st. croix valley riders...2016/04/04 · holds true today as it did back then, if you wish to keep...

ST. CROIX VALLEY RIDERS A MOTORCYCLE RIGHTS ORGANIZATION

2ND QUARTER NEWSLETTER APRIL 2016

UPCOMING EVENTS

April 1-3 Heartland Steam (Best West-ern, Sioux Falls, SD)

April 10 Noon General Membership Meeting (SPP American Legion)

April 16 Spring Flood Run

April 30 Fury Motorcycle Open House and SCVR Membership Drive

May 4 SCVR Dinner Ride

May 15 Noon General Membership Meeting (SPP American Legion)

June 1 SCVR Dinner Ride

June 12 Noon General Membership Meeting (Gas Lite, Trimbelle, WI)

June 25 Round Barn Rally (Gas Lite, Trimbelle, Wi)

July 6 SCVR Dinner Ride

Inside this issue:

Prez Sez ………………... 1 Advice From the Vice…...2 State Legislative Reports….5 Treasury Report……..….6 “Talking Points”…………..…8 2016 Event Calendar….…...13

Prez Sez by Mark Koon

Prez Sez cont page 3 PAGE 1

Newsletter Contact & Submissions

[email protected]

Quarterly distribution around the 1st of Janu-ary, April, July, and October. Deadline is the 15th of the month prior to quarterly publica-tion for article submissions. Articles can be submitted for placement free of charge, pending approval of content. Advertising pricing is as follows: Preferred electronic file format is jpeg (print ready).

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Business Card .......... $25 ............. $35

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Full Page .................. $250 ........... $400

Letters to the Editor You are encouraged to voice your opinion, in-

form your fellow members of upcoming legisla-

tion, or share an interesting ride.

Hi Everyone!

Spring has finally arrived, even though the winter wasn’t too bad it’s nice to finally roll the bikes out, I seen my first street sweeper out so we must be in the clear!

I know a lot of you have been out riding already with the nice weather we’ve had, you still need to be careful out there, sand, pot holes and the cagers that haven’t seen us since last fall, will all try to get us.

Before you head on the road, don’t forget those license tabs, check the air pressure in your tires and change all those fluids. And yes the most important thing, sign up for a rider education class. The state has several classes from the beginner to the most experienced rider plus the new Road Guard class. Don’t forget that as a member of SCVR your class could cost you nothing, Free! Check with any board mem-ber for more info and go to www.motorcyclesaftey.org to reg-ister for your class.

Want to get more involved with SCVR? Get to know more people and find out what SCVR is really about? We all joined for a reason, social group, motorcycle rights, education or all of the above? But we all have that one thing in com-

mon, the love of motorcycles! In the next few months SCVR will have booths set up at most of the runs, we can always use someone to help sell merchandise and sign up new members, contact a board member if you would like to help or stop by when you see us out and introduce yourself.

If you want to get more involved than just helping at events, we will be taking nominations for the Board of Directors positions at the April and May general meetings, with the election at the June meet-ing at the Gas Lite, Positions open for election this year are President, Secretary, Sargent of Arms, Direc-tor at Large, Minnesota Legislative Director and Audit Committee, these are all two year positions.

For those that are looking at the calendar and marking the dates of rides, SCVR has moved the Round Barn Rally to Saturday June 25th at the Gas Lite Bar. Join us for this fantastic ride and a great dinner and music after the ride.

The 26th Annual Chili Feed will be on Sept 9th & 10th this year. Head-lining this year Feed will be Grammy Award winning Kentucky Headhunters, Lexi Parr and The Ruby Blonde Band will open for the

world will conform and accept it as

law or even listen to you. You are

so far off the mark you might as

well be a reality show contestant.

Laws that govern you and I are

made, altered or rescinded by peo-

ple who work for you in a real of-

fice, in a real building, and have to

follow rules and regulations set

down by a group of people some

two hundred plus years ago. They

did it with direct conversation,

hand written letters and a hand-

shake face to face period! That still

holds true today as it did back

then, If you wish to keep what you

have now, I.E. the freedom of

wearing or not wearing a helmet

when you ride, being able to actu-

ally ride your bike without paying

an extra fifteen hundred dollars per

bike insurance waiver, even the

Advice From the Vice By Randy Holland HELP WANTED

Road Captain SCVR is looking for someone to be responsible for planning and lead-

ing SCVR group rides.

This is a very important position within the framework of SCVR.

During the year, SCVR holds monthly Dinner Rides as well as

the Annual Round Barn Rally ride and the Memorial Ride at the

Chili Feed.

