ne2011 issue5

COGnitions Random thoughts and ramblings from your Area Director

COG Northeast had another outstanding year of activities, and I hope you feel the same. Special thanks to the Northeast Staff for their service to the club and to the hosts of the spring and fall regional rallies for the work they did to provide a fun time for us. Huge thanks goes out to all the volunteers and team leaders that helped make the national rally in Vermont the success it was. Lastly, thanks to everyone who supports this club as members. I hope you were able to participate in one or more activities and enjoy the camaraderie. You have not experienced COG until you attend one of our incredible activities.

We hope to give you reason to come out and play with COG in 2012. The national rally crew has been busy getting ready for Eureka Springs. For those who need to stay closer to home, I am very happy to report that the spring, summer, and fall Northeast regional rallies are already planned and scheduled. The spring rally, organized by Brian and Andrea Felice, will be held in Westerly, RI. The summer event will be an un-rally in Marlinton, WV planned and run by Jason Kaplitz, Pat Sprague, Kurt Nordstrom, and Joe Cyprych. In the fall we head to Matamoras, PA and an event organized by Dave Fridirici and Jerry Gowen. I am very happy that different people than the usual have volunteered to organize most of these events. Online registration is open for the spring event. Check the club’s online calendar at cog-online.org for complete details and registration information.

Now that the rallies are on the schedule we need members like you to help fill the schedule with day rides and social events. It’s really is easy to do and one of the Northeast staff can help you get started. When you organize a club activity you will get back much more than you put in. Some members have hosted events for years, and even under adversity they want to continue with tradition and enjoy COG camaraderie. Such is the case with Russell and Martha Fleming, who have hosted the annual North & South weekends at their home in Hampstead, MD fro the last 14 years. As many of you may know Martha suffered from a stroke not too long ago. She is doing well in rehab and making great progress daily. (she enjoys receiving get-well cards from members and friends – see Duanes article) Recently Russell asked Martha what to do about North/South and she told him “yes, we have to do it.” Russell wanted me to convey to everyone that there will be a North/South #15, and that Martha says if she can do it, anyone can. Please step up.

Lastly, and probably most important… COG Northeast is desperately seeking enthusiastic members to add to our area staff to take on some of the vacant AAD positions in VA, WV, MD, and other regions without representation Please contact me if this is something you are interested in doing. Some positions have been vacant far too long and we need your help to keep the NE Area going strong.

Happy Holidays, and have a safe, healthy New Year.

2011 - Issue #5 - winter

photo courtesy Bob Barbanti #7134

Concours Owners Group NORTHEAST AREA NEWS

2 2011 - Issue #5 –winter

New Members First things first, a warm welcome to our newest NE area COG members!

Notice Board

RIDE SKED is on page 9

Editor’s Corner Requests, random observations, and the

occasional rant. Neil Baldwin #5762 A hearty Thank You goes out to the COG members who took the time and made the effort to send in the content that allowed this to be our second expanded issue of the year! Since it is also the final issue of the sea-son, all the better to have lots to read for a good wrap-up of the year passed.

I took a pass on writing an Opinion col-umn this issue… believe it or not, no opinions (not motorcycle ones anyhow) were burning in my mind as I put this edition together. In its place I thought I would leave you with a couple funnies this time (above)… I believe they came my way from a “poor parenting” web site, which is something along the lines of the People of WalMart web site.

The next issue will be early Spring, due out sometime in March. Between now and then, stay safe, stay healthy, and be peaceful.

Contact me: [email protected]

2012 NE Area Rally Preview See back page!

Hyattsville MD - David Collins #9821

Dartmouth NS - Carlo Tagliapietra #9832 Carp ON - Mike Lee #9835

Cranston RI - Rick Bean #9841 Andover CT - Steve Lovelace #9849

Virginia Beach VA - Richard Tavss #9852 Middle Grove NY - Geza Ginzery #9853

North Tonawanda NY - Dean Paterson #9864 Fresh Meadows NY - Richard Collins #9865

Whitestone NY - Mark Sfackios #9883

Welland ON - Ray Fournier #9887

Hollis NH - Adam Schoolsky #9889 East Randolph VT - William Laura #9891

Virginia Beach VA - Alan Wagner #9907 Scarsdale NY - Stephen Buglione #9908

NORTHEAST AREA NEWS is published 5-6 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: [email protected] Snailmail: 821717 Sideroad 1, RR3 Chatsworth, ON, N0H 1G0, Canada

Many of the opinions stated in this publication may make no sense to those sound of mind and may just be conveniently ignored. If you use any of the information in this rag to incur damage to yourself, your motor or any innocent or not so innocent bystanders it is you own fault...you were warned!

