COGnitions Random thoughts and ramblings from your Area Director

With weeks to go, the national rally team is taking care of last minute preparations to make the August 8-12, 2011 COG National Rally a really fun time for all. Check out the online rally schedule at the rally web pages. Review the available sample ride routes and download the GPS files and route sheets. Registration continues to grow and we expect attendance will be over 300.

The Northeast “Spring Fling” Regional Rally was a wonderful success. Many thanks to Jason & the 90+ attendees who converged at the Penn Wells Lodge in Wellsboro, PA to do some spring riding, hang out, and have some fun. The lodge is a great venue in walking distance to the many restaurants and shops in the downtown area. Riding is excellent in all directions. If you missed it this year, rest assured we will be back sometime.

In this issue are the details for the Fall Regional Rally. Thanks to Scott Sorger & Terry Faherty we will be rallying in Lake George, NY late September to romp and frolic along the many excellent Adirondack roads. Online registration is open and you can book your rooms. Details can be found in this issue or in the online calendar of events. Seating at Marios’s is limited, and we will be cutting off registration at first 100 registered attendees.

The COG Marketing officer has been working to promote COG. We ran an advertising campaign in the AMA’s American Motorcyclist magazine. We also targeted a large touring market by placing an ad in the Americade program book. The club reinforced its web presence with the concours.org branding, and eliminated confusion for those searching for us via the internet. These efforts are in part responsible for a welcome increasing trend in membership. You will notice the on the next page that we have gained over 50 new members here in the northeast area alone since our Spring newsletter. In addition, we will kick off a new membership drive at the national rally.

I’m delighted to report we have added two wonderful, new Assistant Area Directors (AAD) to the Northeast staff. Jim Ansbro is located in Newtown, PA, just west of Trenton NJ. He has hosted a few rides, including the Delaware River Run and hopes to continue to generate more involvement from the local members. Duane Shaffer hails from Mill Hall, PA, where he recently held the Pepper Run Camp & Ride weekend that included sport-touring and dual sport rides. Duane welcomed attendees to his hunting lodge for the weekend and provided room & board. These two gentleman are welcome additions to our staff. You can read a little about them in the coming pages.

That’s all for now. See you in Vermont.

2011 - Issue #3 - summer

photo courtesy Bob Barbanti #7134

Concours Owners Group NORTHEAST AREA NEWS

2 2011 - Issue #3 –summer

New Members First things first, a warm welcome to our newest NE area COG members!

NORTHEAST AREA NEWS is published 5-6 times a year for Northeast Area members of the Concours Owners Group. Submissions are welcomed and members are encouraged to share their COG experiences. Email: cog@peacockforest.ca Snailmail: 821717 Sideroad 1, RR3 Chatsworth, ON, N0H 1G0, Canada Many of the opinions stated in this publication may make no sense to those sound of mind and may just be conveniently ignored. If you use any of the information in this rag to incur damage to yourself, your motor or any innocent or not so innocent bystanders it is you own fault...you were warned! ©2011 Concours Owners Group

Notice Board RIDE SKED

is on page 8

Editor’s Corner Requests, random observations, and the

occasional rant. Neil Baldwin #5762 A problem I never mind having is when there is too much content to fit in the 8-page printed format that goes out via snail-mail. I’d rather try to pare it down than beg for more. In this case, el gran jefe (aka Steve Smith the NE AD) had a quick solution telling me we had budget for one expanded

issue so here is your extra dose of hap-penings and pictures in the NorthEast Area, thanks to the AADs who sent in news, ride reports, and the like. It does-n’t look like I will make it to the Na-tional but I’m starting to gauge how they might feel at work about me taking a day or two in September so I can at-tend the fall rally… working in a col-lege, they’re a bit funny about staff tak-ing off in September! I’ll look forward to hearing all about the national and encourage any NE Area members to send in their stories and reflections for the next issue.

Contact me: cog@peacockforest.ca

Fall Rally Sept 22-25th

See page 9!