Outgoing Road Captain Randy Holland will be available to assist

the next Road Captain

Are you willing to Step Up ??

Please contact Mark Koon at 651-768-9026 if you are interested.

It is a relatively easy thing to do, turn on your computer or your phone and write something that you hope will offer your reader something new to think about. People do it every day. You have your Facebook, Twitter, E mail, Text message, Blogs, Snapchat and a host of other god forsaken ways for you to let the world know you are here. You have the power to let everyone in the world know damn near everything about you. Your likes, dislikes, favorite foods, drinks, pets, hobbies, cars, bikes, your friends, lovers, ex-lovers…all I can say is too much information for me. I must be getting older or something but I am missing some of the simpler things from growing up…rotary dial phones on a party line, having your parents tell you to get up and change the channel on the television, spending the whole day and half the night outside hanging out with your friends usu-ally doing something that might require a bunch of stitches and or a cast on your leg. You are probably right now asking yourself what does this do with my motorcycle rights? The mentality of society today

seems to think that if you shoot off

your opinions to cyberspace the

freedom of being able to build your

bike to your own personal tastes

and burn off your tires at will. You

have to actually, physically, face to

face with a handshake and eye to

eye speak to your lawmakers. They

will be happy to meet you as well.

Remember they work for you and a

little direction given to them will go

a long way in keeping you happy.

TAKE THAT FACEBOOK!!

W6454 State Road 35 • P.O. Box 168 Bay City, WI 54723

E-Mail: [email protected]

Mik

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lice

Celt

71

5-5

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Prez Sez, continued

Headhunters. There are some of our favorites coming back; Bad Girl-friends, 80 HD and coming out of retirement Pork Chop. There will be a few new bands like Ponzi Scheme, Blue Collar Cocktail; I will announce the final acts as I get them booked. The 26th Annual Feed is going to Rock!

As we were talking about volun-teers, it takes over 200 people to run the Feed, by volunteering you will get your advance ticket price reimbursed after you work a 4 hour shift, keep this in mind for the months ahead.

This organization’s strength comes from its volunteers! THANK YOU to all that put in the time to make SCVR a Great SMRO. (State Motor-cycle Rights Organization)

I was looking at the calendar, looks like we have another full summer of rides and events happening every weekend, Join Brian Zepp and myself on Saturday April 16th in leading the spring Flood Run from Shiners Bar in Lakeland Shores MN. This run raises money for Gillette Children’s Hospital.

Also check out the 2016 Event Cal-endar on Page 13 and the poster for the Round Barn Rally on Satur-day, June 25 located on Page 12. I hope to see many of you at these events throughout the year.

See you soon!

Be careful out there and Ride Safe!

Mark Koon President 651.768.9026

St. Croix Valley Riders is a nonprofit Motorcyclists Rights Organization (MRO). Proceeds go to enhance motorcycle safety, awareness and education. Be-lieves in, and sponsors motorcycle training. Endorses education, not legislation. Encourages political in-volvement. Helps fight for bikers rights. Actively works for motorcycle awareness. Helps improve the motorcy-clist's image. Is open to all bikers, regardless of what brand they ride. Sponsors charitable events.

ABOUT ST. CROIX VALLEY

RIDERS (SCVR)

CURRENT MEMBERS OF THE

SCVR BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Nominations for the Board of Directors positions are made at the April and May general meetings, with the election at the June meeting at the Gas Lite. Positions open for election this year are President, Secretary, Sergeant of Arms, Director at Large, Minnesota Legislative Director and Audit Com-mittee. These are all two year positions. Is there one you want to run for?

Mark Koon President

651-768-9026

Randy Holland Vice President 612-462-5695

Julie Rice Secretary

651-768-8347

Beth Franz Treasurer

651-246-3670

Dwight Smith Sergeant at Arms

651-459-1837

Shane Murphy MN Leg Director

651-329-2167

Dan Hren WI Leg Director 715-531-7482

Norm Pollard Director at Large

612-607-3389

Susie Maher Director at Large

651-497-4811

Jeff Berg President Emeritus

Minnesota State Legislative Report By Shane Murphy

PAGE 5

The 2016 riding season is upon us and I hope that you have had the chance to get out and get in a few adventures! Just like each year riding season comes with the MN legislative session. This year is shaping up to be a challenging one with two insurance bills that will increase the costs of motorcycle riding and ownership. The strength of our group comes from the direct support of our members and with that being said, every one of you needs to contact your state house representative and

state senator and tell them that you want their support in NOT passing these bills that which to strip us of our finances.

