2017 - Issue #4
COGnitions Ramblings from the Northeast Area Director Let me start out with the Northeast Area membership numbers—we have 446 members, 89 associate members, and 425 forum subscribers. The fall rally in Lake George has just happened. Even though there was a last minute change of management at the group dinner location, Scott and Terry had everything under control and pulled off another great event with ease. They even managed to get us excellent weather. This month also brought us several meet & greets around the regions, the Hungry Mother Weekend event in VA, and the Sport-Tour Camaraderie Ride in the PA and MD.
Steve Smith #3184
The end of the year is rolling up fast, but there are club activities on the calendar into December. Each month throughout the year there are 2 weeknight dinner Toronto Meet & Greets. On the 2nd Tuesday of the month there is an activity in Campbellville, and on the 3rd Monday the activity is in Oshawa. October brings a few meet & greets in MA and the first Sunday one in Ephrata PA, as well as the Kawasaki C14 Riders and Friends Ride in MD. November 9-12 is the annual Brrrr Ride at the Natural Bridge (VA) KOA cabins (nearby motel available) hosted by Clyde Watson and Pat Sprague. Breakfast and dinner typically at the Pink Cadillac. Organized rides planned for Friday and Saturday. This is a no-fee activity, but register online to give hosts an idea on headcount. The International Motorcycle Show comes to the Javitz Convention Center in New York this December. COGNE typically has a Meet & Greet on the Saturday of the show which will be 12/2/17. The lunch destination will be Tir Na Nog Times Square. Plan on gathering by the Concours in the Kawasaki booth area at 2:30pm. We will depart for the lunch destination promptly at 2:45pm. To find out more about these activities or just stay informed of club happenings, a snapshot of upcoming activities is typically printed in the Northeast newsletter and Concourier, as well as the email blast updates sent to NE members in between newsletter issues. For the most up to date activity information I suggest visiting the online event calendar regularly. New events are posted throughout the riding season, and previously posted activities may change or be canceled. While it may seem premature, now is a perfect time to
photo courtesy Bob Barbanti #7134
ule on begin giving thought to club activity for the 2018 Event Event Sched Calendar. While you are out riding this year, remember l l a F h t i the great roads you’ve ridden and consider hosting a day w Page 9 . ride using some of them. A favorite restaurant or one s t n e v e r e t n i found during a ride can be the location of a meet & an d W greet. As a grass-root, member driven, volunteer club, And, start we need your help in the planning and execution our ! 8 1 0 activities. Instead of saying there are no activities near 2 r planning fo you, organize something easy like a Meet & Greets or (Continued on page 10)
Concours Owners Group NORTHEAST AREA NEWS
New Members
First things first, a warm welcome to our Newest NE Area COG members!
Bradley Lester Dale McCurry Dan Arthur Ed Martin Charles Lamorgia Bill Fix Dave Souza Frank Cattafi Cynthia Shilling Michael Chieffallo Bill Bullis
12644 12650 12655 12660 12662 12668 12669 12681 4899A # pending # pending
Cumberland, ME East Lyme, CT Bedford, VA Littleton, NH Mount Laurel, NJ Point Pleasant, NJ Gloucester, MA Milford, PA Blacksburg, VA Eynon, PA Campbell Hall, NY
HELP WANTED SEEKING ACTIVITY HOSTS AND NEW AADs
One common concern I have heard from members over the years is… “there are no activities near me.” Here is your opportunity to help alleviate this concern while having a ton of fun at the same time. Become part of the COG Northeast Team. This is an appointed and volunteer position to help facilitate or assist others facilitate Northeast Area club activities such as meet & greets, rides, cook-outs, tech session, or just about any other idea. Share the effort in your region with another member as co-AAD. If you have ideas to make your region more active for the COG community, let me and the rest of our staff help you get those ideas into practice. To open up possibilities of getting more activity reaching more northeast members I am likely to add AADs to any state, region, city, or town. While not an inclusive or exclusive list… here are a few example of regions I feel can use a motivated person to help develop more club awareness and camaraderie…. Western, Central, and upstate NY; Connecticut; Western PA; WV; VA. Contact me to make your pitch, get more information, or share your ideas. Steve Smithnead@cog-online.org 203 720 7575
Concours Owners Groupsm
NORTHEAST AREA NEWS Published 5 times a year for the Concours Owners Group and distributed to Northeast Area members. Past newsletters are archived in the club’s online member library at www.cog-online.org Also available at: issuu.com/cognortheast Written (most formats except Works) & photo (most formats) submissions are welcomed and members are encouraged to share their COG experiences. Please send to: Email: NECOGEditor@gmail.com Snail Mail: COG NE Newsletter c/o Maryann Geiser 139 Kennedy Rd Tewksbury MA 01876 © 1989-2017 Concours Owners Groupsm
