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GWRRA Northeast Region B

PA District

Chapter Y

Harleysville PA

Volume 2 Issue 1

Chapter Directors

Peggy and Ron Kratz

director@gwrrapa-y.com

610-287-8393

Assistant Chapter Directors

Mike and Barbara Silverman

assistantcd@gwrrapa-y.com

215-256-0432

Treasurer

Jeff Kratz

treasurer@gwrrapa-y.com

215-256-1626

Member Enhancement Coordinator

Pam Kratz

mec@gwrrapa-y.com

215-256-1626

Rider Education Director

Doug Little

rider-ed@gwrrapa-y.com

Couple of the Year Coordinator

Doug and Lee Little

coy@gwrrapa-y.com

Roll for Dough Coordinators

Bob and Elaine Williams

rfd@gwrrapa-y.com

215-887-1686

Newsletter Editor

Darlene Dusza

newsletter@gwrrapa-y.com

Web Master

Dan Reisinger

webinfo@gwrrapa-y.com

Table of Contents

Chapter Y TEAM and Staff 1

Message from the Directors 2

Coming Events 3

Rider Ed 4

Winter Thing 2016 5-6

GWRRA not FUN 7

MEC Corner 7

From the Tailpipe 8

RFD 8

Ugly sweater photos 0

Alpaca ride photos 10

Chapter Y TEAM and Staff

NE Region Directors

Tom & Renee Wasluck

regionbdirectors.tom.renee@gmail.com

570-474-1014

PA District Directors

Rick & Andi Riek

groundshark@atlanticbb.net

814-659-4247

National GWRRA Directors

Ray & Sandy Garris

director@gwrra.org

800-843-9460

Chapter Y gathering

Penn Valley Church

320 N. Third St

Telford PA

NO MEETING in January

January 2016

Friends for Fun, Safety and Knowledge

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HI Y FOLKS…

Holidays are over… 2016 begins!!! I am so ready to start this year, are you? I’m really looking forward to

the first Y Staff Meeting of the year. We brainstorm the 2016 Y events schedule… including Gatherings,

Rides and special GWRRA events.

We are excited and ready to promote our own Y Couple of the Year for 2016… Jeff and Pam Kratz. GWR-

RA encourages chapters to cover hotel/travel expenses for their couple to attend the District Rally in May

in State College where the Chapter COYs are interviewed and the final selection of District Couple of the

Year is announced. Make your decision now to attend with us to support and cheer for our couple. Make

your reservations now in the host hotel so you can be on site making it easy to attend the seminars of your

choice.

As I’m writing this, I just finished my first day at the Maryland District’s Rally called Winter Thing being

held in Ocean City, Maryland on January 7-9. Bob and Elaine Williams and Mike and Barbara Silverman

and myself are here enjoying the comraderie and socializing with GWRRA members from the surrounding

states. We attended the Motorcycle Crash Scene Response Rider Education Program today gaining new

insight to critical steps to take in the event of an accident. All Y members should take comfort knowing

that, in addition to our emergency response qualified Y members, four more of our members now are

knowledgeable in the first steps to take to help us in an emergency situation. After the many seminars go-

ing on all day, the evening brought out all the Cowboys and Cowgirls dressed in their best finery. Lots of

line dancing, fun photo ops, and Maryland’s award presentations were highlights of the evening.

Day Two found us back attending more seminars… great speakers and interesting and worthwhile info.

These training opportunities are an asset to all of us. Similar seminars will be available at the Pennsylvania

District Rally in May… By five Y members attending Winter Thing, our chapter gained points toward the

Roll for Dough program…again, consider making your reservations now. Elaine, Bob and I took a break

and went to the ocean for fresh air… Elaine and I tested the water… we’re not quite ready to join the Polar

Bears yet. At this writing, we’re about to go to the Banquet and then to the Pool Party. These rallies com-

bine great motorcycle safety info with FUN, FUN, FUN!

Lastly and most important… our January Gathering is cancelled in lieu of attending the memorial service

for our Y member, Richard “Dick” Foote on Saturday, January 16. Details have been sent out. Wear your

Y attire if you have it… black pants, white shirts and Y vests… to acknowledge Dick’s love of riding and

participation with our group.

Look forward to seeing you all on Saturday.

