Letter from the Prez…

WOW! Has this been a busy month! In February, Sandyeggo County reported rain on 15 of 28 days…over 50%. We didn’t get a lot of riding in, but we sure got some other things done.

Patches

The patches are here! The patches are here! And do they ever look fantastic . I think John Q. has the honor of being the first to have his proudly displayed on his vest, at which time he promptly rode over to my place and was deliberately slow to dismount from his bike so I could admire it. A HUGE thank you to Don Presten for ramrodding this project. Ya done good! This first order was for only 50 patches and they’re going fast, so if you haven’t purchased yours as yet, better hurry.

What’s that thingy on your helmet?

It’s a Chatterbox Multi-Sport Communicator. And now that we have 11 riders equipped with them, there should be no excuse for passing up the opportunity to stop at a restroom or for making a wrong turn (YEAH, RIGHT!) In any case, our order has been received and all units distributed. Now, we just to have to take a ride and try them out. Thanks to all who participated in this offer. For you who missed it, House of Motorcycles on El Cajon Blvd., is the place to go to purchase yours.

Club Discounts

And speaking of the House of Motorcycles, did you know that as a Wanderer, you are now entitled to a 15% discount on parts and accessories (except tires)? It’s twew, it’s twew! Not only that, but we have also arranged for a 15% club discount at South Bay Motorsports. Both of these shops have excellent reputations and have been very good to the Wanderers and are pleased to have our business. When making a purchase at either of these stores, just mention that you are a Wanderer and entitled to a 15% discount. Members names are taken directly from our Roster and entered into their database so there should be no problems.

New Members

How many Wanderers are there and how many do you know? Seems like our roster is growing monthly, with six new members in just the past month. A special WELCOME to new members Doc and Bonnie Cassidy,

Mike Calderone, Tim Downer, Timothy Bixler, and Katie Maloney. I’m sure that in no time, you will all be as thoroughly confused as the rest of us.

We lost one!

A sad good-bye to Jacquelyn Walker. Although Jacquelyn was not with us for very long, we nevertheless will miss her as she packs up her stuff and moves back east. We wish you the best of luck and we’ll miss you. Please turn out the lights before you leave.

How do you ride a Motorcycle with a cast on your leg?

This is probably not a wise thing to do, so we’ll invite Doc and Bonnie Cassidy to drive a car on our rides for awhile. Doc was the victim of an unfortunate accident on one of our rides recently, and broke his leg/ankle in four places as he low-sided around a curve on SR 94. Fortunately, Bonnie was not injured. We wish you a speedy recovery, Doc. Meanwhile, crawl into the cage and join us in our Wanderering, but let Bonnie drive, okay? BTW…special commendations to those who helped at the accident scene. Sounds like you all had your stuff together.

We don’t have a valid Charter.

We were scheduled to take an approval vote on the Wanderers Charter at the February meeting. We couldn’t! We need 51% of the membership to vote to approve the Charter, and with the total number of members who showed for the meeting plus the proxies we received, we did not have 51% of our members represented. Proxy forms were included with last month’s newsletter, and will be included again this month. In addition, the form was and will be again emailed to all members in a MSWord document format. Please take the time now to complete the form and mail it to Secretary Bill Edwards. Also note that if you SO is listed as a member, then he/she needs to vote separately. I’d really like to get this item of business behind us. If you would like to review the Charter (and you should), please do so on our new web site: http://www.sdwanderers.org/

Nomination and Election of Officers

Just another reminder that nominations for elected positions will be held at our monthly meeting in March, with elections to be held in April. One way to increase the chances of your nomination and election is to NOT show up for the meetings. If you’re not there, you can’t refuse the nomination or election thereof. Hehehehe….I know who I’m going to nominate! JJJ Ride Safe, Ron

· Wanderers Governing Officers

President – Ron Growel

Vice-President – Larry Sammarco

Secretary – Bill Edwards

Treasurer – Gary Steinweg

Webmaster – John Q. Lawrence

Newsletter Editor – Don Presten

Honorary Board Member – Rick Moyer

· Finally, Wanderers Patches are Here!

The new Wanderers patches have arrived. They are 100% embroidered, in full color, high detail and approx 12” in diameter. They are perfect for the back of your vests and jackets.

If you are interested in purchasing a patch, please send a check for $25 per patch made out to Gary Steinweg, and "Wanderers Patch" should be written on the check memo line.

Please mail the check to:

Gary Steinweg

13171 Carolee Ave.,

San Diego, CA 92129

Note that patches will be sold on a first come, first served basis.

· Dues Due!