Danvers MA - TJ Welch #9530

Toronto ON - Lyndon Rollit #9532 Milton NH - Steve Baker #9533

Chelsea PQ - Robert Marceau #9537 Comstock NY - Paul Liebeck #9541

Orange CT - Bob Clancy #9544 Québec PQ - Pierre Thibault #9549

Clifton VA - Richard Brophy-Price #9559 Denver PA - Brad Martin #9561

Queensbury NY - David Harvey #9565 Dover OH - Timothy Wolfe #9567

Woodbridge VA - Scott Phillips #9569 Merrick NY - Denis Lemek #9572

Auburn NY - Jeffrey Hofmann #9581 New Castle PA - Bruce Ubry #9590

Erial NJ - James Patterson #9592 Woodbridge VA - Daniel Sanders #9593

Wilbraham MA - Brian Courchesne #9594 Thorndale PA - Mike Windisch #9597

Florence NJ - Peter Davisson #9601 Bellwood PA - Lynn Endress #9605

Long Branch NJ - Roy Carey #9609 Dix Hills NY - Fred Tantillo #9610

Moon Township PA - Ronald Razete #9612 Fredericksburg VA - Ray Gonzalez #9624

Berwick PA - Tucker Birk #9626 St. Catharines ON - Wayne Raynard #9629

Wells ME - Theodore Angelakis #9630

Columbia MD - Paul Pardoe #9632 Islip Terrace NY Howard Rubin #9633

Shelton CT - Scott Schifilliti #9634 Bar Harbor ME - J Clark Stivers #9635

Schwenksville PA - Barry Georgetti #9645 Ellicott City MD - Leo DesBiens #9646

Richmond VA - Karl Gray #9647 Macungie PA - Herb Parmenter #9648

Chesapeake VA - Mike Chaney #9649 Middlefield CT - Pete Sperl #9650

Newport ME - Cody LaRusso #9652 Georgetown DE - Charlie Whitmore #9654

North Haven CT - Ralph Grillo #9656 Groton NY - Ray Wagner #9659

Seaford DE - William Drylie #9664 Farmington NH - John M. Bearden #9667

Bristow VA - Willard Williams #9673 Viginia Beach VA - Douglas Baker #9675

East Hartford CT - Michael Benjamin #9676 Bridgeport CT - Mark Torma #9678

Montvale NJ - William Seeman #9684 Culpeper VA - Scott Bechler #9693

New Haven VT - Darrin Green #9688 East Hardwick VT - John Mandeville #9690

Truro NS - Dale Toole #9695 Richmond VA - Jeffrey Probst #9698

Concours Owners Group NORTHEAST AREA NEWS

2011 - Issue #3—summer 3

Around the NORTHEAST News from your Assistant Area Directors (complete list of AADs on back page). Philly + NJ south—Jim Ansbro #8443 Hello all, I’m the new AAD for the Philadel-phia/South Jersey region. During the past few years, I’ve hosted suc-cessful rides in both Pennsylvania and Southern New Jersey, all have been just day trips and RTE’s. Several more rides are being drawn up and will hit the calendar shortly. This area has an abundance of great Coggers, and with the increase of journeys more are sure to show up! Some of our rides will be venturing into other COG re-gions, and involving their groups with our agenda, some overnight. So keep checking back on our calendar of events, and plan to ride with us! Northcentral PA—Duane Shaffer #9189 I am the new AAD for North Central PA. I am looking forward to the challenge this offers. I have organized my first week-end ride. I was born and raised in this area, which helps when laying out rides. I presently own a KLR 650, a ZX-11 Ninja and a Concours. I like to ride both street and dirt. I am retired, which allows me more time to fill my obligations. I would like to see more members from this area, as I feel we have some of the best riding in the state. Maybe I am a little prejudice. Western PA - Joe Cyprych #4665 Hello fellow Coggers, we’re into the thick of the riding season and I hope everyone is getting some riding time in. By the time you’re reading this we will have another Cook Forest Weekend in the bag and are looking foward to another Canaan valley week-

ender Sept 9-11. We are also holding our Sunday meet & greet rides... if you plan on attending one contact me be-forehand to make sure I am in town that Sunday. Details for Canaan and all the other rides and events are located on the COG homepage calendar of events, so pick a couple and come on out and meet the gang. I promise we don’t bite. With that, if you need any more info or have a ride idea, etc., feel free to contact me. Happy Trails. Metro NY/NJ—Terry Faherty #792 Hello again fellow COGers! Here we are in the thick of the riding sea-son once again. How time do fly!! The Spring Fling was a fine time, thanks to Jason for another flawless rally. I actu-ally got up to Americade for half the week. Although the weather was touchy Wednesday and Thursday, Fri-day was a gorgeous day. Took a nice ride up north to Lake Placid and around Saranac Lake....good times folks, good times! Thanks to my partner in crime Scott for the bed and garage space in his palatial Queensbury digs. We even had to make use of his prodigious tool col-lection in the man-cave to repair my trunk mount. Discovered a nice stress crack on it, probably from the epic bump I hit on the way home from the fling on a particularly gnarly back-road. Thanks to a rainy Saturday we had plenty of time to do it, and I was duly proud of myself...I didn't crack open my first Yeungling till almost 3pm! Town looked pretty full on Friday night, lets hope folks are getting back out there, economy be damned. I've posted a possible local meet and greet on the forum for Saturday, July 30th, at the Nurnberger Bierhaus, SI, NY, 718-816-7461, nurnbergerbier-haus.com. If you like good German food, this is the place for you! Leave the scoot at home and enjoy some tasty Ger-man adult beverages in a responsible manner. We'll meet about 3ish in the beer garden, weather permitting. I'm trying something close to home to offer those folks who haven't done the rally scene a chance to see what COG is all

about. Stop in and post if you're inter-ested. That would be the perfect chance to arrange a ride up to the national, see-ing as its right around the corner. I'll probably be leaving early Sunday morn-ing and moseying up NY SR-22. I'll cut east on NY SR-7 which leads right into VT SR-9 and eventually RT-100. I'm open to alternative routes too. Some-time in July I'll drop a forum post and see who wants to join up. Just be fore-warned...I like to get rolling early to get away from the city sprawl. Late risers need not apply! VT/NH/ME—Kevin Martin #145 This is a very exciting year for the Northeast Area Membership what with our first ever COG National right around the corner in August, hosted by an extensive and dedicated Rally Team working very hard to make sure that everyone has a great time up in the beautiful Green Mountain State of Ver-mont. It’s been a very long time plan-ning this event and I’m confident that this will be a great National, one that attendees remember for a quite a while. Rally central will be in southern Ver-mont at the Mount Snow Resort at the Grand Summit Hotel. Mt. Snow is an ideal location to base a rally because not only is it convenient to some of the best motorcycling roads in Vermont, it’s also a great starting point for ride most of New England and northern NY state. Mt. Snow is located right on historic Route 100 that reaches south into Mas-sachusetts and the northern most parts of Vermont. Just a few miles south of the Resort, heading west on Vermont Route 9 from Wilmington, is a great ride out to Bennington Vermont. Keep heading west and shortly you’ll be rid-ing northern New York State. Hook up with route 22 and 9N and blast up through Lake George and beyond. If you’re really interested in a full day ride, try a full loop all the way up through Lake Placid then around Lake Champlain and back down through Smuggler’s Notch in Stowe Vermont and back to Rally central.

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If you head east from the Resort you can visit Quechee Gorge just outside of White River Junction before you cross into the Granite State of New Hamp-shire. If you head northeast from there you’ll be entering White Mountains National Park, some of the best riding in the Granite State. Take the Kancama-gus Pass from Lincoln NH over to Con-way and stop into White Horse Gear for some motorcycle apparel and accessory shopping, it’s a motorcyclists dream, and the folks are real friendly. The best part of this ride is you have to turn around and do it all over again to get back to the Resort. Yes, it’s a spectacu-lar area of the country to go riding. Because this is a COG National event, it there will be many folks new to riding Vermont and the area states. Even if you’re not a Rally volunteer, if you’re familiar with the area, please offer rid-ing and attraction recommendations to our cmembers from outside the region to help make their rally experience a pleasant one. To that end, we have es-tablished a Rally Hospitality Team lead by Greg and Tracey Habel to help new members and first time rally attendees meet other members and rally staff to help them transition into the club and rally which can be difficult for new members. The hospitality team will be happy to provide information and Rally Staff points of contact for veteran mem-bers who are new to Vermont to help them select area rides and attractions. For me, I’m looking forward to meeting some old friends and making a bunch of new ones, which is really what being a COG member is all about. I’ve been a COG member for over 20 years and I’ve hosted and attended many rallies over the years. The best advice I can give everyone is introduce yourself to people you don’t know, you’ll be surprised how much you have in common and when you’re riding in a group, ride your own ride at your own pace. Cog-gers are a diverse group of riders, some very experienced, and some not so ex-perienced. The objective is to have a good time, not try to impress other rid-ers, or ride outside of your comfort level so you can keep up with faster riders.

