October 16,2011…It is kind of a cool and damp morning as I open the garage door to leave for breakfast this morning, it had rained during the night but had quit here in Holland at about 7:30AM. It is 49 degrees and there is heavy cloud cover as I head east. I encountered no rain on the way to breakfast; roads were wet with puddles here and there. Upon my arrival at the restaurant there are only 3 other bikes in evidence. As we enter there is actually a pretty decent crowd already here. The rain and clouds had scared a few members out of riding in this morning, shame of them.

PREMISE for the CLUB: There are a number of local riders who would like to get together with other riders once in a while. Most everyone is “busy”, so a local club is not intended to be the focal point of anyone’s social life.

The CLUB’S GOAL: To provide an occasional opportunity for area riders to get together for conversation and to ride with other BMW enthusiasts.

CLUB EVENT DATES TO REMEMBER:
BREAKFAST/MEETINGS: All Breakfast/Meetings are held on the second Sunday of the month unless otherwise notified. We meet at 9:00 AM at: NEW BEGINNINGS RESTAURANT, 4735 Lake Michigan Dr., Standale, Mi. They are ¼ mile west of Wilson Ave. Their phone number is 616-735-4902.
Upcoming dates: Nov. 13, 2011 (2nd Sunday), Dec. 11, 2011 (2nd Sunday)

CLUB RIDES: This was our last Club Ride for the year, we completed five of the seven scheduled this year. We will have seven scheduled for 2012 starting in April of next year. We’ll be looking for you then. If you have any favorite routes or destinations let us know and we’ll try to incorporate them into a ride.

MICHIGAN DESTINATIONS 2011...You should be working on these, personal favorites, any five places that are your favorite destinations in Michigan with at least one being in the UP. These need to be completed and submitted by Nov. 15th, 2011. If you have completed your destinations forward your pictures or proofs to Bill Hankinson at 497 Timberlake Dr. W., Holland, MI. 49424 or bring them to the next breakfast/meeting. If you need further info contact Bill Hankinson.

Bill & Virginia Lane submitted their proofs this month, a nice collage of places throughout Michigan that they enjoy visiting, all of which they had been too previously.

CLUB NEWSLETTER: Mailed or emailed on a monthly basis. If you have any concerns or contributions you may contact me, William Dirkmaat at: 11801 Hoskins NE, Cedar Springs, MI. 49319. Phone: 616-263-9110, cell-616-340-4440 or wmbmwriders@charter.net

OTHER EVENTS OF INTEREST: Please note that you may obtain more information in the BMW MOA ON and BMW RA OTL magazines for some of these events. More local events can be found posted on the bulletin board at the shop.

Oct. 22, 2011, The Battle Creek BMW Club Scavenger Hunt Ride. Meet at Grand Rapids BMW Motorcycle Shop at 10am at which time there will be a handout sheet. The ride will be around Gun Lake and return to GR BMW for snacks and drinks around 1:00PM All are welcome. Come on out and have fun.

Nov.13, 2011, MSF Group Riding Course, after our regular Breakfast/Meeting, 10:30AM at the Lincoln Country Club, 3485 Lake Michigan Dr., Standale, MI.

CLUB T-SHIRTS and SWEATSHIRTS:

The available shirts and sweatshirts are as follows:

T-Shirts:

ASH
blue & red print / no pocket; 3 – Lg @ $8.50 ea, 9 – XL @ $8.50 ea
blue & red print / with pocket; 3 – XL @ $9.50 ea

BLACK
white print / no pocket; 3 – XL @$8.50 ea
white print / with pocket; 2 – XL @ $9.50 ea

WHITE
blue & red print / no pocket; 1 – Sm @ $8.50 ea

Sweatshirts:

ASH
blue & red print; 1 – Lg @ $16.00 ea, 3– XL @ $16.00 ea

BLACK
white print; 3 – XL @ $16.00 ea

Call Bill D. at 616-263-9110, or 616-340-4440 if you would like to have one of these.

