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Vol. 3 - Issue 1
| January 2012
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I. TRW (only) December Ride
1.Dave Preston BMW K 1300S demo
2.Larry Bughi SP BMW K 1300GT
3.Anand Namasivayam BMW F800S
4.Brian Hardy BMW K 1200 GT
5.Mike Judkins BMW R 1200 RT
6.Shane Balkovetz BMW F 800 GS demo
7.Bill Hucks BMW R 1200 RT demo
8.James Reid BMW R 1200 RT
9.Bob Larsen Triumph Speed Triple
10.Eli Altman BMW F 800 ST
11.Tom Brown Triumph Tiger
12.Jim Walker Triumph Tiger
13.Bob Fullerton Kawasaki 600
There's cold, there's too cold, and there's more than the first but not quite the latter. The daring baker's dozen listed above experienced this on our Team Ride West club ride on December 3rd. temp gauge on the dash of the K 1300S I was riding started at 39 degrees and gradually sunk to 34 as we passed through Everett.
I provided some light humor north of Everett as a WSP cruiser came zooming up the left hand lane with his lights on. Everyone saw him coming and moved to the right - except me. For some reason I was off on another planet, ironic since when leading a ride I usually look in my mirrors every few seconds. Everyone watched in fascinated horror as he cruised behind me with lights flashing, until he hit the siren for .1 of a second. I lurched the right while thinking "Hey wait a sec - I was not really speeding," and then he was gone on to some more dire emergency.
Near LaConner the temp stabilized at 37 degrees, and then it started to rain, which seemed unfair! After a fine lunch we came back, and unusually for a Team Ride West ride, most of us actually stuck to the directions sent out ahead of time.
If you have not been on a Team Ride West group ride before, we do not travel in one big clump and we do not insist that everyone stay with the group from Point A to Point Z. For example, Bob Larsen met us at the Smokey Point rest area, and Bob Fullerton waited for us in Stanwood. Larry Bughi lives on Camano Island and rode down to meet the group at the Smokey Point rest area. Somehow we managed to miss each other, and he eventually joined us for lunch, and then rode back to Camano. Tom Brown had to be back in Seattle, and so rode to the lunch stop but kept on going. After lunch, Brian Hardy broke off as did Bob Fullerton, while others dropped off as we neared Seattle.
One of the things I so very much appreciate about our group rides is that most people go to the trouble of letting me know they are leaving the group, which is so kind.
Anyway, a really cold day or a great promotion for heated gear, but a good time.
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II. A Picture is Worth...
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III. More Free Magazines!
If you enjoy e-zine magazines, newsletters and information pages that are full of items of interest and free, here's another one for you. Actually, two! Go to www.pss.com and www.pssrider.com and sign up to receive Puget Sound Safety's information page news AND e-zine. Even better, the e-zine is interactive - you can contribute information, ideas, etc. Cool stuff!
If you prefer free printed magazines, drop by my desk for my collection of magazines loaned (given) out, and also pick up the latest copies of Friction Zone and ADV Moto magazines
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IV. Pithy Words to Ride By...
It's a new year - don't screw it up.
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V. Team Ride West Events
January
1/12 Th Adventure bike prep seminar 6:30pm Showroom #4
1/14 Sa Team Ride West ride 10:00am Snoho Airport
1/17 Tu Team Ride West dinner 6:15pm Café Veloce
1/19 Th Women's Empowerment show 6:30pm Showroom #4
1/28 Sat David Hough
"The Trickiest Component on a Motorcycle: Your Brain"
February
2/4 Sa Team Ride West ride 10am Camano Island
2/9 Th Helge Pedersen Show 7pm Ride West
2/11 Sa Helge Pedersen Request show 9am Ride West
2/16 Th Accident Scene Management 7:00pm Club Room
2/16 Th New Buyers' Evening 6:00pm Service Dept.
2/21 Tu Team Ride West dinner 6:15pm Café Veloce
2/25 Sa Team Ride West ride 10am Whidbey
March
3/1 Th Touring South Africa 6:30pm Greg Baumann
3/3-4 Sa/Sun EuroMoto show Lynnwood
3/8 Th Sasquatch Ride Show 6:30pm Tom Mehren
3/10 Sa R-Ides of March IX 10am Ride West
3/11 Su Start of Daylight Savings Time
3/20 Tu Team Ride West dinner 6:15pm Café Veloce
3/23-24 Bike Swap
3/31- 4/1 Sat-Sunday Desert 100 Odessa
April
4/5 Th Chris Johnson Traction seminar 6:30pm Showroom 4
4/8 Su TEAM RIDE WEST DEMO RIDE #1 10am
4/14 Sa Team Ride West Ride 9am Vashon Island
4/17 Tu Team Ride West dinner 6:30pm Café Veloce
May
5/5 Sa Team Ride West ride 9am SP Fly In
5/13 Su TEAM RIDE WEST DEMO RIDE #2 10am
5/15 Tu Team Ride West dinner 6:30pm Café Veloce
5/26 Sa Team Ride West ride 9am Whidbey Island
June
6/10 Su TEAM RIDE WEST DEMO RIDE #3 10am
6/14-17 National BMW RA Rally - Colorado
6/18 Mon National Ride to Work Day!
