December 2008 Edition, Volume II

It’s here, the long awaited second edition of “The Ember Escapades”.  So what has transpired since the July 2008 edition?

The call for increased Female participation was answered.  Welcome new member,  “Princess” Patty Kennedy.  She proved her worthiness by enduring sub 30 degree temperatures and an iced covered seat as we climbed the Catskills Mountains of New York.

Recession, what recession?  Every male member has purchased another bike since the last publication of “The Embers Escapades”:

        John “Iron Butt” - Yamaha 250 Dirt Bike
        Bernie “B-STROM” - Suzuki 650 V-Strom
        Dave “D-STROM” - Suzuki 1000 V-Strom
        Brian - Triumph Bonneville Black

Best wishes to all as they ‘hopefully’ enjoy many miles of trouble free riding on their new steeds.

Ember Runs

On Saturday, September 20, 2008 -  Brian was the sole member to participate in the Access Services’ “Bridging the Gap” 2008 Run.  Unfortunately, the event did not fit into other’s schedule.  The day started out chilly at Big Woody’s Bar in Folks Township and ended as a beautiful day at Mauch Chunk Lake.  Our T-Shirt Sponsorship was well appreciated.

The following group event, “Colors in the Catskills”, took place the weekend of October 3rd .  This was a BMW Region Event in conjunction with Hunter Mountain’s Oktoberfest.  John, Patty, Brian and Sheri set out Friday morning in a light rain.  A back road route was taken to the Kaatskill Mountain Club where the foursome enjoyed drinks and the hot tub. Musical entertainment and a small, but well rounded group of vendors, were on hand.  The ride home was warmer, dryer and quicker due to the interstate route.

The following weekend, John participated in the Pine Barrens 300, an AMA sanctioned GPS guided “Off Road Adventure Tour”.  John rode his Kawasaki KLR 650 as the event is for motorcycles 500cc and over.  He endured a lot of sand and a flat tire, but enjoyed himself none the less.

“Breakfast with Bernie”

Updates on previously discussed items:

x Need for increased female membership/involvement :  “Princess” Patty Kennedy.

x Dues, if any:  $ 10 collected to cover cost of annual T-Shirts. 

z 2008  T-shirt design and color:  It was discussed to have the T-Shirt color be reflective of the area visited on the annual run, hence green for Vermont.  Thanks again Bernie.

x Plans for Upcoming 3rd Annual Embers Run:  Dates set and Hotel Reservations secured.  Tentative plans include departing Wednesday, July 15, 2009.  A side trip to Asheville, North Carolina and the Biltmore Estates is being considered as well as a possible camp/group meeting area for time spent at the rally.  See details under Upcoming events.

New items for member review: 

xSince winery tours have become an Embers tradition, why not schedule a Spring ride hitting some of our local wineries.  Looking for suggestions.

x Pine Creek “Little Grand Canyon” Motorcycle Run , including tour of Armenia Mountain.  Looking for possible dates.

Upcoming Events

x Embers Holiday Get Together - Saturday, January 3rd at 7:00 pm - Valley Residence, 2108 Schroettner Circle, Nazareth.

x 3rd Annual Embers Run - Attend 37th Annual BMW International Rally to be held on July 16-19, 2009 in Gray, Tennessee.  Current club plans include staying at the Carnegie Hotel in Johnson City, TN (4 rooms currently reserved for existing membership).  The hotel hosts an excellent restaurant and spa as well as a very nice outdoor pool and a fitness center. 

Membership Roster

Bernie Anderson, Dave Ashmore, John Kennedy, Patty Kennedy, Brian Valley and Sheri Valley.

Rally through the Valley Poker Run

CRIME VICTIMS COUNCIL OF THE LEHIGH VALLEY

Presents:
Ninth annual poker run in pig roast approximately 60 mile course.  More information to be found at the following web site: rallythroughthevalley.com

Port Jervis, Ny Loop

Port Jervis, Ny Loop 08/23/2008
Met around 8:00 am at Eddyside Park on 611 North of Easton.
After some chain tightening on a friend's bike we set off around quarter after 8.
Our first stop of course was breakfast. We ate at the Portland Family Diner. After breakfast a little more chain fiddling and we were on our way.
Crossing the bridge into Jersey and went the wrong way on Route 80 (east oops) we then turned around and headed back west to get to the last exit in NJ to the 3 minute light leading into the Delaware Water Gap area. Pit stop at the rest area first, then onto Old Mine Rd. Near the Walpack Bend the road was repaved and very nice riding. This trip we kept left and ended up staying close to the river (Old Mine Rd.) for many miles. Made a wrong turn yet again (oops) on 206 and ended up crossing the river into Milford, PA. Gassed up in Milford cause as we understand the gas is 20 cents cheaper in PA than NY. A little cruise through the quaint little town of Milford, PA and back across the river we went into Port Jervis, NY. Here is were you get on that famed stretch of Rt 97 North. There is several miles of very scenic twisties bounded by a rock wall overlooking the Delaware river. Once the peak part of the ride is over (you may want to turn around here an do it again and stop on one of the overlooks) you continue on to Narrowsburg, NY for an overall ride of about 33 miles on Rt 97. Time to pull over for a stretch and fuel up our bodies at the Narrowsburg Inn. The food and drink was refreshing, except our ladies did not like the tortellini soup. All refreshed and back on the road with another river crossing back into PA and onward toward Hawley, then Southward toward Lake Wallenpaupack, through the tobyhanna area with another leg stretch in Jim Thorpe. While in Jim Thorpe in is hard to pass up a stroll to the Rainbow's End for an Ice Cream. Desc. "Step back in time remember the quiet days gone by and your corner candy store. Our old fashioned store will capture this feeling, when you walk into Rainbows End candy/ice cream and gift shop in the heart of downtown Jim Thorpe. Sit down and enjoy the sweets you remember. 46 Broadway, Jim Thorpe, PA, 18229 " 570-325-9150
Now that the Ice Cream is over with it's time for the final leg of our days journey. Jim Thorpe to Easton via Rt 248 and our day is done at 7:00 pm. Bernie we missed you.... See ya next time.
Dave.

