Time sure flies when you’re having fun…or so I’ve heard. HOG officers just returned from a trip to Las Vegas for Primary Officers Training. Your Bakersfield HOG team attended classes and networked with many different HOG chapters from around the United States. We learned a lot and you’re sure to see some new ideas in the not-to-distant-future.
We also learned more about safety and liability. Bakersfield HOG will be implementing some new “ride procedures” to make sure everyone is protected and covered properly. The one thing that was drilled into our heads over and over again was the whole purpose of HOG…to RIDE AND HAVE FUN!!! If you ask me, I think Bakersfield HOG already does a good job at this but we are always looking for ways to improve. Therefore, if you, our members, have an idea for a ride or event, talk to one of you HOG officers…any one of them. Remember, we are only “guiding” this club in the direction the members want it to go. If you don’t “direct” us, we’ll assume everyone is happy and keep doing what we are doing.
Another topic of numerous discussions at Primary Officers Training (POT) was group riding. We learned the reasons for the staggered formation and the necessity of maintaining a tight group. Road Captain responsibilities include keeping the group tight so you will see more activity by our Road Captains during our upcoming rides.
POT was fun but grueling. We were in class at 8:00am and finished up around 4:30pm. We had about 6 sessions per day and moved from room to room, sitting with different HOG members each time. POT is a very good way to get new ideas and share some ideas that are working for us.
Enough on POT. What about that LOH ride we had on Friday, May 16th. LOH Officer Val Crawford put together a ride to City Slickers in Tehachapi that was attended by 33 HOG members. We had 17 bikes and had a blast. A great event and a good indicator of the direction our LOH gang is headed.
We also had a great ride to Bravo Farms in Traver, Ca. put on by Hal and Tammi Onsum. A little preplanning on their part resulted in a very enjoyable ride through the country to a great buffet lunch. The “water” stop at Allensworth State Park was a great idea that spilled over to our dinner ride put on by Jolyn Cleveland.
Our May dinner ride went to Delano through Woody. Jolyn, with some help from John, set up a great route up the hill to a water stop at the Woody Community Center. Everyone who went had a great time and the ride went off without a hitch.
So, for the month of May, HOG had at least 3 great riding events for you to partake in. We had a great BBQ and an “eventful” general meeting. Everyone of these events had a common theme…FUN. If you missed the month of May, you missed a great time to meet your HOG friends and share the common goal…RIDE AND HAVE FUN.
See you soon…
DAVE FISHER, DIRECTOR