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Editor’s Corner In the northeast we welcomed autumn with summer weather. While high temps and humidity seem oppressive in August, they are welcome in September as we anticipate the arrival of colder weather and shortening daylight hours. I’m not done riding for the year. Autumn is the perfect opportunity for saddle time with brisk air, beautiful colors and roads less clogged with tourists. There are still COG events on the calendar to attend and other roads to explore, so I hope you can take advantage of this to get a few more miles in before the calendar turns to a new year. I want to thank everybody who has helped me put together the newsletter with their contributions of articles and photos. I enjoy keeping in touch with
you all, hearing your stories and seeing pictures of your rides. Input to this newsletter is not limited to just the staff; I’d love to see photos from other members as well. If you have stories and shots Maryann Geiser #4627A from a memorable ride, please send them to me to share with rest of the club. Where did you ride this summer? Maryann
2017 - Issue #4
Concours Owners Group NORTHEAST AREA NEWS
Around the NORTHEAST
god is and if he'd put me in touch. Next eclipse, April 8, 2024. Keep your sunny side up, rubber side down. Greg Puterbaugh
News from your Assistant Area Directors (complete list of AADs on back page)
MA, ME, NH, VT
South Central PA/MD Here's hoping you all have had an enjoyable summer, filled with family, friends,a nd most important, running several barrels of gasoline through your Concours or whatever it is that Greg Puterbaugh you ride. Jack #6163 Frederick and wife, Deb, hosted a fun weekend in mid-July at their place in the York, PA suburbs that had all the necessary ingredients - good folks, good food, good riding. Then, in the second week in August, Russell Fleming, along with his friend, Eddie Phelps, put together the popular Sport Touring Moonlight Ride which, unfortunately, had to be canceled at the last minute due to severe weather (frowny face). But, on August 27th, the rain was elsewhere and 16 riders showed up for breakfast at the Keystone Family Restaurant near Waynesboro, PA for the Left Right Up Down #2, a 185 mile scenic route to neighboring Gettysburg. The First Sunday event in Ephrata has been a hit from the git-go. Kudos to Steve Rutter for coming up with the idea to make that an ongoing COG event. I'm not sure what kind of deal he made to get the fine weather to always be in place, but if he needs to buy his soul back, we'll have a fundraiser. On August 20th, four COG members, Bobby Winters, Russell and Ronny Fleming, along with Ronny's grandson, Cody, and yours truly, took off on a 1300 mile round trip to the southwest corner of NC to view the eclipse from the middle of the zone of totality. But all we saw were the thick clouds that blew in about an hour before the big event. Shoulda asked Steve who his weather
2017 - Issue #4
As I write this I’m trying to get over a bronchially, lungy, fatigue thing and reflecting on the last few months of the summer. Greg & Tracey Habel When I get #7010/7010A physically ill (especially when really wiped out), I have no problem calling into work or canceling my day so that I can recover. Oddly this is not the case when I am experiencing emotional/mental health struggles. Why is that? A mental health challenge can be equally or more debilitating than a physical illness. Is it that our society expects us to overcome mental health issues easily (just pull up your boot straps!). Is it mental health stigma? Is it my own expectations of myself? All of the above? I believe that riding impaired with a mental health challenge can be just as dangerous as riding with a physical health issue. I choose not to ride impaired based on my own assessment. Sometimes I find it helpful to ask trusted family and friends. How about you? Our 99 Concours and 2012 Can Am Spyder have spent way too many days parked this year due to other obligations, but we are grateful to others like Kevin Martin, and Wayne and Maryann Geiser who have hosted rides over the summer. A big thank you! On August 26th Kevin hosted an all day ride from Townsend, MA up to VT’s famous Rt 100, then onto Miss Bellows Falls Diner for lunch, ending with yummy ice cream in Jaffrey, NH. On September 16th Wayne and Maryann led a ride from Tewksbury, MA then through the north shore of MA, including Manchester-bythe-Sea, Gloucester, and Rockport and ended up at The American BBQ in time
