A ride celebrating the achievements and valor of WWII veterans was conducted last Sunday with the launching point starting in Mechanicsburg, PA.

Motorcycling enthusiast from all over the Tri- State area, including The Back Road Rider, American Legion Riders, and other Military friendly organizations and Bikers, were all on hand to escort Three bus loads of aging Veterans on their journey towards the PA, MD border. From there, another group of brother / sister hood of riders made up of mainly Maryland riders and clubs, would then pick up the buses and continue their escort South.

The Back Road Rider met up with a contingency of American Legion Riders at a Sheetz in Chambersburg on a below freezing morning.

I feel the need to clarify something here at this point.

As far as I’m concerned there are only two kinds of cold weather riding, the more common “ Burr it’s cold.” and the “ What the heck was I thinking!” kind of cold.

This particular morning was choice number two.

As our caravan of motorcycles of every make and model ( yes even 250cc Honda scooters!) thunders down the highway, we began picking up riders along the way. It didn’t take long for the first pings of coldness to quickly penetrate the into the fingertips of most everyone’s gloves. The problem is that we were only Five miles into a Fifty mile ride!

The plan is to make a pit stop at the Mechanicsburg Legion for a quick breakfast before heading to the Middle School to organize for the escort.

Once at the school, we were amazed at the large gathering of fellow bikers who had come out on such a cold morning to help with the task at hand.

While there, I had the pleasure of meeting my old middle school principle, who after all these years, still recognized me…and then promptly told me I still owed detention from 30 years ago! ( These people don’t forget anything!)

After walking around the campus, looking at the buses, chatting with fellow riders and such, I wondered into the cafeteria where the Veterans were being treated to a large breakfast, and a host of guest speakers. After all that was done it was time to load the buses for the trip south.

The thing that nearly brought tears to my eyes was the thought that all of these heroes would soon be gone. The young boys who went off to war now were old men, each with a story to tell.

The loading of the buses began and each solider had a personal escort to help them with the canes, walkers, wheelchairs and other needed gear as they entered the comfort of their ride, some of them wondering out loud what all the fuss was about.

The motorcycle escort rolled down route 15 south towards the state line. Once the procession reached the designated point, all riders pulled off to the side of the highway and made a 2 line column on each side of the south bound lanes. Traffic was stopped so as to only allow the buses to come thru. Cameras flashed, video cameras filmed, as the tour buses slowly crawled through the nearly mile long lines of men and women riders, each at the salute, who had come to show that we didn’t forget them or the sacrifices they made and to thank them personally for doing it.

That’s what all the fuss is about Sir……..

Until next week,

Peace, Love & Most of All, Ride!

Skeet

Hello Riders and Readers!
    
Ever just go out for a mind clearing ride on your motorcycle and for whatever reason you just happen to be at the right place at the right time?

 
Such was the case one Saturday when The Back Road Rider just happened to pull into a Rutters gas station to get a snack. (Who says junk food isn’t good for you?) I proceeded to do my usual thing of finding Brethren Bikers to chat with as to get other fellow rider’s perspective on new “Must Stop Hot Spots” or new areas to explore, when I came upon a couple of Riders from the Gettysburg area. They were heading to Newville from Chambersburg when the conversation turned to bike events. Seems both riders were close friends of the folks who brought you Gettysburg Bike Fests and now they are working hard on a new project! ( If you were friends with the Back Road Rider on face book , then you would already know what I’m about to tell you!)

 THE FIRST ANNUAL WHITE ROSE THUNDER!

 Sept 27th – 30th 2012
 York Expo Center
  127 acres with bunches of  buildings waiting for you to explore!
York,PA and surrounding local areas.

 This event is the mother of all South Central PA & Northern Maryland Bike Fests! Planning began back in Sept of last year and resulted in a mega heavy weight end of summer bike blast to end all bike fests!

 Flat Track Motorcycle racing is back! That’s right Steve Nace and company are bring their 2012 AMA Racing All Star National Flat Track series to York’s ½ mile track.

   You want extreme motorcycle stunts? Well it just so happens that Starboyz are also going be there. These dudes are crazy!!

   You want bands? How about the best  Home Grown Bike Band around, KIX, who will be opening for an undisclosed even bigger name band still yet to be determined. Could it be Motley Crue, Could it be Shine Down? These are just some of the names being kicked around, it’s still a bit early to tell as bands are on tour and scheduling conflicts can and do occur.   Mustang Sally is gonna be there too! …I knew you’d wanna know that!

Thinking some new ink would do you some good? How about 17,000 square feet of  some of the best tattoo artist ever showcasing there talents at the expo center?

