Sunday, September 29, 2013

September 2013




The Palm Beach Knights Newsletter


The Knights Table

Monthly Newsletter September  2013

Greetings from your President   Will





You must be Crazy to Ride a Motorcycle you are going to........
By Will

OK so here is a typical conversation we all have had with a non-biker.

 Them “You have to be completely crazy or stupid to ride a motorcycle. Those #$%$@ things are dangerous!”

Me     “Yes, I know it’s dangerous. That’s one of the reason’s I like it!”
Them “you’re going to get killed, I know this guy…Blah Blah Blah… (My favorite)

Me “Thanks for that unsolicited vote of confidence and prediction of my soon to come death and dismemberment, but I try to be as careful as I can”

Right about here the conversation usually goes downhill. People telling me about how I'm going to die, seems to make me a cantankerous SOB.(more than normal)
How often have we heard that? In my case, waaaaay too often. Sometimes I give a sarcastic answer (no really I do) sometimes I try to explain how much riding means to me. Family, friends, and passionate cagers (yes, I know we are all one also) are Hell bent on saving us from our own folly. Of course to them they just think our bulbs are a bit dim. Anyone with just the slightest amount of grey matter wouldn't go near one of those two-wheeled death machines. (oy!!) “It’s too risky, I would never do it” they intone piously. (yea no shit) Why do they always shake their heads when they say this? The best is them telling me this while they're smoking a cigarette. Eh, excuse me, but….schmuck!
Alright, in a small part, they are right. There is a certain amount of peril involved in managing a motorcycle. There’s also risk involved in driving on Florida Turnpike, even in a tank. It’s purely insane to do it at night anywhere in the middle of Florida. I swear those freakin Deer are just waiting for me!! The trick is to manage the unavoidable  risks and to not take dumb and unnecessary ones.
Obviously the State of Florida agrees with me, because it is now mandatory to take a motorcycle rider course in order to get your endorsement. Keeping those mental and physical skills we learn sharp, we should actually consider practicing once in awhile. I hope to have a training day for the Knights, as soon as I can find someone qualified to do it. (no it ain't me) Many abilities can be lost in as little as six months if they aren't practiced. Knowing good cornering and curve-riding techniques doesn't do us any good if we don't practice them. (In Florida that’s not often)
It is also important to know your limits.  We must remember that some of those limits change continuously and we need to adapt our riding style to conform to them. We Florida bikers are experts at going straight, but when we hit the Mountains of Georgia, we have a big surprise coming. Last year I rode the “Gauntlet” in Northern Georgia and was surprised by my lack of skill in tight corners. With a little time and practice, I got better…not good, but better. Just watching the video" Turn of the wrist" helped, but that is no substitute to practice.
Superior riders try to not get themselves into situations necessitating superior skills. Taking dumb risks is a request for misfortune, and a never ending lecture from everyone that knows you.. If we keep pressing our limits, we will eventually be able to exceed them, and I don't think I need to write about the gory consequences. We all like to test ourselves. One example is riding faster and faster through a familiar curve. Knights, let me tell ya that can be a BAD idea. When we've pushed our grip on the road to its limits and there’s something unpredicted in the road halfway through the curve, you're in trouble and you will find yourself with a very (for guys) distinct feeling in your favorite spheres, dry mouth and an increased vocabulary. Slowing down and putting distances between us and a hazard is workable risk management. Replacing worn tires as well as picking the correct ones helps keep us securely stuck to the road. An article about Darksiding(using a car tire)  will come at another time. Not to mention TCLOCKS (wait, I just did)
Part of the challenge of motorcycling is risk management, and it wouldn't be very enjoyable if we listened to all the haters out there and surrounded ourselves with a shell of safety devices.  However, it is more fun if we don't have to worry about the dangers we generate for ourselves. I'm just sayin…..



Well we've done it!  We have reached our first anniversary. This year has gone by very fast, and we have grown enormously. Usually I would have had a party for us, but circumstances didn't allow for that(sorry). I will make up for it with a Holiday get together. It's has been driven home lately how lucky I am to have made such good friend in this club. We have been down thousands of miles of roads together and I can't wait for the thousands to come. Thank you all for making this the best club out there!!


Members, if you are interested in being part of the leadership team, see Will .
We need Tailgunners, and Road Capt. 
I know of some people I'd like to see as part of the team who would make a great road Capt., but it's voluntary. So I won't put you on the spot by asking.

PLEASE REMEMBER THAT THE ORGANIZER WORK HARD TO PROVIDE YOU WITH A FUN SAFE RIDE. WHILE WE WELCOME SUGGESTIONS, WE WON'T CHANGE RIDES THE WEEK OF THAT RIDE. I'M SURE THAT THEY WOULD LOVE TO HEAR ANY IDEAS FOR A FUTURE EVENT.


While we try to mix up our rides as much as possible, it's highly unlikely that I'm going to please everyone all the time. I hope everyone has been enjoying the rides that  have been on our schedule so far. I am always looking for feedback and new ideas. Your participation is what makes this club great.
If you want to see a OUR ANNIVERSARY VIDEO
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AXpuaCP7f_g&feature=youtu.be





MEMBERS GETTING OLDER!!  

Happy Birthday to:
Paul Mana   9/7/1947
Matt Jones         9-Sep
Steve Seide          9/26/1948
Paul Sachse    9/29/1960


We have been having some really awesome rides:







Always a great ride. Not too far, but some really nice roads and scenery. Both Tim's join us on this ride, it was good to see them again. After a cigar break at Holiday Park, we headed across the street to Cafe 27.
Always an interesting atmosphere. The food is good bar type stuff. The server's are always nice to look at. While sitting there a storm rolled in. We waited around for awhile, then some of us took the western route back, while the rest headed East.
Once again the Knights showed that the weather Gods love us as we avoided the brunt of any bad rain. One bonus was that Echoes got his patches sewn on!!

Viking
"Good food nice ride for a hot day-highway blast! Was great to see everyone and meet a couple of members I hadn't met before."








Punta Gorda Village Fish Market & Restaurant was cancelled, we will revisit that one at a later time.


101 Ocean, Ft Lauderadale

Greenis lead and organized this ride while I was otherwise occupied. I was told it was exactly what a nice beach ride should be. Perfect weather and little traffic.
will SAID
"Nice job Steve! Sorry I had to miss this one. I know what a great ride that is on a Sunday. We'll do it again soon."



Bike Bash Motorcycle Drag racing/Join the Knights for a day at the Races!!

A real nice event that inspired a need for speed!! We started with a great lunch at Duffy's, which was cooler and better than the food at the track. We then headed over to the PBIR. Greenies was excited by the Swap meet sign...2 tables and not much on them. We then checked out the bikes and they were impressive! I think the highlight of the day was the Spiderman bike. 196+ miles an hour in 1/8 miles.

When that bike took off, we felt it in our chest!!! A little warm, but only threatened to rain. Great time....maybe next time one of us will give it a go....maybe not. 


Steven Cohen - Gunner said
"Great destination. Thanks Will!"













UPCOMING RIDES: