2014 - Issue #5 - Winter
COGnitions Random thoughts and ramblings from your Area Director The winter solstice is only a couple of days away. Remarkably, some Northeast COGgers are still riding. One local member here in Connecticut was out today, and heading out again for a breakfast ride (heated gear optional? Brrr). I’m jealous, but I had the opportunity to go. Brunch with the kids and granddaughters took precedence. I missed out on plenty of club activities mid-summer and fall. This was a light riding year for me too. I spent almost every weekend getting my mom’s house in NY ready for sale. That’s a done deal and it’s time to look forward to next year. Last weekend was the International Motorcycle Show in New York City. I can’t say that anything was really calling my name, or that there was something that jumped out as an earth shattering new bike or accessory. Yamaha was pushing the R1M, with its sophisticated track electronics. The Kawasaki H2 (and Ricky Gadson’s H2R drag bike) were the focal point in the Kawasaki booth. There was a fair amount of activity at the Concours 14, and we spoke to some potentially new owners as we hung around waiting to head out to the group lunch that Terry Faherty was so good to organize at Tir na Nog. John & I were the last to arrive walking cross town from Javits over to the Times Square location. It seems I missed that the plan was to meet at the Penn Plaza restaurant location. We got there in time to order chow with the crew. The food and company was terrific, as usual. See Terry’s column for more details. After kicking around ideas at a COG NE staff conference call the decision was made to take the 2015 Spring Fling back to Bedford, PA the weekend of May 14-17. We had a great time there 2 years ago, and Jason was able to negotiate similar room and banquet rates. Online registration is open now—details in the flyer later in this issue. Glenn, Tim & Jason are working on a different venue for Dog Days… Staunton, VA. We are hoping to have this locked in and provide details by the next newsletter. The Fall Rally is sorta up for grabs, but Terry has gone ahead and volunteered Scotty (surprise!!) to look into a fall visit to Lake George at the same place we’ve been to in the past. The Northeast staff is also preparing local activities for 2015. If you have an idea for a club activity this is the best time to contact your local AAD or myself and we’ll help you make it happen. This is a member driven club, and we need your assistance in activity planning and organizing. It’s easy to do, a lot of fun, and very rewarding. You know you’re going to ride anyway—why not invite a few COGgers to come along too?
ule Event Sched on Page 7 photo courtesy Bob Barbanti #7134
Looking forward to seeing many of you at Spring Fling. Chag urim sameach. Merry Christmas. Have a safe, healthy & happy New Year. Ride Safe,