On Page 8 is a list of talking points that you can discuss with you reps. Thank you in advance for taking to time to email, call and visit the people who represent you!

Live Free, Ride Free

Shane Murphy

MN Legislative Director

Wisconsin State Legislative Report By Dan Hren

Riding season is upon us once again. Make sure your bike is in good shape and check your tire pressure, lights and brakes. Then enjoy the weather and good friends. Wisconsin legislation is done until next January. Some of the bills made it for hearings but did not make it to the governor’s office. So these are some of the bills that we will be tracking again next year: - SB697 and AB838 Black Box Pri-vacy Protection bill -Wisconsin Motorcycle Safety Pro-gram Funding and Registration Fees

(continued from Wisconsin Legisla-tive report below left) - Right of Way Violations (Additions of WI Act 466, 2015 AB476 and SB720 - The definition of a Motorcycle needs clarification for Auto Cycles (3-wheel motorcycles) These are the issues we brought to our legislators on March 15, 2016 at the Grass Roots Biker Day at the Capitol Any questions of concerns, you are more than welcome to e-mail, text, call or Facebook me. Dan Hren Wisconsin Legislative Director

WHAT IS A ‘PUFL’?

For those of you that are involved with the American Legion, the Auxiliary or the SAL, then you are already familiar with the term “PUFL” - it stands for PAID-UP-FOR-LIFE The St. Croix Valley Riders also is able to offer you a paid up for life membership. You earn Paid Up status when you have been a dues paying member of the organiza-tion for 20 years of more. For instance, if you have been a member for 10 years, you can prepay for another 10 years and then you will be paid up for life. Contact the SCVR Treasurer, Beth Franz or Membership Coordinator Judy Gebhardt for more informa-tion about your own membership status

Sponsor for the Sponsor for the Sponsor for the Round Barn Rally Round Barn Rally Round Barn Rally and the Chili Feedand the Chili Feedand the Chili Feed

From L to R: Shane “Irish” Murphy, Dan Hren, Dave “Chubby” Charlebois and Jeff Wait attended 2016 Wisconsin Biker Day PAGE 6

I will send your request where it needs to go.

Also – fun fact – in 2015 a full 1/3 of our gross revenue came in through our website or our credit card reader at events or meetings. It has increased our sales and re-duced risk with less cash manage-ment and deposits hit the account the next day. It’s hard to believe we didn’t have the ability to take credit cards at events not that long ago.

Another great way to showcase your SCVR pride beyond what is at the merchandise table is to inquire how to get a lifetime membership and the really nice patch that goes with it. It requires being paid in 20 years and with this organization celebrating 26 years with many long-term members – we have plenty of people on that member-ship list that wouldn’t have to pay in very many years to get that life-time expiration. Contact myself or Judy, our membership coordinator, and we would be glad to calculate what that amount is.

Beth Franz

Treasurer

Hello SCVR members!

I don’t care what anyone says – it’s riding season! I was able to get in 220 miles the weekend of March 11th so I’m pretty happy with it so far. Be smart and ride carefully through those inevitable sandy spots and watch the crazies in the cages. They don’t see us normally and really don’t see us after a long winter.

We passed our 2016 budget at our January BOD meeting. We had a few nominal increases to the ex-pense budget but also increased our member dues to offset. Last year’s jump in dues received was mainly because of the increase of dues themselves. Now that we have baselined we are pushing for real membership growth and so far this year our run rate is higher than the last few years. Another in-crease is newsletter advertising revenue. Printing and mailing this newsletter is not getting any cheaper so a) help us by contacting our membership coordinator to be put on the “opt out” of receiving a hard copy in your mailbox by downloading it off our website – it’s a .pdf you can read / save on your phone or computer and b) tell local business owners about adver-tising with us. We have a specific target market of bikers that need all sorts of things of which many live and ride a lot of the same areas or want new areas to explore or events to go to. The product or ser-vice doesn’t need to be motorcycle related! The options are endless. Our rates are per issue and all are published on the website. Contact [email protected] for either a or b!

BALANCING THE

BOOKS

Adopt A Highway Great News!!!! We are now the

proud owners of the stretch of

road for Adopt A Highway, from US

Highway 10 between S JCT 61 and

the MN/WI boarder at Prescott WI.

We will have our first clean- up of

the year, after the May 15th meet-

ing. We will meet at the parking lot

for the beach, to start our clean-up

detail. Drinks and food will be your

reward for your time and effort. If

you would like to bring gloves,

please do so, otherwise some can

be provided. This is a great way to

get exercise, clean up Mother

Earth, and get to know some fellow

members! Thanks, and I hope you

plan on joining us May 15th.