This is a heads up. The Wanderers $15 annual dues will be coming due in the month of April. They need to be received NLT April 30, 2001. Your check for $15 should be made out to Gary Steinweg, and "Wanderers Dues" should be written on the check memo line.

At the same time, we'd also like you to fill out a new membership application. This will ensure we've got the most up-to-date information on you (address, phone #, e-mail, etc). A membership application has been included with this newsletter for that purpose in case you'd like to renew your membership early.

Please mail the completed membership application and the $15 dollar check to:

Gary Steinweg

13171 Carolee Ave.,

San Diego, CA 92129

Regards, Gary

· Wanderers List Serv

I have been asked to clarify my goals for the Wanderers List - my goal is to provide a list that allows for club announcements and important messages only. Many of our members have expressed a strong desire not to be subscribed to this list due to the heavy traffic. Most would be inclined to subscribe, if the messages were only related to club announcements and club business. I concur - the primary goal of this mailing list is to provide a medium for club officers and ride captains to post important club business and ride announcements. I would like to defer any ride reports and chatter to the SDMC list. I would also request the members who declined subscription, reconsider. Don

· Impromptu Wanderers Outing (Feb 3)

(Also known as "Anyone See Dick's Cylinder?")

Ride Recap by Don - Friday afternoon, the ListServ gets an email from John Q announcing he "wants to ride" and if anyone wants to join him, meet at Starbucks at 10:00 am in the morning - no RSVP needed.

Saturday morning, (Feb 3), I decide at the last minute to take John up on his offer and jumped on the bike (Bobbie had to work) and headed over to Starbucks. Apparently, Ron, Lorna, Dick, Rod, Rose and our newest member David decided the same thing and we found ourselves with a full crew.

We took off a little late (Ron exercised his Presidential Privilege) - and I didn't make it 1 block before I realized that the CB antenna on my bike was flapping all over the place. I waved everyone on and pulled over to tighten it down - total evolution time was about 30 seconds and I was "after 'em!"

I zoomed onto the freeway just in time to pull behind a truck that at the same moment decided to separate itself from an aluminum ladder. The ladder took a "Don Presten Bounce" and headed off into the next lane, then onto the shoulder - Good thing, because I would not have been able to dodge it if it had stayed in my lane.

I restarted my heart, rolled onto the throttle and caught up to the group before they hit Hwy 67. We headed up the mountain to Ramona via Wildcat Canyon.

Jim Hotz was waiting for us at Packards and joined up with us for the ride to Dudley's where we made our first real stop. Bread and cookies were purchased and we were back aboard.

We decided to take Wynola Road into Julian and turned at the Cider Stand. However, this is where John, in the best tradition of the club, took us on a new route (unbeknownst to us and to HIM as we found out later) and we ended up on the other side of Julian. With luck, I had my GPS on and when we hit the cross road at 79, John was about to go left and I yelled, "go right". We went right and came in the back way into Julian. Again, John observed tradition and instead of turning left to the Rongbranch, he turned right. Anyway, we managed to find it eventually and had a nice lunch.

From there, it was decided that we would head to the Glider Launch Point via the Sunrise Highway - the weather was fantastic. When we turned onto the Sunrise Highway, Dick announced over his Chatter Box to Ron and Lorna that he had "lost his cylinder" and we all pulled over to the side of the road.

While everyone was looking around for "Dick's cylinder", he decided that it was time for a nap, laid his bike over and went to sleep. (Sorry ... to the folks that were not there, this is what we like to term as an inside joke).

Actually - Dick's bike had a case of fuel tank vapor lock and the bike starved for gas and eventual stopped running. He popped the gas cap, it went hiss, and they bike was well again.

We continued to the Glider Launch Point - the view was outstanding and there were actually some hang gliders in the air. After a break, we continued our way toward Pine Valley - folks, this leg of the trip was beautiful – there was plenty of snow on the ground and the Laguna's were a sight for sore eyes. White snow, green trees, meadows and a perfectly sunny day...what more could we ask for?

We arrived in Pine Valley, enjoyed a cup of coffee at Major's and then all headed home. I really like these impromptu rides and I would like to thank John Q for taking the reigns and putting it together. A good time was had by all.

· Dick’s Great Adventure (Feb 24)

John Q writes:

I'm not sure whether to title this as a "write-up" for Dicks Great Adventure ride or a treatise on the "abrasion resistance of leather." Suffice to say we started the day with six motorcycles and ended it with five.

