It’s hard to believe we’re through April and into May already. HOG has progressed rather well and we have some exciting rides and events coming…not to mention the exciting rides and events we’ve already had this year!!!
April brought Primary Officer’s Training to Las Vegas and seven of our HOG officers attended the two day seminars. Three of our core officers attended along with our webmasters, a head road captain and our chapter liaison officer. The experience and knowledge gained will certainly be shared with Bakersfield HOG in the months to come.
Our Fun Runs and Dinner Rides continue to attract many members who brag about the great time they had. Hal Onsum set up the Fun Run for April and took a group to Springville for lunch. I wasn’t able to make it (POT Training) but Hal told me the weather was perfect and the group riding experience was fantastic.
I did make the April Dinner Ride hosted by Leonard Mulholland. Leonard took the group out through the country and over to Blackwell’s Corner just west of town. Blackwell’s has a new building with a 50’s style restaurant inside and some great cooks. We had about 40 some odd people show up and I think the last person fed received his food in about 15 minutes. Again, a great HOG ride on a gorgeous evening.
Planning these rides in not very difficult. Contact a local restaurant and they are generally glad to have some extra business show up. We always call ahead on the day of the event to give them a heads up on the number of riders that will be coming. That way, they can plan a little better for the mob of HOG members that arrive hungry.
Our April General Meeting was attended well despite many of our members making the trek over to the Laughlin River Run. I know that Phil Sloss and Don Ward rode over with the Cristolears and this was Phil’s 1st River Run. Phil is 74 and made the ride over just fine. Kind of inspires many of our “younger” riders to get out and ride.
The May Fun Run is shaping up to be a very exciting event. As of this writing, we have 70 people signed up for the run. Of course, HOG riders can come along on the ride to the Reagan Presidential Library even if they don’t opt for the guided tour and lunch. Remember, this is a destination ride so riders can do what they want once we reach our destination.
New HRC Wes Coble has come up with an idea for the May Dinner Ride. Wes has Coconut Joe’s set up for a Hawaiian Dinner Ride. Wes said we can all dress up in our best Hawaiian shirt and even decorate our rides for this run. Something different that sounds like it might be fun.
HOG is always looking for new ideas for rides or events. Our Safety Day is coming up in May and we’re changing it around some to get more members involved in learning and perfecting their slow speed skills. I know it sounds like a mundane event, but slow speed handling is probably the most important aspect of riding a Harley-Davidson motorcycle. More riders are hurt in slow speed mishaps that anything else. If you can master slow speed operation, you’re riding experience will be much better in the future. Come out and enjoy the event this year. Instead of giving prizes to those who can handle their ride the best, we’re going to give everyone who participates in the Safety Day a special patch for their vest.
LOH is running along at full speed. Val and the girls have got some great rides coming up. If you haven’t been to an LOH meeting recently, you need to go. Our ladies are probably one of the most active LOH groups in the entire organization. There’s a lot going on so get on the band wagon and join in.
HOG Bike Nights are attracting many HOG members. At the last Bike Night at Rubio’s Grill on Rosedale Hwy, we had many attendees show up to help raise money for our MDA Rockin’ Ride for Life coming up on September 12th. Rubio’s gave us a flyer and when HOG members showed up for dinner with that flyer, Rubio’s kicked back 20% of the total bill to MDA in our name. We don’t know how much we made yet but we should be finding out soon. Next month, we’re headed to Sequoia Sandwich Shop and the Stone Cold Creamery for the same type of event. Bike Nights will be adding to our MDA kitty to help out a great organization supported by our sponsor, Bakersfield Harley-Davidson.
The April Bike Night was a blast and it was good to see Boomer and Vikki Montgomery out for one of our HOG events. Boomer and Vikki are very busy with the new American Legion Rider group riding out of Post 26. We hope they can make more HOG events in the future and bring some of their ALR riders with them!!!
HOG is proud to announce that we have a new Editor for the HOGLOG. Ralph Sanchez has stepped up to take over. I’ve been organizing the newsletter for about 4 years so it’ll be nice to see some new things. Ralph has a lot of experience in the field and will be making the flyers you’ll be receiving via e-mail. I want to personally thank Ralph for volunteering for this position as it takes a lot of time to put out a good quality product for HOG members. If you see him, let him know you appreciate his work.
Lastly, keep checking our website. Owen Freeman is constantly upgrading our site and I’m confident that Bakersfield HOG has the best website in the entire organization. Owen works tirelessly to make sure we have all the information available to us in a very timely manner. Owen is another one we need to say “thank you” to for his hard work on our Chapter Website.
I hope you come out and join HOG at one of our events. We’re having a blast riding and fulfilling our HOG motto…RIDE AND HAVE FUN.
RIDE SAFE AND RIDE OFTEN… DAVE FISHER, DIRECTOR