This month we did breakfast a little different. With many members on vacation, prior commitments, or just staying in the cool or working, I spoke with Lisa at Blue Mountain Drive-in and it was agreed that we should try ordering off the menu. That is what we did. Everything seemed to go well and I received no complaints YET. There were 14 members and 9 bikes in the parking lot. There was a ride planned for after the gathering. The Officer Petzold Ride starting at Renegade Classic on Rt 100. Deb and I along with other chapter members have done this ride in the past, but due to the weather it was decided just to go home. This month's informal was at the Starlite Diner on Rt 100, 8 people attended. August 21 we went to “The Night in the Country” in New Tripoli where we enjoyed good food, good company and awesome fireworks-- 12 members, 6 bikes and 1 of the "other kind" (friends of mine) attended. A ride was planned to go to The Jigger Shop in Mt Gretna on August 22, but the weather had other plans in mind, unfortunately this place closes Labor Day so we will have to plan to go next year. On August 26-29, 14 members traveled to the Pa Convention which was held in Johnstown, Pa. There were 252 full registrations and 116 day passes. Deb and I completed the OCP (Officer Certification Program) class which was held all day Thursday and Friday morning. It was not as bad as we thought it would be, it did give us insight on how and why GWRRA does things the way they do. While we were in class, Rick and Diane Solt attended the competition for District Couple and a reception held for Chapter Couples. The new District COY is Jeff and Sue Arnold from Chapter Q in Warren, Pa, and Rick and Doreen Lampe are the Region COY from N.J. Chapter G. Other members did some sightseeing to the Flight 93 crash site. Friday night we all went for dinner at the top of the Incline Plane--what a view! Jack and I were recognized for our help with the bike parade Thursday night in honor of Gary Dunn from Chapter A who lost his battle with cancer last year. Gary had installed decorative lighting on my bike and Jack’s bike along with many others. There were 38 bikes in the parade. Saturday was the bike show, 16 bikes were entered, I took 2nd place in the stock trike category. Saturday night was the banquet and if you left there hungry, it was your own fault. The food was good and there was plenty of it and it did not take long to go through the buffet. Now for the Cash Bonanza drawing- Chapter L member Ray Beers sold the $2000 winning ticket again this year to Tim Rhinehart and another winning ticket was sold by Debbie to her sister-in-law, Diana Albright for $100. Next year the convention will be held in Carlisle on September 8-10 at the Embers. Rooms are $69/night

Our first order of district shirts did arrive just in time for the convention.   Jay and Deb Keck      Chapter PA L Directors

As summer comes closer to an end, the days start getting shorter and the nights longer. We still can ride our bikes to and from work. Riding during Sunrise and Sunset are very challenging times of the day. One of the issues we face are that we and other drivers are not fully alert. We're all either just waking up or tired after a long day at work. The weather affects us, we want the warmer weather and get more depressed as the summer ends. We are all on the road driving to and from work. Everyone's alertness level is lower. I don't understand why some people think they can also send text messages, read and send emails and talk on their cell phones while driving to/from work. We need to be especially alert for interesting driving techniques and be prepared to perform evasive maneuvers.

                                                                        One morning on the way to work, I was in the left lane of I-78 in NJ going east. There was a nice long slight downhill straightaway. Between me and the car in front of me was approx 1/4 mile of space. He was approaching the next group of cars, when he realized he was going too fast and hit the brakes. The car wheels locked and the rear end spun around. The car spun 180 degrees and went across the 3 lanes of traffic (still going eastbound), then stopped on the right shoulder. This took a matter of a few seconds of time. In itself, it wasn't too bad, no accident happened. It could have been worse, much worse. You see, he was in the far left lane, the middle lane approx 20 cars behind him was a pickup truck pulling a 16 ft box trailer, and in the right lane just in front and to the right of me was a tractor trailer. Traffic was doing it's normal 65-70+ mph depending upon lane. The car started to slide across the lanes of I-78. It just missed the truck pulling the trailer in the middle lane. As the car continued it's slide, by now they are facing oncoming traffic. Imagine what the driver and passenger felt when they just missed the truck and by then were looking directly at the front of a tractor-trailer in the right lane as they slid across the interstate. Yes, it could have been a lot worse... This incident happened on a nice dry, sunny, no sun glare morning. Imagine the outcome if road was wet from the night's rain and the Sun just came up ...Sun glare!!! Be alert and ride safe.
Myk