Eastern Canada Motor Maids Version 30, Issue 1 February 2012 A

Eastern Canada Motor Maids
Version 30, Issue 1 February 2012
District Director:
Sandra Hinksman 2011
Assistant District Directors:
Bonnie Smith, Kingston 2011
Nancy Andrusek, Ottawa 2010
A Note from the District Director
It has been an extremely mild winter for many of us but we still can’t wait for
spring to show up so we can really get out there and shake the cob webs off
ourselves and our bikes.
I would like to take a moment to explain how the position of District Director is
filled and the actual length of the term. Although the position is a 3 year term it is
renewable each year. It is not an elected position at this time, it is appointed by
the President based on input from the District. Each year when you fill out your
year-end letter there is a place where you can name who you would like to see as
your District Director. For those who feel you don’t have a say, you do. If you
want to see change then put it in your year-end letter. I am currently in my second
year of a 3 year term. If I am asked to stay on for a third year I would like to hear
from anyone who would be interested in the position for 2014. You may think
that’s a long way off, but it’s not really and I would like to be able to work with
the person who will replace me so that they feel more comfortable in the position.
Please give it some thought.
Bonnie Jacklin, Wingham 2010
Heidi Roy, Golden Horseshoe 2004
Melanie Jones-Drost, GTA 2010
Valerie Carl Peterborough 2010
Safety Officer:
Jean Hutcheon 2008
Past Ass’t Directors:
Laurie Esseltine 2007-2010
Dale Smilie 2008-2010
Sue Bools 2005-2009
Corey Pullman 2004-2009
Nancy Maloney 2001-2005
Joan Appleton 2000-2004
Past District Directors:
Dora C. Cook 2008-2010
Lynn Cox, 2003-2007
Audrey Stargratt, 1995-2002
There are lots of events coming up that are quite exciting. Check out the details
inside on the Meet Mrs Harper Ride to coincide with International Female Ride
Day. This will be a Full Uniform event where we will parade to 24 Sussex Drive to
meet Mrs Harper. If you are planning on attending you need to get your
information to Dora by March 15th. She’ll need your full name, birthdate, and the
plate # for the bike you will be riding.
We had our first Winterlude event in Ottawa on February 18th which was lots of
fun. The weather was great for the sleigh ride and walking around the Market, not
so good for skating on the canal but we still managed to skate a few laps on the
Rink of Dreams in downtown Ottawa. Della did an awesome job hosting and
serving her chilli dinner.
I’m looking forward to the Spring Potluck at Dorothy’s in Sherkston (Port
Colbourne). We will have lots to discuss for the upcoming riding season.
Hopefully I will see many of you there.
I hope everyone is looking forward to spring. If there is anything you would like to
discuss or events you think we should participate in please get in touch with me.
Connie Ray, 1992-1994
Sandra Clarke, 1990-1992
Past Provincial Director:
Linda Harris, 1981-1988
Past State Director:
Audrey Alexandre, 1949 -1953
Motor Maid National Executive Directors:
Vice President
Dorothy Seabourne, 2005- 2006
Lise Sculland, 1996 – 1999
Advisory Editor:
Lynn Cox, 2008 - 2011
ECN Web Editor:
Laurie Esseltine 2011
Bev Hannington, 2008
Historian:versio
Sandra Hinksman, District Director Eastern Canada
Linda (Williams) Harris 1987-1995
Dorothy Seabourne 1996
MOTOR MAIDS, INC. is a diverse group of women
motorcyclists united through a passion for riding while
fostering a positive image and promoting safe riding skills.
Cdn. Hall of Fame Inductee:
Audrey Alexandre 2008
If you have additional information, please
contact [email protected]
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Assistant District Directors
Melanie Jones-Drost A.D.D. (Greater Toronto Area)The GTA Motor Maids meet for breakfast at
10:30 am on the fourth Sunday of every month. Locations vary so we can spread the fun around.
For the location of the next meeting email Melanie at: [email protected]
Bonnie Jacklin A.D.D. (Wingham & Area)The
Western Ontario area group meets regularly.
