NE2014 Issue 5 by Concours Owners Group (COG) Northeast

2014 - Issue #5 - Winter

COGnitions Random thoughts and ramblings from your Area Director The winter solstice is only a couple of days away. Remarkably, some Northeast COGgers are still riding. One local member here in Connecticut was out today, and heading out again for a breakfast ride (heated gear optional? Brrr). I’m jealous, but I had the opportunity to go. Brunch with the kids and granddaughters took precedence. I missed out on plenty of club activities mid-summer and fall. This was a light riding year for me too. I spent almost every weekend getting my mom’s house in NY ready for sale. That’s a done deal and it’s time to look forward to next year. Last weekend was the International Motorcycle Show in New York City. I can’t say that anything was really calling my name, or that there was something that jumped out as an earth shattering new bike or accessory. Yamaha was pushing the R1M, with its sophisticated track electronics. The Kawasaki H2 (and Ricky Gadson’s H2R drag bike) were the focal point in the Kawasaki booth. There was a fair amount of activity at the Concours 14, and we spoke to some potentially new owners as we hung around waiting to head out to the group lunch that Terry Faherty was so good to organize at Tir na Nog. John & I were the last to arrive walking cross town from Javits over to the Times Square location. It seems I missed that the plan was to meet at the Penn Plaza restaurant location. We got there in time to order chow with the crew. The food and company was terrific, as usual. See Terry’s column for more details. After kicking around ideas at a COG NE staff conference call the decision was made to take the 2015 Spring Fling back to Bedford, PA the weekend of May 14-17. We had a great time there 2 years ago, and Jason was able to negotiate similar room and banquet rates. Online registration is open now—details in the flyer later in this issue. Glenn, Tim & Jason are working on a different venue for Dog Days… Staunton, VA. We are hoping to have this locked in and provide details by the next newsletter. The Fall Rally is sorta up for grabs, but Terry has gone ahead and volunteered Scotty (surprise!!) to look into a fall visit to Lake George at the same place we’ve been to in the past. The Northeast staff is also preparing local activities for 2015. If you have an idea for a club activity this is the best time to contact your local AAD or myself and we’ll help you make it happen. This is a member driven club, and we need your assistance in activity planning and organizing. It’s easy to do, a lot of fun, and very rewarding. You know you’re going to ride anyway—why not invite a few COGgers to come along too?

ule Event Sched on Page 7 photo courtesy Bob Barbanti #7134

Looking forward to seeing many of you at Spring Fling. Chag urim sameach. Merry Christmas. Have a safe, healthy & happy New Year. 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!

Whitby, ON Mark Bouwmeester #11732 Laval, PQ Gianni Marricco #11735 Springfield, VA John E. Jenc #11736 York, PA Dale McGinnis #11738 Erin, NY Christopher Arnold #11741 Ephrata, PA Gary Groff #11756 Paris, ON Martin Wensveen #11759 Goode, VA Tom Womack #11760 Enfield, CT Bob Wichniewicz #11765 Danville, PA Kevin Brouse #11766 Londonderry, NH Robert Cambray #11769

South Charleston, WV Dave Henshaw #11771 Bewdley, ON Conrad Cousineau #11775 Hamburg, PA Samuel Preston #11779 Chantilly, VA Donald Athey #11780 Newport News, VA James Becker #11781 Germantown, MD Marc Ives #11784 Powhatan, VA Michael Brown #11801

C14 Riders and friends enjoy a perfect riding day!

Editor’s Corner NORTHEAST AREA NEWS is published 5 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.

Tim Anderson #9470 With the riding season winding down, it time to turn our thoughts to the Holidays and the New Year. But not until we wrap up 2014 with one last Newsletter! So even if the temps are below freezing outside, you can read about some of the memorable fall ride reports by Pat Sprague and Russell Fleming on pages 4 and 5.

start filling the on line calendar with rides and events for 2015. One of the first will be the Spring Fling in Bedford, PA. See page 6 for the full details and a registration form for those want to register by mail. A big Thanks to all of you who have taken time out from your rides to contribute to the Newsletter this past year!