The Rally Team wants everyone to have a good time during rally week, which includes riding smart and staying safe which is the most important part of any motorcycling event. See you soon! NY Hudson Valley Northwest Bob Barbanti #7134 As I write this, it is now officially summer! Of course, it's been going between summer and winter for the last few months that it seems like there was no spring this year! So what has been hap-pening since we last checked in? We didn't have the monthly Meet & Greet on May 14th. Instead Mike Aldea and I did another ride to Kundla's BBQ in Hamlin, PA. Mike planed the 120 mile route out of North Jersey. We had six riders for the event. Ben and Abbe Otuno, Alex Benoit, Ben Thompson, Mike Aldea and myself, had a nice ride out to PA and back despite the last hour turning wet. See pics next page. The following weekend was the Spring Fling in Wellsboro. As always, it was another great rally. And as always in Wellsboro, it had some rain! But it was good to see old friends and meet new ones. If you've never been to a COG rally, you really should check one out. I always enjoy Wellsboro and look for-ward to next time! June 11th was the monthly Newburgh, NY Meet & Greet. Between it raining and it being Americade, the turnout was not so good this time. Alex Benoit, Bill Billig, my wife Cindy and I, still had a really nice lunch followed by the usual tire kicking in the parking lot. On June 18 & 19, we had the Saratoga un-rally. I made a mistake when I set this up of not realizing that it was Fa-thers Day weekend so that might have hurt attendance. Saratoga being pricey probably didn't help either but we still had a good size crew considering. And for y'all who didn't come? Well y'all missed out on a great ride, trip, meet & greet, etc.We started off small. There was supposed to be three of us riding out of Newburgh, NY. But the third member had to call in sick so it was just

Alex Benoit and I on the beginning of the journey. We had a nice ride out around reservoirs up towards Oneonta, NY and then northward to Ilion NY where we met up with David Harvey, Tom Taylor and Blaise Brojakowski. Since the purpose of going this route was to ride the Ilion Gorge, that's what we did. It's a very tight turned road that cuts through Ilion gorge (route 51). It's a very challenging (technical) road to ride, so riding it at speed is an experi-ence. Of course we never broke the speed limit! After the gorge we had lunch at this little outdoor burger shop in Ilion called Froggy's... not cheap but great burger and awesome lemonade. From there the ride continued on up to Sacandaga Lake, which is where we parted ways with David and Tom who headed back home. Blaise, Alex and I continued southward to Saratoga, NY. We met up at the Saratoga Downtowner motel with the rest of the group. Greg (Mitch) & Lisa Mitchell, Kathy and Jocelyn Brojakowski, plus my wife and daughtern Cindy & Carly. The Saratoga Downtowner is right in town which allows for convenient walking to most things you would want to do! We had the Saratoga group of 9 for din-ner in the Olde Bryan Inn Restaurant. The food and company was excellent! After dinner we all strolled along Broadway in Saratoga then wound up socializing back in the motel pool com-mon area until about 11PM. On Sunday Alex and I took a shorter route coming back home. But like the trip up, it was all back twisty roads. So all in all I put on over 500 miles of all back road type riding. Alex was over 600. I had a great time and want to thank all 11 people who participated in this event in one way or another. I think I am going to do another overnight ride like this again. Next time I won't screw up and plan it on a holiday! I'll be honest in saying that I might have a little too much on my plate right now to effectively plan other events just yet. I'm obviously planning on attending the National so it would be a good time to meet people and discuss possible events. Hope to see you in Mt Snow!

(VT/NH/ME report, continued from page 3)

Concours Owners Group NORTHEAST AREA NEWS

2011 - Issue #3—summer 5

RIDE REPORT Pepper Run Ride - June 17-19, 2011 By Duane Shaffer #9189 Our Pepper Run Ride is complete and I must say the weather was per-fect. Everyone arrived on Friday evening and after the intros we dis-cussed the plans for the ride on Saturday. Saturday morning we had breakfast, which consisted of bacon and eggs, toast, orange juice and coffee. Paul Vangellow, Trevor Angel, Mike Montville and Chris Shaffer all took to the dirt for a 91.6 mile ride. John Wackerman and yours truly went on a road ride of 140.6 miles through the mountains. Saturday evening dinner consisted of chicken and steak on the barby, as Trevor would say, potato salad, baked beans, and strawberry sundaes. After dinner Chris built a fire and we had mountain pies. Sunday morn-ing after breakfast everyone left for home. I am already planning an-other ride for the fall, stay tuned.