 Ok maybe Bikes might not be your only thing, but what if I said the Revolution Corvette Club was also coming to town, ( yea, I saw you sit up in that chair Mr. Muscle Car.) what then?

Alright how’s about food? What if  I told you Biker Billy, (Yes, The Biker Billy!)  was coming to White Rose Thunder to cook just for YOU!

 “How about Rides, are there gonna be Rides for me to go on?” Would the Back Road Rider steer you wrong? There are gonna be Rides as the day is long! Each day is going to have a featured destination that is sure to impress. Not only that, but you’ll have that warm cushie feeling that goes along with knowing your benefiting a number of deserving charities’.

 All that AND it just happens to coincide with the Harley Davidson Plant’s Open House! Humm….what a coincidence! 

 So let me straighten this out in your brain…. Bikes, Stunts, Racing, beer, tattoos, muscle cars, food,  charity rides, bands,  Harley Factory Open House, in a nut shell, truly something for everyone all in one place and not very far away!

 For more info go to:  whiterosethunder.com

 Whew,…. Of course as more info becomes available we will gladly let you know about it!
Peace, Love , Ride!
Skeet

The Back Road Rider-

March 11, 2012

Hello Readers and Riders!

Wow, where do we start ? There has been so much going on during this extended warm weather spell that we’ve had to put a hold on the Ink Parlors and Tattoos article scheduled for this visit.

Ok, ok, there’s just no fooling you people, (I don‘t care what the Politian’s in Washington say!) I’ve just recently switched shifts at work and are still trying to get used to this getting up at the crack of dawn and going to bed early vs. getting up mid afternoon and going to bed late gig. Translated: That means I had to re- schedule my planned visits to area ink parlors! Sorry to all the ink lovers everywhere and I know there are many of you!

I’ve had the pleasure of working 50feet off interstate 81 all this past week ( and no I was not on a prison work detail!) and was being tortured on a daily basis by riders of all sorts cruising up and down the highway on their various machines during these sun filled warm days. I’m sure they could see me salivating along the roadside with my fellow co workers, most of whom are riders as well, as we toiled with our daily meaningful labor. ( at least that’s what they tell us)

Now I’m not sure if it was my over active imagination or not, but it seemed to me that nearly every bike that passed by was giving me an extra loud rev as they blew by in a sort of “ Ha, ha,…in your face sucka!” as they headed to Daytona Bike Week with their packs and trailers in tow. All day long, group after group, some single, some in pairs thundered down the road.

I tried in vain to convince myself that the seemingly endless parade of riders who went streaming by, each with a gigantic smile on their faces, were somehow jealous of me and wished they were in my place and not the other way around.

Yup, that’s what I get for not going without sleep to do the Ink article! I guess there is Karma.

From the “Opps!” Dept.

In our last episode we listed a ride as being sponsored by the Fort Littleton American Legion post 606. We got the post right but actually meant Fort Loudon American Legion.

Also ( yea there’s more.) A motorcycle rally on May 20^th was listed as Pond Bank U.M.C. is actually at Pond Bank Mennonite Church. If there’s one thing I’ve learned in my years of doing this is that you don’t make those Mennonite women mad or else they’ll be no more shoofly pie for you! And everybody knows The Back Road Rider loves a good wet bottom shoofly pie!

From The Work Bench

:Harley Davidson has introduced a new twist on their established lines of bikes including yet again a bigger cubic inch engine on most models that upgrades the 96ci to a massive 103ci. ( and still gets 40+mpg so in your face environmentalist!) Check them out at the M&S Harley Davidson home page at:

msharleydavidson.com .

The 2012 Bike Week Count Down Calendar (Which can be found on this papers blog page, under the “opinion” section online) is due for an upgrade itself as the events just keep stacking up. I really think it may be time to get an assistant.

PA Rally on the River is the latest entry to the calendar. Located at 213 Aspen Lane, Northumberland, PA 17857. They have 3 rallies the first of which is June 1-10^th, then August 23- 26^th, and if that’s not enough for you then Sept 6- 9^th 2012. As far as I can tell it is Adults Only 21 and over with Mr. buns and Miss Wet T Shirt contests. That’s lingo for no kids! Camping, Camp Cabins and amenities are available so if this sounds like your cup of tea ( I don’t judge lol) more info can be found at PARallyOnTheRiver.com

That’s a wrap!

Join us March 25^th for our next visit as The Back Road Rider will hopefully be able to bring you “Tattoos, What Yours Says About You!”

Peace, Love and most of all Ride!

Skeet

In honor of Women Riders month ( Jan ) The Back Road Rider would like you to meet this columns special guest speaker……

Teresa King-

As a newly licensed motorcycle owner and operator, I would be honored to share my thoughts and experiences with the friends and readers of The Back Road Rider.