6/19 Tu Team Ride West dinner 6:30pm Café Veloce
6/23 Sat Team Ride West club ride Mt. Erie
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VI. You, Me, You-Tube, We..Etc.
We have our own Team Ride West web site page on the Ride West site. Go to www.ridewest.com and locate the Team Ride West page. There you'll find lots of information, links to ride videos and slide shows from past adventures.
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VII. Dinner at Cafe Veloce
We enjoy a fine time and great food at Café Veloce for our club monthly dinners. "Our" night is the 3rd Tuesday of each month. Most people arrive between 6:00 and 6:15pm, and by 6:30pm we have looked at each others bikes sufficiently to sit down to order food. We're in the "club" room in inclement weather and out on the deck when the sun shines.
This month's TEAM RIDE WEST CLUB DINNER will be on Tuesday, January 17th.
Cafe Veloce is located in the Totem Lake mall area north of Kirkland and south of the Bothell/Woodinville I-405 exits.
Directions to Cafe Veloce:
Heading north on I-405 take exit 20B (NE 124th St) and then the ramp to Totem Lake Blvd. You will go through the traffic light to 120th Ave and Café Veloce is to the right just past the auto parts store.
Heading south on I-405 take exit 20 (NE 124th St) and turn left on NE 124th Street. You will go through two traffic lights and then take a left on Totem Lake Blvd. Into the right lane, and right at 120th Ave to the restaurant.
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VIII. The Ride West Difference
Say you're chatting with friends about the varied events and rides you're enjoying with Team Ride West. Say further that these friends ask you, "What makes Ride West different?" Here are concepts we would thank you for putting across - the "Magnificent Seven."
1. With Team Ride West, more rides, dinners, and events than anyone else.
2. More in-store sales, swap meets, seminars, classes, etc. than anyone else.
3. Ability to purchase insurance for your bike, home, and auto - all in-house.
4. More demo bikes than anyone else.
5. Encouragement to take longer demo rides than any one else.
6. Service Department capable and happy to work on any brand.
7. Wide assortment of used bikes of all brands.
Remember, when you send in a new customer who purchases a new BMW and mentions your name BEFORE the deal is done YOU get a $200 gift card!
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IX. Team Ride West Concept Ride Procedures
Team Ride West Concept Ride Procedures
Team Ride West rides are referred to as "concept rides" because route and destination changes may evolve during the day depending on the wishes of those on the ride, the weather, and events of interest we may find along the way. The initial route directions will be sent out by e-mail a few days prior to the ride, but it is not required that everyone on the ride follow the same route or reach the same destination!
Here are the guidelines that we follow:
- Arrive at the start of the ride (usually Ride West BMW) with a full tank of fuel and funds for fuel, food, and other expenses during the day.
- Sign in and receive the printed instructions if needed.(Pause - if you do not have both a motorcycle endorsement on your license and insurance on your motorcycle, we ask that you wait until you do to ride with us.)
- Be VERY careful as we turn out of the Ride West parking lot onto 16th. Cars
- can and sometimes do turn left from Lake City Way onto 16th - potentially at a lethal speed.
- Once on the ride, find a group to ride with of 3 to 5 bikes - based on
- friends, model, experience, style of riding, and/or desired pace.
- Allow LOTS of space around you - front, side, and rear. Do not "tailgate."
- At major intersections that involve a turn, make sure the person behind you
- (in your group) has seen the turn before you accelerate away.
- RIDE AT YOUR OWN PACE - always.
- Pass on the left - well over the centerline. Do not pass on the right - EVER,
- under any circumstances barring dire emergency.
- Use hand/foot signals as needed. There's no required guide to these.
- On the way home, once past the final group fuel stop, it's every person for
- him/her self. You may drop off at your exit or street without the need to let the entire group know - but mentioning your intent at the final stop is a nice gesture.
- Other groups of motorcycles? - pass them very carefully with lots of room.
- For groups larger than 15 bikes or so, we will expect people to take some responsibility for following the route directions and/or others in the group, or for finding their own route. This rule is called "YOYOMF" for "You're On Your Own My Friend." Kudos to Bill Hucks for coming up with the phrase, although his version is just a bit more colorful.
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