The Palm Beach Knights Newsletter
The Knights Table
Monthly Newsletter June 2015
Greetings from your President
Will
Taming a Dragon
By Will and Skip
This year we decided to once again visit the beautiful Smoky Mountains. I want to start by thanking first Dale "Joker" for the use of his trailer and truck that got 4 of us up and back safe and sound, and also a big thank you to Skip for the being a gracious host and letting us stay at his home. Thank you both!!
The ride up started a little late as packing 4 bikes on a trailer by for guys who have never done it before proved a bit more challenging than we had though. Once we got on our way, everything went along smooth. While the trip is easier than riding all the way, it still was a very long day and we didn't reach Skip's house until about midnight. Dale did a great job on the last leg of the journey in the dark, stormy twisty, OMG scary #$@% roads. Sorry, just me being a whimp. After we woke up Skip and Ricky "Shades" who had gotten there before us, we hit the bed for a good night sleep.The next day the plan was to do the Dragon, but Dale had a slight mishap and we had to help him out.
I'll let Skip tell you about the next part.
Wednesday we
started early and cruised the twists up to Highlands NC. We stopped to take a
look at the Cullasaja River
Gorge, Dry Falls, and Bridal Vail Falls. We explored Highlands and had breakfast
at Bucks.
Then we were
off to Cashiers NC. stopping at a view of White Side Cliffs and the mountains
beyond. We stopped in Cashiers for gas and a rest before we headed to Sapphire
Valley and Lake Fairfield. Then we were off for a curvy ride to Brevard NC. for
fuel and another stretch stop. We then climbed through the Pisgah Forest
to Looking Glass Falls. After a climb down to the base of the falls, we mounted
up and headed for the Blue Ridge
Parkway.
We rode to the highest point then
down to Silva NC and back to Franklin NC. We were back in time for an early
dinner at Fat Buddy's. Great Day!
On Thursday we
road up the Wayah Bald Mt. and down to the Nantahala River
with stops on the Appalachian Trail, Nathaulia River Park (watching the
Kayakers). After about 30 miles along the river we stopped for lunch at a
restaurant that is practically in the river. After lunch we connected with the
Moonshiner 28 and headed for the Dragon. The ride on the 28 is spectacular with
incredible views. 
The Dragon was
not crowded by the time we got there but the clouds were threatening. After a
short stop at the resort, we headed out, swords in hand to slay the beast. Tight
twists and steep banked roads made for a wild ride. By the time we got to the
end, the rain was all around us and we had to come back on a wet dragon. We then
dropped down to Robbinsville NC. After a short stop we headed for the barn.
Since the rain made things a bit dicey on heavily curved and narrow roads we took
a bit longer but safer route. The rain stopped and we had a great cruise home.
Skip
Will-Evenings were spent eating and killing off bottle of spirits...We also had a camp fire one night and made friends with a local restaurant owner. The club bought dinner for everyone one night at a great BBQ place.
Now since we had faced the challenge of getting our bikes tied down on the trailer before, we decided that we would do it Thursday evening. This did save us a lot of time in the morning and we made our 6am departure time. The ride home was long and tiring, but when you're with good friends, it doesn't seem all that bad.
I want to thank Greenies, Yudi, Dale, Skip, and Rick for making this one of the best vacation I have ever had.
Skip Commagere said" The rides were more than amazing.
Monthly Newsletter June 2015
Greetings from your President
Will
Taming a Dragon
By Will and Skip
This year we decided to once again visit the beautiful Smoky Mountains. I want to start by thanking first Dale "Joker" for the use of his trailer and truck that got 4 of us up and back safe and sound, and also a big thank you to Skip for the being a gracious host and letting us stay at his home. Thank you both!!
The ride up started a little late as packing 4 bikes on a trailer by for guys who have never done it before proved a bit more challenging than we had though. Once we got on our way, everything went along smooth. While the trip is easier than riding all the way, it still was a very long day and we didn't reach Skip's house until about midnight. Dale did a great job on the last leg of the journey in the dark, stormy twisty, OMG scary #$@% roads. Sorry, just me being a whimp. After we woke up Skip and Ricky "Shades" who had gotten there before us, we hit the bed for a good night sleep.The next day the plan was to do the Dragon, but Dale had a slight mishap and we had to help him out.
I'll let Skip tell you about the next part.
Wednesday we
started early and cruised the twists up to Highlands NC. We stopped to take a
look at the Cullasaja River
Gorge, Dry Falls, and Bridal Vail Falls. We explored Highlands and had breakfast
at Bucks.
