The GUNNY'S SACK

December 2002

A New Year Is Upon Us Again. And WOW! We got through another, and our accomplishments abound around the country. The motorcycle community is closer together now than it ever has been. The National Coalition of Motorcyclists (NCOM) has grown along with the Confederations of Clubs across the country. The various State organizations are growing in most areas, and we ARE coming together. We still have a huge fight on our hands, especially in this current political climate, but it was refreshing for me to see the response of our motorcycle world at the polls this year.

Our people are also waking up to the fact that we should NOT drink and ride. The stats I've seen show about a ten percent drop in alcohol-related accidents. Unfortunately, the stats also say there seems to be an increase in motorcycle accidents involving those of us over forty years young. Do we need to take some riding courses and sharpen ourselves up? Rider training is a positive thing for ALL of us on scoots. You young people wouldn't hurt yourselves by taking a course either. It just makes good sense. I know you're all experts because you've told me so, but a little training doesn't hurt. It's cheaper than chrome and doesn't get dull with wear, it gets BETTER instead.

GUNNY'S NEW RIDE: As some of you know, I bought a new Gold Wing in October. Sue and I plan to do some touring soon so I thought we'd get ready. This new bike is completely different than any other scoot I've ever owned. It takes some time to get used to the differences in handling, the way it feels sitting on it, radial tires, and the braking system. The thing even has a reverse gear for help in backing away from that curb that drops away from you. There is cruise control and Oh My God! TUNES on the radio and even a CB and intercom so the better half can talk to me instead of scream at me.

All this newfangled stuff means I need to train myself to ride this bike safely. Whenever we don't ride for awhile (as in the winter) or get new rides, it means we need to tune ourselves up and re-learn or wake up our sleeping sensitivities to our rides. As machines get older or are replaced, we find little things new or things we forgot that need to be kept in mind for that terrifying moment when we need to avoid some dipstick who's trying to kill us!

This scoot is SO much fun, I'm riding more than I did on the old one, even if it is winter here in central Oregon. The cold also brings it's little foibles, such as hypothermia and dehydration. Both these critters can get you in serious trouble so you need to be aware. Be sure you layer clothing and take care to stay warm. Drink lots of WATER. Notice it wasn't spelled B-E-E-R. If you start to get chilled, stop and have a cup of coffee or soup in a warm place. You can tell if you are starting to get hypothermic if it's hard to keep your mind on what you're doing, and usually you've started shivering some. This is a dangerous place to be, so get yourself warmed up quick, 'cuz it's a killer.

I'm taking good care of myself this winter...How about you? I have my electric clothing and I carry water in the saddle bags.

NEWS BITS'N PIECES:

MIAMI: The idea of using motorcycles to respond to emergency situations is spreading like wildfire. The firefighters of Miami-Dade county in Florida are proposing their use in that area, for their EMT's. The feeling is that quicker response will save lives by getting much faster response, since a scoot can scoot through the usual traffic gridlock of accidents, especially on freeways.

ELECTRIC SCOOTS: For a measly $99.00, I saw on the 'net that you can now buy your kids a 10 mph electric scooter. Just plug it in and charge it up. The kids can ride for about 8 miles. It's got a 100-watt motor and takes 3 to 4 hours to charge it up. Hells Bells, I'd even enjoy one!

TORONTO: Early December the motorcycle show here introduced some motorcycles never before seen by our northern neighbors. Aprilia and Benelli made their debut in this country. The 1000 cc Caponord is the Italian company's first motorcycle to be sold in Canada. This tourer will give Suzuki's V-Strom a run for it's money. Benelli's 900cc Tornado is a hot one with 140 hp. This with many other makes and models made this the motorcycle "show of shows" for Canada this year.

PICKERINGTON, OHIO: If you've never been to the Motorcycle Hall of Fame Museum, this year would be a good one to make the trip. Progressive Motorcycle Insurance Company plans the "Heroes of Harley Davidson" Exhibit, opening in 2003 to coincide with Harley's big birthday celebration. This will show us a century of growth in Harley-Davidson from a garage shack in the back yard to the sprawling industry it is today, employing thousands of our people across the country, and giving thousands others of us the pleasure of reliable motoring enjoyment.

YOU ARE A SUSPECT!.. We already have the US PATRIOT Act to contend with, and now there is a new even more invasive threat on the horizon. It's called the Homeland Security Act, or as our Oregon A.I.M. (Aid to Injured Motorcyclists) Attorney Sam Hochberg prefers to call it, the FATHERLAND (as in the Third Reich) Security Act. And if this John Poindexter, who is a convicted felon, a Doctor of Physics, and former National Security advisor to President Reagan, gets the power he wants with this bill, we as citizens are in about the same place Poland and Hungary were at the beginning of the Second World War!

Our government will have the power to monitor everything every person does in his or her public life. He will know more about you than your mother does! Every credit card purchase, prescription filled, what magazines you subscribe to, your speeding tickets, and your drivers license number and expiration date, marriage and divorce records, whether you rent or own and almost the color of your socks on Monday morning. We will in fact live in a POLICE STATE. Even those new outdoor police cameras will be connected to face-scanners, eventually, to have a little dossier on everyone. He will have the dream of what they're calling "Total Information Awareness" (or TIA) on every person in this country. And don't kid yourself, he WILL USE IT to make himself the most powerful man on earth.

This convict heads the "Information Awareness Office" in our Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, the people responsible for starting the Internet and stealth aircraft, and their official motto is "Knowledge is Power." The disgraced Navy Admiral has been given $200 million of our tax dollars to create dossiers on every one of our people. Just how do you think he will treat Motorcycle Clubs and Associations? We had better be writing our Congressmen and Senators about how we feel about this monumental intrusion into our lives. Now I KNOW there's good reason these days to monitor SOME folks who might be a 9/11 level of threat; but you can FIND those folks, as I see it, without having to snoop on every American, reason or not.

All this is news printed in the New York Times, The Washington Post, and other large newspapers all over the country. This is a terrible threat to Freedom in this country and we need to keep a wary weather eye on this very powerful man and on the proposed laws. He has no more regard for our freedom than the man on the moon. And we need to spread the word to those that are not so aware.

I don't know about you but this all scares the skivvies off me, and I gotta tell ya THAT ain't a purty sight.

REMINDER: The good people at the Aid to Injured Motorcyclists (A.I.M.) Program are in place for our protection from unscrupulous insurance adjusters and companies. And Sam Hochberg asked me to remind you that if you are in a wreck and the adjuster sounds pleasant and you're comfortable dealing with that adjuster, then you're probably REALLY ready to get reamed! If an adjuster calls you, Sam's motto is "Just say NO; but THEN call a lawyer!" If you get in a bind, call your nearest A.I.M. Attorney or use the A.I.M. 24-Hour Hotline: 1-800-531-2424 (or 1-800-ON-A-BIKE, or online: www.ON-A-BIKE.com), and these guys will take good care of you. They are riders and are very aware of the world we live in on the highway. Sam's office here in Oregon can also be reached at 503-224-1106 or 1-800-347-1106 toll free. He's online at SamBikeLaw@aol.com

 

Keep the round side on the bottom.
Gunny, Oregon A.I.M. Chief of Staff