The Ride & Event Schedule on page 7 is back to being just one page, but I expect it will bulk up again soon as the AADs

2014 - Issue #5 – Winter

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 folks, another year is drawing to a close. Time and winter waits for no man! By the time this heads your way the Javits show will have come and gone. Thanks to all those who came out to enjoy some COG togetherness and look at all the pretty new bikes. The show was MUCH smaller this year unfortunately but plenty of new bikes to scope out. I have many new lust objects to join the Ninja 1000 now! The Versys 1000 gives you all the goodness of the Ninja 1000 in a more comfortable package. Was duly impressed by the new FJ-09 and the new BMW adventure style bike based on the s1000 sportbike (probably out of my price range even if I had cash! LOL). Some minor changes to the C-14 most noticeable is a closable vent in the windscreen. We also had a great time

The Goulds & Fahertys - IMS lunch at Tir Na Nog

Ben Otunu & John Purdy at Tir Na Nog

2014 - Issue #5 – Winter

with the COGgers at Tir Na Nog after the show! My son is already planning what to spend his money from his first year in the Navy on....God help me! Next stop...the Holiday season! Happy Hanukah, Merry Christmas, Happy Kwanzaa, and Happy New year to all! I think I got ‘em all?!? I have plenty of chores to keep me busy during the off season, new brake discs and pads, maybe even a suspension rework. Only my bank account knows for sure! And I'll see you at the Spring Fling! - Terry

MA, ME, NH, VTGreg & Tracey Habel # 7010/7010A The 2015 events planning for our area is well underway. Thank you to all the people who host rides and events to help keep our area very active. If anyone has any suggestions or would like to host something, please email us at COG7010@verizon.net. Although not posted on the calendar yet, the next events are: A season opener social in early Feb, plus a ride in March, then the annual Tech Session on Saturday April 25th in Monson, MA. In November we had a wonderful end of year social at the Horseshoe Pub in Hudson, MA with about 20 people including travelers from Ontario, Canada, and many of the New England states. We welcomed 2 returning (after a hiatus) members (Anthony Church & Dan Grosz) who we hope to see more of in 2015 – really nice people! As newest member, Anthony took home the $25 COG gift certificate. A delicious meal was had by all including a variety of appetizers. Following the meal Tracey

Good grub at the Horseshoe Pub!

and I talked about the year in review, and solicited ideas for 2015. Look for a couple of pictures in this issue.

Making Plans for 2015 rides...

Short and sweet. Happy Holidays everyone! See you on the road. 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. See you soon. - Greg and Tracey

ON (Greater Toronto Area) Dave Perkins #5932 Thanks to all who made it out to the respective meetings. Two items I'd like to pass along from the Greater Toronto Area. As I mentioned in an earlier ride report, Peter Jackson injured his left arm on a ride he had organized in September. I'm very happy to report that Peter is recovering very well and quickly, having regained most of his range of motion and strength. This he attributes to his superb physical condition or just being one tough bugger! Nonetheless, he'll be repairing his '98 Connie over the winter in prep for the riding season so the call may be going out to the NE members for spares. He can be assured of lots of help from the local COGnisanti. The Toronto International Motorcycle Super Show is on the weekend of Jan 24, 2015. This show is primarily for bike dealers, accessory vendors, and clubs (who are provided booth space at no charge). Kawasaki is the only manufacturer to have display at this show with their full 2015 line-up on display. For the 11th or 12th consecutive year COG

Concours Owners Group NORTHEAST AREA NEWS

Around the NORTHEAST (continued from page 3)

GTA will have a booth in the show with members bikes on display, COG literature and knowledgeable Connie owners to spread the word about the bike and COG. For the third straight year Canadian Kawasaki will supply a new C14 for display in the booth. This a great opportunity to meet riders and talk about bikes. I'll have a full report and pictures for the next newsletter.

first crude and rough, following the railroads which always followed the rivers; all else is vertical land, not easily travelled. Today’s roads are much better and mostly paved as dirt roads wash out quickly. Most roads are narrow with constant elevation changes and narrow constrictions. Watching a dump truck thread the needle at 45 mph, in a turn, over a one-lane bridge is interesting! This could be called Darwin’s race track: if you live past 20 years old driving here you had to do a lot right.

The show hours are different this year. Friday

Jan 2 - 12 PM to 10 PM

Sat

Jan 3 - 10 AM to 9 PM

Sun

Jan 4 - 10 AM to 5 PM

I do not know why the hours have been shortened though recovery from New Years might be a reason. To the best of my knowledge the COG booth will be Hall 1 with the majority of other clubs. Jeff Quilty of Canadian Kawasaki has found a new, black 2014 C14 for display in the booth (thanks again, Jeff). We'll also have an '86 C10 and an '08 C14 supplied by members. Specifics for delivering the bikes to the show will be in the aforementioned separate e-mail.

License plates proclaim allegiances...