©2011 Concours Owners Group

No Babysitter - Solution #1

No Sitter - Solution #2


2011 - Issue #5 –winter 3

Around the NORTHEAST News from your Assistant Area Directors (complete list of AADs on back page). Ontario GTA Dave Clancy #5452 The South Central On-tario (GTA) continues to meet at the Mohawk Inn jctn 401 and Guelph line on the second Tuesday of every month – this includes the winter months. Everyone is wel-come, members or not. See the North East schedule at cog-online. The January Motorcycle show will take place Jan 6,7,8 at the International cen-tre near Pearson airport. Our ‘GTA’ area will have a booth there, we still need volunteers to help crew the booth. If you volunteer we can get you half price tickets as well as have some fun and meet interesting motorcyclists. If you can help, let me know [email protected] 905-389-7681, it will be greatly appreciated. Thanks to the folks who have contacted me so far. You guys make it happen! In any event, drop by the booth and say hello.

Metro NY/NJ Terry Faherty #792 Well folks, the season is finally winding down. Most of us north-ern types will be putting our trusty steeds away for their long winters nap. As I write this it's Nov. 11, Veteran's Day (thank you to all those who served), tomorrow is the New-burgh meet and greet which I'll be heading up for to enjoy some COG fel-lowship before the really cold weather closes in. Always a good time! The Javitz show is right around the corner, too. On Saturday, Jan 21st, we'll be gathering at our beloved Connie be-tween 2:30 and 3 pm, get a headcount and head out for some BBQ. Hope to see some of you at the show. Stop off and say hi even if you can't make din-ner. Looks like next season is shaping

up pretty well event wise, too. save those vacation days! I just want to wish all of you a happy and healthy holiday season. Stay warm folks and see you all soon!

PA (western) Joe Cyprych #4665 Hello fellow Coggers, by the time you’re reading this the white stuff is probably flying around for most of us and we can only dream about riding, but lets think ahead to next year’s rid-ing season—it’s what keeps me going <LOL>. I am going to continue our Sun-day meet & greet rides with hopes that we start getting more folks to attend a couple. We are also going to do a week-ender in July at Pioneer Park camp-ground in Somerset PA. We are also planning another COG in Cannan in September. Details and dates will be posted when I work out all the specifics. I am going to change our annual Cook Forest Weekender to the Somerset loca-tion to try and mix things up a bit. With this being the last issue of 2011, I would like to thank everyone who made the effort to attend our rides and events this year and we are looking forward to see-ing you all again next year. With that, Michele and I would like to wish every-one a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

VT, NH, ME, MA Greg & Tracey Habel #7010 Hello from Greg and Tracey Habel, your new co-AADs. First, we would both like to thank Kevin Martin for his many years of dedication and service to COG as AAD, and for encouraging us to get involved. Kevin has always put on first class rides and rallies. Also, thank you to AD Steve Smith for his mentoring and constant support.

Now, something about us. I started rid-ing in 2003 on a 1986 Kawasaki Vulcan 750 after taking the MSF course. Two years later on the Vulcan I realized I wanted something better for 2 up, sport

touring, and increased luggage capac-ity. I purchased a 99 Concours and quickly joined COG. The hook for me in COG was firmly planted in the spring of 2007 at my first COG rally in Liberty, NY. Tracey rode on the back seat for a couple of years and then got the riding bug. Part of her motivation was the thought of me becoming unable to ride and the two of us stranded. Once she completed the MSF course she tried my old Vulcan but found it too heavy. She quickly fell in love with a 2005 Kawasaki Ninja 250; finding the weight and maneuverability much to her liking.

After attending a couple season’s worth of rides led by AAD Kevin Martin, I held my first MA/CT ride to the Vanilla Bean Café in Pomfret, CT; and I liked it! This was followed by a tech session in the garage to demonstrate a valve ad-justment. Soon we got our brother-in-law Pat hooked and he purchased a 2004 Connie. Pat and my sister Sherry opened up their home for a tech session which then developed into an annual event, complete with lunch. Not having enough, Tracey and I organized a camp-ing weekend in West Thompson, CT with co-hosts Pat and Sherry. This combined our love of camping with motorcycling; what a great combina-tion! This too has turned into an an-nual event. I have occasionally filled in for Kevin Martin and Lyle Cooper to lead rides; otherwise volunteering to run sweep. Meanwhile, Tracey was busy with planning details and menus for our tech sessions and camping weekend and joining me on some of the rides. Our recent involvement in the 2011 National Rally was our biggest project to date as the Hospitality Leads and we thoroughly enjoyed it. It added a whole extra dimension of involvement for us and we found ourselves having a wonderful time with the planning and being a part of such a spectacular event.