October Breakfast/Meeting......................................………………………………………..…….by Bill Hankinson
It is a rather gloomy day out, but we have generated a good crowd for breakfast and we are all cheered up by the company and conversations around our table. The crowd consists of Bob Swanson, who is making a great recovery from his deer strike, Phil & Roxanne Nellis, Larry Schwallier, Kristy Hollingsworth, Dave & Linda Wilson, Bill & Barb Dirkmaat, Jim Weber, Bill Hankinson, Gordon Hankinson, Mike Hankinson, Bill & Virginia Lane, Homer & Kathy Teitsma, along with Kathy’s sister and brother in law, Nancy & Terry Sheehan from Bay city, John & Diane Obermeyer and Rick Kraai. Homer shared a picture album of their Alaskan trip, a thank you card from Bill & Barb and an article on the Charity Challenge from the MOA magazine also circulated the crowd. Lots of conversations ongoing all around the table and it is pretty hard to register all that is being discussed but it was an animate group again this morning as usual. Breakfast wraps up at about our usual time and we adjourn to the parking lot where conversations continue to flow. We inspect Dave & Linda Wilson’s new ride, a Mercedes Benz S230SLK, hard top convertible, supercharged, that Dave found on the way home from our last group ride to Paw Paw. Who knows what we will find along today’s route.

More Random Musings..............................................…………………………....……………..…….by Bill Hankinson
Just a reminder to all MOA members who registered for the 2011 Mileage Contest, you need to file an ending form to complete your participation in the contest. It is available in the Oct. issue of the MOA-ON or you can also obtain a copy at their website, www.bmwmoa.org. The form needs to be completed and postmarked by Nov. 14th, 2011. Don’t forget to get this done, if we all completed the contest we might be able to give our friends in Wisconsin some competition.

Once again, regarding the 2011 Charity Challenge at the MOA International Rally in Bloomsberg, PA. this summer, in the BMW ON magazine for October you will find WMBMWRiders mentioned on pages 92 and specifically at the top of page 93, kind of nice to get the recognition for a job well done by our members.

Joanne and I got away for a vacation the end of Sep. We went to Jamaica to celebrate our 45th wedding anniversary. We had a great time, ate too much, drank too much, but we will survive. We didn’t do any bike riding while there, and there were not a lot of motorcycles or even scooters in evidence. We did take a walk into town where I spotted a local dealer, not sure if he represented any particular brand; saw a 160cc Honda and a couple of bikes that were not familiar to me, but definitely from somewhere in southeast Asia. On the street I only spotted one bike that day, a 600cc or larger sport bike of some kind. Always interesting to see what the rest of the world is like.

Mark your calendars for Nov. 13th, our next breakfast/meeting, we are going to have another MSF course for you to participate in. This one will be the Group Ride Course, lots of good information and practices for those group rides that you participate in. I first saw this program at the RA Rally this summer in Chippewa Falls, WI. and felt that it would be good for our membership too. The course is available through the MOA Foundation at no cost to local chartered clubs so I requested a copy and plugged it into our schedule.

Regarding our monthly newsletter, we are currently mailing 16 copies to members. If you have an email address and are currently receiving your copy via the USPS I would like to know if you would be willing to receive your copy via email. This would save us a few bucks in postage and materials as well as make it much easier for the person putting the newsletter together. Please consider this, and to those of you, to whom it applies, let us know. Thanks.

Thought for the Month: Whenever I fill out an application, in the part that says "If an emergency, notify:" I put "DOCTOR".

Historical Note: Gas prices, October, 2010 $2.569

Gas prices, Jamaica, Sep. 2011 $114.60/Jamaican or $1.469 USD

October Ride Report...................……………………………………………………………..........…by Bill Hankinson

