Dear Friends, It appears that our riding season in the Midwest has finally arrived. I could not wait for it to get to Northern Illinois so I spent some time riding in the Hill Country of Texas in March. I took this time to check out roads and riding conditions for our Fall Texas Hill Country (THC) tour. Being early spring, there was little tourist traffic on the roads and that is just what I needed after our long winter. This was a great opportunity to see and ride the roads I have been reading about for the past several years. I was truly impressed by the diversity of the riding in that area. I cannot wait for our fall ride to get here. Space will be very limited to six bikes because this will be a ship fly and ride tour. If you are interested please check out the tour description for this ride on our web site. I was a presenter that the first annual Biker Better Conference. The conference was sponsored by Accident Scene Management, Inc. (www.asmi.org) and the Road Guardians (www.roadguardians.or). Being the first BBC conference I was very impressed with organization of the event and the quality of the presentations. There were over 150 attendees from all over the country. I am already looking forward to the event next year. I will provide more information on the conference later in the year. I urge all of you to become a Road Guardian and take the Accident Scene Management courses. Our motorcycles have been loaded on the truck with Haulin Hogs Transport (www. haulinhogstransport.com) for their journey to Arizona for our annual spring ride. I cannot wait until next week when we arrive in Phoenix and meet up with our motorcycles. This will be our 6th trip to Arizona for the annual Arizona Bike Week Event. Arizona is an amazing place to ride that time of the year because the weather is not too hot and tourist season has not started. The Bike Week festivities are held at West World, same place as the Barrett-Jackson Car Auctions, but we only spend an afternoon at the rally site. Each year I lead a week long ride around the state of Arizona that includes the Grand Canyon, Sedona, Jerome, Tombstone, Bisbee and much more. Details of this ride and all are our rides can be found on our web site. While the weather in our area still can be cold and even snowy this time of the year, I am going to be riding in Arizona; 80degrees, sunshine and no potholes! Ride Safe! Bill and Pam Gade Safe Riding Tip:Not riding all winter can cause our riding skills not to be as sharp as they need to be. For those fortunate enough to ride all year long this is usually not an issue. It is also not an issue for those of us that ride tens of thousands miles each year. If you ride 3,000 miles or less each year or are a new rider that has only been riding for a year or two you really need to make a concerted effort to enhance your riding skills as much as possible before your riding season. Until you can ride your motorcycle, I suggest that you read your Illinois Motorcycle Operator Manual or you particular state operator’s manual. There are also many great riding books that you can read. I also suggest that you read your motorcycle owner’s manual. This will remind you of how the controls are to be used for safe operation. There are also some great videos on safe motorcycle riding that are very beneficial to improve your riding skills.
If you have not already done so, sign up for an experienced rider course (ERC). These courses are usually offered through your Sate’s motorcycle safety programs. I try to take the ERC every 2-3 years just to try to keep myself from getting into bad riding habits or to learn new skills or techniques. There are also some very good riding courses taught by private schools. If you have the time and money to take one of these courses they can be money well spent.
Finally make sure you motorcycle is ready to ride. Make sure your motorcycle has been properly serviced. If you service your motorcycle yourself make sure your tires and brakes have plenty of miles left in them. My rule of thumb for replacing tires has been 10K miles on the rear and 20K miles on the front tire. This is a great time year to perform this service so your motorcycle is ready to ride when you are.
Ride Safe and Be Careful! Bill Featured Ride – Ladies Only 3-Day Ride! I know many women that want to ride with us but are new to riding or are inexperienced riding with groups. We have created this “Ladies Only Ride” to try to teach safe group riding while enjoying a multi-day riding experience. The ride starts at a restaurant in the western suburbs of Chicago. Over breakfast we will get a chance to introduce ourselves to each other and talk about the weekend ride. There will be a safety presentation on group riding hand signals and safe group riding. We will start riding at 9:00 AM and head NW taking some very nice back country roads. We will stop for a mid- morning “pit stop” and then back on the bikes for a couples hours before we stop for lunch.
We will repeat the same process in the afternoon but we will probably stop for a few photos along the way. We will continue N into Central Wisconsin and riding to the Spring Area where we will spend the next two nights.
Saturday we will ride some great roads in West Central Wisconsin on our way to La Crosse, Wisconsin for lunch. After Lunch we will ride along the Mississippi and Wisconsin Rivers on our way back to our hotel for the evening. Sunday it will be “Kick Stands Up” at 9:00 AM as we make our way toward home. We will continue to follow the Mississippi south and we will cross the river into Iowa. There will be many opportunities for photos on our ride home. We are planning to get back to the Chicago western suburbs around 5:00 PM. This is father’s day weekend so it is a good opportunity for the kids to be with their fathers while you get a chance to ride. As with all our tours space is limited and has already started to fill up. If you are interested check the complete tour description on our web site. Here are a few photos of what you can expect to see on the tour. Ride Safe! Pam
| 2010 Schedule - Arizona April 10-17*
- Las Vegas April 25 – May 2
- RT 66 Chicago to LA May 15-29
- Upper Mississippi River June 11-13
- Ladies Only Tour June 18-20
- Door County Wi. June 25-27
- RT 66 Illinois July 3-5
- Ozark Mountains July 9-13
- NW Il. Ia. and Wi. July 16-18
- Around Lake Michigan July 23 – 27
- 70th Sturgis Rally August 7-14
- Blue ridge Pkwy/ Dragon’s Tail Sept. 4-11
- Texas Hill Country Sept. 18-25
- Mississippi River Fall Colors Oct. 1-3
| Featured Customers: Jane/Greg | Occupation: Dental Professionals Home: Illinois Tour: Arizona Bike Week | Comment: “It was without any doubt one of the best vacations/rides that we have ever taken. Anybody can put a route together; you made it into a trip of a lifetime.” | 
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Photos from our "Ladies Only Ride" 
This 3-day tour includes all meals, lodging, tolls, park entrance fees, ferry crossing fee and much more. All you pay for is your gas and your adult beverages after the riding day is over. Space is limited so reserverve your spot today!
Past newsletters: Winter 2010 Fall 2009 Summer 2009
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