This ride was originally to take us out to the desert then up into the mountains but, thanks to a storm Friday it was decided we'd reset the route to avoid crowds of children making angels and guys practicing their penmanship at elevations above 4000 feet. Many of the usual suspects gathered for a 9am start at Grossmont Center. Dick Useted, Bill Edwards, Rod and Rose Fleming, Mike Calderone, Thomas (doc) and Bonnie Cassidy and myself. Six bikes including two Viragos, one Beemer, a Valkrye a Venture and a Suzuki Intruder. It's the latter we don't seem to have much luck with lately.

Dick led us gently over the side of Mt. Helix and out Highway 94, destination Cameron Corners and brunch. We were a mile the big city side of Dulzura when it happened. On one of the highways tighter curves the foot peg of that Intruder tried to dig a hole to China right through the macadam.

Rod and Rose were right behind on their Venture and say the Suzuki took a couple of high hops, it's front wheel trying to become a part of the International Space Station. Bonnie has never gotten around to telling us about being an Olympic class acrobat but we know she is. She left the back of the bike, tucked her hands against her chest and proceeded to roll safely and unhurt to a stop. Doc was not so lucky. "You ok Tom?" queries were met with, "no, my leg is broken." "You sure?" "I can feel it flopping around." OK, this is bad. We collectively got the motorcycle picked up and Doc scooted (under his own power mostly) to the side of the rather busy road (remember, we're smack in the middle of a curve) with riders posted at both sides directing traffic.

Every one of us had a cell phone but wouldn't you know, none had service!   I went in search of either a cell signal or pay phone whichever came first but lucked out and managed to flag down a Border Patrol car. The agent used his radio to summon help.   After what must have seemed an eternity to Doc Paramedics arrived and pronounced his leg to be ok but his ankle probably broken.   He was splinted up and hauled away for some X-Rays and treatment.

Bummer, your thinking but what about the extra motorcycle?   Glad you asked. While we waited for the Paramedics a vehicle stopped. The driver, it turned out was a nurse who wanted to offer whatever kind of assistance she could. Now, how's this for the planets finally getting into alignment---The nurses' Brother in Law "happens" to be a rider who "happens" to be nearby. She goes to fetch him. On arrival back at the scene it turns out Brother in Law "happens" to know the owner of an auto shop just up the road where the bike can be stored safety for a day or two.   He rides the bike there, we exchange phone numbers with the shops owner. Rod has volunteered to retrieve the Intruder and take it back to Tom and Bonnie's home.

Once we'd gotten our breath what remained of the group continued to Cameron Corners for some food and welcome warmth.   After brunch, Bill and I decided we'd had quite enough excitement for the day and headed out Buckman Springs and the I-8 for home while the others went back on 94. I'm glad we took the high road because it was beautiful!   About 3500 feet there was a think layering of snow on both sides of the freeway and the hills all around. The cloud cover was so low we'd have been dusting our helmets on them if we'd just been 200 feet higher.   This is where I was blessing whoever invented thermal underwear and tall windshields.   The temperature was 38 degrees at 4000 feet, we were moving at 70 miles per hour which means the wind chill was six ...yes, six, 6, degrees above zero.   Thinking warm thoughts helps in these situations.

Doc's bike has a badly bent foot peg, the right side saddlebag now has some "character" and he's going to need either a new jacket or a couple of feet of duct tape for patching. The leather did it's job very nicely, tearing but apparently protecting the riders hide.   I, and perhaps some others will be shopping for a full face helmets soon too. Both Doc and Bonnie's helmets suffered road rash to the front and side. Face shields kept skin from touching ground.

Our next ride will be better than this one.

Bill writes:

Safety first is our club motto, but accidents happen!

We met today as planned at Grossmont Center (where the toilet is always out of order!), and departed under cool cloudy skies just after nine AM. Dick took us some cool, scenic little route down to Hwy 94, and we were underway. Six bikes in all, including ride Capitan' Dick Usested, myself, Rod & Rose Fleming, new members Mike Calderon, Tom & Bonnie Cassidy, and John Q. Lawrence riding sweeper.

About a mile before Dulzura there is a treacherous right hand turn preceded by several milder turns, and poor Tom and Bonnie were suddenly down in the middle of the turn, right in front of Rod & Rose. Tom was third in our line of six, and his right foot peg had touched down just enough to lever the front tire slightly, causing him to lowside. As John Q. said later, one couldn't quite believe what one was seeing as we rounded that curve, it was all so quick.

Rod & Rose, John Q., myself and Mike were all somehow able to respond properly, taking control of getting traffic stopped, the bike righted and out of the road, and so on. Tom dragged himself to the side of the road, saying his leg was broken. Bonnie was OK, and the bike was OK, except for some scrapes and a bent right foot peg.

