News

May 2021 Presidential Semi-Residential Musings

‘Tis the very merry month of May! Hooray!

OK, we are not back to normal, but some will say normal is overrated. A lot of our members have been vaccinated, by virtue of their professions, advanced age, perseverance, or good luck. Things are opening up, little by little.

Well, and good. We can be hopeful for Spring and riding, even though it was snowing in April. If you are not riding, or itching to ride already, you will be, soon.

The Backroads Special Interest Group (SIG) had a ride last weekend with Phil Isaak, and the first Weekday Campout With Bruce McClung was held this week at Scenic State Park near Big Fork. More to come, from both these groups.

There’s a new Basecamp and Navigation SIG. Joe Pasquarello and Chuck Banks are organizing that one. You can learn how to decide where you want to ride, and ride there.

There's a SIG for Rider Skills Development (everything from MSF, to Closed Course at DCTC, to full-on track days) with a Club Night at ZARS on May 22d. The group intends to have a training event every month during the riding season, thanks to Randy Mattran and Allen Peterson and Paul Phillips.

Thom Rieck held a virtual Tech Day for F-Twin fans, and may hold more, though he has shyly eschewed formal SIG status.

The Hiawatha Rally has been officially moved to September for 2021. You will be hearing from Steve Deglmann about volunteering, and more.  Watch the website, too, for more details. If you registered for Hiawatha 2020, your registration is good for 2021. You won’t have to pay again, and you will get to volunteer!

Late in August, Steve Reese will again host the Grand Marais Campout. More details are on the Event Calendar, and a ride from the Cities will be planned.  Or, you can ride from Michigan with Steve: just go to Michigan, meet Steve, turn around, and take a right at Lake Superior… There are worse ways to spend your time.

The MOA and RA national rallies are scheduled, along with a number of MOA Getaways. Steve Eliasen has motorcycling events planned at Big Snow Resort in Michigan. Things are shaping up for a good riding season. Maybe Thom Rieck will get some decent miles in this year.



The Board is striving to keep the Event Calendar up to date and useful for all of us.  Let us know if you learn of an event we should have on our schedule. The Mileage Contest Results for 2020 have been posted to our website, too. Front page news! The 2021 Mileage Contest is underway, thanks to Dan Elasky and Steve Handeland.


We are meeting pretty regularly, though still virtually, these days. Next meeting will be on Thursday, May 13th, a little over a year since we last met at Broadway Pizza. Adam Benedix and Paul Phillips were instrumental in getting us together on WebEx for Board meetings and Zoom for membership meetings. Attendance from Colorado, Arizona, Willmar, or Florida is new and kind of cool. Paul’s eCamm presentations are attracting some national attention, too. The SIGs are holding some Zoom meetings too.

Like you, we would rather get together live and in person, and that will come back. Our beloved Broadway Pizza will disappear as the new Port of Minneapolis development takes off, but Tim Schwartz is looking for a meeting venue for the future, somewhere mutually inconvenient for all. Send your ideas to Tim.

The website Swap and Sell Forum is always available for your use. If you are seeking gear, or have some that you want to convey to a new loving home (away from yours), check it out. A board member can help with posting there, if you need assistance.

By virtue of your club membership, you are eligible for some discounts at our local BMW dealers (Leo’s, Moon, and Richfield), at Simply Ride (formerly Simply Street Bikes), and at Cycle Nutz online. Ask about club member discounts when you shop these vendors.
Moon is having their Open House this weekend!

We can also get discounts on Alps Mountaineering camping gear, only when calling them directly. If you want to shop for camping gear, talk to Steve Handeland, or to me, first, about preserving our prized club discount with Alps.  

Please let a board member know if you find other discounts that we can share.

Phil Stalboerger joined our club board this year for a two-year term.  He is also serving as Midwest Regional Coordinator for BMW MOA, and ran in this year’s election for the MOA National board. Think about having a Minnesota club member on the national board...

Stay safe and healthy, support our local motorcycle shops, check your battery tender, oil, tires, lights, and the club’s Event Calendar. Get out there.

Let's get together on the road this season.


greg