When Kevin Martin approached us with the opportunity to take over, both of us were very excited and honored.

(Continued on page 4)


4 2011 - Issue #5 - winter

Tracey and I work well together as a team and thought this would be a great opportunity to continue to give back to the club that gives us so much. We have started brainstorming some ideas but we would really like to hear from our MA, ME, NH, and VT COGers on what they would like to see happen over the next year. Here are some of our goals for this year:

Reach out to members for feedback and ideas

Involve the COG ladies in more of our events

Involve our VT and ME members more

Fun activities. E.G. Roadside America landmarks contest (more to follow).

Monthly rides (led by us or volun-teers)

Hold a monthly meet and greet

Host an “un-rally”; in the Berk-shires

Host 2 annual socials at our house or a members house

Expand on camping and the tech session

Vary the ride starting points and times

As your new AADs for MA, ME, NH, and VT, we look forward to our first year together and the fun times ahead! If anyone is interested in sharing some of the AAD responsibilities by becom-ing an AAD for ME, NH, and/or VT, please contact us. There are plenty of opportunities for more volunteers.

We are looking forward to seeing you all at our first social on Saturday Janu-ary 7th at our house in Hopedale, MA where you can be part of the activities planning for 2012. See the list of events and the calendar at www.cog-online for more details. Greg and Tracey Habel. Call or email us anytime. 508-444-2235, [email protected]

Philly+NJ south Jim Ansbro #8443 Our region in the greater Philadelphia and South Jersey region is still suffering from storm damage that Irene and Lee dished out at us. The back roads in Bucks County are receiving repairs on a daily basis, but hopefully by spring we'll be able to enjoy the journeys we had in the past.

Traveled past the 'Road Closed' barri-ers to check out the progress. The roads to some covered bridges, and even just creek bridges are still left untouched, not from lack of anything else than manpower. Here are a few pics. So, while this area is under repair, please be patient as alternate routes are being explored and new journeys will be posted in the calendar."

NY (Hudson Valley NW) Bob Barbanti #7134 Another year has passed us by as 2011 comes to a close. When looking back upon 2011, I feel that I really didn't ac-complish everything I wanted to by a long shot. I feel like I didn't have the amount of rides that I really wanted to have. Which really is strange consider-ing that we really did have quite a few events in this year in my little piece if COG-land. Maybe next year, I can do better. This year we did manage to have

11 Meet & Greets. That turned out to be every month except February when the NE Track Day-go cart racing was planned for that day. That was too much fun to pass up! The August Meet & Greet also turned out to be a ride for lunch in Jamaica VT, during the Na-tional Rally. This allowed for a day trip for folks who couldn’t attend the Na-tional. The idea worked as planned, since almost all of the attendees came in for the day.

(VT/NH/ME/MA report, continued from page 3)

(Continued on page 5)


2011 - Issue #5 - winter 5

We did a BBQ ride to Kundla’s BBQ in Hamlin PA. Mike Aldea planned the route and it was an enjoyable day. An-other event was the Saratoga NY un-rally. This overnight ride turned out well. A nice ride that had folks converg-ing on Saratoga for an overnight. Some stayed while others just rode for the day. We had a great group dinner that night. I hope to do another ride like this next year. Another unofficial COG ride was the Headless Horsemen Pre-ride. It was a great day riding a route that Steve Cerutti planned. It was a pre-trip for the actual Headless Horsemen event to take place later. We had a nice group of COG folk for that.

The 2011 COG National Rally in West Dover VT was a lot of work (including the Meet & Greet). I think I was tired the whole week. But I managed to ride quite a bit as well as work. It was a most satisfying feeling! Hopefully a good time was had by all. And last but not least a big thanks to everyone involved in both putting on and/or participating in the Wellsboro PA Spring Fling, and the Lake George NY fall rally. I had a

great time at both. But this all took place prior to the last issue of the NE News-letter. So what’s been happening in the fall?