......Well, I just found out that John Q. has already reported on today's events, so I'll stop here, except to add that I thought Tom was in amazingly good spirits throughout his ordeal, smiling and joking with the Paramedics when they arrived. It'll be awhile before he's riding again, and on behalf of the Wanderer's, I wish him quick healing. He mentioned while he was laying on the road, that he was glad for his leathers. Yes indeed. It could of been worse.

Mike writes:

I was on the ill faded ride Sat when Tom went down. I was riding in front of Tom and Bonnie and behind Dick. I saw Tom go down in my rear view mirror and quickly caught up with Dick to let him know. I thought all handled themselves well. None of our cell phones would work so John Q went to find a ph while Bill, Rose and I directed traffic and Rod and Dick assisted Tom.

Tom was a real trooper throughout the whole ordeal. Its one of the nastier turns on that road and it was an accident plain and simple. We went on to Old Orchard Inn for lunch, the ride was a bit chilly but I like the place. After the accident none of us felt too much like doing a lot more riding, we all just wanted to grab a bite to eat, so we all headed home. Rod and Rose and dick and I went back the 94. Rod and Rose live close to me and we stopped at Hooleys Irish Pub in El Cajon for coffee and an O'Douls.

We were really lucky with nurse with the brother-in-law that rode bike and knew a shop in the area. The CHP and Border Patrol were also very helpful. Its only my second ride with the club but I am really satisfied with the choice I made. The accident was a bummer but I thought everybody handled the situation well.

Tom writes:

Hi everybody! Update. My right leg is broken in 4 places! My ankle in two places (inside and outside) and my leg just above the ankle in two places (tibia and fibula). The can't set it from the outside, so I will undergo orthopedic surgery sometime next week.

Rod, thanks for looking out for my bike. I am unsure at this time what to do about it. I am not getting around as well as I was this morning! :)

Also thanks to everyone who helped out, and especially to Rose for being such a friend to Bonnie. Both those ladies are #1 in my book!

I hope you all enjoyed the rest of the ride. We had a good time, and the rest was an interesting adventure. In fact, if I had it all to do again, I would not change one thing. (Okay, okay! I would take the curve just a little slower!)

Just by way of information. I have taken that curve at 50+ several times. But today, like an idiot, I forgot to factor in my wife on the back. Sitting only one inch lower was enough to catch the right foot peg. I learned a good lesson. If I ride "heads up" I will also keep the shiny side up.

Have a great day, and I will be riding with you again soon!

· Minutes of February Members Meeting

Feb. 21, 2001 – By Bill Edwards

Meeting called to order at 7PM by President Ron Growel. Attending were Club Officers Larry Sammarco, Bill Edwards, Gary Steinweg, Don Presten, and John Q. Lawrence. Members present were Pat Sammarco, Anthony Palmer, Pete Minor (with guest Ali ?), Rod & Rose Fleming, PA Davis, and Mike Calderon.

Minutes from previous meeting approved as published in the Newsletter.

Treasury report read by Gary Steinweg. (See newsletter for details) Gary also announced new members Mike Calderon and Tom & Bonnie Cassidy.

· Old Business:

1. Don Presten announced the Club patches have been ordered and should arrive within two weeks. He said they'd be available at the next meeting, and that he'd also make them available at his home for those who want them sooner.

2. The Secretary confirmed he'd not received any Proxies from members, and it was determined there were not enough members present to vote on the Charter revision, so this business will carry forward to the March meeting.

· New Business:

1. Ron Growel discussed his ChatterBox offer and asked if there were any present that wanted to participate before he places the order. (The ChatterBox offer was posted on the mailing lists).

2. Ron Growel reminded everyone that membership renewals are due by the end of April, and encouraged members to renew early due to the costs of the Club patches. As bonus's for early renewal, he announced that Madmap's will be given to the 1st 35 members who send in their renewals to Treasurer Gary Steinweg, and that they will also be eligible for a 10% discount at House of Motorcycles for all parts and service (except tires). The cost of family membership remains $15.00 per year.

3. John Q. Lawrence announced there is now a ChatRoom available on the Wanderer's Website, and that private chats are available as well.

4. Nominations for Club Officers will be taken at the March Meeting, and both Ron Growel and Don Presten reiterated that they intend to take some time off from the Board. All members are encouraged to consider serving at least one year on the Executive Board.

5. Some sad news regarding another local club, the Southern Cruisers, was announced by Anthony Palmer. The Vice-President Dave Halifan and his wife Christie were recently involved in a terrible auto accident, and Christie passed away the past weekend. Services would be Monday February 26th, at the Guardian Angels Church in Santee at 11AM. (Note: the Southern Cruisers have joined the Wanderer's on past rides, and are all great folks)

6. Some discussion of upcoming rides (published in Feb. Newsletter and on the Website) took place, and then the meeting was adjourned at 7:43PM.