As we exit the restaurant this morning for our annual Color Tour we don’t have much sunshine, there are a few breaks in the clouds and a little blue sky here and there, it is a relatively cool 55 degrees, not as nice a day as we might have wished for. We will still enjoy the ride and the company. We have seven motorcycles and nine riders ready to roll consisting of the following; Bill Hankinson, Gordon Hankinson, Jim Weber, Phil & Roxanne Nellis, Rick Kraai, Dan Shultz and John & Diane Obermeyer, six BMW’s and a Ural sidecar rig. We leave the parking lot and head west and then north on familiar roads but they do have some nice color along the way looking out over recently harvested corn and bean fields to the tree lines gives one a sense of the fall season. We swing east and pass by the site of the tragic ending of the bank robbery that happened on Thursday of last week. Continuing east we make a jog to the north passing through the campus of Kenowa Hills High School, pretty nice looking grounds and buildings and as we leave the grounds we even encounter a flock of free range chickens. We turn east and make our way through some orchard country where the apple harvest is in full swing. We swerve south again on the western edge of Rockford and drop down toward the Grand River valley passing through the village of Belmont and then turn east, more or less following the Grand River to our first rest stop in the village of Canonsburg. The necessities are accomplished and we mount up and move out for the next leg of our tour. We continue making our way, jogging east and north, encountering some nice curvy roads and vistas across lakes and farms. We pass just to the west of Greenville, through Gowen and then wheel east once more crossing Montcalm County. Along the way we again see many vistas across the farm fields and lakes of the area. There are also a lot of Halloween decorations seen along our route; some may even be Halloween to excess!! I did notice a couple of the old camelback concrete bridges along the county roads; I had forgotten that they were the design of choice many years ago. We circumnavigate the shores of Crystal Lake and arrive at our second rest stop in downtown Crystal. My initiation to motorcycling occurred here at an AMA Gypsy Tour in 1957, if any of you remember those events, a memorable one for me, very impressionable for a fifteen year old. Once again the necessities are seen to and we continue our tour. We are now on a southerly heading, passing through Butternut and Palo. We then swing to the east again and continue to the village of Hubbardston, a quaint setting on the river, a few fisherman working the stream as we pass by, then veer south crossing the Maple River, passing through Matherton and Pewamo. Our route continues in the southerly direction to our destination in Portland. As we pull into the parking lot of the restaurant we are greeted by the Saginaw Valley BMW Riders, who had five motorcycles, all GS’s, and had ridden dirt roads to the meet, and the Battle Creek BMW Club, with seven motorcycles, with our seven we totaled 19 motorcycles representing at least four manufacturers and a crowd of 21 as best as I can discern. We all join together for food, drink, good conversations and good company, the general consensus is that it was a fun time and should be repeated. After lunch everyone finds their own way home via the route that works best for them. Another club riding season is wrapped up and we will do it again next year. Hopefully there will be many days yet that can be ridden before the real winter sets in, enjoy them to the fullest if you get the opportunity.

Return to Trenton Rally, Aug. 11-13, 2011 …………………………………………………….by Jim Weber

Thursday, Aug. 11. I just want to let everyone know that I'm in Trenton, Ontario, Canada attending the Return to Trenton Rally #9. I will be here until Sunday. This is the third year in a row for me attending this one. I left home early this morning in the dark, got to the border early enough that I didn't have to wait. They now charge $3.00 to cross the Bluewater Bridge, everything is going up. Toronto was no fun, a lot of stop and go. Got to Trenton in good time, got the tent set up and now am ready to rally. It's very cloudy here looking a little like rain, and very windy with a temp of about 71 degrees, much more enjoyable than the 90's we've been having. Not much to report right now. I will try to make it to this library sometime tomorrow.

Friday, Aug. 12. Got up this morning to nice cool temps and went for about a 30 minute run. Yesterday evening a couple of us walked into town to a German restaurant for dinner, than back to the park for idle conversation. Since I got up early and road all day yesterday I retired to my tent early. It really cooled off nicely last night good for sleeping, a few of us walked into town again to a different restaurant for breakfast. Since we are only about 3 blocks off of Main Street it is convenient to walk into town. Not a cloud in the sky so far today and it's warming up nicely. When I leave this library I'm going to go to the Air Force Museum again. I went there a couple of years ago and found it very interesting. Hot dogs or hamburgers for dinner tonight, part of the rally fee.

Saturday, Aug. 13. It's starting out to be another nice day here. Some clouds floating around, but nice and warm. Last evening for dinner we were served either hot dogs or hamburgers, with baked beans, and coleslaw, with all the condiments. This morning they served us a super good breakfast, eggs, bacon, sausage, hash browns, and toast, all made on site and all you can carry on your plate. That should tide me over until dinner, which I'm hearing is steak, baked potato, and a veggie. I eat pretty well at these rallies. All this food is part of the rally fee. I'll be packing up and heading for home tomorrow morning. Toronto on a Sunday morning shouldn't be an issue; I just hope that I don't get stuck at the border very long. In checking the weather it looks like I may get a little wet on my way home. Oh well, won't be the first time. I made it home safely yesterday evening. We had a thunderstorm roll through the rally area around 11:30pm.

Sunday, Aug. 14. When I got up in the morning everything was pretty much dry. I think the wind dried things off. Packed up and hit the road. I did have rain from London, On. to about Strathroy, On., maybe about 30 miles, than I hit rain gain at Flint, but didn't last very long. Going through Toronto on a Sunday morning was a breeze, never got below 70mph. The border crossing took about 45 minutes so not too bad.

Monday, Aug. 15. Today it's doing some wash, cutting the grass, and cleaning my gear.

