season for fall colors so make reservations NOW as it will fill up. Camping at $20-23, will fill up too. See COG website for details. PATRICK SPRAGUE, 540.743.4874H, 540.743.5132W, pesprague@comcast.net
(ON) Mon 20 October 6:30 PM GTA East - Meet & Greet (see 21 July info) (VA) Fri 24 October 6 PM Meet & Eat, Williamsburg, VA Come and join us at Red Hot & Blue, 1622 Richmond Road, Williamsburg, VA for a fun get together. We're running out of daylight, so this is the last Meet & Eat for the year. Come on out! TIM STEELE, 540.649.7007H, svo68@hotmail.com.
(VA) Fri 7 November 5 PM Brrrrrrrr Ride, Natural Bridge, VA See online calendar for full details. PATRICK SPRAGUE, 540.743.4874H, 540.743.5132W, pesprague@comcast.net
(ON) Tue 11 November 6:30 PM South Central Ont. Meet (see 12 Aug. info)
9
Greg & Tracey Habel #7010
508-444-2235 COG7010@verizon.net CT, RI Brian & Andrea Felice #9125, 401-828-3354 Bdfelice1@gmail.com Arfelice570@gmail.com
Metro NY/NJ Terry Faherty #792 718-227-2099 tmcefah@aol.com NY (Long Island) Roger Mercer #8867 631-226-2853 mercercarpentry@live.com
NY (Hudson Valley NW) Ben & Abbe Otunu #8594 845-423-0373 hvaad@yahoo.com NY (Central) Rob Romano #10584 607-227-3899 ensoniqdude@yahoo.com
Stephen Strock #10396 315-308-0108 cogcny@gmail.com PA (Western) Joe Cyprych #4665 724-796-1401 cyprych@windstream.net
PA (North Central) Duane Shaffer #9189 570-726-4676 dkshaff@kcnet.org PA (SE) & NJ South Jim Ansbro #8443 215-805-0909 bluecon06@gmail.com New Jersey
Chris Franceschini #9283
856-366-9430 sowieso@comcast.net DE, East MD Bob Chappell #1283 302-791-0582 cog1283@comcast.net Maryland Russell Fleming 410-374-9687 fleming@qis.net
VA/WV Pat Sprague #1887 540-743-5132 psprague@shentel.net ON (Greater Toronto Area) Dave Perkins #5932 416-691-2191 perkins43@rogers.com ON (Eastern) Ken Fader #8534 613-865-7995 kensc14@gmail.com Richard Beaudoin #9318 613-657-3294
sailor_rich@sympatico.ca QC (Montréal) Christian Dupuis #10098
NE AREA STAFF
Area Director (AD) Steve Smith #3184 203-720-7575 nead@cog-online.org Web Editor Wayne Geiser #4627 978-851-2710 geiserw@gmail.com Newsletter Editor Tim Anderson #9470 860-444-7544 NECOGEditor@gmail.com Assistant Area Directors: (AADs) VT, NH, ME, MA
450-427-0182 d1user@mac.com
Attention Newsletter ‘Hard Copy’ Mail Subscribers! The Postal Service recently raised their rates. We still have many NE members signed up to receive mailed hard copies. If you can receive and view your Newsletter online instead of by mail, please sign up for electronic delivery and help save our budgets for ride events! Its easy to sign up! Here’s how: 1.
Go to www.cog-online.org, Select the ‘Member Area’ tab
2.
Log in with your username and password
3.
Select the ‘My Info’ tab
4.
In the top section, ‘General Information’, next to ‘Area Newsletter By:’ uncheck the ‘Hard Copy’ box and check the ‘Email’ box.
5.
You’re done! Thanks for helping!
photo courtesy Kevin Martin #145
1st Annual Mountain State Rally September 25-28, 2014 While August will see us trying to stay cool during the dog days of summer at Snowshoe, September will see us enjoying the Fall Foliage colors in Elkins WV. September 25th (early arrivals), 26th (registration opens), 27th, and 28th (departure) 2014. Elkins will be home to our 1st Annual Mountain State Rally and the Ironroad Inn will be Rally Central. Being the first year for this event we’re taking a simple approach and keeping the rally cost low. Just $10 for members. This fee will be used for insurance coverage, some door prizes and other incidentals. We’ll have a Saturday night meal next door, at your own expense. Elkins is just a short ride away from Canaan Valley, were we’ve been many times and many of us have a favorite route or two! It’s a short run to Snowshoe, Cass or Marlinton with great roads to get there on. This time of year in WV is beautiful, offering the scenic beauty of New England without the cost or the traffic! Check in with Randolph County Tourism to help you plan your trip. Book your rooms, pack your bags and get started to Elkins and the Fall riding season. Our Room block expires Aug 4th so don’t delay! Contact Joseph Cyprych cyprych@windstream.net or Jason Kaplitz cog62@kaplitz.com for more info.
10
2014 - Issue #3 – Summer