Grand Rapids Road Ryders - Valkyrie Riders Cruiser Club

Couple of new posts here folks !

2009-06-29T14:38:00.002-04:00

Hey folks -
Couple notes here !!!!!

July 4th BBQ at Bunkers - over in St Charles. We will be leaving the GR area about 9:30 am, from Johnson Park in Grandville .... be sure to drop me a note if you are planning to join us. Let's hope for good weather, I don't wish to 'leave' in the rain. I myself (you can stay as long as you wish of course) will be leaving there at 2 pm for GR, we have other family activities happening here locally.

Then we have the Copper Harber Ride, leaving on July 16th for 5 days - had an outstanding ride last year, so we're doing it again. Check out the boards for more info, or call me directly (616) 340-9497

Also place on your calendars, August 29th ... for our 4th annual GR Metro Cruise / Poker Ride Rally. More INFO is on the Michigan board as well.

Just Testing Here !!!

2009-06-10T22:00:00.001-04:00

Just imported thru Picasa, curious how this worked. Here's a fine picture from Lumberman's Monument - in 2004

Northern Wolfpack BBQ

2009-05-18T11:12:00.001-04:00

This Saturday - forecast is great - 70º and mostly sunny. We have another big BBQ to head to, this time it's in Grayling - at Chili & Timbr's home.

Our plans from the GR area. We will LEAVE at 9am sharp, from Perkins Restaurant (on Alpine - just north of the freeway) ... I plan to get to Perkins around 8am to have breakfast before we leave - would enjoy your company, so join me there.

Leave at 9am, and travel up mostly highway, to get there at noon. Plan to leave there about 3pm, then travel west towards the Lake Michigan coastline. Travel home more leisurely and scenic - probably get back to GR area about 7pm or so.

Again, would be great to have some fellow (or fellow-ette) riders along, but am going regardless - unless weather turns nasty - then they have a rain date for Sunday.

Let's Ride !!!!!!! Will be a great day, and they make some bodacious burgers up there !

Stitch

Baldwin's Blessing of the Bikes

2009-05-06T23:11:00.003-04:00

Sunday, May 17th is this years 'Blessing of the Bikes' ... they only have about 40,000 bikes up there in Baldwin, MI visit their website for ALL the information on this: http://www.motorcyclemonster.com/events/37th-Annual-Blessing-of-Bike-Festival-2009-05-15-Baldwin-MI.html

Da Q in Da Woods

2009-05-06T23:04:00.007-04:00

Just finished up with Bob's BBQ - fantastic weather & turn-out, it was great !

Now we turn to "Da Q in Da Woods", the finest BBQ north of Cadillac. Timber knows how to 'make a mean boiger!' You're all invited, Saturday May 23rd at noon ... Grayling, MI

Can catch all INFO at: northernwolfpack@yahoo.com give them a shout, we'd love to see you there.

We'll be having a group leaving the Grand Rapids area about 9 am on the 23rd. Want more INFO about this, contact me at: GR-VRCC@comcast.net

Automatic Garage Door Opener

2009-04-26T22:23:00.002-04:00

Ya know, after a long ride home on your bike, it can be a pain ... parking & getting off your bike, walking up to the garage and opening the door, walking back to your bike, then driving it on in. Or even late at night, you're tired ... just want to get in your home and relax.

Well, someone finally came up with a great little idea here, to make this routine much easier, they've developed a way to automate your garage door, using your bike's horn as a signal. Really a great little invention - just click on the header here for a quick video of how this works.

whooooooo weeeeeeee !

2009-04-25T16:03:00.003-04:00

Just got back from the infamous 'Vermontville Maple Syrup & Fair'. About a zillion folks were there, and hundreds & hundreds of bikes - didn't expect that !!

We caught a few sprinkles here & there while going TO Vermontville, but coming home - oh man !!!! Fighting head on 30-40 mph winds, raining so hard I was looking around for Noah's Ark, temp dropped about 10-12º. Still I was smiling, saying "oh well, let's get the first 'bad weather ride' out of the way for 2009 - it can't get any worse" ..... then the lighnting started ?!?!?

But I'm home safe - very soggy and slightly chilled - now to soak in the hot tub - ahhhh!