Then we were
off to Cashiers NC. stopping at a view of White Side Cliffs and the mountains
beyond. We stopped in Cashiers for gas and a rest before we headed to Sapphire
Valley and Lake Fairfield. Then we were off for a curvy ride to Brevard NC. for
fuel and another stretch stop. We then climbed through the Pisgah Forest
to Looking Glass Falls. After a climb down to the base of the falls, we mounted
up and headed for the Blue Ridge
Parkway.
We rode to the highest point then
down to Silva NC and back to Franklin NC. We were back in time for an early
dinner at Fat Buddy's. Great Day!
On Thursday we
road up the Wayah Bald Mt. and down to the Nantahala River
with stops on the Appalachian Trail, Nathaulia River Park (watching the
Kayakers). After about 30 miles along the river we stopped for lunch at a
restaurant that is practically in the river. After lunch we connected with the
Moonshiner 28 and headed for the Dragon. The ride on the 28 is spectacular with
incredible views.
The Dragon was
not crowded by the time we got there but the clouds were threatening. After a
short stop at the resort, we headed out, swords in hand to slay the beast. Tight
twists and steep banked roads made for a wild ride. By the time we got to the
end, the rain was all around us and we had to come back on a wet dragon. We then
dropped down to Robbinsville NC. After a short stop we headed for the barn.
Since the rain made things a bit dicey on heavily curved and narrow roads we took
a bit longer but safer route. The rain stopped and we had a great cruise home.
Skip
Will-Evenings were spent eating and killing off bottle of spirits...We also had a camp fire one night and made friends with a local restaurant owner. The club bought dinner for everyone one night at a great BBQ place.
Now since we had faced the challenge of getting our bikes tied down on the trailer before, we decided that we would do it Thursday evening. This did save us a lot of time in the morning and we made our 6am departure time. The ride home was long and tiring, but when you're with good friends, it doesn't seem all that bad.
I want to thank Greenies, Yudi, Dale, Skip, and Rick for making this one of the best vacation I have ever had.
Skip Commagere said" The rides were more than amazing.
At this time we have NEW large patches.. If you'd like to have a club vest let me know.
NEED A SHIRT ? SEE WILL!!
LONG & SHORT
SLEEVE SHIRTS AVAILABLE
$20 short sleeve men/ women
$25 long sleeve
here is a link on our main page on our website on how you can pay your dues.
As always if you have any questions, just contact me and I’ll
try to explain. Thank you for your support.
I now can take any payment with my PHONE at any ride !!!
To pay your dues or any other payments to the club, you can pay by Paypal or credit card. Or give cash or check to will!!
go to:
https://www.paypal.com/home
Who has the COOLEST VEST ???
The Palm Beach Knights MRC thanks our sponsored :
Force-E Dive Centers has the best dive staff in South Florida. We have staff members ranging from Photo experts to, Blue Heron Bridge masters, to Free Diving experts.
Please look for more info coming soon about special events for the Knights and others.
Diving can be a wonderful experience, but it takes you out of your element and puts you somewhere that can be very dangerous!! When you go diving or snorkeling always go with someone who knows the rope and you can trust with your life...like Force-E Dive Centers. The best dive center there is.
Skip and Cathy are the owners of the three Force-E Scuba Centers located in Pompano Beach, Boca Raton, and Riviera Beach. Skip started his diving career at the first YMCA Scuba Diving Certification course in Atlanta, GA and later became a Dive Instructor in 1961. In 1975, Skip and Cathy met and Cathy started diving here in Florida. The first Force-E Scuba Center was opened in 1976, and is currently one of the leaders in the dive community in South Florida to offer retail, training, and dive experiences. When Skip and Cathy go diving, their favorite dive site is the ledges in Delray called the Snapper Hole. Cathy loves diving in her new Aqua Lung Lotus i3 BCD and Skip loves to dive in all the equipment he sells at Force-E.
https://www.force-e.com/
Tom Justice
6/16/1955
Will Heckman
6/23/1957
At this time we have NEW large patches.. If you'd like to have a club vest let me know.
NEED A SHIRT ? SEE WILL!!
LONG & SHORT
SLEEVE SHIRTS AVAILABLE
$20 short sleeve men/ women
LONG & SHORT
SLEEVE SHIRTS AVAILABLE
$20 short sleeve men/ women
$25 long sleeve
here is a link on our main page on our website on how you can pay your dues.