for a Meet ‘n Greet. In contrast to most of the rides I lead, I was reminded during their ride how enjoyable it is to kick it down a notch, smell the roses and enjoy the scenery. Just what I needed! The BBQ stop offered plenty of food choices, all home made. Also Wayne successfully premiered a suggestion from member Pat Mulloy to give out a wallet size card with ride info: Lead contact, stops, and destination address/phone. We all found this very helpful and plan to incorporate it in future rides. Since I took great pleasure in sightseeing, I have modified our Sunday October 1st Bag Lunch Meet and Greet at the Quabbin Reservoir to start at the Visitor Center to give people the opportunity to learn about how the Quabbin was created before we head out on the ride. On Sunday October15th we will have our last ride of the season with a Meet ‘n Greet at Bub’s BBQ in Sunderland MA, followed by a route created by member Ed Dyer which takes us past his family homestead after heading through Montague, Millers Falls, and eventually ending at the Bridge of Flowers in Shelburne Falls. It should be excellent foliage viewing. Finally, keep your eyes peeled for our end of year social that will be sometime in November; likely a lunch at the Horseshoe Pub in Hudson, MA Please give us a hand and host a ride or event. We will guide you through the easy process of putting it together and will announce your event on the calendar, the forum and Facebook for you. If anyone has any suggestions or would like to host something, please email us at COG7010@verizon.net. Please be sure to register on-line at on the NE events calendar at www.cog-online.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. Greg & Tracey
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Concours Owners Group NORTHEAST AREA NEWS (Around the Northeast - Continued from page 3)
Metro NY, NJ Hello again fellow COGgers! As I type this I'm basking in the afterglow of our Fall Rally in Lake George and what a time it was. I'll talk more about it in a full rally Terry Faherty #792 report, but it had it all - great weather, great roads and greater people! The season is winding down soon and unfortunately this is marching band competition season which basically takes up a day every weekend for me. This is my daughter's last year competing so I can't miss 'em! I would still like to sneak in a north Jersey ride before the weather totally craps out on us, but, like I said, it's a tough time of year for ole Terry boy, at least for now. Don't forget, the Javitz Show will be here before we know it. We will do our usual early dinner on the afternoon of Saturday, December 2nd. Details to follow on the website, this newsletter and forum. Remember folks, anyone can host a day ride or meet and greet. If you know a great ride or place to eat, step up and pitch in! Your officers are here to help you along the way. Ride safe folks! Terry
Atlantic Canada (NS, NB, PEI) We’ll I hate to admit it but summer is over and fall is here. Why does summer take so long to get here then it’s gone in a flash? After my Cape Breton event, I didn’t organize any events but I was able to Claude Doucet #9011 concentrate on some vacation time. I attended the yearly Wharf Rat Rally in Digby over the Labour Day weekend. We had a great time as usual although we almost froze one windy day.
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Just recently, I organized a COG ride to Greenfield Dragway on a short notice. To my surprise Andy (Andydude) rode up from Moncton NB to join the fun along with two of my friends. The day started off with drizzle but we still had a nice ride on some backroads. We watched some great drag racing and by mid-afternoon the sun broke; the day turned out beautiful and hot for the ride back. Now it’s time for some great fall riding. Leaves are changing and temperatures will be getting cooler. Some would argue that it’s the best time of the year to ride. Hopefully I’ll be able to organize a few more rides soon, keep it tuned. Claude
Ivan, Andy and Avery at the track
Eastern Ontario Hello riders. Wow fall is here but it’s hotter than summer. The colours are slow turning in some areas but Algonquin Park colour is at it’s peak. With more Richard Beaudoin #9318 seasonal temperatures on their way it should make for some great fall riding. I must say life has kept my riding limited this year. It has also kept events from happening. I have
been blessed to get out on a few rides with some good friends, Steve and Jackie, Guy, Derek and Bryan. Our Lanark Landing brunch was a success with Mike’s crowd from Cornwall meeting us. As the fall colours come out consider a ride in the Addington, Lanark and Hastings Highlands, some of my favorite roads are in those areas. I plan to get an afternoon lunch meet close to the end of season out there. I hope you all can get out and enjoy the fall and capture a few photos to send me for the next newsletter. As always think safety out there and with fall, changing road conditions. Greasy spots from leaves and damp areas. Gravel from cars cutting the corners of freshly graded shoulders and cooler road temperatures as fall continues. Here’s a few shots from some of my travels this year. I hope some of yours will be next. Ride safe Rich
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2017- Issue #4