The October 8 Newburgh NY Meet & Greet was a beautiful cloudless day with temperatures around 80 degrees, which made for a really nice October day. The turnout was great with 16 peo-ple from 5 states participating. A ride afterwards followed along the Hudson River northbound. It was a long day for me, getting home just before dark. I found it to be a very enjoyable day with friends.

The November 12 Meet & Greet was also another beautiful day., especially for November in Newburgh. The after-noon temperature was about 54 de-grees, without a cloud in the sky. We had a good turn out with 17 people from 5 states, participating. Not too shabby for November. Most people were able to get in a nice ride after lunch on the way home. All in all a very nice November day!

I plan to continue the Meet & Greets through the winter months, as long as folks show up. We had them through the winter last year, although a couple

of the months did have a relatively small turn out. But that was under-standable. It was good to see everyone that did participate.

Next year’s plans are not set as of yet. But I’m looking to continue the Meet & Greets. I do entertain the idea of possi-bly having a few of them in various lo-cations. This may give us a change of scenery. As well as possibly making them more accessible to folks who oth-erwise may not be able to make them. Other events that I would like to in-clude next year include one or more rides for BBQ and also another over-night un-rally like Saratoga (but not on father’s day weekend this time).

I’m open to ideas on this. But cost and locations that have food & such within walking distance is preferable. If you have ideas, let me know. Maybe even a ride to a national landmark or such, like we did with Howe Cavern’s. (Example: The Battleship New Jersey, the Walk-way over the Hudson or something similar.) If you have an idea, maybe help me out with some of the logistics as well. The more information I have, will make it easier to implement. Again, thanks for another great year!

(NY (Hudson Valley NW) report, con’d from page 4)

GREETINGS

From Northern New England By Kevin Martin #145 Our riding season is just about over with limited daylight hours and cooling temperatures, although November is shaping up to go down as one of the warmest Novembers on record. I man-aged to get away on Saturday Nov 26 to ride down to the Mo-toMarket annual holiday party and with temperatures in the 60’s, you can just imaging the attendance. One of the largest holiday crowds I’ve seen at MotoMarket in several years. I bumped into Coop and Mike Benham while scoping out all of the bikes and shared some pizza with them while we talked about COG event plans for next year. As reported, looks like the Spring Fling will be in Rhode Island next year. Don’t recall ever attending a COG venue in R.I. in past years so this could be interesting especially since I don’t often get a change to ride around Rhode Island and Connecticut. I don’t think I’ll be able to take the time necessary to make the Arkansas National this year, but I am interested in the August Dog Days rally in Marlington West Virginia since every time I tried to make that event in the past something unexpected came up forcing me to cancel. Hope to be able to make it next year!

Greg and Tracy Habel are busy developing their first AAD sched-ule for next year and I plan on hosting a few events throughout the season to supplement their calendar. I believe a few other local members have also offered to host some events so 2012 is quickly shaping up to be a full riding season us New Englanders. 2011 has been a tough year for me and my family which kept me from doing much of the planned riding I was looking forward to, and just when things started to level out, we had another death in my family over the Thanksgiving weekend, this time a cousin that is 2 years younger than me. I’m hoping that after this we’ll have a pleasurable Christmas and New Years and 2012 will be a significant improvement over 2011. Right now Amy and I are really looking forward to the Christmas holidays because our only grandchild will be 17 months at Christ-mas and he’s seeing that something special is going on with all the Christmas lights and decorations, and will love opening his presents this year. We are making plans to take him to see Santa soon, that should be a photo moment, I only hope he doesn’t yank at Santa’s beard. Anyway, Amy and I wish our COG Family a happy and safe holiday season with wishes for a healthy New Year !