37th Finger Lakes Rally, Sep. 2-5 …………………………………………………………………………….Jim Weber
Hi everyone from the beautiful Finger Lakes area in Watkins Glen, NY. I left home Friday morning with vivid lightening off to the east. I actually did have second thought about heading out. The closer I got to Lansing, Mi the brighter the light show got, but strangely not much rain with it, just some drizzle. By the time I got to Flint I had out run the thunder heads and the little bit of rain I had. I passed through the border at Port Huron in good time; I think I was the second vehicle in line. I got to the Peace Bridge at Buffalo with about an hour wait to get through customs and then onto Watkins Glen. It was starting to warm up by the time I got into New York, maybe about 85. Got my tent set up and rode into town for something to eat and drink. Saturday morning I took a ride to Hammondsport, NY and toured the Glenn H. Curtiss Museum. I had been there a few years ago so decided to go back. They are always updating their displays, very interesting stuff. Not a lot of motorcycles but lots of airplanes and early bicycles. I will be in Watkins Glenn until Monday morning when I'll head on back home. I'm going to try something different going home, instead of going through Canada again and sit at the border crossing at Port Huron I'm going to go around through Cleveland and Toledo. I figure it might be a little longer but maybe faster. It's a very nice day here today, blue skies, with a temp of about 85, but very humid. I think tomorrow I'll do a little wine tasting. That's it from here.

Falling Leaf Rally, Oct. 6-9…………………………………………………………………………………Bill Hankinson
I arrived at the rally on Thursday, Oct. 6, at about 1:00PM. I left home on Wednesday morning and had a nice leisurely ride down. I found brother Mike’s campsite up on the hill near the shelter and set up my tent next door. The fire was going already. John and Diane Obermeyer were camped in the same area. Just as I finished setting up, Larry Schwallier arrived; he had left Grand Rapids at 4:30AM this morning. We now have a West Michigan BMW Riders encampment and a campfire going for the duration. The rally doesn’t officially open until Friday morning so we were left to our own devices for the evening. Friday AM dawned and we all went to a breakfast spot that Mike had scoped out, Russell’s in Caledonia, about 15 miles south on MO. 21. Great breakfast, I had the Farmers, which consisted of three eggs, American fries, two sausage patties, and a platter or biscuits and gravy. After breakfast we all made our own way back to the rally grounds and got registered. Larry and I then ran up MO. 185 to Sullivan and returned on county roads A and T, really nice roads with lots of curves and hills. Back at Rally Central we find that Bill & Virginia Lane have arrived, they were at the Return to Shiloh rally last weekend. They are doing the RV thing this trip, pickup camper with trailer for the bike. Larry and I volunteered for prep duty for the hot dog roast tonight and ended up cropping up two bags of onions for the feast tonight. Dave Wilson and Jerry Arnett also arrived this afternoon. Everyone enjoyed the hotdog roast and beans. After the meal, we all adjourned to their spots for the evening, in my case it was back to the campfire and lemon sandwich cookies for dessert. Saturday morning, Mike, Larry and I had gate security from 7:00 to 9:00AM along with a fellow from the Gateway Riders. The GS ride was forming up while we on duty looked like they may have had 30+ bikes going on the ride. I took another ride out into the countryside again today, south out of Potosi on P to C to Y to 8 and into Cuba, MO. Here I found a piece of old US Route 66 and rode it up Sullivan and returned to the rally on 185 again. Back at the rally I visited the vendors but didn’t find anything that I really needed or couldn’t live without. The closing ceremonies were at 6:00PM, initiated by the famous Anvil Blast. There were 805 attendees and none of our club won any of the major prizes although Jerry Arnett reported he won three door prizes but didn’t share what they were. After all the prizes were given away and the 50/50 was announced the closing Anvil Blast was done and we once again adjourned. The volunteers were treated to a pizza party at 8:00PM, pizzas from Dominos, five varieties, all good. After stuffing ourselves with pizza it was back to the campsite and preparing for the trip home on Sunday. Another nice evening around the campfire, a big beautiful almost full moon and we finished up the lemon sandwich cookies before hitting the hay for the night. Sunday morning, Mike, Larry and I hit the road at 7:00AM local time and beat our way home, mostly on the Interstates and were back at about 7:00PM. This had to be the best Falling Leaf Rally I have ever attended, the weather was just about perfect, the roads were in excellent shape and the riding was awesome as was the company.