Hudson Valley NW event pics by Bob Barbanti Kundlas BBQ ride Saratoga “Un-rally”

RIDE REPORT North Meets South - June 24-25, 2011 By Dave Clancy #5452 Russell and Martha Fleming held their NS event for the 14th time at their home in Hampstead MD. They open their home for the attendees, provide supper Friday and Saturday as well as breakfast Saturday and Sunday. Folks are welcome to set up tents on his property. Some folks live nearby and some stay at local close by motels. Routes to ride are provided via route sheets or GPS files or you can do your own thing from riding excellent motorcycling roads in Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, and West Virginia to taking a down day to relax. I have sometimes heard some folks saying that C.O.G. does not provide much for them to do. Well, I did not see you there. This, like most if not all COG events, is listed under calendar at www.cog-online.org.

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Six folks from our South Central Ontario area attended. Via attendance at our area’s 2nd Tuesday of the month meet & greet one of us heard from another during informal conversation of plans to attend which were later expanded by email. This is a usual way members find riding partners. Brian Jordan, Doug Hall, Robert Riccio, Jerry and Trish Beyer and I travelled together. We’re scattered around the area (Toronto, Atwood, Cambridge, and Hamilton) but have met at prior COG events and the Tuesday meets. Simon (Port Colborne) was another Canuck who arrived at Russell’s independently. Trish rode her own bike like the rest of the group. Six is larger than our usual 3 or 4 bike group and harder to keep together with traffic, lights and stop signs getting cars among us. We did separate at points but we all had maps/GPS and knew the plan so ended up together where expected. We used 2 days to travel to the N/S which was a very comfortable ride sticking to back roads. It is possible to do it in 1 day but would realistically mean a good amount of time pounding the slab. Upon arrival, it was a pleasure to renew old acquaintances and make new ones and listen to all the catch up stories. Some future COG members (children in-cluding Guy Young’s infant grandchild) also visited. I took a ‘down day’ by doing some

geocaching (see www.geocaching.com to learn about it) and doing some shopping. Folks brought their favourite ‘beverage’ and non-alcoholic drinks were available. We cele-brated Trish’s birthday and watched a slide show of Russell’s ‘Over the Pond’ trip to Europe and visit to the GTR rally in Wales. There were 2 unfortunate accidents that I heard about during the event, one re-sulted in a sore leg and the other in more serious rib injury, let’s hope for full un-eventful recovery. Other than a noisy Mocking bird everyone had an enjoyable time talking, tire kicking and checking out the new bike purchases. The weather was per-fect, the company even better. Thank you to my travelling companions and espe-cially Russell and Martha for a wonderful time.

Concours Owners Group NORTHEAST AREA NEWS

2011 - Issue #3—summer 7

NorthEast Spring Fling Memories

May 19-22, 2011… If a picture tells a story of a thousand words, there’s a lot to be told here.

RIDE SCHEDULE Time listed is START time. See www.cog-online.org for updates.

(VT) MON-FRI 8-12 August 8AM NATIONAL Rally See back page + cog-online for details.

(ON) TUE 9 August 7PM South Central Ontario Meet-Up 2nd TUE each month Mohawk Inn, Campbellville, Guelph Ln, just N of 401. All welcome, friends, wives, girl/boy friend. Many hungry people arrive earlier to their dinner - road house food, salad, wings, burgers, fish & chips etc. A mainly social function to meet other riders, shoot the breeze, plan rides. DAVE CLANCY 905.389.7681 davecla2@sympatico.ca

(PA) SUN 21 August 9AM Sport Touring Camaraderie Ride #2 Hosted by members of COG and other sporttour clubs. All welcome. Meet for breakfast 9AM at Iron Skillet restaurant, Petro Truck Stop, 1201 Harrisburg Pike, Carlisle PA [GPS: N 40-13.903 W 077-08.551].Six rides to choose from, 140 - 200 miles each, one mixed paved & unpaved. All rides self-guided and end at Middlesex Diner in Carlisle PA. Contact me for lodging info. RUSSELL FLEMING fleming@qis.net 410.374.9687

(CANCELLED) FRI-SUN 9-11 September 9/11 Remembrance Ride Turns out another club had the facility booked.

