20201 - Issue # 1
COGnitions:
Ramblings from the Northeast Area Director
photo courtesy Bob Barbanti #7134
Put it out of your mind that Punxsutawney Phil prognosticated 6 more weeks of winter. The first day of Spring is roughly 30 days away. Fingers are crossed that it will soon be time to place the dreariness of 2020 and winter behind us and make plans for much needed cycle-therapy and enjoying time catching up with COG family. I have seen this written other places and feel it’s a good message that also applies to COG: “Let’s have fun in 2021.” It would be silly to think that COVID-19 will not have impact on some COG activities this year. As you will read later in this issue, the Spring Fling do-over is being organized as a no-frills weekend in the Catskill Mountains and unfortunately the fall rally in Vermont will be on hold. Do not fret. We have learned that it is possible to host some club events during Steve Smith #3184 the pandemic. Check out Greg & Tracey Habel’s article appearing in the soon to be delivered Winter 2021 issue of the club’s The Concourier magazine where they write about their experience of “Group Riding in a Pandemic.” Please continue to plan activities and submit events to the calendar as we normally do. Here is my rationale… I feel it is far easier to cancel an event last minute if needed, than to wait until the last minute to plan and promote an event. It seems that day rides will become the more popular activity option this year - These are a simpler activity to plan and host. No-frill overnight or weekend events are also an easy to plan option for those who wish to do some touring. Jason Kaplitz has already submitted several to the calendar. There’s always room for more planned events. Who else has an event to submit? Team up with a nearby COG friend and host it together. “Many hands make light work.” With the roll out of the club’s new web platform, we now have a much nicer online event calendar. For starters, all COG events are viewable on a single Monthly view calendar. Use the Quick List to filter and view events based on one of the six COG Areas or a single state. The club also rolled out a new method to submit events to be posted on the online event calendar that makes it easier than ever for all members to participate in event planning for their areas. In addition, the club created an Event Coordinator club officer position to assist members to have their events listed on the calendar and other aspects of ride and event planning. Mark Wojcik (COG#465) from the NC Area is doing fantastic in the role and feedback has been excellent from NE members he has assisted. One of my 2021 goals is to empower more COG members to be able to plan and host a club activity and remove some of the beginner’s barriers to hosting a club activity. I have worked with Mark to create an “Event Planning” virtual training webinar. The purpose of this one-hour online training is to show how easy it can be and to inspire member confidence to organize and host a club activity, even while facing challenges from COVID-19. The presentation describes basic event type examples, the steps to plan and promote an event, the role of the club’s Event Coordinator in assisting with events, and an easy-to-follow guide for submitting your event to the club’s online calendar. The first webinar session in late January was a preview for the Northeast Area staff, which provided an opportunity for them to provide feedback for improvement. An email announcement to all northeast members went out shortly after that scheduling a session for February 12. I feel it was a success and hope those of you who participated feel the same way. If you missed out on this session, reach out to me by email. If there is enough interest, additional webinar dates will be arranged. That is all for now. Stay healthy and ride safe.
Concours Owners Group NORTHEAST AREA NEWS Concours Owners Groupsm
New Members
NORTHEAST AREA NEWS
First things first, a warm Michael Chaney #13313 Chesapeake, VA welcome to our Newest NE Area COG members!
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 https://concours.org/library 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 © 1989-2021 Concours Owners Groupsm
Editor’s Corner Oh what a difference a year makes. I was looking at the newsletter from a year ago, and it’s full of news, events and promise. Most of those promises did not come about in 2020 and I don’t need to remind anybody why. However, this issue again brings promise and cautious optimism. As the world gains better understanding of the COVID-19 virus, as vaccines are distributed and restrictions lifted, we can begin to make tentative plans for the rest of the year. The calendar has more events for our area than it did nine months ago with more promised. Take a look at the events listed starting on page 5. Remember, though, that we still need to be flexible in our planning as local and national restrictions and recommendations change. Check the on-line listings for the most up to date information.
