November, 2008

MMR PREPARES FOR ANNUAL CHARITY TURKEY BASKET DONATIONS TO NEEDY FAMILIES

As Thanksgiving approaches, MMR prepares for its annual giving of Thanksgiving baskets for needy families in the Plymouth area. We are pleased to report that plans are well in place to give upwards of 19-20 baskets filled with Holiday goodies to needy families through the avenue of St. Bonaventure’s Church. Executive board voted to supply five baskets out of general club funds and members pledged another 15 baskets. Thanks to a highly successful Halloween Party (see story in next column), the club will have sufficient funds to easily cover the basket costs. The baskets will be especially welcome in this very tough year for many families. Information will be available shortly for anyone wishing to help put together and deliver the baskets.  

On Saturday October 25th, MMR held its most successful Halloween Party ever. The Costumes were great, the food (donated by guests) was delicious. The music (provided by Crazy Eddie Kelley) was excellent, attendance was at a record level (127) and we made a good profit (details at November meeting) Attendees included the “retired” Hooters Girls (Sonya Berry and friend), several pirates, including the men’s best costume winner, Scott Kirby, BraveHeart (Scott Lally), the Lone Ranger & Dale Evans (Hawk & Karen), Dorothy and the Scarecrow (Terry and Bubbles Quinn), Mr. & Mrs. Red-neck (Crazy Eddie and Ginny), Busty Morgan (Jan Carlson), Ms. 1000 BC (Carla); Big Baby Diaper-Man (Bill Ferguson), the Mexican Hombre (John Eichinger), Ms. Intensive Care Nurse, the Wicked Witch of the East, (woman’s best costume winner, Paula McCallum), Viking woman, Devil Woman (Colleen Pierce), Flight Attendant, a Priest and Pregnant Nun, and many other famous characters  

(Kittery Maine) (Submitted by Hawk) Testing out the Heated Jackets 
Karen and I had been invited to attend a new house decorating party in Stratham NH, scheduled for Saturday night, 10/18. Of course, we wanted to go by bike, so we kept an eye on the weather all week. We could manage chilly weather with our new heated jackets, but wouldn’t take the bikes if a cold rain was forecast. By Thursday we knew it would be “all systems go” and we laid out our gear on Friday night, including our new heated jackets.  

We had tested them a few times, but the weather had not been that cold, so we were excited to see how they would work with temps in the forties. Karen had tried her jacket our on the Nova Scotia trip, but had not developed a good plan for the control box yet, alternately trying it in a jacket pocket and under her jacket belt. Nothing had worked well for her, and so, when we were down in P-Town the weekend before, we experimented with Velcro fastenings. We wound up velcroing the controls to the center console on each bike, I inside a camera case, and Karen directly to the console. This worked great, although it is not the most esthetically pleasing look to the bike purist. We left around noon and were immediately impressed, as we had to turn the heat down, even though it was fairly chilly out.  

After getting through the Boston/ Lynn/Saugus area, we jumped on Route 1 and made our way up to Newburyport, where we had lunch. At no point were we the least bit cold and with the sunny skies that day, felt great to be riding in comfort in the early Fall. After lunch, we rode to Seacoast Harley and picked up a few things we needed. We were just going to poke around looking at the new bikes, but as you all know, its practically impossible to go in a Harley dealership and not buy something.   After the party that night, and staying over, thanks to Karen’s friends, we headed out, in the frosty morning air, to ride the NH Coast and on into the Maine Coast. Again the heated jackets were a life saver, and we were in high spirits, as we made our way through Salisbury on into Hampton beach and some other beautiful NH coastal areas. The route Karen took us on is even better than Jerusalem Road in Cohasset, and much longer.