(WV) FRI-SUN 9-11 September 12PM COG in Canaan We will be returning to Canaan Valley Resort for a weekend of riding bliss. If you've been here before you know what a awesome area it is for riding on great twisty roads (it holds the record for national rally attendance). If you haven't, you need to be here. An added bonus for vintage bike fans - the Norton motorcycle group will be there that weekend. The resort gave us a great deal on rooms at $59.00 a night, and they are holding a limited block of rooms for our group. They also have camping at $27.00 a night, but if you plan on camping book ASAP as the Norton group has 15 sites booked already. Call Canaan Valley Resort now to make reservations and mention COG to get our special rate. 800 622 4121. I hope you all can make it. If you need more info feel free to contact me. Joe Cyprych cyprych@windstream.net 724.796.1401

(NY) SAT 10 September Newburgh Meet & Greet Join us for a lunch meet and greet on (usually) 2nd SAT of each month at the Gateway diner in Newburgh NY. It's a chance to meet some of the COG family and friends. We’ll be having lunch with the possibility of a short ride afterwards. I picked a fairly new diner on 300 in the Town of Newburgh, within seconds from exit 17 on I-87 or exit 7S of I-84, located adjacent to the Hampton Inn on RT 300. BOB BARBANTI 845-895-1130 (H) 845.206.7406 (M) ny.neaad@yahoo.com

(ON) TUE 13 September 7PM South Central Ontario Meet-Up Same details as 9 August.

(NY) THU-SUN 22-25 September 7PM Fall Rally Guess what? It’s time for another of Scott & Terry’s Excellent Adventures!! The boys are bringing us back to Lake George, in the beautiful Adirondack Mountains of upstate New York. Pack your electrics as mountain temperatures can be very cool in the fall. Complete details on Reg Form page 9.

(VA/KY) FRI-MON 7-10 October 4PM Breaks Interstate Park This is a full service State park that sits on the boundary line between VA & KY. It’s in a remote area but with some excellent motorcycle roads, limited traffic and lots of great scenery. Since it’s such a long haul for most of the mid-Atlantic area, FRI & MON are set aside as travel days with no organized rides planned. Routes will be provided for both Saturday (10/8) and Sunday (10/9). There is a nice lodge on premises with reasonable peak season rates (between $80 -$90, double occupancy plus modest seniors discount); reservations can be made by phone 276.865.4413). Lodge consists of 80 rooms in 6 buildings and I strongly recommend you make reservations early in the year… this is a very busy time of year for them and no rooms are blocked for us so it is first come, first served. Having stayed there before, I plan to try to get a room in the building that houses units 111-134; view out back is spectacular. Lodge also has a restaurant with good food and reasonable prices, and most meals (except when we’re on the road) will be there. Closest town about 10 miles away and meal options are a bit limited. Also, a nice campground in the park for those so inclined. Non-electric sites ~$15 or serviced $18-22/night. Book using the same number listed above for lodge reservations. http://www.breakspark.com/ Clyde Watson 804.771.3876 or 804-921-5896 cell Clydewatson2@comcast.net

(MD) SUN 9 October 8:30AM C14 Riders & Friends Ride Meet for breakfast at the Union Bridge Fire Hall 18 West Locust Street Union Bridge MD [GPS N39-34.056 W77-10.799] for 9AM breakfast buffet. Route sheets will be handed out for a 150-mile self guided ride that will end at Shippensburg PA. The ride will take you on some of the finest motorcycle roads in the area. Come out and show your support for sport touring at its finest. You will ride in MD and PA. For more info or to get a copy of the ride in GPS format: RUSSELL FLEMING fleming@qis.net 410.374.9687.

(ON) TUE 11 October 7PM South Central Ontario Meet-Up Same details as 9 August.

(ON) TUE 8 November 7PM South Central Ontario Meet-Up Same details as 9 August.