Regards, Kevin

RIDE REPORT

Brrr Ride By Kurt Nordstrom #6049 Well the 14th annual Brrr Ride is officially in the books. This was truly a “Brrr Ride” this year, with temperatures in the morning well below freezing, but afternoon highs were in the low to mid 60’s which made for excellent riding weather. We had a great crowd show up this year, with 30+ in attendance at the KOA in Natural Bridge, VA. COG’s motto of “Join for the bike and stay for the people” was really ringing true this year as only three Kawasaki Concours arrived for the event. The rest of the two wheeled steeds were a smat-tering of BMW’s, KLR’s, Triumph’s, Yamaha’s, Honda’s and Suzuki’s, most of which were stan-dard models or dual sports. There were also two crotch rockets in attendance. There were six riders that showed up on Thursday to get in an extra day of riding. Some headed SE and others due east as Friday’s weather was downright brisk and very windy. There were ici-cles hanging along the rock formations on the Blue Ridge Parkway reminding us that “old man winter” is right around the corner. Friday afternoon and into the evening the rest of the group arrived. Some ventured out to dinner while others started a fire and ate fire side, a frugal bunch we are. When everyone returned from dinner the fire side camaraderie lasted well into the late night hours. Saturday morning we awoke to frost on the pumpkin, it was downright cold. We met at the Pink Cadillac for breakfast @ 8:00 a.m., route sheets were handed out, GPS files were downloaded and after a hardy breakfast we headed southwest to Paint Bank, VA for lunch. Some of us took the “road less traveled” while the rest asphalt surfed to the Swing Bridge Restaurant in Paint Bank, VA. After some locally raised Bison burgers, BBQ and sandwiches were consumed the waitress twisted our arms into having some of their homemade desserts. Fully stuffed and wanting to take a nap we headed back to the KOA in Natural Bridge, VA. The Brrr Ride would not be the Brrr Ride without Saturday night dinner at the Pink Cadillac Diner. Arriving at approximately 6:00 p.m. we had to fight for tables as the girls from Mary Kay were in town. After dinner we all headed back to our KOA campsites, the campfire and to tell stories about the day’s events, sights seen and discussed pending plans for the rest of the year. As usual Ron Naly and his staff at the KOA in Natural Bridge, VA rolled out the red carpet for our group, supplying us with discounted camping rates, clean restroom facilities and all the fire wood we could burn. This was the 11th year at the KOA and they truly appreciate our patronage. With that being said, mark your calen-dars for next year’s Brrr Ride; it will be a 4 day event at the Natural Bridge KOA, November 9th – 12th, 2012. In closing I would like to wish each and every Cogger, his wife, significant other or main squeeze and family a safe and happy holiday season and a happy and pros-perous new year.





RIDE REPORT

AMA Grand Tours By Wayne Geiser #8542 I do the vast majority of my riding alone. Many times, I decide to go for a ride on the spur of the moment which leaves me the problem of where to go. AMA Grand Tours (GTs) have helped solve that problem and taken me to places that I never would other-wise have gone. The AMA sanctions GTs each year, though they have nothing to do with running the events. A GT is similar to a scavenger hunt. The rules will tell you what locations are eligible as well as what you have to do to prove that you’ve ridden there. Register be-fore you start ($25 is the typical fee), ride to a certain number of locations, take photos to prove it, and send in your materials before the deadline and you are a “finisher.” In the dead of the winter, I begin to look around for which clubs are doing one this year and what their theme might be. I eliminate any that I don’t think I’ll be able to complete and choose the most “fun” from those that are remaining. Last year was an exception as I had chosen “An Affair With Water” (towns whose name starts or ends with one of a list of “water” words), then “Smoke Chasin’” (restaurants with “BBQ” on the sign) was announced. So I did two! Each GT will have its own rules. Sometimes they are simple: anything listed on the Roadside America website is included. Other times it is more complicated: exactly 15 BBQ restaurants required; 1 restaurant in 15 states, 3 restaurants in 5 states, or 5 restaurants in 3 states. Generally, you must take a photograph that includes some of your motorcycle and your “flag” (sent to you upon registration). What you take a photo of can vary. I’ve had to take photographs of town entrance signs, signs attached to any building, baseball parks, post offices, etc.

Besides a large collection of photographs of your motorcycle in all sorts of places (under Route 84, in a cemetery to get a monument marking where NJ, NY, and PA come together), you generally get a T-shirt for finishing and get entered in drawings for other prizes donated by the GT’s sponsors. You may even get a great story to tell, like I did when I showed up at H.P. Love-craft’s grave site on the anniversary of his birth and found a sizable fan group from nearby Brown University. GT’s generally run through the heart of the riding season, start-ing around March or April and ending in September or October, though I have seen at least one that went from January 1st to December 31st. They can sometimes be difficult to find. The AMA lists them in their magazine and on-line, but they are not a top priority and the listings are generally very late. I generally do an Internet search after the first of the year. Even though the journey is important, the destination is also of interest for me and AMA GTs have taken me to more places than I can remember. Luckily, I’ve got the photographs to jog my memory.