Concours Owners Group NORTHEAST AREA NEWS Greater Toronto It has been a strange summer weather wise in southern Ontario. It couldn’t make up its mind but generally delivered cool and wet. We are currently in the grip of a hot spell that covers Dave Perkins #5932 much of the northeast US as well with temps this week in the mid to high 80s F. Go figure! Strange indeed. Three of our local COGgers, Pete Jackson, Robert Braun, and Pete Bokkers, are back from the fall rally in Lake George. They were accompanied by my friend and former Connie owner Jim Lemke. Jim went over to the dark side (Honda ST1100) in 2003. (I was not able to attend as my 94 Connie is currently unwell. Full details are available only under duress!!) It was Pete Bokkers’ and Robert Braun’s first rally and they had a great time. I’ve been telling the groups for years that these weekenders are excellent both for value and for seeing more of eastern North America. On a personal note I did manage a trip to Oregon to see the eclipse in late August. Three friends of mine in British Columbia had been planning the trip for about 8 months and my joining in was just one more body to add to the group. Time did not permit riding out so I flew out to Vancouver and was provided with a Suzuki 650 V-Strom, aka the Wee Strom. There is nothing WEE about it! It has gobs of power to move my Incredible Bulk along right smartly, has excellent brakes (ABS) and handling. AND excellent fuel economy averaging just under 55 MPG (US) for 1900 miles we logged for the trip. Owner Cliff Oates had that Trax adventure-style hard bags installed that were more than adequate for my gear. We spent the night before the event near Eugene then rode up early the next morning to Scio, a town of 1,000 east of Salem and 6 miles off the centre line of totality. The town was ready for the
2017 - Issue #4
eclipse with t-shirts, eclipse glasses, etc. A local church group put on a breakfast (biscuits and gravy) and great coffee. We were chatting with one of the police officers, Scott Bressler, brought in for crowd control. Scott is from Lebanon, about 30 miles away. He directed us to a largely empty fairground where we settled in with our Shade-14 welding goggles to watch the event. And it was spectacular! About 2.5 hours start to finish with about 2 minutes of totality starting around 11 AM. I’ve seen partial and annular eclipses but they did not compare to this one. The sky does go to a twilight-like level of darkness and you can see the stars. The corona was magnificent. Afterwards we had some chow and made our way back to the motel taking the long way as I-5 was jammed solid heading south due to accidents and sheer volume of traffic. The traffic was visible from the motel and it didn’t start moving until about 6PM. The following day we slabbed it on I-5 to get down to California and ultimately to the coast and US 101. The Redwood National Park was out goal. California SR 254 is called the Avenue of the Giants. It runs about 30 miles through a protected old-growth stand of these huge and magnificent trees. We spent the day inching our way along the route, stopping regularly to soak it all in. Awe inspiring and amazingly serene even with the traffic moving by at 50 MPH. We spent the night in Garberville then started our trek back to Canada through Oregon and Washington along US 101 over the next three days. This is one of those trips I’d do again in a flash. My pals are planning something for September, 2018, which I plan to join. On my Connie!! Until next time, stay well and ride safe... Dave
E. Hudson Valley, NY I’m writing this in the wake of a successful NE Area Fall rally in Lake George. Where we’ve had snow and frost in the past, we had sunshine and 80 degree days. Thanks to Terry and Scott for organizing this event. We all had a Steve Cerutti #6763 fun weekend, and the “al fresco” BBQ was sublime. If the weather continues the way it’s going, we may be able to hold a February Rally this year – wishful thinking. Either way, I’m hedging my bets, and have been tuning up my ski equipment, but looking forward to the Spring Rally in Wellsboro next year. If you’ve never been to Wellsboro, PA, I highly recommend attending this rally. It is almost the perfect archetypical rally location. Some of the best riding is coming up for the Hudson Valley. Autumn is particularly spectacular, when the weather holds for a few days, and the leaves have transformed into their full fall glory. Keep an eye on the COG calendar for a meet and greet or two, before the snow starts to fall. There are plenty of apple cider donuts to be enjoyed, and pumpkin spice everything. As we head into winter, I hope you all have a safe and warm refuge, where you can dream about two wheels and the wind in your face. The 2018 riding season is only a few months away. Please keep the victims of the recent hurricanes in Texas, Florida and Puerto Rico in our thoughts. If is within your means, consider making a donation to help those in need. All the best, Steve