I'd like to say "wish you were with us", but you're my friends, and I wouldn't wish that on you.

later friends,
Stitch

May 3rd at NOON

2009-04-15T09:10:00.003-04:00

Bob's Annual BBQ & Wrenching Party (if desired that is) Check out the Michigan VRCC site for more information on this. Lots to eat, lots of great people to chat with, lots of SUPERB VALKS, great ride across the state - what more could you ask for ???

Stitch

April 25th - 1st 'PLANNED RIDE'

2009-04-15T08:47:00.004-04:00

BE THERE !!! April 25th at 10am ... GR Harley-Davidson in Hudsonville. Will be taking off at 10:30am for a couple hour ride, over to Vermontville (click Title Header for link). Lots of food, music & entertainment.

Yeah I know - I ride a Valkyrie, but I will be careful NOT to show off too much, to all the H-D riders there. Would be pretty cool to have a few more Valks along, so join me. Drop me a note, just so I know who's tagging along. But I also know, people 'don't like to commit themselves' to anything, so be that way. !!!! I'll be there.

New 3 day bike fest in Ohio - let's RIDE !

2009-03-27T15:27:00.000-04:00

Hey folks - here's a ride coming up - called 'All Ohio Bike Fest', coming in July. Link below explains much more, but the should be a really cool outing, one that Michigan's Misguided should try to participate in a big way. Much more INFO coming soon.

http://www.unioncountycvb.com/AllOhioBikeFest.aspx

All this post is from a PREVIOUS BLOG I had - which I transferred here

2008-10-26T00:37:00.000-04:00

Monday, July 16, 2007

Aug 25th ... Metro Poker Cruise ... Grand Rapids area

More INFO on this will be coming, but I truly do want you folks to consider placing this on your calendar and coming to this NEW ADVENTURE ! This will probably be the Grand Rapids Road Ryders "Signature Ride".

We are teaming up our efforts with "The Ride" that the March of Dimes hosts, so our extra proceeds will be going to them.

The date is August 25th (Saturday), but most will want to stay the night, since the activities will be going into the later evening hours.

Some highlights - first off, click open the link below - it is to the 28th Street METRO CRUISE - which by itself, will be just a HUGE reason to be here.

Lodging ??? .... There are listed there (on the site) MANY hotels available, but I would encourage you to book early, since a few hundred thousand folks will be coming to town for it. We also have a spot (about 1 mile away form the MECCA of this event) for throwing down a tent if you choose, we can hold about 30-35 tents, and all our bikes.

Then "OUR" activities will include a 'very different type' of POKER RIDE - this will be fun! Money to be won - for sure, but also to raise money for the March of Dimes.
We will be having 50/50 drawings for cash, raffle some prizes, a "Team Effort" horseshoe contest - we have a fully official horseshoe pit at our disposal. $10 per team (of 2), can enter as often as you like (but always must be with a different partner). Cash prizes here as well, plus some going back to our charity. Plus some "other" unique horseshoe contests.
Plan to have a great BBQ meal, couple of grills fired up to char up some burgers and brats, along with all the other goodies, drinks provided - but BYOB - and please be smart about this.
Open fire pit will be burning into the evening, so come and go as you please. Like I said, we are about 1 mile away from all the METRO CRUISE activities, so swing out into the crowd for awhile - look and watch some of the finest vehicles ever produced - thousands & thousands of them. Then come on back, sit by the fire, shoot the bull, eat some more bull,
About 8:30 pm (as dusk starts setting in), we would like to pull together as many as possible, to do our own little bike 'parade of lights'. We'll form at our site (5 bikes or 50 bikes) and roll down to 28th Street, slide into the convoy of muscle cars & trucks, then roll down the street together as one large "Valkyrie Nation". Probably will only be about 15 mph, so this will be cool, with a couple hundred thousand folks standing along both sides of 28th Street - this WILL BE COOOOLLL !!

******* There will be more INFO on this, on a regular basis, but I need to have you folks start to plan on this. All these ideas, all the activities, all the prizes, all the cash to be won, all the proceeds to the March of Dimes, all the fun and camaraderie - it's ALL BASED on you folks coming to this.
*** and as always, we need to KNOW as many as possible who are coming for sure, so we know how to plan many of these activities - primarily the food which is needed.