For details of meeting and rides please contact Bonnie at: [email protected]
Nancy Andrusek A.D.D. (Ottawa)The Ottawa area meets the second Saturday of the month.
For more details contact Nancy Andrusek at: [email protected]
Bonnie Smith, A.D.D. (Kingston)Kingston Motor Maids meet every third Sunday of the month at
11am for brunch. Location varies. Please contact Bonnie at: [email protected]
Heidi Roy, A.D.D. (Golden Horseshoe)The Golden Horseshoe gang meets every 3rd Sunday 10 am
at Frankie’s Bar & Grill, 12965 Homestead, Mount Hope Ontario
Contact Heidi at: [email protected]
Valerie Carl, A.D.D. (Peterborough)The Peterborough ladies will meet the 4th Saturday of the
month at 10am. You will find them at the Square Plate 836 Armour Road in Peterborough.
Contact Valerie at: [email protected]
Welcome new Members
Jaclyn Davis email- [email protected] phone #(705)748-4513
656 Pinewood Dr. Peterborough, ON K9K 1L2
Gayle Sheldon email– [email protected] phone #(905)358-4004
6740 Fallsview Blvd. Niagara Falls, ON L2G 3W6
Charlene Hinan email– [email protected] phone#(705)760-6523
832 Fife’s Bay Marina Lane Peterborough, ON K9J 6X3
Chelsie Munn email– [email protected] phone#(705)957-6666
832 Fif’s Bay Marina Lane Peterborough, ON K9J 6X3
Kandance Anshen email– [email protected] phone#(705)931-1077
362 George St. S #3 Peterborough, ON K9J 3C9
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Events We Have Planned
March 18th—
18th—GTA’s monthly breakfast meeting at a location to be determined. Contact Melanie
Jones-Drost for more information.
March 24th–
24th Mark your calendars for our Spring Meeting! We will be enjoying each
others company, sharing each others treats for a pot luck and discussing plans for the
upcoming riding season. It’s a date you don’t want to miss. We will be meeting at
Dorothy Seabourne’s home 777 Wyldewood Rd. Sherkston, ON L0S 1R0 at 1pm.
Please RSVP to Dorothy at [email protected] For those that are coming, out of town
contact your ADD for carpooling options.
March 24th–
24th Kingston’s own brunch will be held at Bonnie Smith at 522 Grandtrunk Ave. West,
(off Waterloo Drive) on Saturday March 24th at 10am. It will be a potluck followed by a business meeting to plan our rides as spring is just around the corner. So bring a calendar and some
ideas for rides with your favourite routes ( pronounced roots if you are from the valley). Please
let me know at [email protected] if you are attending and what you would like to bring.
March 28th–
28th Longley Harley Davidson ladies Garage Party. For more information and to register
go to www.garageparty.ca or call Sheri at 866-945-0421.
March 31st–
31st– Note date change. The Peterborough breakfast was to be March 24th but has been
changed to accommodate the Motor Maid Spring meeting at Dorothy’s. We will still be at the
Square Plate at 10am.
April 29th–
29th Ottawa Biker’s Swap meet. Contact Nancy Andrusek at [email protected]
or 613-425-0629 for more information.
Many more rides at dates will be out in the March newsletter. For now take a look at some
weekend events you will want to plan for.
May 4th-Meet
Mrs. Harper-see info on next page
4th
May 12th–
12th Mother’s Day Brunch See info on page 6 of this newsletter
July 3rd3rd-4th and 5th5th- Convention
WOW!! Remember those rooms we added to the block.... RESERVED! If only our registrations
were coming in as fast as the hotel rooms are getting booked! hmmmm.....Well.... I have a
OVERFLOW HOTEL now. Please share this information with your Districts as soon as possible.
Courtyard by Marriott 110 Mobile Drive Spartanburg, SC
Reservation Phone Number: 1-800-321-2211
Please ask for Spartanburg Courtyard and Motor Maids block for rate of $84.00 a night.