From all of the members in the GTA I wish very Happy Christmas and New Year to you all in the North East! - Dave

Event Reports COG in Coal Country 16-19 October 2014 Pat Sprague #1887 It had been a few years since we gathered way down in the Coal Country of West Virginia. It was time to shake off the Piedmont and once more ride those mountain passes, where the sun appears over steep ravines during a four hour window. Rivers flowed here first, railroads followed much later, and today miles of hopper cars move the black energy to industrial centers, power plants, and shipyards, far from these rural hills. Roads came later and were

This remote area’s history is one of exploration, exploitation, and expatriation. Most residents historically lived in “Company Towns”, where all but the sky was owned by the mine company. Tennessee Ernie Ford memorialized this in “Sixteen Tons” in 1956. Those not securing employment with the railroad or mines often left to find opportunities elsewhere, seldom returning. Today there are many closed businesses and abandoned homes, all sadly visible because of the topography; the few remaining gasoline stations are quite busy. Our oasis was the recently remodeled Twin Falls State Resort. Arriving on

Thursday were Andy Martin, Roger Someroand Paul Vangellow on Super Teneres, Tom Hofsiss on his Wee Strom, and Yrs Trly on his Multistrada 1200S. Dusty Schilling joined us Friday evening on his new-to-him Wee Strom. There were no Connies or KLRs carrying tents. In fact, all attendees left tents at home and stayed at the lodge, no one rode a Concours at all, and three riders have chucked the chain lube. Stay for the People. For once Vee and Wee Stroms were outnumbered by another model, the bigger Yamaha do-it-all machine. As there is often an oddball bike, the Ducati rider had to do his part. Friday’s ride was about 280 miles of beautiful weather and excellent roads. After waiting for the fog to lift, we rode into Welch and were greeted by a proud elementary school parade celebrating Cancer Awareness Month. The quartermile escorted procession had many kids smiling and gawking at our bikes. Remember when you were eight years old and saw motorcycles? How cool was that! We were those kids, just older. We rode from West Virginia west into Grundy, Virginia and down back roads and Route 80 to near I-81. Route 80 was spoiled only by many wet pine needles littering the curves of this fun road. Taking Route 91 up to Saltville we found Ed’s Drive-In and enjoyed a good lunch there, then rode Route 16 up to Tazewell. Route 71 from Route 52 to Matoaka “looks like” a nice paved road on the map and GPS. It was a one-lane, barely paved, beaten up road with several run-offs from rain, averaging about 15-20 mph for as many miles. Perfect! No Walmart planned here. Close to Twin Falls, Saulsville boasts a convenience store with most needs. Convenient, indeed. Saturday came in overcast and remained that way all day: no sunshine, but no rain, either, and we had a nice 180 mile ride. A mix of small narrow roads and an expressway brought us into Williamson where the Coal House was in a remodeling mess. Riding into flood-gated Matewan we found an excellent Mexican restaurant downtown. A ride down Route 52, The Coal Heritage Highway, and back up Route 16

2014 - Issue #5 – Winter

Concours Owners Group NORTHEAST AREA NEWS

Event Reports (continued from Page 4)

Mmmmmm, good Mexican food for lunch

got us back up to Twin Falls before evening showers started, though three adventurous guys did find a couple fivemile dead end roads, just because they had to. Fun!

It’s a long ride to Coal Country, and a long ride back. Thanks to those die-hard Coggers who ignored the weather duffers, braved the elements, and helped to make this a great ride! - Pat Sprague

Williamsburg, VA Ride for Pancakes 14 December 2014 Pat Sprague #1887 Six Coggers braved early temps down to 24 F to ride their bikes to meet others for a hot breakfast and a promised 50+ F sunny day in Eastern Virginia. Present, in ascending COG number, were Clyde Watson 948, Your Fearless Leader, Pat Sprague 1887, Roger Somero 5903, Tom Hofsiss 6517, Dan Hermes 8592, and Tim Steele 8904. Among this illustrious group were our third VA/WV AAD (Clyde), our fourth and sixth AAD (Moi) and our seventh co-AAD (Tim). Stay for the people. For these die-hards, riding trumps shopping, remote holding, or Honeydos. On arriving at the Capitol Landing Pancake House I wanted to pour a liter