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Concours Owners Group NORTHEAST AREA NEWS
Event Reports Ephrata Bikers Breakfast and Ride—August 6th For the August 6th gathering at the Ephrata Bikers Breakfast, we were treated to a delightful day, 68-70 degrees and sunny in the middle of August. Everyone noticed the weather, and the top and both bottom lots were completely filled and bikes were starting to spill onto the grass. There were so many motorcycles, that we got parked in quickly and lost our lineup of Concours. So no telling how many COG members were there! We met Jeff and Kathy from Virginia, and Wayne from New Jersey (a different Wayne from NJ) who travelled in for the first time. Seven of us went for a spirited ride around Texter Mountain and found a road that quickly ended at a dead end. We thought we ran out of roads, as in we finally found them all! We got back on track and finished up the ride in Columbia PA after a stop at Speedwell Forge. - Steve Rutter
Sport Touring Camaraderie Ride—August 12th Russell Fleming hosted the tenth annual Sport Touring Camaraderie Ride out of Carlisle, PA on Sunday the 24th of September, and despite the fact that there were two rallies going on in our area, 18 riders and bikes were in attendance. Breakfast buffet at the Iron Skillet Restaurant in the Petro Truck Stop was followed by tire kicking and good conversation in the parking lot before the riders left in small groups to sample one of the nine routes that had been laid out. While it was unseasonably warm, the wooded paths we were on offered much relief. Three months from now, when it's Christmas, we probably won't have to worry about the heat. ‘Til then, ride as often as you can. - Greg Puterbaugh
deal and all but the skimpiest eaters got their money's worth. At ten or so, we went off in small groups, heading north and west on some of PA’s nicest roads, going through Shippensburg, Newburg, Landisburg, and a few other burgs, on routes 233, 997, 850, to name a few, including the awesome 641 truck route. Seven of us made it to Friendly's Restaurant in Gettysburg for ice cream and pleasant conversation before going our separate ways headed for home. It was a fun day! - Greg Puterbaugh
North East Fall Rally, Lake George—September 21st—24th
(AKA Scott and Terry's Adirondack Extravaganza) When your intrepid Northeast officers were discussing the coming season last winter, it was brought to our attention that the Fall Rally was unspoken for. After a short silence (punctuated by the sound of crickets) yours truly spoke up and volunteered to host another Lake George rally. That included my usual partner in crime (unbeknownst to him!). This, if I'm not mistaken, would be our eighth? By now we've pretty much got these down to a science. I do the writing and routing and Scott does the hotel and banquet. Hotel wise it's hard to beat our present go-to motel, Motel Montreal. It's cheap and clean and a short walk to town. Scotty, being a local now, decided to do something different this time out and looked into a venue just on the other side of town for the banquet. The bonus was that right next to it was the longest zipline in the northeast, and the manager of the Wild West Ranch Restaurant promised a reduced price for it with a shuttle service from the hotel. Add on a new route with some of the tastiest blacktop in the north and we were looking good! Fast forward to the end of August/beginning of September and Scott stops by the venue to see how things are going. Unfortunately, the individual that he was dealing with quit Motel Montreal
Sport Touring Ride
Left, Right, Up, Down Ride—August 27th Sunday, August 27th was a nice cool day for a ride. Sixteen riders showed up for breakfast at the Keystone Family Restaurant, on PA route 16 between Waynesboro and Rouzerville. The breakfast buffet at 8 bucks was a pretty good
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2017 - Issue #4
Concours Owners Group NORTHEAST AREA NEWS
Event Reports (Continued from page 6)
and the new manager knows absolutely nothing about any of this! YIKES! I have to give my broski mad props though. Starting over from scratch and with the help of the new manager he got things squared away just in the nick of time and still managed to keep the reduced price for the zipline. All we lost was a dessert for the original price. Having avoided one possible disaster, the last hurdle was the weather. I resisted looking at the extended forecast as long as possible. With all the storms to the south I was a tad worried. As it turned out, summer decided to return just for us and temps were in the high 70's and into the mid 80's with no rain in sight for the whole weekend. Just perfect weather! I left work early on Wednesday and high tailed it to the Sorger estate just south of Lake George. I pulled in just about dinner time and that night we ate in and relaxed with a nice cigar. Tomorrow the fun would begin! The next morning we made a quick trip into Glens Falls to arrange for the shuttle service for the banquet night on Saturday. Next stop was the Motel Montreal to get organized and set up for registration. Some early birds were already there so we decided to take a little spin up route 9N to route 74, then south on route 9. We finished it up with a spirited run through route 8 back to the lake then south on route 9N, enjoying a SPIRITED run over Tongue Mountain, one of my favorite roads. By the time we got back folks were starting to show up for real, so we put our noses to the grindstone and got people checked in for the rest of the afternoon and evening. Dinner was on the fly in town and folks headed out Dinner crowd at Wild West Ranch