Here is the Link to the Loop. While we did not follow it to the letter we stuck to it for the most part.

Membership Form

Craigslist How to Search with RSS

Step 1. Go to http://crazedlist.org A - Select the northeast or any individual cities you want to search. B - Enter your search criteria. My example uses v-strom> in Sale/wanted > Motorcycles / Scooters.

C - Then click the orange "Get Rss Feeds." This will open a page with a link that looks like the screenshot below. D - Of course save it in say my documents or where ever you can find it. Step 2. Open a feed reader of your choice and import the *.opml file you saved. This will bring the craigslist search to you! Just open your feed reader and the item you want will be delivered to you much like e-mail works. Just mark the items as read not delete them and new craigslist posts will appear. Screen shot of my Feed Reader.

Embers Motorcycle Links

V-Strom Forum
BMW Cycles
MotorcycleRoads.US
Adventure MotoStuff
Twisted Throttle
Local Weather Forecast
National Radar Loop
Local Radar Loop

July 2008 Edition, Volume I

The Ember Escapades
Since this is the very first edition of " The Ember Escapades ", we thought it was necessary to provide our readers with the origin of the " Embers " . First of all, what does " Embers " stand for: Easton Monkey Butt Enduro Riders. Second question, who started the club? Well, the original members are Bernie Anderson, John Kennedy and Brian Valley. The club was created last year when the team of three, with Brian's wife Sheri and dog Lexi, went on the first escapade. It included a camping trip to Bald Eagle State Park in central Pennsylvania. Along the way the club stopped at the Shade Mountain Vineyards where they purchased several cases of wine, including "Red Rascal". The club decided that future runs should include winery stops. The trip involved some serious four wheeling by our support vehicle down what had been labeled a "drivable trail". After setting up camp the Embers took their first off-road riding excursion through the state park. Inevitably, crashes occurred. Ask the members for more details, although you will more than likely get different versions. The ride concluded with a longer than expected ride home.

2nd Annual Embers Run

The Embers Second Annual Run was to South Hero, Vermont on Lake Champlain. Brian and Sheri set up base camp on Monday, July 14 at Apple Island Resort and scoped out the surrounding area for points of interest.

With the addition of new member David Ashmore, the motorcycle team of three made the required club stopped at the Lincoln Peak Vineyard in New Haven for my and arrived Thursday evening. As usual, John continued to mused the troops with his grand entrance. Days, John, and Bernie set up can quickly and checked out the resort's facilities, especially if the 10 person hot tub. Everyone agreed that Apple Island was a step above most facilities of its kind.

Friday's event started with breakfast in Burlington off Church Street at Penny Cluse and concluded at the Vermont Brewery Festival at Battery Park on Lake. As usual Sheri was a designated driver with her copilot Bernie. As with most camping trips there were some wet times including an exhilarating pontoon party boat ride across Lake Champlain.

At breakfast Saturday the club began discussing future club plans, including upcoming runs, charity events, membership involvement, new shirts, etc. hence the creation of breakfast with Bernie.

The Saturday afternoon bike ride home was not without challenges, but made safely.

Breakfast with Bernie

Items discussed at the first BWB on Saturday, July 19 included:
Need for increased female membership/involvement
Dues, if any
2008 T-shirt design and color
Plans for upcoming third annual embers run

Subsequent discussions focused around the 3rd Annual Embers run including the participation in the 37th annual BMW international rally to be held on July 16-19, 2009 in Gray Tennessee.

This site is the Appalachian Fairgrounds, located just north of Johnson City. Situated near the intersection of Tennessee, North Carolina and Virginia this site has it all. Motorcycling in the area is amongst the best in the US: deals gap, Cherohala Skyway, Blue Ridge Parkway, the Great Smoky Mountains, and so much more. Additional details about the rally can be found on the web BMWMOA site.

Current club plans include staying at the Carnegie Hotel in Johnson City, Tennessee four rooms currently reserved for existing membership. Due to limited accommodations in the Johnson City area and is highly recommended to anyone interested in attending make reservations promptly. The hotel hosts all an excellent restaurant and spa as well a very nice outdoor pool and a fitness center.

New prospects should contact an existing member if interested in participating.

Upcoming events
August timeframe date pending embers picnic
Date pending Pine Creek Little Grand Canyon motorcycle run, including poorer of Armenia Mountain.
Saturday 20 access services bridging the gap 2008 run in association with bluegrass and anthracite heritage Fest. Ending locations Mauch Chunk Lake, Jim Thorpe. Cycle registration fee is $25 we have committed to tee shirt sponsorship at the club cost of $50.

Membership Roster
Bernie Anderson, David and Mel Ashmore, John Kennedy, Brian and Sheri Valley.