For those of you wanting to play hooky, or are off or want to skip chores on Friday, Chris & I have a ride scheduled. We are meeting at Riders Hill in Dahlonega at 10:00 am and heading out at 10:15 am. Chris has mapped out a course that will take us on a ride that promises some good curves and does not follow the usual loop we are all used to. The ride will take about 1.5 hours ending up at Turners Corner around noon where we will have lunch.
We had eight motorcycles and eleven people (3 motorcycles were “2 up”) participate in our ride to the Whistle Stop Cafe for lunch on May 19, 2012. We met in Dawsonville, Ga in the morning for the ride down to Juliette, Ga. Most of our rides take place in the mountains of northern Georgia but today we headed down to the scenic farm land of central Georgia. This was a 115 mile ride on state highways, nearly all 2 lane roads, that crossed over or under three interstate highways but not using them. When we got to the restaurant we had to wait a bit to be seated but we used the time relax and browse around. The Whistle Stop Cafe was one of the filming locations for the move “Fried Green Tomatoes”. And yes, we had the fried green tomato appetizer. I took us two and a half hours to ride there but it was worth it. For our return trip home however we had opted for the interstate for the sake of time, as the interstate route was much shorter time-wise. But we paid for our decision having gotten stuck in heavy traffic twice on the way home. It was a full day of riding.
You can see the photo album on our photo page or by following this link.
Our route to the Whistle Stop Cafe.
Once again, Blue Knights Georgia Chapter VI had our cookout for families staying at a local Ronald McDonald House while their children are being treated at nearby hospitals. On this visit, we were told to expect a full house. Some families came to check in while we were there and enjoyed the motorcycle show and offer of dinner when they arrived.
I would like to take a moment to thank everyone who assisted with the Ronald McDonald House Cookout today. I believe that this was our most successful cookouts at the house, so far. We had 15 motorcycles and several support vehicles on hand for a dramatic entrance into the facility. I heard several of the guests and staff members mention it. I think everyone had a good time. I know that the guests and the staff did. We were able to package them enough leftovers to last them for days. I am also glad that were able to interact with some of the kids staying at the house. I am very grateful to Mark Howell for taking the time to ride Braxton around on his bike, and for RC letting the kids take turns sitting in his side car. Thanks guys.
It was great spending time with each of you and meeting your families. I would like to thank David Booth for volunteering once again to be our grill master. David worked tirelessly through the heat of the grill and midday sun, while managing to cook up all the burgers, dogs, brats, and wings we brought along. David, we really appreciate you. Donna Ehlbeck was instrumental in the planning of the event and helped keep us on track with items we needed and items we had obtained. Donna was a tremendous help. I would also like to thank all of the Lady Knights who managed the kitchen and kept us men folk from screwing things up in there. Thank you, Barbara Hecht, Donna Ehlbeck, Jenna Leopard, Christine Balsamello, Diana Howell, and Cindy (R.C.’ friend) for all your hard work preparing the food and setting up the kitchen like a well oiled machine, and of course for cleaning up. Ladies, I cannot thank you enough. Also, I would like to thank Debi (David Booth’s girlfriend) for coming to the RMDH once again and taking photographs of today’s event. Debi, we really appreciate it. Thank you.
Some of the food items today were over the top. The bratwurst that David Reeves brought were excellent, I was asked several times about them (David said he got them from a Sams Club). The chicken wings were donated by the Swallow in the Hollow in Roswell. The sheet cake that the Howell’s brought was from Publix. (I think that little V-Rod Harley made Braxton’s day.) And the cake-pops, now that was a nice touch. We had so many types of drinks, juices, desserts, and side items; it almost put Golden Corral to shame. It was the collective efforts from all of you that made this event so successful.
In closing, I would like to thank all of you who took the time to bring a food or drink item today and more importantly for bringing yourselves. I am honored to be associated with each of you and truly blessed to be able to call you all friends.
Sincerely,
Bill Anastasio – President
Blue Knights Georgia VI
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- A place for families to stay while children are being treated in the hospital.
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- Little guys like him are the reason for the Ronald McDonald Houses and our visit.
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- Braxton and his Mom try out a Road King and sidecar. Braxton also got a ride on a Road Glide.
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- The cake was a hit and one lucky little boy even got the Harley V-Rod that Publix put on the cake!
We’ll have more pictures posted soon!
On May 19, 2012 we will be riding to the Whistle Stop Cafe in Juliette, GA. This was a filming location for the movie “Fried Green Tomatoes”. And yes, they offer an appetizer plate of fried green tomatoes!
