THUNDER ROADS® OHIO MAGAZINE www.thunderroadsohio.com www.facebook.com/thunderroadsohio
MAIN OFFICE: 12467 Kinsman Rd, Burton, OH 44021 • (440) 273-9000 • (440) 425-0314 fax RETAIL STORE & OFFICE HOURS: Tuesday - Friday • 10am - 4pm PUBLISHER & EDITOR Derek Armstrong Smith • ThunderRoadsOhio@gmail.com • (440) 785-7331 SALES & MARKETING Iron Cowboy Productions, LLC • info.ironcowboy@gmail.com • (440) 678-8608 Northwest Ohio Area • Mike Stock • mikestock.tro@gmail.com Cincinnati Area • Doug & Cheryl Taylor • dougtaylor.tro@gmail.com DIGITAL MEDIA Timothy Cermak • DigitalMedia.TRO@Gmail.com • (440) 273-9000 LAYOUT & DESIGN Bob Mazur • Bobmazurphoto.com SUBSCRIPTIONS TO THUNDER ROADS OHIO are available for $34.95. Check or Money Order, payable to Iron Cowboy Productions, can be sent to: Iron Cowboy Productions 12467 Kinsman Rd, Burton, OH 44021
FROM THE PUBLISHER Happy August! By the time you read this – the entire COVID situation and our state mandates will have probably changed 3-5x since I wrote it. So, I’ve decided to ditch my first draft of the Letter from the Publisher which talked about all we’ve gone through in terms of the riding community. It’s not really going to be relevant – and what’s really the point? Our whole country has obviously changed a lot through all of this, and certainly the riding community is not the exception. Our whole lifestyle is centered around getting OUT! So, how does that work for us during a “shut down”? It doesn’t. But then the lock down evolved into social distancing and more and more folks realized that motorcycling is a great activity that you can safely do with others. It’s a great time to get out and explore the roads less traveled – either alone or with friends. If you get a group out riding – you’re going to be able to get out and hang with others, while still relatively safe. That is – until you stop. And then you have to make sure all the guidelines are followed. So motorcycle and powersports sales have taken off and despite the lack of big events to ride to – this is a GREAT time to be a motorcyclist! Slowly but surely, some of the restrictions are starting to be rolled back and smaller rides and events are being held. During this period of transition, though, a lot of the big events have been rescheduled – allowing more and more riders to attend the smaller events which are easier for the organizers to hold out and see how things are. Silver lining – more smaller, new events and ride stops are able to take advantage and even flourish during this time. The important thing, though, is that we all make an effort to support some of these folks and the riding community in general. A lot of rides and events have been forced to reschedule / postpone til next year. I’d encourage you to seek alternative ways to help these groups and the causes they support. For the local shops and ride stops – bars / restaurants especially – I’d encourage you to make an extra effort to give them your business. A lot of ride stops and events won’t survive this year. It’s sad to consider who some of these causualties might be. I’m not weighing in on the politics or value of the masks and restrictions placed – and maybe it’s all worth it. I’m not challenging that at all. I’m just saying that we need to consider how much we value our riding community as a whole and recognize that some of the businesses and charitable organizations may really need our support to make it through all of this. The one real undeniable truth through all of this is that we are all in it together. And it’s more than likely that most everyone will survive as individuals. So, maybe we need to focus on the here-after and where we want to ride then and with whom.
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Toni McCoy Shearon & Brian Shearon 1528 Matlock Drive / Chapmansboro, TN 37035 Office 615-792-0040 / Fax: 615-792-7580 email: thunderroadsfounders@yahoo.com ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. NO PART OF ITS CONTENT MAY BE REPRODUCED WITHOUT WRITTEN PERMISSION. PUBLISHER ASSUMES NO RESPONSIBILITY AND IS NOT TO BE HELD LIABLE FOR ERRORS BEYOND THE COST OF THE SPACE OCCUPIED BY THE ERROR, SLANDER OF ANY GROUP OR INDIVIDUAL, FAILURE TO PRODUCE ANY ISSUE AS SCHEDULED DUE TO REASONS BEYOND OUR CONTROL, ANY AND ALL SUITS FOR LIABLE, PLAGIARISM, COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT AND UNAUTHORIZED USE OF A PERSON’S NAME OR PHOTOGRAPH. OPINIONS AND CLAIMS MADE BY ADVERTISERS AND AUTHORS ARE THEIR OWN, AND DO NOT NECESSARILY REPRESENT THE POLICY OF THUNDER ROADS MAGAZINE OR THUNDER PUBLISHING. PUBLISHER DOES NOT PROMOTE THE ABUSE OF ALCOHOL OR OTHER DRUGS.
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THUNDER ROADS® OHIO MAGAZINE
With any luck, it will be here sooner than later and we can get past the challenging times. And when we do – I know that I want to see you all out riding! Til then’ RIDE SAFE – and LIVE STRONG! Sincerely, D. Armstrong Smith Publisher THUNDERROADSOHIO.COM
OHIO’S MOTORCYCLE MAGAZINE