Maryann Geiser #4627A
In the mean time, start dreaming of warmer weather, great rides and good friends. I hope to see you out there soon! Maryann
Area Director NE Newsletter Editor
Naugatuck CT Tewksbury MA
203-720-7575 978-851-2710
nead@concours.org maryanngeiser@gmail.com
Greg/Tracey Habel #7010 Steven Rutter #9715 George Griffith #6377 Tim Traylor #12811 Steve/Sue Cerutti #6763 Terry Faherty #792 Dave Perkins #5932 Derek Pugh #11636 Christian Dupuis #10098 Claude Doucet #9011
AAD MA/VT/NH/ME AAD S. Central PA/MD AAD Northeast PA AAD US Capital Region AAD E Hudson Valley NY AAD Metro NY/NJ AAD Greater Toronto AAD Eastern Ontario AAD Greater Montreal AAD Atlantic Canada
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COG7010@verizon.net ruttersm@comcast.net gbgriff.gg@gmail.com ebonyzg1400@gmail.com Steveonlineusa@gmail.com tmcefah@aol.com perkins43@rogers.com concoursderek@gmail.com d1user@mac.com motorcycleclaude@gmail.com
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NE AREA STAFF
Steven Smith #3184 Maryann Geiser #4627A
2021 - Issue # 1
Concours Owners Group NORTHEAST AREA NEWS
Around the NORTHEAST News from your Assistant Area Directors
Metro NY, NJ Greetings folks from the winter wonderland that is the scenic Isle of Staten! Well, needless to say, not much other than shoveling Terry Faherty #792 going on in these here parts. So while your trusty steeds are snowbound, take advantage of the time to give them the TLC they need. I personally like to have one or two projects lined up each winter when the weather finally gets nasty. These are the times we should let our freaky farkling flag fly! This year I planned to replace my center stand (if the parts ever come in!) and it's time for some fresh brake pads with a good cleaning of the calipers and fresh fluid. I have already made reservations for the Spring Fling and I'm needless to say looking forward to some COG hijinks after a very sparse year. They even took away the Motorcycle Show at Javitz as my midwinter cycle fix. I have been fully vaccinated thanks to my hospital job, and I'm still breathing. So let's look forward to a better year. Stay healthy and stay safe! Terry
20201 - Issue # 1
MA, ME, NH, VT Ten 10 years has passed since former AAD Kevin Martin Greg & Tracey Habel #7010/7010A asked us if we were interested in taking over the MA/ ME/NH/VT AAD position. I recall at the time I felt overwhelmed with that much responsibility. After some discussion with Tracey we decided we could take on the effort by sharing duties; CO-AADs if you will. With that said, Tracey and I have decided that 2021 will be our last year as CO-AADs. This decision has been brewing in preparation for our recent retirement, plans for varied forms of traveling, and increased responsibilities for parental care. Our tenure has gone by fast we think because of how much fun we had hosting and attending events with all of you. Whenever we had questions we reached out to AD Steve Smith and other members with prior experience. Making our job easier was also the many people that hosted events throughout the seasons. We’ll do our best to not forget anyone but please forgive us if we do (10 years is a long time!). There were those that hosted rides all throughout our area and beyond: Kevin Martin, Lyle Cooper, Ed Dyer, Wayne Geiser, Bob Dallon, and Pat Mulloy. Who can forget the many tech sessions hosted by Pat, Sher, and Angel Mulloy?! The rallies and un-rallies hosted by Kevin Martin and Lyle Cooper. Tracey and I are grateful to all of the many friends that have enriched our lives since joining COG about 15 years ago. Just to be
clear, we are not leaving COG, only stepping aside as CO-AADs. We are still planning to attend rides and events/Rallies and continuing as long term COG members and to help out and participate in the continuing fun and shenanigans. Now with all that said, there are shoes that need to be filled in MA, ME, NH, and VT. Please, please consider becoming an AAD or share responsibility with another member by becoming a CO-AAD. Don’t want the whole upper New England area? Take just one state, or part of a state. There are many possibilities to fit the amount of responsibility you want to take on. As always, please run your ideas by AD Steve Smith who will answer all your questions and coach you as needed. You are welcome to contact us as well. Our garage project is coming along nicely with a recently purchased rolling workbench, new organizing equipment, storage bins, (and soon) ceiling anchored shelving. This will free up an area to work on our bikes and provide a flexible space for rebooting my home brewing hobby. On Tuesday January 5th we held our first COG Zoom social with about a dozen of us attending. Everyone enjoyed being able to reconnect with each other. As usual there were many smiles and laughs throughout. Plans are to host another before the riding season begins; date TBD. We are starting to get some emails from folks about rides they want to host. As soon as details are finalized, they will get posted on social media such (Continued on page 4)
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(Around the Northeast - Continued from page 3)
as www.concours.org, the forum, Facebook, the NE Newsletter, and an email. As always please help us out to estimate attendance and group ride sizes by signing up on www.concours.org , the Concours Owners Group Facebook page, or drop us an email (cog7010@verizon.net) , phone-call (508-444-2235), text (508-4442235) etc. Hope to see you there! Stay safe, stay healthy, and ride smart. Greg & Tracey
Greater Toronto Greetings from Toronto and the Greater Toronto Area. I don't have a lot to report as we have been under Dave Perkins #5932 lockdown since before Christmas. But among the no news is a bit of good news. The Covid infections are dropping rapidly across Ontario, so over the next few weeks the restrictions will be gradually lifted to allow in-store shopping and restaurants reopening with strict social distancing criteria to be enforced.