Peggy and Ron Kratz, your Chapter Directors

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UPCOMING EVENTS

Around the District

4/9/2016 PA District Meeting, 11a.m., Claysburg, PA

5/19-5/21/16 District Rally – Wing World of Sports, State College; Register by 5/4. gwrrapadist.org

6/17-6/19/16 All Chapters West, Vacationland Camp Ground, Sandy Lake. Register by 4/30.

9/16-9/18/16 All Chapters East, Drummer Boy Camping Resort, Gettysburg.Register by 8/10.

Around the Region

2/20/2016 MD Chapter H—19th Annual Spaghetti Dinner & Bingo, BelAir, MD; Register by 2/13

7/21-7/23/16 New England Districts Convention, West Lebanon, NH

8/4-8/6/16 NY/ NJ Bi-State Convention – A Taste of Mardi Gras, Swedesboro, NJ.

October – Region B Campout

National

8/31-9/3/16 WING DING, Billings, Montana, www.wing-ding.org

Winter Thing 2016

With 2 of our silly Chapter Y gals

getting their feet wet in the

ocean in JANUARY!!!

CRAZY ……..

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RIDER ED

Hello Chapter Y

Lee and I hope everyone had a safe and happy new year. The annual New Year Days Ride brought out 32 members utilizing 3 – 2 wheelers, 1 – 3 wheeler and the remaining rode in warmth and comfort of their 4 – wheelers for the cold weather. Although Lee and I were not able to attend the luncheon due to family commitments, it was great that so many of you could attend and enjoy the fellowship.

At this time I would like to take a moment and pay tribute to one of our fellow gold wingers that we have lost this past month. Richard “Dick” Foote was a great friend and fellow motorcyclist. I have ridden alongside of Dick for the past twenty plus years. It was always enjoyable and some-times adventurous to say the least. Dick was a great advocate of motorcycle education, safety and awareness. Dick and I also belong to the same fire company, Towamencin Volunteer Fire Company, where we are both life members. The conversations somehow always covered both interests without trying. No matter what the topic, Dick always had the best interest of others in mind. Dick you will be greatly missed.

During this month we are looking at the Rider Education Levels and having as many members as possible at Level I. The basic layout of the different levels is as follows:

LEVEL I – SAFETY BY COMMITMENT – SAFE RIDER/CO-RIDER

LEVEL II – SAFETY BY EDUCATION – TOUR RIDER/CO-RIDER EDUCATION

LEVEL III– SAFETY BY PREPARDNESS – CERTIFIED TOUR RIDER/CO-RIDER

LEVEL IV – MASTER TOUR RIDER/CO-RIDER

Levels I thru III have a small application cost for rider and co-rider and an associated patch with a safe miles pin in 5,000-mile increments. Level IV has a slightly higher application cost for rider and co-rider, and is the starting level in the Masters Recognition Program. However, every-one is asked to renew his or her status annually. I will again have the Rider Education Levels forms at the next gathering.

Within the Rider Education Levels Program there is a Safe Mileage Program and a High Mile-age Program. The Safe Mileage Program is the amount of miles in 5,000-mile increments without an accident. If you have had an accident your miles start over from zero and accumulate from that date. The High Mileage Program is the total number of miles in 50,000-mile increments you have ridden.

This time of year is also the time to think about CPR Certification and annual renewal, Trailer Seminar and/or a How to Back-up Your Trailer Seminar, Parking Lot Practice Sessions and ERC Course. It is also a good time to think about reviewing the chapter training videos and CDs to en-hance our riding perception.

As always, feel free to offer any ideas/topics you may want to be mentioned or discussed to either Peggy Kratz or myself at any time. All suggestions are welcomed.

Till next month,

Be safe ride safe.

Doug Little

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WARNING!!!

DO NOT ATTEND ANY FURTHER GWRRA EVENTS UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE…

IF YOU DO NOT LIKE TO HAVE FUN, IT WAS VERY GOOD THAT YOU DID NOT ATTEND THE MARYLAND WIN-

TER THING (WESTERN THEME) IN OCEAN CITY, MD THIS JANUARY 7-9, 2014. YOU WOULD HAVE HAD TO

SHARE DINNER SPACE WITH JERSEY COWS AS SEEN IN THIS PHOTO BELOW:

IF YOU DO NOT LIKE TO MAKE NEW FRIENDS AND FELLOWSHIP WITH THOSE YOU HAVE COME TO

KNOW IN YOUR OWN CHAPTER AND FROM OTHER GWRRA EVENTS THEN YOU WILL BE HAPPY YOU

MISSED THIS PHOTO WITH THE SHERIFF, HIS WIFE AND OUR OWN PA-CHAPTER Y WITH PEGGY

KRATZ, BOB & ELAINE WILLIAMS AND MIKE & BARBARA SILVERMAN:

By: Mike Silverman

ACD

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IF YOU DO NOT LIKE TO LEARN ABOUT NEW RIDING SKILLS AND SAFETY, AS WE DID IN THIS CLASS

ABOUT TRAILERING, THEN YOU SHOULD BE ECSTATIC THAT YOU MISSED OUT ON AN OUTSTANDING

SEMINAR CLASS AND MANY OTHERS SUCH AS THIS ONE WITH OUR INSTRUCTOR RAY, PEGGY KRATZ,

BOB WILLIAMS & MIKE SILVERMAN:

PA-Y WAS OUT IN SMALL FORCE TO ENSURE EVERYONE THAT IT DOESN’T TAKE MUCH TO HAVE FUN,

GROW IN KNOWLEDGE AND FELLOWSHIP WITH MANY WONDERFUL PEOPLE AS THE PHOTO BELOW

SHOWS WITH BOB, ELAINE, MIKE, BARBARA & PEGGY…FULLY OUTFITTED WITH THEIR ‘GIDDY UP’ ON.

SO, IF YOU DO LIKE HAVING FUN, FELLOWSHIPING AND LEARNING MOTORCYCLING SKILLS WITH OTH-

ERS WHO LOVE RIDING THEIR GOLDWINGS, AND YOU COULD NOT MAKE IT TO WINTER

THING….THERE’S GOOD NEWS! OUR CHAPTER Y WILL BE ROLLING OUT A SCHEDULE SOON FOR MANY

WONDERFUL EVENTS AND RIDES FOR THIS YEAR! PLEASE CONSIDER JOINING US THIS YEAR. IT WILL

NOT BE AS FUN FOR US WITHOUT YOU, PARDNER!

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MEC Corner

What an awesome 6 months for Chapter “Y”! I’m thrilled to see our membership grow since the kick-off! We’re so blessed to

have all of our members and the turnout for gatherings has been excitingly consistent.

We’re thankful to have volunteers to help plan, lead, and tail our rides! We’ve visited a lot of interesting places, enjoyed lots of

beautiful scenery (the co-riders more than the riders), ate great food and most of all, had great fun with our fellow members!

One of the most memorable moments for me was our visit to the Southeastern Veterans’ Center. It’s so important we give back

to our Vets. Taking the time to sit and talk with them meant the world to them, and us!

We’re so lucky to have a membership that likes to have fun! I have to say we’ve done a lot of amusing things, but our last gather-

ing had to be my favorite! Thanks to all who came out with ugly sweaters/shirts and enjoyed the spirit of the moment! I really

loved all the interesting sweaters and shirts. I don’t know why they call them ugly. They all looked great to me! For all those that

participated, thank you and congratulations to our contest winners. This just may become a repeat event next year!

Our ride after the gathering took us to the Hunsicker Alpaca farm in Franconia. Alpacas are naturally curious animals, but if you

move too quickly we’re told they get spooked. Well, Katie and Jane proved that theory wrong. Katie had a friendly Alpaca nuz-

zling her hair and jacket, while Jane had her own little petting zoo going on. Personally I fell in love with the Alpacas. They’re so

cute! It was wonderful to see everyone enjoying themselves and the trip to the gift shop iced the cake. I finally got a pair of Al-

paca mittens and boy are they warm!

After bidding farewell to our newly made friends, we met up with the rest of our group for a fantastic lunch at Franconia Heritage.

What a great meal with great service and lots of fun.

In typical Chapter Y style, we kicked off 2016 with our traditional New Year’s Day lunch. 31 members and 1 guest descended on

Coopersburg Diner at high noon and welcomed in the New Year. It was great to see some members we haven’t seen in a while,

be with friends and just enjoy a few hours together!

I can’t wait to see where 2016 takes us!

Pam Kratz

A Thought From the Past…

In perusing the past GWRRA & District newsletters, I came across the following article that was National News… from the then

Central Deputy Director Bill and Dee An Gray, GWRRA Deputy Director—Central US. I found it worth sharing with our mem-

bers… I’ve been having fun since I joined GWRRA and sure hope you are too. I encourage you to share your ideas for FUN,

whether it be a special ride location, a great lunch stop on a ride, gathering topic, an article for the newsletter… and my most

loved… a great ice cream stop! Peggy Kratz, CD

GWRRA IS NOT FUN ANYMORE! WHAT??