FOR SALE: Two chrome plated steel rims for early “R” bikes. Brand NEW, still in factory wrappings. One complete generator system off 1981 R100: Rotor, stator, diode board, and wiring harness. (Replaced with a 450 watt EnDuraLast System) Contact John at 616-301-4298.

WANTED: A left side battery cover for an “85” to “95” R100RT, BMW Part # 46 631 452 435, contact Bill Hankinson, 616-786-3645 or billandjo09@yahoo.com

Lots of room for additional items, just let us know and we will put your item in next month’s newsletter, also check out the Free Swap Meet coming up next month at BMW Motorcycles of Grand Rapids.

10.22.2011 | West Michigan/BMW Club of Battle Creek Gathering
We will have a gathering of the West Michigan BMW Riders and the BMW Motorcycle Club of Battle Creek. All clubs are invited. There will be a club ride around Gunn Lake put on by the BMW of Battle club at 10am. Come join these clubs or just stop by and see what it's all about. We will have refreshments throughout the day from 9am until 3pm.

11.25.2011 | BLACK FRIDAY SALE
We will have specials on jackets, pants, boots , gloves , helmets and much, much more to welcome in the holiday season. Please join us for refreshments.

12.09.2011 | CHRISTMAS PARTY
Join us Friday from 9am till 10 pm and Saturday from 9am till 3pm for our 2 day Christmas Party!!!

The last of the last page

Update on Bob Swanson, the following was received on Sep. 28th;

Hello everyone.. Well Bob has been home since last Tuesday, Sep. 20th! He is doing well.. All doctors are giving him good job gold stars.. But he needs to wear back brace thru Thanksgiving. He does not like that at all.. Oh well! I am going back to work onFri., hopefully he will be a good boy!!!!!!!! No I do not want to go back to work, but I think he needs time alone!!! :) We want to thank everyone for all your thoughts and prayers, all the wonderful phone calls, cards. He will be up and riding in the spring... He has the winter months to heal and relax.. Thank you sooo much Jan and Bob!

Update on Bill Dirkmaat, received from Barb on Oct. 16th,

Bill had his left wrist surgery on October 4th and everything went well. The scaphoid bone (a small, peanut-shaped bone at the base of the thumb at the wrist) was fractured and needed to be removed. Four other bones in the wrist were fused together. The area where the scaphoid was removed will fill in with scar tissue. A nerve block anesthetic was used so he may be numb for 12 to 36 hours. For the next 72 hours the arm needs to be elevated and is in a sling. Ice packs to be applied as necessary to keep the swelling down. He will return to Dr. Burgess on October 17th for a follow-up. At the time of the accident it was thought that Bill's wrist was sprained - original X-rays did not reveal any broken bones. This is not uncommon with some sprains as a fracture can show up later. After the sprain healed he still had a lot of pain and it was suggested that a hand specialist see him. X-rays taken then revealed the fractured scaphoid bone. Once we returned to the Inn we contacted a guy at Mary Free Bed (Paul) who does the wheelchair maintenance, to see if the hand controls could be switched to the right side. While he did that I went to get Bill's prescription filled at St. Mary's Pharmacy. Bill needs a little more help now with some things that require two hands. Between the caregivers and me it should work out fine. I have been kept extremely busy with Bill and all that goes along with his challenges but I would not have it any other way. I know that he would do the same for me.

The plans for the renovations to our home are coming along. We had a meeting with the architect, contractor, case manager and State Farm rep last Friday at our house to go over the plans. Some changes were made to the original plans and we are all on the same page now. Those plans include an addition (new master bedroom and assessable bathroom), an elevator, modified kitchen, etc. We still have a ways to go before construction can begin - another meeting in one month to finalize the plans, approval by the State Farm Board as well as the MCCA (Michigan Catastrophic Clause Association). After that we will get three bids from builders/remodelers, etc. Feasibly construction cannot begin until about December. Good things come to those who wait, right?

I hope that all is going well for all of you. I will continue to keep you updated. Thanks for your many thoughts and prayers.

Thusly ends another newsletter, all the news all the time, or at least some facsimile of it. There will still be many days that will be suitable for riding before the snow comes and the temps get to cold for it, but do be careful out there, falling leaves on the pavement can make for a slippery surface and the critters are out and about and we will leave it to the hunters to fell the game, not the motorcyclist.

Ride safe, ride often!!!

Bill Dirkmaat,11801 Hoskins NE, Cedar Springs, Mi. 49319
Home: 616-263-9110 or Cell: 616-340-4440 or email at wmbmwriders@charter.net