*** I will be sending out very shortly, another 'reservation type' notice, for you folks to reply to - this will give us our heads up that we need to know. As I've said before, the cost for all this will be $25 per person (includes the poker hand, and the BBQ meal, and the tenting if you should so choose, and many of the activities we have planned.
I will pass along my address to send checks to, or can use PayPal ($26 for this though - to cover the handling). This way it truly confirms your presence, and gives us the funds we need to put this together.

I really believe that this is going to be ONE OUTSTANDING DAY of EVENTS - sure to be remembered for a long time, write this date down -- NOW !!

.. August 25th There will be a lot more INFORMATION on this in the near future, but please start to make plans for this day. We are planning on the GR Road Ryders “METRO POKER CRUISE”. This is going to be so very cool, use the link below to the 28th Metro Cruise site. This is their 3rd annual, last year they drew over 8,000 vintage and classic cars, 175,000 people – just waaaayyy outta sight.

http://www.28thstreetmetrocruise.com/v4/go.gnf?s=metrocruise just copy & paste into your browser

We are planning our POKER RIDE, to coincide with this Metro Cruise, will be an all day event. Will be starting at 11:00 a.m., will run our poker route, with lots of fun and NEW ideas here – CA$H to be won. We’ll be ending up with a big ‘burger & brat BBQ’ in the afternoon. This will be about 2 blocks from 28th Street and all the wild and outstanding action of the Metro Cruise. Hotel INFO will be available on the site, we have a spot for you to ‘pitch a tent and camp overnight’ if you choose. But you’ll want to stay the night, because hot rods & classic vehicles & trucks & big engines burnin’ tires – all will be going on thru the evening, and YOU WILL WANT TO BE THERE.

More Info will be coming, but mark your calendars
L8r ... my friends, STITCH _____________________________________Grand Rapids Road Rydersin association with the VRCC (Valkyrie Riders Cruiser Club)Gary House #2260 (aka ValkGary aka VG)Grand Rapids, MichiganALL bikes are welcome, your camaraderie is what's important here !website www.motorscoots.blogspot.com

Wednesday, July 05, 2006

Next BIG DINNER ride

Howdy all ----
Want to post here ... a reminder to you all. July 22nd, at 4 p.m., be sure to place this date on your calendar. This will be our next 'Grand Rapids Road Ryders' Dinner Ride.
We are planning to meet up at Johnson Park, just slightly west of Grandville, in their north parking lot on Butterworth drive. We'll have on kickstands up at 4 p.m., so be sure to get there a few minutes early ... just to say "HI", and walk around some, meet some friends. Be sure to have your 'tank full' and you 'bladder empty'.

Picture shows a stop we had on a previous Dinner Ride, but I don't think that we'll be traveling quite this far on July 22nd - HA! We'll be riding for about 1 1/2 hours or so, probably put s short stop in the middle, then pull in for a fantastic time of dining, laughing, story telling, etc. Maybe even do a little report on all the other activities we have happening !!

Hopefully many of you can make it, these are always lots of fun, a nice time to get away for a bit. If it's POURING RAIN - you may be on your own.

Would appreciate a note from you, if you're planning to come along --- that would help me in planning our dinner stop - thanks !

**** and don't forget about DOTS Rally, the link to it is on the right-hand column, check it out.

later all,
Gary

Monday, June 26, 2006

Just a few PICS of some of the things we'll be seeing along the way. Great scenery, lots of good food, fantastic music on TWO nights, fabulous friends (both new & old), rally events to remember, raffles & money to be won.

You really do need to join us, be part of the FIRST ANNUAL D.O.T.S. Rally (Dragons Over The Smokies). This is a new rally by the VRCC, most likely to go on into the future, because "we do like to party and have fun with our friends".

Notes & Pix for Upcoming DOTS Rally

Dragons Over The Smokies !! What the heck is this anyway ?? Brand new, 1st annual VRCC sponsored event - high in the Smokies .... Johnson City, Tennessee to be exact. Couple pictures above just give you a taste of what's in store. Gorgeous scenery, switchback corners, temps that average 75-80 up in the hills, what more could you want ?

Twistie Roads ? whooooo - eeeeeee ! We will have several maps & directions for 'self-guided rides', for you folks to gather 2,3,6 or however many - and take off for 3-4 hours, have a great ride ... stop for lunch ... take some PIX of your own ... just be sure to be back for the evening events, we have 'something' planned every night --- check out the events page.