This will be a ride of 115 miles and take us through places such as Gainesville, Braselton, Hoschton, Winder, Monroe, Social Circle and Monticello. On the trip down there we will not be using any interstate highway but may on the way back. While this is not a ride on the winding turns of north Georgia, it is a nice ride through scenic central Georgia. It should take us about 2 1/2 hours to get there.
We will meet at the intersection of Georgia 400 and Georgia HWY 53 in Dawsonville on the SE corner at the BP Station. Begin meeting at 8:30 am and we will leave at 9:00 am. While we have a gas and rest stop planned in Winder, please depart with a full tank of gas and an empty bladder. Members can use our private Facebook group to RSVP (not required) or to ask questions about this ride. You may also leave a comment or reply here with questions.
Let’s ride south for a change!
On April 7, 2012 we had our monthly meeting at Turner’s Corner Cafe in Dahlonega. The Cafe can handle groups if you make reservations ahead of time and they did an excellent job of taking care of us. Chris led the group from the west, while I led the group from the east. We had a good turn out, and great weather for the ride up. Chaplain Randy Hecht said the blessing and we all enjoyed a good meal.
Items discussed:
We asked again if anyone was going to ride to the Blue Knights Spring SRC in Cocoa Beach, Florida on April 19-22. David Booth will be making the trip, and it appears will be the only one representing our chapter. If you are planning on riding down, please contact David.
The Southwell’s are hosting a cookout for members and potential members at their home on Saturday April 21, 2012 beginning at 3:00 pm. Please RSVP with Tom. Please plan on bringing a side dish or item to be thrown on the grill.
The Georgia Police Memorial Ride will be on Saturday morning April 28, 2012. Member David Booth stated that he was planning on riding. If you live in or around the Woodstock area, please contact David for a staging location.
The Ronald McDonald House Cookout will be on Sunday April 29, 2012. This is a great opportunity to cook for those kids (and their families) who are battling illnesses at Scottish Rite Children’s Hospital. Many of them had not a home cooked meal in some time. They love the bikes and always look forward to our coming. We will be meeting at Roswell City Hall at 4:00 pm and leaving at 4:20 pm. Donna Ehlbeck is organizing the list of what we need to bring. I am providing the hamburgers and hotdogs. All we need is for members to each bring an item or two. Please contact Donna at the email address that will be on members only Facebook group to find out which items are still needed.
Vice President Chris Ehlbeck announced a ride to Whistle Stop Cafe in Juliette, GA on Saturday May 19, 2012. We will be meeting in Dawsonville (the time will be posted at a later date) and ride through Athens, Social Circle, Monticello, down to the Whistle Stop Cafe. Chris has pre-rode this ride and has even included a gas stop along the way. This is going to be nice ride and we are encouraging members to bring their spouses along.
We also discussed having another shooting competition meeting. Please contact me if you have an interest, and we will begin planning it. Also we are always open for suggestions for meeting locations and rides. I would like to plan more weekday rides as the warmer weather is upon us. If you have any ideas, please let us know.
After the meeting was adjourned, Chris led a group of riders on a ride up US HWY 129 (Blood Mountain) and Wolf Pen Gap RD.
See you at the next event!
Bill Anastasio
Some of our meeting attendees.
Our next meeting is scheduled for Saturday, April 7, 2012 at 11:30 am and will be a lunch meeting at Turner’s Corner Cafe located on the corner of HWY 19N & US HWY 129.
We are going to do something similar to the New Year’s Day Ride. Basically, getting to the meeting will be the ride and Bill will lead one group to the meeting from the Cumming area and Chris will lead another from Woodstock. After lunch and the meeting, we can ride up Blood Mountain and take Wolf Pen Gap RD across to HWY 60 and back towards Dahlonega where people who go along on the ride can begin peeling off.
If riding from the Cumming area, Bill will meet at the QT at GA400 & Exit 17 ( 2830 Keith Bridge RD). Meet Bill there beginning at 9:30 am and be prepared to leave at 10:00 am to ride to Turner’s Corner.
If riding from the Woodstock area, Chris will meet members at the QT at HWY 92 and I-575 in Woodstock (9765 HWY 92). Meet in Woodstock beginning at 9:00 am and we will leave at 9:30 am!
We hope to see all of you there!