Note: Cancellation policy: Room must be cancelled 14 days before event...so June 25,
2012 would be the date to cancel by.
PLEASE...If anyone cancels their room at the host hotel to move to this offsite hotel (approx 3
miles away) please ask the reservation specialist to put your previous room back into the Motor
Maids block - so the room becomes available to another member.
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More Events...
Meet Mrs Harper on International Female Ride Day
Dora Difrancescomarino (Cook) has been working very hard to pull this event together.
Eastern Canada Motor Maids meet Mrs. Laureen Harper on
International Female Ride Day, Friday, May 4th, 2012.
Mrs. Harper has extended an invitation to the Motor Maids
to visit 24 Sussex on Friday, May 4th, 2012 in celebration
of International Female Ride Day! The visit will be short, but,
a very worthwhile ride just to say hello, have a photo
opportunity and perhaps take a stroll of her grounds. Details
will be finalized shortly. At this point, they have not indicated
how many we are permitted to have attend so I will assume
we can all go.
For the ladies from out of town, I am certain the Ottawa MM’s will open up their homes to you. I
already have two staying with me, but, I have 2 couches, one side of a bed and I will kick out my
son for the night if needed. Plan travel on Thursday, May 3rd, 2012. On the morning of Friday,
May 4th, 2012 we will meet at Billings Bridge Centre located at 2277 Riverside Drive, Ottawa,
Ontario for 9:30 am (this is where I work and I will have coffee and muffins available) for route
and ride instructions by Joan Armstrong including a talk about safety. We will enter 24 Sussex at
approximately 10:45 am. Audrey Alexandre and Lise Sculland will present Mrs. Harper with gifts to
include a signed copy of Dorothy’s book, a district t-shirt and Necker from Sandra.
For those wishing to attend and for security reasons, please provide me with your full name,
birthday and licence plate number.
number
Finally, what are you waiting for, call your MM friend in Ottawa and arrange a place to stay. If
you do not know anyone from Ottawa, we will try and find you a place to stay. Failing that a
nearby hotel that is cheap and cheery.
Thank you.
Dora
Please email the information directly to Dora as soon as possible so she can co-ordinate with the
Prime Minister’s Office.
**********This is a Full Uniform Event**********
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ECN/Atlantic Canada in Matane Quebec
The hotel has been chosen and rooms for The Motor Maids have been blocked for our annual
Eastern Canada/Atlantic Canada Meet.
Reserve directly with the Riotel Matane, toll free 1-877-566-2651. Reference Motor Maids
Confirmation # 140390. Plan to arrive before dinner on Friday, Aug. 10. We will depart after
breakfast on Sunday, Aug. 12.
Fri. Aug. 10 - Room,(includes American breakfast & tips):
Single: $139
Double: $149
Triple: $169
Quad: $189
Sat. Aug. 11 - Room, (includes Dinner, Breakfast & tips):
Single: $174
Double: $219
Triple: $274
Quad: $329
The hotel tax in the region of Gaspé is 3% per room per day, plus sales taxes, 5% GST and 9.5%
PST. Subject to change according to the laws in force.
Terms and Conditions:
- Room reservations can be cancelled up to 48 hours before the arrival date. After that time, the full
cost of the reservation will be charged to your credit card.
- Additional beds, $15. Per day, plus taxes.- No deposit will be charged.
The block of 20 rooms must be booked by July 10. After, rooms can be booked if space allows.
Reserved are 10 rooms with two queen beds on the second floor with a view of the sea and 10
rooms with two queen beds on the first floor with a partial view of the sea.
Two rides are planned for Saturday. One will be stopping for go-carting and/or paint ball fun. The
second will include a stop to see Éole Cap-Chat/God of the Wind, the highest vertical-axis wind
turbine in the world and other wondrous sights.
Contact Nancy Hooper at [email protected] for more information
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Mother’s Day Brunch-May 12th
Come to the annual Mother’s Day Brunch May 12th! Which will be held at Safari Bar & Grill
which is at the corner of Randall Dr. and Hwy 2/Kingston Rd. in
Ajax, between Brock Rd. and Church St. They will have a large
delicious buffet with (non-boozy) beverages being served at
10:30am. Cost is $25. ea., including tax and tip.