I’ve always enjoyed the feeling of being on a motorcycle!! However, being a passenger with the wind in my hair and the air on my face, I had to rely on a network friends and family to provide that awesome feeling!!

 As a widow with grown children, I mostly worked 2^nd and 3^rd shifts which further limited my availability to only those who worked with the same hours as me and the weekends. This also meant praying for nice riding weather as well.

 Now that I was single, if I wanted to ride with someone else I had to be very cautious with whom I climbed on the motorcycle with. A lot of men seemed to get the wrong idea thinking I wanted to “ride” the bike owner instead of just going for a ride if you know what I mean….. This limited my riding to the point that I barely rode. The feeling of not being able to trust the riders enough to be safe with me as their cargo, was just one of the factors that helped push me towards being an independent rider. I still wanted to ride and have that feeling of freedom and it seemed the only way that was going to happen is if I made it happen.

My cousin Delmar was also instrumental in my decision to obtain my motorcycle license. I did some researched and found a rider safety course being offered (

www.pamsp.com) locally. It was then that I realized I had to have a motorcycle permit to attend the classes. I completed the easy steps to obtain it, and then signed up for the course.

Let me stress that I’ve never been on a motorcycle independently until that course!! It was an intense course and I was one of 3 females in the class of 22. I was scared to death to even sit on a bike alone!! They provided the bike on which I learned to ride and also took my motorcycle license test with. My first time on the rider’s course was intense! My legs shook and my stomach churned!! As the course progressed, I learned safety maneuvers of the motorcycle, I felt more comfortable and confident. The people teaching the class were kind, friendly and had lots of patience!

I am far from what would refer to as a “biker chick”; I don’t have the tattoos that one would associate with a “biker chick”. I just wanted to be a Bike Owner and Rider. I loved motorcycling so much that I bought my first bike without even having my license yet! A sweet Harley Davidson that I could hardly even touch the ground with my feet while sitting on it! I was going to make this happen… and break into the male dominated area of motorcycles.

My friends refer to me as “Biker Babe” and that just boost my self confidence even more as a rider. I try to ride every day, even on the coldest days, just to continue to build my confidence and skills….. Even though Pennsylvania doesn’t require a licensed rider to wear a helmet, I do wear one at all times.

 As far as my experiences as an independent female rider, in a world dominated by male riders, I have found that most everybody has been extremely supportive and encouraging.

 Before as a passenger, when I got off any bike, I would just walk away with a smile…. Now, as a rider / owner, I dismount and walk away with pride and the “biker swag”! –

Thanks T.K. ! You ARE woman, hear you Rev!

This is just another prime example of another person who took it upon themselves to “ Make it Happen”. She had ZERO experience behind the bars, never rode alone, was always the passenger, and even bought her own bike, ….Ladies, if this sounds like something you’ve been wanting to do, THEN YOU TOO CAN MAKE IT HAPPEN!! Put down those pots and pans and tell those husbands , boyfriends or significant others to make dinner for themselves!….. YOUR going for a ride!

Join us Feb 26^th for your next Back Road Rider Fix, but until then you’ll just have to go to the archives! – Skeet

In honor of Women Riders Month,

( I’m not sure if it is or not, but it sounds like a good thing to me if it‘s not!) The Back Road Rider will be giving some Women of Motorcycling a chance to spread words of encouragement to your fellow women riders and those that want to be!

Dianna Kauffman-  

Wow, how I started riding? Way back when I was married (1990) I loved to be on the back of the bike, the smells, the feel of the air, the sensation of freedom! About 1996 the hubby decided he wanted a second bike and it sounded like a good idea to me when he said, “ If I get another bike YOU can learn to ride!”. So the story goes…He had a dresser at the time and the new bike was a Badboy Springer. I had only ever been in control of a small 50cc motorcycle that we had bought for our son, so this was gonna be a stretch! We went to a parking lot where I hopped on the dresser, didn’t want to take a chance of the new bike hitting the ground!

I worked thru playing with the clutch, feeling out when it would “catch” and how much gas I needed to keep it from stalling. After many trips around the parking lot with my feet down so I could feel the balance, I started to get the hang of it. A couple more trips to other parking lots with hills, stopping, starting and turning, I was getting more confident. One day on our trip home, he pulled off the road, got off the bike and said “You take ME home!”. WHAT?? Well to say the least I was terrified! Started out pretty slow but he talked me thru it and we made it home with no problems, what a brave soul! He taught me well and what a thrill it was! Then I moved on to “my” bike, totally different but same basic idea. I was very cautious, took my time and as my confidence built, I would head out on my own, and it was great!