· Note from our Webmaster

Happy Birthday to us, Happy Birthday to us…. March brings the first year anniversary of the Wanderer’s Website.

The club Website has found a new home. After nearly a year being hosted by RedRival the hosts rules were about to change. Redrival was talking about requiring banner ads and other pay services which weren't acceptable.

The folks who own and operate TFBNET (owned an operated by the family of Steve Laszko) have offered the club space on their servers, an offer far too good to turn down. In addition we are now registered with our own domain name which will make the site more acceptable to search engines. If you log onto the old RedRival site you'll be re-directed automatically to the new site. If you want to do the typing yourself the Wanderers new home is: www.sdwanderers.org . Don't forget to bookmark the new location!

Come on in! The Wanderer’s Website has a major new feature this month, a chat room! Here’s now it works. Click on the Chat Room button then wait for the welcome page to load. You’ll see a place to type in your name or nickname. Initials work too. Enter the information then click on “Chat.” A new window opens and you’re officially “in” the Wanderers Chat Room. Now what? Well, if yours is the only name on the right side you’re all alone in there. This happens a lot. If there are other names then start “chatting” by typing text into the area at the bottom of the room. The chat room is a great place to meet family and friends. Just arrange beforehand to meet at a specific time oh, and don’t worry about evesdroppers. By double clicking on another name you can enter a “private” chat room that nobody else can see.

Have you had the feeling a motorcycle is following you? As you browse around the main page a Virago (go figure) now follows your cursor’s ever move. Also added this month, a “cartoon of the day” button. This is probably temporary until something more interesting comes along, like, maybe a members page for ride suggestions? Hmmmmm

As always your suggestions for links and features are always appreciated. Send em to johnq@adnc.com

Surf Safe

John Q. Lawrence

· Treasury Report from Gary Steinweg

As of 02/21/2001

1. 01/17 (*a) Last reported balance = $411.92
2. 01/29 Chk, Don, start patches = $411.00(-)
3. 02/02 Ron Growel (3 patches) = $ 75.00
4. 02/02 Ron Growel dues = $ 15.00
5. 02/02 Jacquelyn Walker (1 patch) = $ 25.00
6. 02/02 Gary Steinweg (1 patch) = $ 25.00
7. 02/02 Gary Steinweg dues = $ 15.00
8. 02/02 (*b) Chk, Don, rest down pmt = $ 59.00(-)
9. 02/08 New mem, Thomas Cassidy = $ 17.50
10. 02/12 Don Presten dues = $ 15.00
11. 02/12 Don Presten (2 patches) = $ 50.00
12. 02/14 Bill Edwards (2 patches) = $ 50.00
13. 02/17 Tom Cassidy (2 patches) = $ 50.00

02/21 Current treasury balance = $279.42

· Wanderer Ride and Meeting Calendar

Saturday, March 10^th - Tecate Taco Run. Ride Captain: Ron Growel. Meet at Grossmont Shopping Center in front of the Noble Book Store at 9:00AM. In addition to having the greatest tacos in the world in Tecate, we're going to throw in some surprises to be announced later. Plan on an all-day event, a lot of fun, but not a lot of miles.

Wednesday, March 21^st - Wanderers Monthly Meeting. Monthly meetings are held on the third Wednesday of each month to discuss club business, plan future rides, and of course to socialize a little and show off our rides. These meetings are held at Gaetannos’s Restaurant, 10615 Tierrasanta Blvd, Tierrasanta, 1 mile east of I-15 at 7:00PM. Many of our members come a little early to have a bite to eat prior to the meeting.

Sunday, March 25^th - Bluegrass Festival in Temecula. Ride Captain: Larry Sammarco. We don't often do destination rides, but we've got this one for those interested in foot-stompin', knee-slappin' fun. Watch for further details.

Sunday, April 1st (Tentative) - Swallows return to Captistrano. Ride Captain: John Q. Lawrence. Watch for further details.

Friday, Saturday & Sunday April 6th through 8^th - Weekend at Kitchen Creek. Hosts: Rod & Rose Fleming, John Q. Lawrence, Ron Growel. Joint event with SoCal Cruisers. Enjoy a weekend camping or just a day riding through the mountains to the desert for a view of the wildflowers. Details TBA.</

Wanderers Newsletter

Patches

What’s that thingy on your helmet?

Club Discounts

New Members

We lost one!