(VA) FRI-SUN 11-13 November 4PM Brrr Ride This ride and camp was started by Guy Young several years ago and has become a perennial favorite. We will gather once again at the Natural Bridge KOA just off I-81 and RT 11 to camp on Friday and Saturday nights. For those not wanting to camp the KOA has cabins available with heaters (sort of) that will keep the chill off. To make reservations with the KOA please call 540-291-2770. Hotels and motels (Budget Inn – 540-291-2896 & Relax Inn – 540-291-2143) are in the area for those that require hard top shelter. We will meet for breakfast at 8:00 AM at the Pink Cadillac Restaurant (RT 11) on Saturday morning just a mile north of the entrance of the KOA. The route will take us over some awesome roads with lunch then back to the camp for dinner and COG camaraderie. Hopefully there will not be a fire ban in VA and we will be able to have a nice campfire in the evening. Any questions or comments please contact Kurt Nordstrom @ 540.582.9414 or kwnsdn@gmail.com

(DC) FRI-SUN 13-15 January 2012 International Motorcycle Show Shed your winter blues at the Washington Convention Centre. Info www.motorcycleshows.com

(NY) FRI-SUN 20-22 January 2012 International Motorcycle Show Shed your winter blues at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Centre. Info www.motorcycleshows.com

Concours Owners Group NORTHEAST AREA NEWS

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Concours Owners Group NORTHEAST AREA NEWS

2011 - Issue #3—summer 9

C o n c o u r s O w n e r s G r o u p N o r t h e a s t A r e a F a l l F o l i a g e R a l l y

September 22 - 25, 2011 Lake George, NY

Guess what? It’s time for another of Scott & Terry’s Excellent Adventures!! The boys are bringing us back to Lake George, in the beautiful Adirondack Mountains of upstate New York. Pack your electrics as mountain temperatures can be very cool in the fall.

Lodging: Rally Headquarters: Motel Montreal, 3 Lake Ave, Lake George, NY, 518-668-5439 www.lakegeorgemotelmontreal.com Room rate $45/night+tax+fees. Back-up Lodging: Lake Haven Motel, 442 Canada St, 800-347-0543 or 518-668-2260. www.lakehavenmotel.com $49/night+tax+fees. This motel is rite next door to Motel Montreal. A 3 night minimum is required at both motels. Call ASAP as a limited block of rooms will be held. Mention Concours Owners Group to get rooms held in our block.

Registration: $45 per person. COG Member discounted fee: $35 per person for COG members, their immediate family or signifi-cant other. Save time & postage – register online through online COG Calendar of events. Walk-in fee will be $5 additional. Online/Mail-in registration ends 9/15/11. Register early - Banquet dinner seating limited to first 100 registrations received. Rally fee covers Saturday dinner, door prizes, and other rally expenses. Wristbands may be used to identify registered attendees.

Refund Policy: Rally fee paid less $5.00 before 9/15/11; no refund after 9/15/11.

Events: There will be a Saturday evening banquet dinner across the street at Mario’s Restaurant.

Riding: Sample self-guided ride routes download available from online member library or link on event listing in the COG calendar.

General Questions: Scott Sorger: 518-223-0544 (516-509-8392) Terry Faherty: 718-227-2099 (917-837-6634)

Registration Questions: Steven Smith 203.720.7575 or nead@cog-online.org

Rally web page: can be found on the Northeast Area online Calendar of Events at: www.cog-online.org

If registering by mail: complete & mail form below with rally fee payable in $US to “Concours Owners Group” to:

Steven Smith – Fall Rally 2011, 39 Alison Ave, Naugatuck, CT 06770-3566

(Cut & return this section) 2011 Fall Rally Registration Form (Please PRINT Clearly)

Name: (One form per person) ____________________________________________ AMA # _____________ COG #____________

Street: ____________________________________________________________________________________________________

City: ________________________________________________ State/Province: ________________ Zip Code: _______________

Phone: __________________________ E-Mail: __________________________________________________ Country: _________

I will be a: rider / passenger / guest Motorcycle model: _________________________ License tag # __________________

Emergency Contact Information: Name: ________________________________________________________