Sadly, I had a few years without a bike after I got divorced. I had many rides as a passenger, but that urge to have my own again was always there. I made a trip to Daytona Bike Week in 2007 with friends. While there, one of my friends bought his wife (who didn’t ride) a new bike at the dealership down there. He ask me to ride it back to the hotel for them. “OH NO!” I thought to myself, it had been years since I’ve rode alone and on someone else’s new bike, this seemed like a tall order! I wiped the sweat from my face and said “yeah sure”. The ride back was awesome! Everything I’d learned years before came right back to me like I never stopped riding! I remember thinking it doesn’t get any better than this! The warm air, the beach and a bike! That was it, I had to have my own again! In the spring of 2008 I found my 1976 Shovel and fell in love. I like to be different than everybody else and this was my chance. I got that bike and haven’t looked back since. I go to bike events every chance I get. As a single woman I have found no matter who you are, male, female, married or not, everybody out there is looking for the same thing, that freedom that you can only find out there in the wind. Everybody excepts you for who you are because we all have a common interest and you can’t ask for more than that!

THANK YOU SISTA! You see folks everybody has to start somewhere. I mean after all, nobody was born riding a motorcycle….except me of course and I nearly lost it with that last push through the birth canal. Anyway, as the old saying goes “ The expert in anything was once a beginner.”

Most people you see riding today, if their honest, will tell you when they first started riding it was a semi-scary thing, but they will also tell you it didn’t last long AND learning to do it was one of the best choices they made in their lives! That my friends is a pretty powerful statement.

So to all Women of Motorcycling, and to those of you who now have the needed encouragement to join the ever expanding Sisterhood of Riders, we at The Back Road Rider salute you! ( insert the sound of many motorcycles revving here! )

Join us Feb 12^th as The Back Road Rider gets Deeper into the World of Women Motorcyclist!

Timonium Bike Show

Feb-10^th – 12^th

Timonium Fair Grounds- Timuniom, MD

Cycleshow.net for more info and discount tickets

Peace,

Skeet

Just when you thought we were on the edge of a total winter shutdownwith that freak Oct 29^th snow storm, we get pulled back from the brink with a beautiful nearly 60 degree Saturday last weekend! I witnessed a number of other fellow Riders taking full advantage of mother natures January blunder.

It sure felt good to get back in the saddle for a few hours even if I did have to wear a light weight jacket.

 From the Workbench : As of this writing I’m still trying to find more exacting information on two major bike events that have a semi local impact. One is the annual God Bless America ride that leaves from Greencastle, Pa and goes to Martinsburg, WV . That ride is usually slated for the end of May or the beginning of June.

 The line up for the God Bless America Ride

The other one is The Outlaw Jam, which was in Fredrick, MD.

 We had such a great time at both venues last year that before they were even over, I was already looking forward to their 2012 encores. I wouldn’t miss them for the world….alright maybe for the WHOLE world, but then I would have to make myself King of everything ( and build me a Full Throttle Saloon in Ocean City, MD too!).

   Hummm, me as the King of everything…..

 My first order of business as your new King would be to declare “Every Week is Bike Week!”. I know! Who wouldn’t be on board with that!

   My second proclamation would simply be this: “No vehicles with more than 3 tires would be allowed on any roads, highways or by ways of the country with the exceptions of : ATVs ( they could be on all of the same roads as the rest of our riding brethren.) the winter season ( who wants to ride in the snow?), rainy days (who wants to ride in the rain either?), Police, Fire and ambulance or military.” The environmentalist should be happy, look at all the air pollution we’d be saving.

   Third: Tar and Chipping of roads would become a thing of the past. The only areas that would be tarred and chipped would be the driveways of people who think tarring and chipping is a good idea.

 Yea there’s no doubt about it, I would be such an awesome King!

 Anyhow, as soon as we know something for sure about those two items, you’ll know too!

 OH, before I forget, The Back Road Rider blog site has been moved from the “lifestyle” section of The Public Opinion’s web site to the “ Opinion” section. Simply scroll over “Opinion“, near the top of the page, then click on “blogs” then click on Back Road Rider. It’s that simple! It’s a whole new look and whole new page! I really like it myself…..now if I could only learn to use it a little more efficiently. As with most new changes, I suppose it’s gonna take a little while. Especially with us bikers because we rarely read directions, we just learn by doing! It’s kinda like the being lost and not asking for directions, thing. Yea, …you know what I’m talking about.

 Your definitely not gonna wanna miss our next visit as The Back Road Rider examines the ins and outs of Biker Babes! We’ll talk to one woman who recently took the plunge and decided to become a full fledged Rider instead of a passenger. Is she happy? Is she sad? Is she hot? Find out these answers and more on our next visit….

See ya, Jan29^th! Don’t Miss It!

SKEET