As always if you have any questions, just contact me and I’ll
try to explain. Thank you for your support.
I now can take any payment with my PHONE at any ride !!!
To pay your dues or any other payments to the club, you can pay by Paypal or credit card. Or give cash or check to will!!
go to:
https://www.paypal.com/home
go to:
https://www.paypal.com/home
Who has the COOLEST VEST ???
The Palm Beach Knights MRC thanks our sponsored :
Force-E Dive Centers has the best dive staff in South Florida. We have staff members ranging from Photo experts to, Blue Heron Bridge masters, to Free Diving experts.
Please look for more info coming soon about special events for the Knights and others.
Diving can be a wonderful experience, but it takes you out of your element and puts you somewhere that can be very dangerous!! When you go diving or snorkeling always go with someone who knows the rope and you can trust with your life...like Force-E Dive Centers. The best dive center there is.
Skip and Cathy are the owners of the three Force-E Scuba Centers located in Pompano Beach, Boca Raton, and Riviera Beach. Skip started his diving career at the first YMCA Scuba Diving Certification course in Atlanta, GA and later became a Dive Instructor in 1961. In 1975, Skip and Cathy met and Cathy started diving here in Florida. The first Force-E Scuba Center was opened in 1976, and is currently one of the leaders in the dive community in South Florida to offer retail, training, and dive experiences. When Skip and Cathy go diving, their favorite dive site is the ledges in Delray called the Snapper Hole. Cathy loves diving in her new Aqua Lung Lotus i3 BCD and Skip loves to dive in all the equipment he sells at Force-E.
https://www.force-e.com/
| Tom Justice | 6/16/1955 | ||
| Will Heckman | 6/23/1957 |
We have been having some great rides TIMES !!!!!!
HILLARYS DINNER Breakfast/range get together
The Knights got together for a breakfast and some shooting. The day started with a great breakfast at a favorite of the Knights ...Hillarys. After breakfast a bunch of us headed to the range to practice a little marksmanship.
Keith Baldwin said" Great way to start the day"
NC-Dragon-Trip
See main article:
Johnnie Brown's
A nice mid-week evening at Johnnie Browns organized by Greenies. The food is good, and the band rocked.
will said" Great night, thanks Greenies. I even had an awesome solo ride home along A1A"
Dinner/Pool at Kelly’s Billiards
We met at the Atlantis Grill. The food was very good, they even had table clothes!! We're movin up in the world. While none of us can lay claim to being a "good" pool player, we sure did have fun. It's a great evening and I'd love to see more Knights come out to the next one.
Lauren said" We had a great evening"
Johnnie Brown's
Another mid-week evening escape by Greenies.....I guess he really likes the place!!
Skip Commagere said "Johnnie Brown's is a bit hot in summer. Burgers are good."
The Knights came out to wish good luck to one of our founding members Neal Alvanos as he leaves us for a new beginning in Mt Dora. Stogies will be also opening a new Chapter of the Knights MRC- Lake County. While we all will miss Neal, we wanted to send him off with style. This is also a very important event for the Knights MRC as we expand to new territory. I hope we have more chapters opening in the future. I want Neal to know that he has my full support, even though
I'll miss the close proximity of his friendship, we will be staying in close contact. I look forward to joint adventures with our new Brothers and sisters in Lake County. I want to thank everyone who made this such a memorable event. A special thanks to Rich for getting all the "Special" gifts for Stogie, Kris for the Stogie for Stogie, and Skip for donating the 50/50 back to the club.
Neal Alvanos said
"Thank you all for helping make my send-off a very special event. I'd especially like to thank Will for the time and effort expended in putting together the DVD presentation, and the other officers participating in organizing this party. I can honestly say that the Palm Beach Knights MRC is the finest group of folks that I've had the privilege to be associated with. I'll miss riding regularly with you all, but look forward to meeting up on future rides and gatherings. It's my honor and challenge to carry forth the Knight's traditions to Lake County by building on the solid foundation already laid before me. Thanks again for your support. Ride safe, and God bless"
Gladys' Restaurant-breakfast
This is a shorter summer ride, then back around the lake and home. We had such a good time here last visit, that we decided to return. Gladys' offers a breakfast like you'd make at home. The food is simple, but delicious. I won't even mention the smokin hot waitress!!! oops.....she pregnant and is beautiful in a whole different kind of way. The ride home along the lake is always a pleasure, but some of us did hit some rain. I got slamed the last 5 miles of my trip, but that's FLA in summer.
THROWBACK PICTURES!!!!