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PAGE 8

No Change to the Adult Motorcycle Helmet Law

The motorcyclists of Minnesota ask that you continue to support the current Minnesota adult motorcy-cle helmet law, which requires those under 18 and those on a learners permit to wear a helmet while allowing endorsed adults the choice to wear or not to wear a helmet while operating a motorcy-cle. No helmet on the market can prevent a crash. The best way to prevent injuries is to prevent crashes. Crash avoidance and hold-ing those who use our roadways accountable for their actions are the key factors for injury preven-tion.

No Change to Motorcycle Insurance Requirements

HF2535

Underinsured and uninsured mo-torist coverage for motorcycles re-quired.

HF2242 & SF2100

The motorcyclists of Minnesota ask you to oppose the efforts of the trial attorney groups (and others) that would include motorcycles in no-fault insurance laws. When Min-nesota’s automotive no-fault insur-ance law was created in the mid-1970s, motorcycles were specifi-cally ex-cluded for good reason: Motorcycles are very different from cars and require different in-surance policies. In addition, this change would drastically raise mo-torcycle insurance rates. Estimates of $1500 per year have been

quoted, and this is per bike, not per rider. Owners of multiple motorcy-cles would be especially hard hit.

Curtail Profiling of Minnesota Motorcyclists

HF59 & SF1509

Motorcyclists are frequently stopped by police as they travel simply because they ride a motor-cycle or are wearing motorcycle riding apparel. Often these pretext stops are accompanied with the explanation that a traffic infraction has occurred, which is not always the case. In some cases people have been told they are violating a law that does not exist. In other cases the violation cited simply has not occurred. Motorcyclists come from all walks of life and most are law abiding citizens. They have their travel interrupted on their way to work, family events, meet-ings, church and other places. Mo-torcyclists should not be treated differently from other members of the transportation mix. We urge you to pass legislation that assures chief law enforcement officers, at the state and local level, establish

and enforce a written policy gov-

erning the conduct of peace officers

engaged in stops of motorcycle rid-

ing citizens.

Motorcycle Awareness License Plate

HF533 & SF98

Establish a motorcycle awareness license plate (for all vehicles up to one ton trucks). Unlike other spe-cialty license plates, these plates

have a message that would rein-force the importance of driver re-sponsibility. ABATE of Minnesota and St. Croix Valley Riders believes that a subtle reminder to “pay at-tention” while driving will be bene-ficial to all roadway users. This would be voluntary and all costs are covered by the user, with a por-tion of the purchase price going to the Minnesota Motorcycle Safety Fund

“TALKING POINTS WITH YOUR STATE LEGISLATORS” (continuation form Page 5 “MN Legislative Report” by Shane Murphy)

34 SCVR members dedicated a Sat-urday on March 5 to participate in an Accident Scene Management class taught by Chris and Karen from the Road Guardians. Partici-pants were reminded that there are only 2 kinds of bikers - those that have put a bike down and had an accident and those that haven't yet. They learned about PACT - an acronym for Protect from Further Injury, Assess the Situation, Con-tact the EMS and Treat Injuries us-ing ABCSS (Airway - Breathing - Cir-culation - Shock - Spinal Immobili-zation). Everyone agreed that this was valuable, life-saving informa-tion and left with better knowledge about what to do if they ever are able to help at a motorcycle acci-dent scene.

SUCCESSFUL ACCIDENT SCENE MANAGEMENT CLASS

Find the SCVR online at: Find the SCVR online at: Find the SCVR online at: www.scvr.org www.scvr.org www.scvr.org andandand

www.facebook.com/groups/StCroixValleyRiderswww.facebook.com/groups/StCroixValleyRiderswww.facebook.com/groups/StCroixValleyRiders

Single Membership: 1 year ($20) 2 year ($40) 3 year ($60) 4 year ($80) 5 years ($100)

Couple Membership: 1 year ($30) 2 year ($60) 3 year ($90) 4 year ($120) 5 years ($150)

SCVR Merchandise: Pin ($5 ea) Qty:____ Patches: Small ($7 ea) Qty:____ Large ($16 ea) Qty:____

Lifetime Memberships Available ( please email: [email protected] to get more information.