RIDE REPORT

Pepper Run By Duane Shaffer #9189 Friday night we had some rain but most of the people arrived braving the rain. Saturday morning we had the traditional bacon, eggs, pan-cakes, orange juice and toast for breakfast. We had two cooks to do the meals and they did a terrific job. Saturday the rain stopped but was rather windy. We had five riders that took the road ride and four riders did the dual sport. Saturday evening we had our traditional Thanksgiving Dinner early with roast turkey, mashed potatoes, stuff-ing, gravy, cranberry sauce, green beans and four pies for desert. Sunday morning after breakfast and pictures everyone started for home. We will have our next ride in the spring of 2012, watch for it. Russell and Martha Fleming were at the ride. What a wonderful lady. As you may or may not know she is in the hospital. Would you please keep her in your prayers? I received an Email from Russell and he would like everyone to send her cards. He then takes them to the hospital and reads them to her. Please send the cards to the following address:

Martha Fleming 2610 Old Schoolhouse Rd.

Hampstead MD, 21074 Well l that’s all folks from me. I hope all of you have a wonderful Holiday Season and think spring unless you are a skier.

EVENT REPORT

Motorcycle Safety Conference By Greg & Tracey Habel #7010/7010a Tracey and I had the honor of attending the Mass Motorcycle Safety Conference on 4/23/11 put on by the Executive Office of Public Safety and Security - Office of Grants and Research -Highway Safety Division and the Massachusetts Depart-ment of Transportation -Registry of Mo-tor Vehicles. The topics were: Motorcy-cle data, Licensing information, Massa-chusetts Motorcycle Association, Massa-chusetts Motorcycle Survivors Fund, Mo-torcycle laws, and Insurance information. About 40 people attended from various chapters like the Red and Blue Knights. The same conference was held earlier in the year with law enforcement. The over-all project is funded through a federal grant to reduce motorcycle fatalities and injuries. This is done through media cam-

paigns, training rider coaches, and in-cluded a pilot program for sport bikes. Gene Carabine, Program Coordinator for the MA rider education program gave a statistics based presentation on the 279 male motorcycle fatalities from 2001 – 2009. Not surprising were the high oc-currences on weekends and mid evenings. Of particular interest to us were the age groups graphs and the challenges the state has in reaching out to the various high fatality groups. The 20 – 29 year olds have 31% while the 40-49 age group had 24% of the fatalities. The younger crowd is less interested in safety in general and does not typically attend club meetings. The 40-49 age group is speculated to be those who are returning to riding after many years off. The state is trying to think of different ways to reach out to the younger crowd; like using Facebook. A pilot sport bike program was held in 2008-2009 but was poorly attended. More stats -20-24 year olds represent 3% of licenses given, but 19% of fatalities.

Here’s another (not to slam Harley David-son) – 35 deaths were on HD’s and were between the age 40 and 49. Forty two percent of fatalities were on a sport bike while 38% were on a cruiser. Touring bikes were less than half of those figures. Here’s one – 40% of the riders had their license less than 1 year. Twenty four per-cent were on only a permit. I like this one – 79% did not have any training. Dave Condon of the Mass Motorcycle Assoc talked about the many bills they had sponsored. One that caught my eye was a bill to get a tax exemption for safety clothing. They are also interested controversial bills as in a helmet choice law for over 21 and an out of state helmet exemption (when an out of stater travels through MA they would not be required to wear a helmet). They are active in trying to prevent the targeting of motor-cles via motorcycle only check points. The MMA is also involved in education via high vis signs. A big focus has been on “When in town, throttle down” to help



RIDE SCHEDULE Time listed is START time. See www.cog-online.org for updates.

(ON) TUE 13 December 7PM South Central Ontario Meet-Up 2nd TUE each month Mohawk Inn, Campbellville, Guelph Ln, just N of 401. All welcome, friends, wives, girl/boy friend. Many hungry people arrive earlier to 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 CLANCY 905.389.7681 [email protected]

(ON) FRI-SUN 6-8 January 10AM Motorcyle Supershow w/COG booth The COG Northeast Area South Central Ontario (GTA) area will have a booth at the Motorcyle Supershow at the International Centre near Pearson airport. If you can help crew the booth contact me. In any event you and your friends are welcome to drop by the booth to say hello. Come see usin the club section. www.supershowevents. com DAVE CLANCY 905.389.7681 [email protected]

(MA) SAT 7 January 4PM New AAD’s Social Please join Greg and Tracey Habel for their first social as the new AADs for the area. We'll do all the cooking, just bring yourselves, your beverages and your ideas for the upcoming riding season. We will go over ideas we have come up with but really want to hear your feedback and ideas. Starts at 4 pm; dinner at 6 pm. Please RSVP using the online registration by Jan 1st, 2012 so we can plan on food quantities. See you there! GREG HABEL 508.444.2235 R 508.856.7609 W 508.873.1042 M [email protected]