WordPress has a feature to let those who look at sites on the system with an iPad to do so with a specific theme and “app-like” experience. You can even add the blog to your iPad’s home screen with our custom launch icon. Now the author doesn’t have an iPad so he doesn’t know how this feature will actually look or even if it will work. They did recommend making one of the images transparent but being a PC user he wasn’t able to do that. So we’re counting on readers or those who stumble upon us for feedback on this. In the words of WordPress, “Onswipe displays a beautiful app-like experience to visitors browsing with an iPad.” We figured we’d give it a try since the world seems to love things that start with an “i” in front of a capital letter! The site was already using a specialized them for browsing with a mobile device or smartphone.
The safety page has been completed with links to Motorcycle Safety Foundation documents and demonstrations. The photo page should be completed soon. There’s also been some changes to the menus.
Tom is in the process of mailing the 2012 membership cards for those members who renewed before the deadline. You should be getting yours any day now if you haven’t already. Also included this year is a “window sticker”. If you recently joined or renewed late, you should be getting your membership package or card soon.
The members of Blue Knights Georgia Chapter VI met at the Golden Corral in Alpharetta on Saturday morning February 4, 2012. It was a good turnout. There were over a dozen members present. In addition we had three new members join our chapter. In case you weren’t present the three new members are:
Steve Durant – retired officer from Prince George’s County, Maryland
Chris Dover – current officer from Ellijay (Gilmer County)
Paul Bednarz – retired officer from North Riverside Police Dept, Illinois
Please introduce yourselves to the newest members of our Blue Knight’s family.
We discussed upcoming rides and events including:
1). The Sons of Justice sponsored Iron Horses for the Armed Forces Ride on March 31, 2012 beginning at the Firefly Restaurant 3070 Windward Plaza in Alpharetta, Registration begins at 9:30 am and the ride begins at 11:00 am. $20 per bike, $5 passenger (This is to raise funds for service dogs for military veterans)
2). Blue Knights Spring 2012 Southern Regional Conference, April 19 -22, 2012 Cocoa Beach, Florida. (Please view the attachment for the conference agenda)
3). 21st Annual Georgia Police Memorial RideSaturday April 28, 2012 leaving out of Turner Field in Atlanta. Registration begins at 8:00 am, the ride begins promptly at 11:00 am
4). Ronald McDonald House Cookout: Sunday April 29, 2012 leaving out of Roswell City Hall 38 Hill Street Roswell at 4:30 pm. Destination is the Ronald McDonald House at Scotish Rite Children’s Hospital
5). 2012 Ride for Kids – June 3, 2012 benefiting the Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation. The staging location is North Point Mall in Alpharetta. Registration begins 7:00 am to 9:15 am. Ride begins at 9:30 am
We are looking for volunteers to be Road Captains for these events. Please consider volunteering to lead one of them. I am planning on representing our chapter at the SRC. If anyone is interested in riding with me, please let me know.
The Chapter conducted a 50/50 raffle to raise money to pay the membership dues ($35) for one of our founding members who has been taken ill. We were able to raise those funds and have additional money left over to purchase a $25 gift card to CVS for that same member. The winner of the 50/50 drawing was our own Phil Baldwin. Congratulations Phil.
Secretary/Treasurer Tom Southwell reported on our current bank account after the above listed purchases. We’re not rich, but we have a small cushion for emergencies.
New member Chris Dover suggested that we ride up to Ellijay for a day trip. There are about six members from his agency who ride and are interested in joining our chapter. – We need to plan this for a Saturday or Sunday in the next month or two. We will need a Road Captain and staging area(s).
Bobbie Southwell (Tom’s wife) suggested that we have a membership party in their home sometime in March. For those of you who did not attend our Christmas Party a few months ago, the Southwell’s are excellent hosts. This will be an opportunity for members who have not been at a meeting in some time to attend, along with any prospective members who are thinking about joining. This will be a covered dish event. I will let you know something more, as the details get ironed out.
We also discussed having another meeting/ride – shooting competition. Those of us who participated in last years event had a great time. Please let me know if there is an interest and we can work on scheduling it.
At the meeting we were able to sell 6 of our Blue Knight mugs at the meeting. There are 18 left at $6 each, (free Blue Knights Tristan Ride t-shirt with each mug, sizes L, XL, and 2XL left)
The meeting was adjourned.
Please contact one of the board members (Chris Ehlbeck, Tom Southwell, or I) if you have any suggestions regarding meeting locations, and ride destinations. We welcome your input.
Ride Safe,
Bill Anastasio –President
Blue Knights Georgia VI