PLEASE ADD $3.00 SHIPPING/HANDLING TO ANY MERCHANDISE ORDER

Donation to SCVR: Amount $__________ (in addition to membership)

Date:____________ Renewal: _____ New Member: ____ Referred by:______________________

Last Name: ________________________________ First Name: ______________________________________

Significant other (for couple membership) Occupations (optional): __________________________________________

Last Name: ________________________________ First Name: ______________________________________

Address:________________________________________ City:______________ Sate: ______ Zip: ___________

Home Phone: ____________________ Cell Phone: _______________________ Email: __________________________________

All memberships are due in January. Dues are not tax deductible. Membership card(s) and merchandise will be mailed to you. Thank You!

MOTORCYCLE DIAL A RIDE 888-DIALRID(E) 888-342-5743

www.motorcycledialaride.org Dial a ride is a not for profit group that was created to make sure motorcyclists and their bikes arrive home safely. They will pick up impaired riders in Minnesota, along with their motorcy-cles, at no charge on all weekends Friday through Sunday. Their phone number is 1-888-342-5743. Keep this number handy, you never know who might need it. SCVR is very proud to spon-sor this organization and provide a trailer for their use. Thank you to all those who make this service possible.

W9852 290th Ave. Diamond Bluff, WI, 54014

715-792-2297 Monday-Thursday 11am-2 am

Friday 11am - 2:30 am

Saturday 8 am - 2:30 am

Sunday 8 am - 11 pm

Your Great River Road Travel Destination Whether visiting by car, motorcycle, or a boat

via the Mississippi River

Special offers for Military, Veterans, Police and Fire Fighters

Practicing proper helmet removal procedures for an accident victim

PAGE 11

2016 SCVR Event Calendar April

Fri. 1st – Sun. 3rd Heartland STEAM Convention (Best Western, Sioux Falls, SD)

Sat. 2nd – Sun. 3rd Donnie Smith Bike Show (River Centre, St. Paul, MN)

Tue. 5th Wisconsin Primary Election

Sat. 9th Defrost your Nuts Run (Mallalieu Inn, Hudson, WI)

Sun. 10th General Meeting @ Noon (American Legion, St. Paul Park, MN)

Sat. 16th Spring Flood Run (Shriner’s Bar, Lakeland Shores, MN)

Sat. 30th Fury Open House & SCVR Membership Drive (Fury Motorcycle, So. St. Paul, MN)

May

Wed. 4th SCVR Dinner Ride (The Gas-Lite Tavern, Trimbelle, WI)

Sat. 7th A.I.R. Bellechester Biker Dance (Bellechester Community Center, Bellechester, MN)

Thurs. 12th MRF Bikers Inside the Beltway (US Capitol, Washington D.C.)


June

Wed. 1st SCVR Dinner Ride (TBD)

Sat. 4th Chucks Ride (Fury Motorcycle, So. St. Paul, MN)

Sat. 11th Amber Alert Bike Run (TBD)

Sun. 12th General Meeting @ Noon (The Gas-Lite Tavern, Trimbelle, WI)

Sat 18th 1st Annual Alzheimer’s Ride (The Gas-Lite Tavern, Trimbelle, WI)

Sat. 25th SCVR 17th Annual Round Barn Rally (The Gas-Lite Tavern, Trimbelle, WI)

Thurs. 30th – Sat. 2nd Algona Freedom Rally (Algona, IA)

July


Sat. 9th Patriot Ride (Anoka County Airport, Blaine, MN)

Sat. 9th Hawgs for Dogs (Twin Cities HD, Blaine, MN)


August

Mon. 3rd – Sun. 9th Sturgis Motorcycle Rally

Wed. 5th SCVR Dinner Ride (TBD)


September


Fri. 9th – Sat. 10th SCVR 26th Annual Chili Feed (The Gas-Lite Tavern, Trimbelle, WI)

Sat. 17th Fall Flood Run (Shriner’s Bar, Lakeland Shores, MN)

Thurs. 22nd – Sun. 25th MRF Meeting of the Minds (Oklahoma City, OK)

October

Sat 8th Frost your Nuts Run (Mallalieu Inn, Hudson, WI)


November

Tue. 8th United States General Election


Sat. 19th SCVR Chili Feed Appreciation Party (Gas-Lite Tavern, Trimbelle, WI)

December

Sat. 3rd SCVR Kids Christmas Party (American Legion, St. Paul Park, MN)

Sun. 11th General Meeting @ Noon (American Legion, St. Paul Park, MN) PAGE 13

We’re on the web!

www.scvr.org

PO Box 112 St. Paul Park, MN 55071

L i v e F r e e . R i d e f r e e .

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st. croix valley riders...2016/04/04 · holds true today as it did back then, if you wish to keep...

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