Concours Owners Group NORTHEAST AREA NEWS bull sessions when everyone is six feet apart! However, I am going to post the meetings to the NE calendar to let members and other interested parties know that we are still out there and to contact me if they have any questions. I'll work with Steve and Mark Wojcik to get this done. Speaking of calendar events, the aforementioned Steve and Mark held a Zoom seminar last Friday evening on that topic. It is much easier to get something on the calendar and is open to all active members, not just the AD's and AAD's. Follow the instructions; it is essentially fill in the blanks. The entries must go through an approval stage, but that seems straightforward. You can set up a ride, a ride to eat, etc. The calendar is your oyster so to speak. If the seminar is offered again I suggest you sign up and watch and learn. I see that Spring Fling in on the calendar. With the border closed, sadly there will be no Canadians attending as of this writing. It is a shame because I've attended a half dozen of these and they are a lot of fun. Same for the National in June. However, fingers crossed on the border opening. So until next time stay well, wear a mask, and be concerned and responsible for those in your bubble. If you are fortunate to ride in the winter stay warn and keep the rubber side down! E-gards! Dave
That said, we are several months away from restarting our monthly meet and greets. It will be tough to have our usual, loud yet intimate 4
2021 - Issue # 1
Concours Owners Group NORTHEAST AREA NEWS
RIDES & EVENTS
Time listed is START time. Visit www.concours.org for updates and more details.
Special Announcement Regarding COVID-19 At the time of this publication there is hope that this pandemic will be brought under control in 2021. However, everything is fluid, so we’re asking everyone to be prepared for possible procedural changes. To create a safe and enjoyable event for everyone, all participants must agree to the following: 1. Each person will be responsible for monitoring their own health. If you feel sick, or if you've been in close contact with someone who has recently tested positive, please stay home. 2. Use hand sanitizer and practice hand washing during the event and before every meal. 3. Bring a mask and be prepared to follow local guidelines regarding masks and social distancing. 4. Event plans and procedures may be subject to change based on new requirements.
2021 SPRING FLING It is SPRING FLING time. This is a do-over from the postponed 2020 event at a location in the north end of the Catskill Mountain region - a great place to ride. The new dates are May 20 - 23, 2021. This cozy and well-kept hotel has a lovely indoor pool in a separate building with lounge area and Jacuzzi, a spacious outdoor deck with fire pit, a small cozy basement lounge, a small breakfast nook, and a tirekicking friendly parking lot. Any of these hotel amenities are subject to change depending on COVID restrictions. Venue: The Hotel Vienna Address: 107 NY-296, Windham, NY 12496 Phone: 518.734.5300 Email: Info@TheHotelVienna.com We have reserved the entire hotel, so you should book early to get a room. Alternate lodging, if necessary, will be posted on the online COG event calendar listing. These will be non-negotiated accommodations. Our block of rooms is only held until March 31, 2021. You must make reservations by calling the hotel directly, not through the website. The hotel is closed the month of April. If you call and leave a message while they are closed it may take a few days for a return call. You can email them your reservation request information and they will contact you. You can view the event calendar listing and register here: concours.org/event-4118319 We intend to keep the rally registration fee very low. This fee will help cover the cost of the AMA Sanction and insurance. There will be no banquet dinner. If possible, we may have a donation funded pizza dinner or something similar. Be cognizant of any quarantine rules for New York State with regard to the state that you will be traveling from.