Did I just say that? No, of course not, but I heard it from a Member recently. My first question was WHY? (I was really thinking:

“Do you not enjoy riding anymore? Have you met your quota of friends?”)

My next question: “WHY DID YOU JOIN GWRRA?” This caught them off guard and their answer was “friends asked us to join.”

They added that this began a journey of some of the most memorable times in their lives. Scrapbook after scrapbook of memo-

ries!

“What changed?” I asked. “GWRRA is asking too much of its Members and taking the fun out.” I explained “GWRRA is asking

the same thing today as it did when you joined. We just want you to have fun with friends and ride safe!

You certainly have the option to volunteer and get as involved as you want or just be a JAM (Just a Member)! YOU are in con-

trol of your fun, not GWRRA. “ Before long we were all smiles and everything seemed OK after that.

What is GWRRA? It is you, me, and all Members from around the world. Some with titles, most without, but first and foremost,

we are all MEMBERS of the largest single marquee motorcycle organization in the world (I love saying that!)

Our Officers, and I’m speaking of Chapter Directors, District Directors, Region Directors and so on, have the responsibility of

helping to provide opportunities for everyone to enjoy GWRRA and be a safe rider.

We all ride what everyone knows as the ultimate luxury touring motorcycle (I love saying that too!) Let’s enjoy it every chance we

get. Be safe and share your experience with others!

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RFD... First off we wish everybody a very happy new year. Where did last year go. Chapter Y visited a few chapters and did a lot of riding. We will miss Dick Foote's friendship and being with him on many rides and socializing with him and Martha. Dick always took care of collecting Redner tapes and the used printer inks cartridges. Dick, Martha, Elaine And I spent a lot of time just riding nowhere thru the roads of Lancaster County. He always had a good word to say about the leaders and rides. We will sure miss his blue trike going down the road. A few of our members will be attending the Winter Thing in Ocean City Maryland on 7

th to the 9

th of this month.

The weather just had to change so we will not be riding there. We expect to get 2 points for attending the winter thing. We expect to renew friendships with chapters we have not seen in a few years. We should have the ride schedule with the chapters we would like to visit finished next month. Just think only 2 more months before we can ride without the salt on the roads Until next month take care Bob & Elaine Williams

From the Tailpipe…

Well it’s January and the temperatures are finally starting to feel more like they should this time of year. Heavy outer-

wear, thick gloves and thermal socks are definitely the order of the day if you’re still venturing out on two or three

wheels. Our New Year’s Day ride was validation of that. It was a bit chilly but still quite enjoyable considering it’s

January. Nonetheless it was a great opportunity to enjoy a ride and test Pam’s new snowmobile gloves, which by the

way passed with flying colors! Some things are just worth the money…$$$

Now in case you were wondering, I’m the guy who hates to admit riding season is over. But realistically folks, I don’t

expect too many more opportunities before spring. Coming from a snowmobiling family I don’t mind cold weather but

salt and cinders are like Kryptonite to my safety chrome, so I’ll be mothballing at first sight. I guess I’ll just have to be

satisfied Old Man Winter let us ride comfortably through Christmas. Kind of an unexpected gift if you will from “Old

Ice Sickle Veins.” But you know what they say, “All good things must come to an end.” Fortunately in this case, it’s

only temporary. Still, as sad as it is, it’s comforting to know spring is just three months around the corner!

So as we head into two and three wheel hibernation season, rest assured the ride committee will be hard at work

planning our 2016 blacktop adventures. We only have a few months to finalize our schedule and we’re still looking

for volunteers to help us plan. Please don’t hesitate to throw your hat in the ring. We can certainly use the help.

Shoot me an e-mail if you’re interested. Anything you have to offer will be greatly appreciated.

And don’t forget, get your bike serviced over the winter months so you don’t lose valuable riding time during the sea-

son. Montgomeryville Cycle Center has pick-up and delivery service and offers off-season service specials. So take

advantage of the opportunity and get squared away now so you’re ready for those first nice days of spring!

Jeff Kratz

Chapter PA-Y Ride Coordinator

jskpwk@verizon.net

267-446-9750

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December gathering with a few

ugly sweater contestants.

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Ride to the Alpaca farm.