2014 - Issue #5 – Winter

of hot coffee in each boot, but the heat soon got there via the internal route. Great breakfast! Omelets, French toast, eggs, grits, waffles, and a few liters of hot Joe all around. Up in the 40s now we cinched up the jackets over breakfast and headed out. Roger and Tommy were off to explore some sand roads on a Super Tenere and a Wee Strom. Dan needed to head back to Richmond; Tim said he had to be in Green Bay in two days. I said you have plenty of time, Green Bank is doable in four hours, easy! Green BAY, several responded. Yes, I have hearing aids, must do my pals a favor and use them. Clyde and I thought about a back roads diversion through Beaverdam and Bumpass but instead rode through the coastal areas of the Northern Neck. A beautiful day for riding or flying, many eagles and waterfowl were out and fishing. A few single engine money-pits were aloft, too. Surprisingly, very few motorcycles were out and about. After visiting beautiful Westmoreland State Park on the cliffs of the Potomac, Clyde charted a SW course towards his home, I stopped by Colonial Beach to visit my Mom’s gravesite, then rode mostly back roads home to Luray. About 450 miles was my saddle time and got home just before dark. A fun ride and eat, good to see everyone. Thanks to all for coming. Next month the January DC motorcycle show: Pretty stuff to look at, good food to eat. See you there! And be sure to welcome our new AADs, Tim Steele and Glenn Harriman and buy them a libation! - Pat Sprague

C14 Riders & Friends Ride 12 October 2014 Russell W Fleming #599 The last organized ride of the year was the C14 Riders & Friends ride out of Union Bridge, MD. The Fire Department thanked me for starting the ride at their country breakfast because it really helps out with their fund raiser, which helps the local community. It was great to have 25 - 30 people show up for the ride. The best part is they know to break up into small groups of 4 - 5 riders so that they can ride at their own skill

level. Not all were COG members which is OK because riders in my area like coming to COG rides. There were 10 or 12 C14s at the ride, coming from 5 to 150 miles from home to ride the 130 mile ride that day. Everyone enjoyed the ride threw the apple orchards of PA and many asked ‘why don't you make a ride in the spring through the orchard when the apple blossoms are on the trees?’ So May 3, 2015, come out and ride the C14 Apple Blossom Ride! I was able to get Martha’s sister to stay with her for the weekend of the BRRR ride in November. That weekend I rode 830 miles and out of that 325 miles I didn't encounter another vehicle on the road. Didn't get out to the camp fire much because some people came to my cabin for me to show them how Garmin Basecamp works. Now hopefully they will step up and do some rides for us. The highlight of the weekend was on the BRP seeing 4 turkeys and 1 giant black bear. Check the COG NE event calendar for more details on these events: January 25— CHILI COOKOUT at Jack Frederick February 22— Meet & Greet Lunch at Illiano J&P March 21-22— Crab Cake Ride April 11—Meet & Greet by Chuck Landis April 26—STCR, Winchester, VA Hope everyone has a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year and looking forward to seeing you at one of my events or at the Spring Fling in Bedford. And bring your clean headlight so that you can get in on the 50/50 bug splat! - Russell W Fleming

The line up at the BRRR Ride

Concours Owners Group NORTHEAST AREA NEWS C o n c o u r s

O w n e r s

G r o u p

Northeast Area Spring Fling Rally May 14 - 17, 2015

Bedford, PA

Join us once again in historic Bedford, located in southwest Pennsylvania between Pittsburgh and Harrisburg, where you can enjoy great riding in central PA, western MD, and northern WV. We’ll be staying at Travelodge Bedford, a full service motel with a restaurant and lounge on site. Bedford’s location makes it a great hub with good riding in every direction and we’ll have route sheets available. Bedford is a cute little town with nice shops and restaurants to visit, and provides easy access to gas & food. Rally Headquarters: Travelodge, 4517 Business Route 220, Bedford, PA 15522, 814-623-9006 (800-752-8592) A limited block of rooms will be held until 4/16/2015 at a reduced price - book early. Nightly room rate is $70+tax for single/ double, and includes a full hot breakfast buffet served 7-10 AM (Buffet can be purchased by others not staying at motel for $7.95). Visit the motel web site for details and amenities. Location: off exit 1, I-99 (US 220), or exit 146, PA Turnpike. Camping: Make you own camping arrangements. Here is info for 2 nearby campgrounds. Shawnee State Park, 132 State Park Rd, Schellsburg, PA 15559, 814-733-4218 (www.dcnr.state.pa.us/stateparks/findapark/shawnee) Friendship Village, 348 Friendship Village Rd, Bedford, PA 800-992-3528 (www.friendshipvillagecampground.com) Rally Fee: $45 per person. COG Member discounted fee: $30 per person for COG members, their immediate family or significant other. Early-bird registration savings, which ends on 4/1/2015, will reduce the above fees by an additional $5. Save time & postage – register online through the rally web page (see below). Rally fee covers Saturday group dinner, door prizes, and other rally expenses. Wristbands may be used to identify registered attendees. Refund Policy: Prior to 5/1/15, fee paid minus $5/person. No refund after 5/1/15. Riding: Sample self-guided ride routes download available from rally web page (see below). Events: The banquet dinner will be on Saturday evening at the motel. Rally web page: See the Northeast section of the online Calendar of Events at: www.cog-online.org Rally Questions: Jason Kaplitz, 814.535.8669 or cog62@kaplitz.com If registering by mail: complete & mail form below with rally fee payable to “Concours Owners Group” to: Steven Smith – Spring Rally, 39 Alison Ave., Naugatuck, CT 06770-3566