(ON) TUE 10 January 7PM Southcentral Ontario Meet-up Same details as December 13

(DC) FRI-SUN 13-15 January 2012 International Motorcycle Show Shed your winter blues at the Washington Convention Centre. Info www.motorcycleshows.com

(NY) FRI-SUN 20-22 January 2012 International Motorcycle Show Shed your winter blues at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Centre. Info www.motorcycleshows.com

(CT) SAT 11 February 5PM Area Meet & Greet Meet and Greet Dinner at Verona Pizza. Let’s shake off the cold and have some great wood fired pizza and some beverages. We will gather at 5 PM for dinner and chat about the upcoming season. Hope to see everyone there !! NORM WALTON 860.635.0803 H 860.836.5162 M [email protected]

(VA) SUN 12 February 9AM Mid-Winter Ride? We will meet at the Inwood Restaurant on Route 15, just North of the roundabout in Gordonsville, VA, at 9 AM Sunday morning 12 February 2011. A ride will follow, weather permitting. Hope for blue skies and clean roads; this is normally the coldest ride of the year. Got electrics? PAT SPRAGUE 540.743.4874

(ON) TUE 14 February 7PM Southcentral Ontario Meet-up Bring your sweetheart on Valentine’s Day. Same details as December 13. (NY) SAT 10 March 11:30AM

Lower Hudson Valley Burger Social M&G Normally this time of year we do our annual go-kart track day followed by lunch at the Blazer Pub. This year we are skipping the racing - which has been unpredictable in its availability - and going straight to the meat of the matter. Come for a great hamburger

and steak fries in an old timey country pub setting, and relax with some COG friends as we reminisce about the past year’s riding and look hopefully forward to the near approaching spring. All members, non-members and prospective members are welcome.Please contact the event host if you plan to come so we have an approximate headcount. The Blazer Pub (www.theblazerpub.com), 440 New York 22, North Salem (Purdys), NY. Contact Steve C. (COG #6463) at: [email protected]

(ON) TUE 13 March 7PM Southcentral Ontario Meet-up Same details as December 13

(MD) SAT-SUN 17-18 March 9AM Crab Cakes Ride Meet at Holly's Restaurant located east of the Bay Bridge on the service road on the north side of Rt. 50 at exit 43B, heading east (exit 43A if you’re heading west). Directions and a map are available at www.hollsrest.com. We plan to meet for breakfast at 9:00 am and will depart the restaurant around 10 am and ride the eastern shore of Maryland and Delaware. The ride will end at Elk Neck State Park in North East Maryland where we will camp for the night. Campsites allow 2 tents per site. Hookup with a COG friend and make reservations by calling 1.888.432.2267 or online at: reservations.dnr.state.md.us and ask for camp site #230 to #240 area which is close to the bath house. I have made reservation at Woody’s Crab House in North East MD for dinner at 6:30 pm for crab cakes. Woody’s is located at 29 South Main Street if you cannot make the ride and want to join us for the evening please let me know so I can put your name on the list for dinner. Sunday morning we have reservations at Pier 1 Restaurant for breakfast at 8.30 am. This is located at 1 North Main Street, North East MD. Contact: Russell W Fleming, [email protected] or 410.374.9687

reduce noise complaints. They even vol-unteered to attend club meetings to test your pipes. Just a few of the many ac-tivities they are involved in. Gene Carabine spoke about the rider edu-cation program. In 2001 there were 5 schools in 8 locations. This has grown to 9 and 18 respectively. Their main recom-mendations to tackle are to: review and update the motorcycle manual, update the

motorcycle knowledge test, implement a road test that is consistent with the BRC (these would be done at the MC training schools), and to prevent people from re-newing their motorcycle permit indefi-nitely. Joe Proia of Ironstone Ventures (MC training) talked about his company’s challenges such as: how to convince peo-ple to take the course, and how no more funds are being given for training. Joe noted that only 10% of the people that take the BRC, take the ERC. He would

like to offer the Advanced Riders Course but does not see enough demand. All in all the conference was excellent and showed that even with little funding, the state of MA is able to continue mov-ing forward on key initiatives. Tracey and I walked away with a better under-standing of the many motorcycle safety challenges facing the commonwealth. Thank you presenters and hope to see you next year.