Central Tennessee has 'The Dragon - Deal's Gap', and we have maps to get you there & back. This place is well known, and has some great hairpin turns. But it's 125 miles from ground ZERO (one way), and very busy.

****** Please Note Here ****** I found a secret, East Tennessee's answer ... it's called 'The Snake'. This Highway 421 has 480 some curves, many switchbacks, over 20 miles long. I rode them both over a couple

days, both are outstanding, but the Snake is only 25 miles away, great roads leading up to it, a ton way LESS traffic. They are competing with Deal's Gap, they have a couple stores & gas smack dap in the middle of it all, at a place called Shady Valley, quaint little intersection.

Deal's Gap - great ride, as we all know. But it's VERY busy, and about 125 miles away (one way) - this makes for one very long day. Yes, we will have maps on how to get there, BUT ... read below ...

** Please Note Here ** I found a secret, East Tennessee's answer ... it's called 'The Snake'. This Highway 421 has 480 some curves, many switchbacks, over 20 miles long. I rode them both over a couple
days, both are outstanding, but the Snake is only 25 miles away, great roads leading up to it, a ton way LESS traffic. They are competing with Deal's Gap, they have a couple stores & gas smack dab in the middle of it all, at a place called Shady Valley, quaint little intersection.

----------------------

POKER RIDE on Saturday, planning to have about $500 first place, all depends on how many participate. The ride will take us about 2 1/2 hours to complete, winding thru (AGAIN) some gorgeous scenery. We will end our ride at the Crumley House, which is a rehilbilatation center for brain damaged individuals - a very worthy cause. They are our recipients this year, as our charity. They will be hosting us there with a very good lunch, T-Shirts (which are being made by some of their patients), and many smiles and talkative folks - I met several, they are so glad to see visitors. Open your heart to them, and they will love you for it.

--------------------------------

Bristol Motor Speedway ... Tim (RedValk) is working with them to see what we CAN do there. We did have plans for some laps on the track, but the very next week-end is a huge Nascar race, and homeland security is closing this down a week early, we can't get onto the track. But there are some other possibilities happening, we'll see.

Thursday, April 13, 2006

Members - and upcoming rides

Just posting here, a couple members of the Grand Rapids chapter. Ron & Pam, out of the Jenison area, both happen to work at Meijer (Meijer is secretly a dating service, just don't tell anyone). They own and ride an Valk Interstate, they've been on several rides with us, just a great couple - I'm sure that you will see more of them this summer.

April 30th, we have the Lakeshore "Blessing of the Bikes" in the Holland area - we've sent out notes regarding this, if you want more INFO, please contact me.

Also - May 21st is the big Baldwin "Blessing"

May 27th - will be the Grand Rapids (1st of the season) Dinner Rides - at 4 pm. More details and notes will be coming, via email, as the time gets nearer, but place this on your calendars now.

If you are NOT on my email list, but would LIKE TO BE, drop me a note. My email address is GR-VRCC@comcast.net catch you all later.

Gary (aka VG aka ValkGary)

Sunday, February 12, 2006

2006 Winter Party in Mt Pleasant

Good morning all !!

