The
Squamidian Report – Jan. 22 / 11
Issue #452
Including:
The Ontarion
Hi All,
As some of you know, I’m involved with a motorcycle riding organization called Canadian Motorcycle Cruisers, or CMC for short. CMC has chapters all across the country. When I joined last summer, I joined the Vancouver chapter for obvious reasons. It’s the closest chapter to where I live. What quickly became clear was that there was no activity happening in the Vancouver chapter. There are chapters on Vancouver Island that are very active, there are chapters all over the country that are very active but the Vancouver chapter was dormant. There seemed to be members but nothing was being organized or dealt with. We did managed to get hooked up with one of the registered members and got to know him but there seemed to be no sign of the rest of the chapter.
I began communicating with some of the chapters over on the Island and we attended some of their functions. We also hooked up with them for a ride they did over here on the mainland and met many of their members. We had enough exposure to the CMC organization to know it was worth while trying to get something going with the Vancouver chapter and to that end I agreed to hold the position of 1st officer. A chapter needs someone to ‘do the paper work’ etc, and to communicate with the members so things can start to happen and while I don’t really know very much about being a motorcycle club chapter officer, someone was needed to do it and that someone was me. By then it was getting near the end of the riding season but we did manage to do a few rides that included 3 of us as active members.
In late December we had the good luck of having the 2nd officer from the Duncan chapter transfer over when he had to move to Vancouver for his work. He brings experience and enthusiasm. I contacted the registered non-active Vancouver members and several of them indicated a desire to remain in the chapter. We’ve also had several new members join and that puts our numbers up at about a dozen with several other people thinking about joining. I called a chapter meeting last Saturday and the members that could make it did. We discussed everything from ideas for rides to ideas for meet-up locations. One of the biggest challenges that CMC Vancouver faces is that we are spread out over the whole Lower Mainland and that creates some logistical problems. As our membership grows those problems will be easier to deal with. The 2011 riding season should be an interesting and enjoyable experience, a lot of work and some headaches but well worth while in the long run. Many of the larger, active chapters continue to meet and socialize right through the winter and hopefully that’s where we are heading.
The CMC organization is an interesting concept. It is wholly Canadian and the originating chapter is in Cambridge Ontario, and there are now chapters from coast to coast. There are almost 6,000 members. The organization as a whole supports the Children’s Wish Foundation and many of the large chapters also support their own local charities. There are no membership dues and membership is open to anyone who is willing to abide by the club bylaws. Those bylaws basically spell out that we ride safely, all riders are alcohol free while riding with the club and that we are out there to promote our sport and have fun. Owning a bike is not even a requirement, many would-be riders join before getting their license in order to take advantage of the knowledge and resources available. Club interactions and business is done through the CMC Forum website where members post ideas and information. Notifications are often done by Email as well.
Anyway, this is what’s currently taking up at least some of my abundant(?) spare time these days.
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The high slopes on the mountains around here are covered with avalanches. I can see dozens of them from my back porch. Some small, some quite large. There are a couple visible at the top end of Fires Creek Canyon that are huge and would have been deadly for anything in their path. I’ve only managed to see one happen, you have to be looking in the right place at the right time. Once one has come down it leaves a very visible trail of tumbled snow that stands out clearly from the surrounding smooth snow. The thing about the avalanches visible from here is that they are of no threat to anyone because there is no way of getting up into the areas that they are happening in. There is no road or trail access and pretty well no way to get across the Squamish River. If you could cross the river, you’d have to start hiking and climbing to get up to the high slopes. That country up there is very rugged and inaccessible. So the slides make for interesting scenery and give me a reason to write this paragraph.
doug
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THE ONTARION REPORT
Hello everyone!