2015 Spring Fling Rally Registration Form (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 tag # __________________ 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 license, 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 Signature:_______________________________________________ Parent or Guardian (if applicable): _____________________________________

2014 - Issue #5 – Winter

Concours Owners Group NORTHEAST AREA NEWS

RIDE & EVENT SCHEDULE

Time listed is START time. Visit www.cog-online.org for updates. (NY) Fri-Sun 12-14 December International Motorcycle Show Check out all the new models and accessories at this annual extravaganza! www.motorcycleshows.com

(DC) Fri-Sun 9-11 January International Motorcycle Show Check out all the new models and accessories at this annual extravaganza! www.motorcycleshows.com

(ON) Tue 12 January 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

(NY) Sat 17 January 11 AM Hudson Valley Meet & Greet

(ON) Tue 9 February 6:30 PM South Central Ont. Meet (see 12 Jan. info) (NY) Sat 21 February 11 AM Hudson Valley Meet & Greet Location for this month is TBD. BEN OTUNU, 845.423.0373H

(ON) Mon 16 February 6:30 PM GTA East - Meet & Greet (see 18 Jan. info) (MD) Sun 22 February 1:00 PM Lunch Meet & Greet Come out enjoy some good Italian food with us and talk about motorcycle riding. Meet at 1:00 PM at Illiano's J&P Pizza at 903 South Main Street, Hampstead, MD I have booked the back room for us. http://illianojandp.com/location/hampstead Please let me know if you are coming so that I can give them a head count by Friday, February 20. RUSSELL FLEMING, 410.374.9687, fleming@qis.net

(ON) Tue 9 March 6:30 PM South Central Ont. Meet (see 12 Jan. info) (ON) Mon 16 March 6:30 PM GTA East - Meet & Greet (see 18 Jan. info) (NY) Sat 21 March 11 AM Hudson Valley Meet & Greet Location for this month is TBD. BEN OTUNU, 845.423.0373H

Location for this month is TBD. BEN OTUNU, 845.423.0373H

(MD) Sat-Sun 21-22 March 9:00 AM Southern MD Crab Cake Run

(ON) Mon 18 January 6:30 PM GTA East - Meet & Greet

Touring beautiful St. Mary’s and Calvert County roads; visiting Point Lookout Lighthouse, Drum Point Lighthouse, Solomon’s Island, and Historic St. Mary’s City. Crab Cake dinner at Ruddy Duck, 16800 Piney Point Rd, Piney Point, MD. Agenda: Saturday 9 AM breakfast at Lenny’s Restaurant, 23418 Three Notch Rd, California, MD, begin ride at 10 AM. Ride finish at Dennis Point Marina/Campground. Dinner at 6 PM at the Ruddy Duck in Piney Point, MD. Sunday Breakfast at a good local restaurant. Accommodations: Camping at Dennis Point Marina, 301-994-2288, or area hotels—see online calendar for details. Contact SIMON RICHARDSON, 301.481.4035, simonr827@gmail.com. For GPS file route contact Russell W Fleming at fleming@qis.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

(PA) Sun 25 January 1:00 PM The BIG Chill Meet & Greet This event will be held indoors at 50 Walden Court York, PA, with a warm wood stove for comfort, no matter what the weather. Menu is chili & cornbread, dessert, with hot & cold drinks. Location: 3 miles north of Route 30 and Roosevelt Avenue on the west end of York. Exit from Route 30 onto Roosevelt Ave. going north. Take first right onto Greenbriar Rd. Travel 3 miles & turn right onto Westwind Lane. Take first left onto Walden Court. Please RSVP Jack or Deb. Hope to see you on the 25th. JACK FREDERICK or DEB at 717.764.9091 or debbahn@gmail.com.