at their leisure. We enjoyed a nice meal at the Adirondack Brewpub followed by some parking lot hijinks. Scotty and I called it quits about ten-ish since we had planned on Friday to try out my new route up to Lake Placid which included all the secret roads that Scott had scoped out since moving to the area. Thursday morning had a bit of a rough start. Our friend Lloyd, who was staying with us and had arrived Thursday afternoon, noticed that his chain was a tad wonky. After some quick adjustments, we ended up making it to the motel lot pretty much on time. We headed out with seven bikes on my new route to the Lake Placid brewpub for lunch. The route included these northern pavement gems; Ensign Pond Road, Tracy Road, and Lincoln Pond Road. What an awesome day! By the time we were done, my chicken strips were almost nonexistent! My recent Race Tech suspension upgrade really shined! It's true what they say, the best upgrade to be made to 90% of bikes is suspension. We did have one hiccup just two (TWO) turns from our lunch stop -we lost our last rider after the rider in front forgot to check his mirror and wait at the turn. To say I was angry is an understatement! I wish someone was taping it because when I pulled over and realized it, my meltdown was EPIC! My gloves were thrown to the ground and kicked—it was poetry! WE WERE SO CLOSE! Final word: please look for the guy behind you. If we all do it no one ever misses a turn! After almost an hour we reunited with our missing couple and had a slightly late lunch at the Lake Placid Brewery. Food was good but we were riding so tasting the other goodies would have to wait for another time. Unfortunately, the bad luck wasn't quite done with us yet. As we headed out of Lake Placid on route 73. it went down to one lane twice in about a two mile stretch. The traffic was less than enjoyable and due to the time lost we just headed directly to the Northway and scooted back to Lake George. After a round of late checkins, we headed across the street to Mario's for some dinner and enjoyed some more COG comradeship in the parking lot. It's always a good time hanging with all my COG friends. Good people=good times! Since Saturday night was our banquet, we needed to keep our ride a bit shorter for (Continued on page 8)
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Concours Owners Group NORTHEAST AREA NEWS (Continued from page 7)
that day. We ended up taking Luzerne Rd (another nice road!) to CR-4 along Lake Sacandaga (another blacktop gem!) out to route 30 and back on rouet 8 (yup another good one!). We finally ended up on good old route 9N and blasted over Tongue mountain. We had a good group of six bikes and this time all went swimmingly. It was another good day on two wheels. I was really getting the ole rhythm back again, really getting into the "zone". What a day! We ended up back early Smoker at Wild West Ranch
because it was banquet day and there was work to be done. The shuttle showed up on time and between it and all those with four wheels we got everyone down to the Wild West Ranch in short order. After checking in everyone we took a quick group shot before being served a nice BBQ dinner outside. The weather was perfect, the food was good and the beer was cold! After dinner was served we got down to business and gave out some swag. Thanks to all those who donated. We finally got the last of us back to the motel by about 9:30pm to enjoy our usual shenanigans which wrapped up by 11ish. Sunday morning we slept in (surprised?). I got up just in time to say goodbye to Lloyd who was heading home. I had decided
to stay an extra day because our friends from Backroads Magazine would be arriving that day for the end of their own Fall Rally. We would meet them for dinner later that night. We also ended helping out a member who needed some tools to adjust his chain (yeah he had one of those!). The rest of Sunday was a lazy day with only a short ride and a nice relaxing cigar stop at Scott's local cigar store/club. Dinner was at Pumpernickel's, a German restaurant in Bolton. It was great to see Brian and Shira the editors of Backroads Magazine we hadn't seen them for quite a while. Brian got to show off his new "Phaser" that he had just purchased at the Star Trek Set Recreation in Ticonderoga. I hefted the thing and it didn't feel like a toy at all, actually had some weight to it! I believe it can be