(Safety Conference, continued from page 8)

http://www.theblazerpub.com/�

mailto:[email protected]�

photo courtesy Kevin Martin #145

2012 RALLY PREVIEW! By Steve Smith, AD #3184

Spring “Fling” Rally May 17-20, 2012 – Mark the dates and book your rooms now. COG is headed to Westerly, RI. Brian Felice (COG#9125) has enthusiastically volunteered to organize Spring Fling in his home state. A limited block of rooms is secured at the Winnapaug Inn (www.winnapauginn.com), a nice place near the shore. Rooms will discounted to $80/night + tax. A Pig Roast and smoked turkey banquet dinner will be held Friday evening at a restaurant next to the hotel. This event is timed to coincide with Twisted Throttle’s open house at their new, nearby facilities . Early rally registration will be $35 for members and go up from there. The mail-in registration flyer will be in the March newsletter, but online registration is open now. Room block is held for a limited time before being dropped and can be booked by calling the Winnapaug Inn directly at 800-288-9906 or 401-348-8350 and mentioning Concours Owners Group (COG). For more information contact Brian at: bdfelice @ cox.net or 401-828-3354.

Summer “Dog Days” Rally, Down & Dirty Aug 9 -12, 2012 - COG returns to the Marlinton Motor Inn (Marlinton WV) to escape the dog dogs of summer in the cooler WV Mountains. The organizers (Kaplitz, Nordstrom, Sprague, Cyprych) have planned a no-frills un-rally to keep cost down. No banquet, no t-shirt; just great riding in Wild & Wonderful West Virginia. The area offers riding to suit everyone’s desire with both paved and unpaved opportunities. The motel, located on RT 219 just north of the town of Marlinton, has a restaurant & lounge on-site, and a nice outdoor pool. There is a convenience store next door where beverages and fuel are available. Town is just a short ride south with more shopping opportunities. 50 rooms are blocked for Concours Owners Group (COG). Room rate for 2 people is $69.95 including tax. The room block will be held until 7/23/12 then released. Call for reservations 304.799.4711 or 800.354.0821. The mail-in registration flyer will be in a future newsletter and online registration will open in 2012. Consult the online calendar of events listing for more information and links to local tourism related websites. For more info contact Jason Kaplitz at: cog62 @ kaplitz.com or 814-535-8669.

Fall Foliage Rally October 25-28 – Thanks to Dave Fridirici (COG#3223), the 2012 Fall Rally will be at the Best Western Inn at Hunt’s Landing, Matamoras, PA , 570.491.2400. We have blocked 60 of their 109 rooms; these will be held until 8/25/12. The room rate is $91 + 9% tax, and includes a full hot breakfast for 2, served from 6:30-10:00am or “On The Go” breakfast at 5:00am. This special rate is only available until July 1, so book rooms early. After that date the rate increases to $129 + tax. No deposit is required, you will not be billed until checkout, and you have until 4:00 pm of 10/25 to cancel, no charge. A Saturday evening banquet will be held. This area offers spectacular riding in any direction and easy access for those traveling from a distance. More details will follow in spring, so save the dates, and book your rooms early. For more info contact Dave Fridirici at: dfridirici @ rcn.com or 484.553.1665.

NE AREA STAFFNE AREA STAFF

Area Director (AD) Steve Smith #3184 203-720-7575 [email protected] Web Editor Wayne Geiser #8542 978-851-2710 [email protected] Newsletter Editor Neil Baldwin #5762 519-794-0129 [email protected]

Assistant Area Directors: (AADs) VT, NH, ME, MA Greg & Tracey Habel 508-444-2235 [email protected]

Metro NY/NJ Terry Faherty #792 718-227-2099 [email protected] NY (Hudson Valley NW) Bob Barbanti #7134 845-895-1130 [email protected] PA (western) Joe Cyprych #4665 724-796-1401 [email protected] DE, east MD, NJ, Philly burbs Bob Chappell #1283 302-791-0582 [email protected]

Northcentral PA Duane Shaffer #9189 570-726-4676 [email protected] South East PA Rudy Vedder #9217 717-672-6902 [email protected] Philly+NJ south Jim Ansbro #8443 215-805-0909 [email protected] CT, RI Norm & Lorie Walton #7011/a 860-836-5162 [email protected]

ON (GTA) Dave Clancy #5452 905-389-7681 [email protected] ON (eastern) Ken Fader #8534 613-865-7995 [email protected] Vacant (please help!):

NY (west & central)

VA

WV

MD

VT, NH, ME

Atlantic Canada

ne2011 issue5

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