Mail your cheques to Nancy Hooper (309 Kent St., Whitby, L1N
4Y5) she will confirm receipt by e-mail.
Nancy is promising great riding weather for the event?
Events We Have Enjoyed
The Kingston Area:
Saturday, Feb 25th, the Kingston Motor Maids participated in the curling fund raiser for
Community Living Kingston. Our team remained mostly intact with Janet "Swiffer Sweeper"
Leduc throwing 3rd, this year. Nancy "Take Out" Hooper threw
2nd, our lead this year was Sarah "Draw to the Button" Royer.
And making timely, and theatrical calls, was Sheila "Skippy"
Royer. We curled much better than the 9-1 score suggests in
our first draw. In our defense, their best curler wore his kilt
and we were distracted. Take-Out Hooper challenged them to
riding figure 8's on motorcycles in an attempt to regain face.
But we found our stride in the second draw losing only 3-2.
Nancy "Take Out" Hooper had to leave because of a conflicting obligation. She was replaced
by Bonnie "Throw it through the House" Smith. Coincidence?
A head scratcher for sure!
A great time was had by everyone involved. We were
honored to represent the Motor Maids and proud to wear our
vests. It was so good to see a few of the people our efforts
were helping watching from the side lines.
Can't wait until next year.
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Peterborough Area:
We met at the cottage February 4th to start our planning for the upcoming season. We have some
really good ideas and will getting the dates out in the March newsletter. Enjoy some of our pictures.
The hardy ones who enjoyed the walk.
Someone peeing in the
woods and it
wasn’t the dog
We also had a great breakfast in February everyone is geared up for getting on our bikes. It was a
fun time getting out to Classy Chassis to see all the bikes lined up read to go. We all got some goose
bumps when they started a couple bikes in the shop.
Note that our March breakfast will be changed to the 5th Saturday (March 31st) to accommodate
the Spring Meeting at Dorothy’s. If you are able to attend let me know so we can arrange for car
pooling. Also look at in the March newsletter for our ride plans.
First Response Training
Some of our members took part in a partial safety course at the AMA conference that included how
to handle the first 30 minutes of a motorcycle accident. It covered traffic control, removing the
victim to a safe location away from the road and basic first aid.
Those that have taken the partial coarse have said that it is time well spent. Connie Ray has
contacted Vicki Sanfilipo in hopes to bring it to Peterborough.
Our hope is to have 50 committed people wanting to take this day training in Peterborough at the
cost of approximately $75 each. It will be offered to Motor Maids first and of course your hubbies,
but then opened up to HOG, Durham Divas, Retreads and any other riders you might know.
We have no date as of yet-don’t know if we can schedule a date this year. It maybe something we
do outside of riding season in the fall. Right now we need to know what interest there is. Let
Connie Ray know now –without commitment if you think you would like to take part.
Contact Connie at [email protected]
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Greater Toronto Area’s Activities:
The GTA ladies met at Marjorie Neilson’s in January for a great lunch and motorcycle movies in her
home theatre—what a treat! Not only does Marjorie have REAL movie theatre seats, she had every
kind of confection made. We laughed a lot and learned a few things from Lois on the Loose!
The February meeting was held at Melanie’s home and we had a record breaking turnout of 23
Motor Maids! Thanks to gals from Peterborough and the Golden Horseshoe areas that made the
trek and helped to make it a great party. It was nice to have the opportunity to meet new/
potential members Carol, Carolyn, Janet & Charlene too. We’re sure that they got a good taste
(no pun intended) of what we’re all about – lots of fun! And we weren’t even on bikes!
We were so busy eating, laughing & chatting that we ran out of time to review some of the great
roads/rides within the GTA region. If you’d like to email one of your favourite rides to Melanie
(e.g., Muskoka Road 13/Sparrow Road from Hwy 11 to Bala from Chris Doust) she will compile
them for a future newsletter article and to help us plan the rides that follow monthly meetings in
warmer weather.