programmed as a TV remote, so I see him having some serious channel changing fun! I spent the final night in Scott's backyard enjoying one final cigar before heading out Monday morning. So, another rally was in the books. No gravity storms to report, which is always a good thing! It's really a pleasure to put these on because it's awesome to see all of our friends, both old and new, having a good time. To all those who came out, I want to thank you for coming and making it a success. For those who missed it, never fear, there's always another rally to enjoy! To those who've never been to one, I say give it a try. I've made lifelong friendships thanks to these rallies over the years and ridden roads I probably never would have experienced. Like the catchphrases say: “Sport touring at it's finest” and “Join for the bike, stay for Back of the Dragon, Hungry Mother weekend the people!” - Terry Faherty
The Group at Dog Days, July 27-30 in Staunton, VA
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2017 - Issue #4
Concours Owners Group NORTHEAST AREA NEWS
RIDE & EVENT SCHEDULE Time listed is START time. Visit www.cog-online.org for updates and more details. (MD) Sun October 1, 8:30AM Ephrata Bikers Breakfast and Ride Meet COG members at Cloister Post 429 of the American legion, 300 Cocalico St., Ephrata, PA near the loading dock. We’ll chat, look at bikes and deicide on the ride and lunch spot from there. STEPHEN RUTTER H 717.361.1189 (MA) Sun October 1, 12:00 noon Bag Lunch Meet and Greet Meet us at the Quabbin Hill Tower at the Quabbin Reservoir (45 Ware Rd., Belchertown, MA). Bring a bag lunch as we enjoy the view. We will head over to the visitor center with a ride to follow. Bring a friend! The ride will be a short 1 hour trip around the Quabbin and then a stop for ice cream of course! GREG HABEL H 508.444.2235 C 508.745.6677 cog7010@verizon.net (MD) Sun October 8, 9AM Kawasaki C14 Riders and Friends Ride Meet for breakfast at the Union Bridge Fire Hall, 18 West Locust St., Union Bridge, MD. Route sheets will be handed out for a 150 mile self-guided ride that will end in Gettysburg, PA. GREG PUTERBAUGH H 717.632.3324 pbaugh1@comcast.net
RUSSELL FLEMMING H 443.375.1215 fleming@qis.net
social function to meet other riders, discuss tech issues, shoot the breeze, and plan rides. DAVE PERKINS H 416.691.2191 (MD) Sun October 22, 9:00 AM My Favorite Neighborhood #2 Meet for breakfast at the Golden Corral (17635 Valley Mall Rd., Hagerstown, MD) then go for a ride in my favorite neighborhood, ending at the Milky Way Restaurant in Ft. Loudon, PA. GREG PUTERBAUGH H 717.632.3324 pbaugh1@comcast.net
(VA) Thu-Sun November 9-12 Brrr Ride Join us for the annual Brrrr Ride. We will camp at the Natural Bridge KOA (cabins are available, but we recommend early reservations.) www.koakampgrounds.com/where/ va/46144.htm
We usually meet for breakfast and dinner at the Pink Cadillac. Organized rides are planned for Friday and Saturday. Motel accommodations are located at the Budget Inn, 4331 South Lee Highway, Natural Bridge, VA (540-291-2896) CLYDE WATSON H 804.921.5896 clyde.watson@tds.net
PAT SPRAGUE H 540.743.4874 patrick.sprague88@gmail.com
(ON) Tue November 14, 6:30 PM South Central Ont. Meet & Greet (See October 10 for details) (ON) Mon November 20, 6:30 PM GTA East - Meet & Greet (See October 16 for details)
(NY) Sat December 2. 2:30PM Javitz Show Meet and Greet COG Meet & Greet Lunch for some COG (ON) Tue October 10, 6:30 PM comradeship after checking out the New South Central Ont. Meet & Greet York International Motorcycle Show. Gather 2nd Tuesday each month at Mohawk Inn, by the Concours in the Kawasaki area at 9230 Guelph Lane, Campbellville, ON, just North of 401. All welcome. Many hungry peo- 2:30pm. We will depart promptly for the lunch ple arrive earlier to get their dinner. A mainly destination at 2:45pm.The lunch destination social function to meet other riders, shoot the will be Tir Na Nog Times Square. It worked out well last year, had plenty of room, and breeze, plan rides. wasn't on the Santa Con trail. DAVE PERKINS H 416.691.2191 TERRANCE FAHERTY H 718.2327.2099 perkins43@rogers.com C 917-837-6634 tmcefah@aol.com (MA) Sun October 15, 11:30AM (ON) Tue December 12, 6:30 PM Meet & Greet Join us for lunch at Bub’s BBQ, 676 Amherst South Central Ont. Meet & Greet (See October 10 for details) Rd., Sunderland, MA, followed by an afternoon ride. (ON) Mon December 18, 6:30 PM GREG HABEL H 508.444.2235 GTA East - Meet & Greet C 508.745.6677 cog7010@verizon.net (See October 16 for details) (ON) Mon October 16, 6:30 PM ON) Tue January 9, 6:30 PM GTA East - Meet & Greet 3rd Monday EVERY MONTH at Tartan Tav- South Central Ont. Meet & Greet ern, 555 Rossland Rd East, Oshawa, ON. All (See October 10 for details) welcome. Arrive early to kick tires and tell lies in the parking lot (weather permitting). A (ON) Mon January 15, 6:30 PM
2017 - Issue #4