I’ve just been sitting here thinking about my past and how many different vehicles I’ve owned over the years. It seems that I’ve owned twenty-nine cars and trucks that I can recall and I’m sure there are a few that I’ve missed on my list. Add to this list the 6 motorcycles I’ve owned and I have a grand total of 35 vehicles that have been registered in my name. That’s not a bad total for 46 years of driving! Considering that they have been valued at anywhere between $600.00 and $35,000,00 I’ve put a pretty penny into transportation. If you add in the cost of maintenance and insurance of these machines, not to mention gas to run them I could probably retire if I had all that cash in the bank today. Hey wait a minute I am retired! Guess that means I probably could have retired 20 years ago had I saved all that cash and taken the bus or walked everywhere I went!
Oh well, looking back I really don’t think I would have enjoyed life nearly as much had I not been able to drive myself everywhere I wanted or had to go. When you think of it, driving is one of the great privileges we have in this beautiful country of ours and I can’t imagine being without a drivers license. There may come a day when I can no longer drive for medical reasons or whatever but until then I intend to continue to add to my list of vehicles. That doesn’t mean I’m about to step out and buy another vehicle tomorrow but guys never stop thinking about their next mode of transportation. It’s one of those things that’s a thrill to most men. The thrill begins when a guy decides he wants a new vehicle. First there’s the thought process that goes into that decision, can I afford a new vehicle, can I afford a brand new one, how much can I afford, will I be able to pay cash or will I have to finance it in some form. In most cases that depends on the type and make of vehicle that a guy wants! Will it be a truck, a sports car, a luxury car, a plain Jane sedan, an SUV or a Motor home? OR perhaps it’ll just be that motorcycle he’s always wanted and can finally afford!
Other guys get their thrill out of doing something special like building or buying a custom car or “Hot Rod”. In this case, they are not changing vehicles, they are simply adding to their collection. That’s a pretty cool thrill in itself and a very specialized type of vehicle. I myself have never had the urge to get into custom vehicles or “Hot Roding” I’ve always been more of a “British” sports car fan. If it wasn’t Mini’s in the driveway it was some other LBC or “Little British Car”. The last one we purchased was a 1979 MGB that we bought in 1989 and still occupies a space in our garage. We usually get it out and drive it around in the summer and fall to enjoy the sunshine and the leaves turning in the countryside. This past two years I don’t think we’ve had it out at all. We’ve just had too much on the go to be tooting around. With things slowing down now that winter is here we will likely have time this coming summer to get back at the LBC fun times. It’s a lot of fun to cruise the country roads in the MGB with the convertible top down and the wind blowing through Carole’s hair and my mustache! LOL! I can hardly remember the sensation of wind blowing through my hair but no matter, I still enjoy the fun of driving a convertible on a sunny day. I have a choice now with the MG and also the motorcycle but if Carole wants to come along the MGB is the way to go. We used to belong to a British Sports Car club but have let our association with them laps over the past few years. Maybe we’ll pick up with them again next summer and get back into doing the rallying we used to enjoy with the club. One way or the other our summer fun will involve a vehicle of some sort and it’ll be fun for sure!
Cars are still a big part of my life and who knows, maybe we’ll buy a new one to spice things up when the weather gets sunny and warm once again.
In the meantime, we’ll be heading for Florida for the month of February and enjoying whatever sunshine they have to offer down there! I hope it’s warmer this year than it was last. Although we still had a ball there last year it could have been a tad warmer. I’m sure however that Florida will have much better weather this winter than we have up here and we’re bound to enjoy it for sure!
I haven’t decided whether or not I’ll take a laptop along this year but I’ll be sure to make that decision before we leave. That’ll determine whether or not you’ll have “The Ontarion Report” to read while we’re down south. If not, it may just give you something to look forward to when we return in March. On the other hand, it may just be a relief for all of you to be without it for a month! LOL!
I’ll be sure to let you all know in the next week or two what my decision will be!
That’s it for this week folks!
Thanks for tuning in and I’ll look forward to talking to you all again next week in The Ontarion Report!
Bye for now… GREG.
PS: Something To Think About>
Do you think you could handle being without The Ontarion Report for a whole month?
Be nice now! LOL!
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Have a good one..
the doug
The Fine Print!
The articles in these issues are the sole property of the persons writing them and should be respected as such.