Motor Maids Classifieds
2006 Harley Davidson Softail Deluxe
Quick release passenger backrest, quick
release windshield, hard leather bags
that lock, heated grips, engine guards,
rear carrier rack, tool kit in chrome case
that is attached to the bike.
Well maintained, new white-wall tires,
rear brakes just done.
Excellent condition. Will sell certified.
$13,500.
Call Karen at 905-431-3445 or email
[email protected]
If you are looking to sell items send the information regarding the item with a description and your
contact info to [email protected]. A picture is always a good idea. I will need to receive the
information by the 4th Saturday of the month.
Preference for space will be given to motorcycle items.
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Be Safe Out There–
There– Three Motorcycle Spring Safety Tips
1. Be Conspicuous
Because of the standard hazards that come with winter, motorcycles have been absent from
the road for many months. Drivers will be less likely to notice your presence and can
therefore be less prepared to watch out for you. Because of this fact, it is important that
motorcyclists make their presence known. Make sure those near you can see where you are
and what you are doing. Honking the horn and using turn signals are some ways to make it
obvious you are around. If your area allows straight pipes and you've been thinking about
getting them, you just found your excuse. The distinctive sound is rarely overlooked by
anyone, making it a good safety investment. Wear bright colors, or tie a bright piece of
fabric on your radio antenna if you have one. Get a brighter helmet. Do whatever you can
to ensure that the parts of you that drivers see are bright and noticeable.
2. Get a Tune Up
Motorcycles are only as safe as their working parts. A bike that has been in storage for the
winter needs to be checked over carefully. Check that the tires are working and undamaged.
Be sure your shocks are working and steering is smooth. Top off all fluids and check that all
your controls are working correctly. Check your drive shaft, belt or chain for cracks, tension
and other signs of wear. If something looks cracked or otherwise problematic, get it looked
at by a professional or your favorite gear head as soon as possible. Never wave off this type
of thing. One mechanical failure could lead to a serious accident.
3. Watch for Road Debris
When everything has been inspected and it is safe to go riding, there are still other dangers
to look out for. Depending on where you live, you may encounter debris on the road like
car parts from crashes, potholes, gravel, sand accumulation on roadsides, trash and so on.
Until the street sweepers do their jobs this spring,
spring motorcyclists need to stay on alert for
these hazards. Potholes, gravel and sand are some of the worst culprits in areas with harsh
winters. In warmer climates, the hazards of spring may not be so treacherous, but it is still
important to remember that the work crews have not yet been out to clean up the
roadsides. Consider a first run through your favorite routes so you'll be aware of the road
debris ahead of time.
Just a few minutes of preparation can save your life. Once your bike is in shape, check
yourself. It only takes five minutes to go over your helmet, boots and eye wear.
Recondition or replace as necessary and you are ready for the best ride of the year...the first
ride of spring.
spring
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Happy Belated Birthday
January:
Lorraine Dolan 1st—Lynn Cox 3rd—Jay Ritskes 5th—
Maureen Johnson 6th—Johanne Gagnon 8th– Lise Sculland 8thGail Longley 9th- Barb Bird 19th - Marilyn Schiestel 20th
February:
Kim Van Deven 1st- Julia Donaldson 2– Bonnie Smith 10th– Wendy Tudge 11thBrenda Berney 23rd
Happy Birthday to our March BabiesAnnette Raymont 1st
Debi Ages 2nd – Chris Burns 2nd – Melanie Jones-Drost 7th Rose DeLottinville 9th - Julie Sculland 18th – Caren Weinstein 19th
Debbie Marchment 23rd – Dorothy Seabourne 23rd - Vicky Job 24th
Bev Hannington 25th – Susie Sweetapple 26th- Colleen Nolan 29th
Joan Armstrong 31st – Carine Risberg 31st
If your birthday was missed and would like it mentioned email me at [email protected]
Happiness is not a destination it is a manner of traveling.
Happiness is not an end in itself.
It’s a product of working, playing, loving and living.
Author unknown
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