Phone No.: _________________________Relationship: ____________________

Please read and sign the following Concours Owners Group Release: I understand that the Concours Owners Group (COG) cannot assume responsibility for my personal safety in this event. I choose to participate in this event voluntarily, based on my own assessment of my abilities, the routes conditions and facilities, and therefore assume all risks. I release and hold harmless COG, its officers, agents and members from any and all injury and/or loss to my person or property that may result from my participation in this event. I further certify that my vehicle and I are in compliance with all applicable license, insurance and financial responsibility laws applicable to my participation in this event. All participants under 18 years of age must have their parent or guardian sign the following additional release. As the parent or guardian of the above participant, and being informed or familiar with the risks normally associated with motorcycle events, I hereby consent to his or her participation in this event, and accept and adopt all the representations and assumptions of risk set forth in the foregoing release. Participant Parent or Signature: ________________________________________ Guardian (if applicable) ___________________________________

NE AREA STAFFNE AREA STAFF

Area Director (AD) Steve Smith #3184 203-720-7575 nead@cog-online.org Web Editor Wayne Geiser #8542 978-851-2710 wayne@mypowercouple.com Newsletter Editor Neil Baldwin #5762 519-794-0129 cog@peacockforest.ca

Assistant Area Directors: (AADs) VT, NH, ME Kevin Martin #145 978-459-6275 cog145@verizon.net

Metro NY/NJ Terry Faherty #792 718-227-2099 tmcefah@aol.com NY (Hudson Valley NW) Bob Barbanti #7134 845-895-1130 ny.neaad@yahoo.com PA (western) Joe Cyprych #4665 724-796-1401 cyprych@windstream.net DE, east MD, NJ, Philly burbs Bob Chappell #1283 302-791-0582 cog1283@comcast.net

Northcentral PA Duane Shaffer #9189 570-726-4676 dkshaff@kcnet.org South East PA Rudy Vedder #9217 717-672-6902 rvedder3@gmail.com Philly+NJ south Jim Ansbro #8443 215-805-0909 bluecon06@gmail.com CT, RI Norm & Lorie Walton #7011/a 860-836-5162 ctaad@live.com

ON (GTA) Dave Clancy #5452 905-389-7681 davecla2@sympatico.ca ON (eastern) Ken Fader #8534 613-865-7995 kensc14@gmail.com Vacant (please help!): • NY (western)

• NY (central)

• NY (southeast)

• VA

• WV

• MD

• Maritimes (Canada)

photo courtesy Kevin Martin #145

OPINION On Biking, Camping & Contrasts By Neil Baldwin #5762 I was heading out the door at work one rainy afternoon (and there were many this spring!), about to climb onto my Connie, when a colleague says, “too bad about the rain, it must really suck”. I told him my theory that motorcycling is a lot like camping: if you are prepared and have the right equipment, it is wonderful but if you’re not it can be downright mis-erable. I went on to explain how I sort of like rain when riding the Connie, at least when I’m moving anyhow. I like how the beads of water part on the windscreen as I get up speed—especially if I’ve recently

applied Plexus—and I like popping my head up and down into the windstream and watching the water move off my visor too. It feels like being in a jet. Then he asked, what about those “biker guys” with no fairing, no windscreen and plain helmets with just goggles or sun-glasses. That was when I started into yet another one of my motorcycling theo-ries… this one’s a two-parter: (a) for some riders on some types of bikes mo-torcycling is an exercise in appearing “cool” while in actual fact enduring ex-traordinary discomfort, and (b) surely one of the reasons that “biker guys” wear black is because it doesn’t show all those bug splats as much. Ouch.

I know we Connie riders may not always be at the height of style or hip (although I guess you C14s are closer than to it C10 owners like me) but we sure do seem to enjoy our rides, we like distance, and I’ve read many examples in Concourier of in-genious solutions to problems encoun-tered while touring. Speaking of camping, I also do backcoun-try pack-and canoe-camping, and all that clothing & equipment you find at out-door outfitters is designed to be compact, light and versatile… exactly what we like for distance touring as well. Have you got clever touring advice, inventions or equipment? Write a brief piece for the newsletter and share it with others!

Only weeks to go until National Rally in Vermont!

August 8-12, 2011 Mt Snow, West Dover VT - Grand Summit Hotel The riding radius from rally central will allow you to ride in 7 states and Canada. The rally will span Monday through Friday, allowing travel time on both weekends. Several lodging options are being offered, with some very affordable options. The discounted room rates will be extended on both weekends for those who wish to stay a bit longer. For more, read Kevin Martin’s area report on page 3 of this newsletter. Registration & complete details on www.cog-online.org or contact Jason Kaplitz 814-535-8669.