2014 - Issue #5 – Winter

(ON) Tue 13 April 6:30 PM South Central Ont. Meet (see 12 Jan. info) (ON) Mon 20 April 6:30 PM GTA East - Meet & Greet (see 18 Jan. info) (NY) Sat 18 April 11 AM Hudson Valley Meet & Greet Location for this month is TBD. BEN OTUNU, 845.423.0373H

(VA) Sun 26 April 8:30 AM Sport Touring Camaraderie Ride WINCHESTER, VA. All brands of Motorcycles welcome! Meet for Breakfast at 8:30 AM at Denny’s at the Flying J Truck Stop, 1530 Rest Church Road, Winchester, VA. There will be 6 rides to choose from 150 to 200 miles long, all rides are self guided and end back at the Flying J. For a description of the routes, see the online calendar listing. CONTACT PERSONS: COG: Russell W Fleming, 410.374.9687, fleming@qis.net Yamaha FJR: Randy Sinisi, 717.439.3814, rsinisi6@cs.com BMW: Eddie Phelps, 410.781.7521, epbp2ride@verizon.net WMMA: Bowie Pearre, 410.974.7766, jbpearre@yahoo.com V-Strom: Patrick Sprague, 540.743.4874, psprague@shentel.net MCR: Paul Anderson, 410.788.5173, bear1142@verizon.net

(MD) Sun 3 May 8:30 AM Kawasaki C14 Riders and Friends Ride Meet for breakfast at the Golden Corral on Rte. 355 south of Rte. 70 at 5621 Spectrum Drive, Frederick, MD. 8:30 AM breakfast and route sheets will be handed out for a 140 mile self-guided ride that will end at a restaurant somewhere in 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 its finest. You will ride in MD and PA. After the fall 2014 ride people asked me to do the spring ride and add in the fruit orchards of MD & PA, so if the weather is good we should be riding in the peak of the blooms. If you would like a copy of the ride in GPS format ahead of time contact me. RUSSELL FLEMING, 410.374.9687, or email fleming@qis.net.

(MD) Fri-Sun 19-21 June 3:00 PM North & South Get Together Location: Martha & Russell Fleming's House, 2610 Old Fort Schoolhouse RD, Hampstead, MD 21074. On Friday, come and setup your tent and have a cookout in the evening. There is plenty of tent space in the backyard. Saturday will be Breakfast, Ride and Cookout. Breakfast will be at 8 AM in the driveway, serving bacon & eggs, juice & coffee. Then you can leave at your free will on one of many routes that could take you in PA, VA, WV and MD of up to 260 miles, or 1 of 2 short routes of 200 miles, or an ADVANTURE Ride. Around 6:30 PM will be the evening cookout. Sunday breakfast will be in the driveway starting 8 AM with a guided ride afterwards. RUSSELL FLEMING, 410.374.9687, or email fleming@qis.net.

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) Position Open

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 Position Open DE, East MD Bob Chappell #1283 302-791-0582 cog1283@comcast.net Maryland Russell Fleming #599 410-374-9687 fleming@qis.net VA/WV Tim Steele, #8904 540-649-7007 cogtim@outlook.com

VA/WV Glenn Harriman, #10332 540-477-4426 n1tsh@hotmail.com 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)

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

Christian Dupuis #10098

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

Select the ‘My Info’ tab

In the top section, ‘General Information’, next to ‘Area Newsletter By:’ uncheck the ‘Hard Copy’ box and check the ‘Email’ box.

You’re done! Thanks for helping!

photo courtesy Kevin Martin #145

Reminder: Keep Taking (and Sharing) those Photographs! In a recent discussion about the Northeast-specific online web pages, I mentioned that there seemed to be fewer pictures taken and shared during this year’s events. It was suggested that a short reminder might be in order. So here it is (there are only three steps) …

Remember to take your camera—Try to remember to take your camera with you whenever you go on a ride or event. Many people use their phone as their camera. If that’s you, you probably have your camera anyway.

Take a picture— … or two or three. You don’t have to be the photojournalist taking hundreds of pictures every time the wheels stop turning, but one or two won’t hurt. As is often found on many forums “Pictures or it didn’t happen!”

Share them—Include them in a post in the forum thread about the event you’ve attended. Don’t be afraid to start a new thread in the unlikely event that one was not already going prior. If you already use a photo hosting site, use the direct link from the individual photo or the photo album in your message. Alternatively, you can use the “Media” portion of the forum (see the top banner on the forum web page) to upload your photos.

2014 - Issue #5 – Winter