2021 - Issue # 1
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Concours Owners Group NORTHEAST AREA NEWS
Northeast Fall Rally 2021 We have been giving consideration to the prospect of a re-do of the canceled 2020 Fall Rally in Vermont. After some thought the decision was made to hold off rescheduling the event this year. We realize the disappointment, but there are too many unknowns regarding restrictions associated with COVID-19, especially in Vermont. It is unfortunate and we are sorry. It will be a challenge to host a rally in Vermont with state restrictions in flux until things get back to normal again. An event like this that includes a group banquet dinner and much socializing. We feel it makes sense to wait until it is possible to host a rally with no masks or restrictions. We hope everyone appreciates the concerns and desire to make this a fun and stress-free event for everyone. If the situation changes, we will let you know. Review the calendar for other weekend events.
(CT) Sat, March 20, 12:30PM Start of Spring Meet & Greet Join us for a Start of Spring Meet & Greet. We will enjoy some tasty drive-in food and excellent COG camaraderie at Denmo’s Drive-in, 340 Main Street South, Southbury, CT 06488. We can chat about locations for future monthly meet & greet locations. Denmo’s has typical drive-in snack bar food. They are known for their foot long dogs and hamburgers. Rain date is Sunday, March 21st. Denmo’s only has outdoor seating with limited covered seating. Please RSVP by registering for the event. STEVEN SMITH 203.720.7575 (H) nead@cog-online.org
welcome. Rally central is the Lake Guntersville State Park, 1155 Lodge Dr., Guntersville, AL 35976 256.571.5440 It is suggested that you make your hotel or camping reservations as soon as possible. The lodge will hold a block of rooms at the special COG rates until April 15, 2021. After April 15th, the block of rooms will be released. Rally information, including lodging and camping information can be found on the Rally website: concours.org/national/2021-Rally/
(VA) Sat—Mon, July 3—5 4th of July Weekend Jason’s local club is planning this event, but all (PA) Thu—Sun, April 29—May 2 are invited to join, There is a Shamrock Tour Kentucky Derby Weekend with GPS files available from Road Runner This is a low-key event with no agenda set. Magazine. We’ll be staying at the Comfort Inn, Ride, eat and have fun, We’ll be staying at the 315 Holston Rd., Wytheville, VA 24382. Budget Hose Three Corwns Motor Lodge, 205 276.228.4488 www.choicehotels.com/virginia/ Steinwehr Ave., Gettysburg, PA 17325. wytheville/comfort-inn-hotels/va422 717.334.3168 www.budgethost.com/hotels/ There is a block of rooms reserved under Budget_Host_Three_Crowns_Motor_Lodge_Gett “Johnstown Motorcycle Group”. Call the hotel ysburg_PA.aspx directly to get the group rate. This is a budget hotel with an awesome JASON KAPLITZ 814.615.9138 locations. It’s within walking distance to all the gsjay@kaplitz.com fun in town. Call now to book a room! They sell out quickly on weekends. (WV) Thu—Sun, Sug 12—15 JASON KAPLITZ 814.615.9138 Dog Days Weekend This is a weekend ride-in with limited planned gsjay@kaplitz.com activities (other than riding the great roads of (NY) Thu—Sun, May 20—23 West Virginia). Please mark your calendars and Spring Fling check back for additional information. See details on previous page The riding in this area continues to be STEVE CERUTTI AWESOME!!!! 219 North & South is great! 39 steveonlineusa@gmail.com East and West is great!! The Highland Scenic Highway is great! We rode to Lewisburg, WV (AL) Mon—Fri, June 14—18 one Saturday and had a great time and lunch at 2021 COG National “Ridge Runner” Rally the Del Sol Cafe. I recommend it! The Southeast Area would like for you to come Oh, and the Mountain's won't disappoint cooling to the 2021 COG National Ridge Runner Rally in you off! Even if you're coming from somewhere beautiful northeast Alabama. As the team says, that's been oppressively hot, pack something "It's AL here!" Please join Rally Meister Tom for under your riding jacket. We will be stauing Sills, Area Director Ron Simmons, and all of the at the Marlinton Motor Inn, 21507 Seneca Trail, Southeast Area Staff and Rally team for a week Marlinton, WV 24954 304.799.4711 of fun, fellowship, riding, and relaxing. All are http://marlintonmotorinn.com/
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Registration is open. Call the hotel and mention that you’re with the Concours Owners Group to get the group room rate. JASON KAPLITZ 814.615.9138 gsjay@kaplitz.com
photo courtesy Kevin Martin #145
2021 - Issue # 1