GTA East - Meet & Greet (See October 16 for details) (PA) Thu-Sun May 17-20, 2018 North East Area Spring Fling Rally Wellsboro has proven to be a great location for a NE Regional rally. Its central location is just a day ride or less for many members and offers great riding and sightseeing. The host town of Wellsboro is located in north central PA, along the famous Route 6 corridor, not far from New York State's Finger Lake Region. It is well known for the old fashion gas street lights. The rally area is abundant with museums, wineries, terrific scenery, and of course... great roads. The group dinner will be in the Mary Wells Room at the historic Penn Wells Hotel. More details on hotels, camping and routes will be available on line and closer to the rally date. JASON KAPLITZ H 814.615.9138 C 814.615.9138 cog62@kaplitz.com STEVEN SMITH H 203.720.7575 nead@cog-online.org
(TX) Mon-Thu June 11-14, 2018 Three Sisters National Rally The COG South Central Area folks, led by South Central Area Director Craig Green and Rally Master Fred Boothe, are pleased to invite all y’all to come on down to the Texas Hill Country for the 2018 Concours Owners Group “The Three Sisters” National Rally in Kerrville, Texas. Please check the web site at http://concours.org/national/2018-national-rally for all the details (NH) Thu-Sun September 6-9, 2018 Twistin’ Through the Notch NE Fall Rally Save the date for fantastic riding in and around Lincoln, NH. Check the COG web site for all the details in the upcoming months. GREG HABEL H 508.444.2235 C 508.745.6677 cog7010@verizon.net
Leicester, VT
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Concours Owners Group NORTHEAST AREA NEWS (Continued from page 1)
day ride. The NE Staff and I are here to guide and assist you. The earlier an activity is planned and put on the calendar the more time there is to get the word out in print and online. March and spring activities should be posted on the calendar starting in January to get the best exposure. Since most people enjoyed it last time, I’ll be working on another early March “End of Winter Meet & Greet” like we had previously at Tavern 1757. The March date seems to work well for everyone because it is well beyond the holidays and less risk of bad travel weather. Terry & I have also selected June 30 as the date of the annual pilgrimage to Big W BBQ with a rain date the following Saturday. The 2018 COG Northeast spring and fall rallies are in the final planning stages. Here’s some basic info so you can hold the dates… After a 7 year hiatus Spring Fling is returning to Wellsboro PA May 17-20, 2018. Expect to see a lot of motorcycles around town and in the motels as another motorcycle club from Canada will be there the same weekend. Jason Kaplitz is reaching out to them for a possible joint activity. As in the past, the plan is to have the group dinner a short walk away at the Mary Wells room at the Penn Wells Hotel. Online registration and event details should be posted online in November. On the other side of the riding season, Greg & Tracey have been busy planning to bring the Fall Rally back to Franconia Notch area of NH. While ink still needs to be put to paper, the event is slated for September 6-9, 2018 at Woodward’s Resort in Lincoln. There are fridge and coffee makers in all rooms. The venue has a lounge & restaurant on site and this is where the group dinner will be held. Until next time, ride safe.
photo courtesy Kevin Martin #145
Area Director
Naugatuck CT
203-720-7575
nead@cog-online.org
Greg/Tracey Habel #7010 OPEN Bob Chappell #1283 Greg Puterbaugh #6163 Steven Rutter #9715 George Griffith #6377 OPEN Jim Ansbro #8443 Ben/Abbe Otunu #8594 Steve/Sue Cerutti #6763 OPEN Stephen Strock #10396 Terry Faherty #792 OPEN Dave Perkins #5932 Derek Pugh #11636 Richard Beaudoin #9318 Christian Dupuis #10098 Claude Doucet #9011
AAD MA/VT/NH/ME AAD CT/RI AAD DelMarVa AAD S. Central PA/MD AAD S. Central PA/MD AAD Northeast PA AAD VA/WV AAD Southeast PA/Philly AAD W Hudson Valley NY AAD E Hudson Valley NY AAD Long Island NY AAD Central NY AAD Metro NY/NJ AAD Central NJ AAD Greater Toronto AAD Eastern Ontario AAD Eastern Ontario AAD Greater Montreal AAD Atlantic Canada
Hopedale MA
508-444-2235
COG7010@verizon.net
Claymont DE Hanover PA Elizabethtown PA Benton PA
302-791-0582 717-632-3324 717-361-1189 r 570-925-5010
cog1283@comcast.net pbaugh1@comcast.net ruttersm@comcast.net gbgriff@epix.net
Newtown PA Ellenville NY Copake Falls NY
215-805-0909 845-423-0373 914-953-4154
bluecon06@gmail.com Benotunu@gmail.com Steveonlineusa@gmail.com
Syracuse NY Staten Island NY
315-492-6032 718-227-2099
cogcny@gmail.com tmcefah@aol.com
Toronto ON Ottawa ON Cardinal ON Sainte-Martine PQ Middle Sackville NS
416-691-2191 519-767-8733 613-657-3294 450-427-0182 902-252-5062
perkins43@rogers.com concoursderek@gmail.com sailor_rich@sympatico.ca d1user@mac.com motorcycleclaude@gmail.com
Wayne Geiser #4627 Maryann Geiser #4627A
NE Webmaster NE Newsletter Editor
Tewksbury MA Tewksbury MA
978-851-2710 978-851-2710
geiserw@gmail.com maryanngeiser@gmail.com
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NE AREA STAFF
Steven Smith #3184
2017 - Issue #4