Hey, last night was a great time by all, for those of you who happened to come (which were quite a few - we were happy to see you all) to our Winter Gathering. We couldn't / haven't been able to ride for awhile now, so this party and dinner was great. A FANTASTIC 'smorg-as-borg' (? however that is spelled?) of Prime Rib, shrimp, chicken, fish and all the other goodies that go along with it.
We had a photo show playing in the background with cool music and PICS of most everyone, somewhere along the line of riding last year. That was really cool. We had a 50/50 drawing, which Joe T. from Lansing won ($100), not too shabby. As unbelievable as THIS is, Joe T. also won a service contract from Birch Run Honda, which was pretty dog-gone valuable too. Hats off to Birch Run also, for THAT gift, but also for participating so heavily in our rides thru-out the year, awesome group there. Also, thanks to Shawmut Hills Sales in Grand Rapids, we had 5 or 6 items from them also, for our raffle drawings.
Then we had a chance to go over the summer riding schedule, whooo weeeee - it's gonna be a great year of riding , but only if YOU FOLKS join us on some of this stuff. We are going, we are planning on lots, we'll be seeing so much and doing so much (great scenery to be sure, lots of food of course, fun activities planned, cool places to go) -- so why don't YOU FOLKS plan to come on along to some of these events, outings, dinners, rallies, what-have-you, and enjoy some time with us. Don't be stingy, of YOU, with US. Shoot, even my wife Lori was there at the dinner Saturday, struck up conversations with a couple gals about sewing and quilting, they had a great time. So you see, folks from all over can have a ball.
You can look at some of your previous posts, or the state page for the current calendar, but there are LOTS of things planned for the year, I'll be dropping notes to all of you as each event gets nearer, but you should be posting some of this stuff on YOUR calendars right now. A few of the biggies to watch for: Lumberman's BBQ, Dinner Rides by the Grand Rapids Road Ryders, Midnight Ride with Tri-Cities U.P. ride in August. The CBR Ride in Indiana in September. One of the NEW EVENTS for this year (& probably every year from now on) is the DOTS (Dragons Over The Smokies) Rally in Johnson City, TN - this is going to be GREAT ! We are currently working on a custom designed denim jacket for this ride/event - which is way cool!
So you can see, lots to enjoy, by simply coming along now & then - we truly do want to see YOU at some of these.

PS - was I lost??? I guess, but at least here is what happened. For those of you who were there, I was "kinda" a little late getting there, I had the wrong address. When I was looking at Bill's email with the info on it, there was a spot which said "Holiday Inn of Mt Pleasant", so I clicked on their website (so I thought) for their address, and possibly a map. So there it was '114 East Broadway', well, let me tell you - I DO KNOW where the Mt Pleasant Chamber of Commerce building is now.

Oh well,
later my friends,
Gary VG

Friday, October 28, 2005

NEXT SUMMER !! Whooo-eeeeeee !!

Now I like lights, I have a bunch on MY VALK, but you 'can' go over-board, wouldn't you say. This picture was sent to me from an 'invisible member' of our chapter, by the name of Don Lane - he rides a wing, no wonder this photo was sooooo intriguing to him. 'Invisible' - I mean he not once rode with us this summer, NOT ONCE - man, I took a shower and everything!

**** Keep your eyes and ears open folks, for NEXT SUMMER! You will not BELIEVE what all we will be having going on. The plans are in the works for several, AND I DO MEAN SEVERAL, outstanding rides/events. These are all going to be 4-5-6 day type rides, to absolutely gorgeous spots. Some close by, and some - a distance. BUt these are going to be fantastic!

That's all I'm saying right now - anything more, I would be shot ! So plan your summer accordingly, catch a couple weeks with us - spread throughout the months - this WILL BE GOOD !

More Members in Grand Rapids - & beyond

Now here are TWO extremes, in our riders.

First off, my ol' pal Charlie. This is Mr Charles Lane, lives on Crockery Lake, close to Revenna, MI, I've know him for over 30 years now, one of my best 'pal-sie'. Here he's talkin' to another one of our group, Joe T - looks like he's telling him to 'take a hike', but I may just be puttin' words in his mouth. Anyway, after riding many years together, various times and bikes, last year Charlie bought a Honda 750 - and rode with us for a year, not a problem at all with that. But evidently, he had a problem?? This summer, we rode over to the Chicago area, where Charlie bought himself his own Valkyrie I/S - wise choice my friend!! The only problem he has, he happened to buy that 'slow-poke' BLACK model, Oh Well !

Then we have Jack here. I know "I don't know Jack!" But I do now - I just met him about an hour before THIS picture was taken. He lives in the Muskegon, MI area - and rides a Valkyrie I/S Trike, really a cool bike - I should post a picture of that, but I don't have a good close-up, I know - I know, what good am I?? My wife asks me that all the time. Sure hope to see a lot more of you this next summer.

Well that's all for now, but more is coming.
VG (that's short for ValkGary)

Sunday, October 23, 2005

2 MEMBERS - of the Grand Rapids Road Ryders

Here we have Bo Roop, out of the grand little town of Jenison (MY own town, BTW). Bo just picked up his Blue/Silver I/S just about 4-5 weeks prior to this ride. So far, he's extremely happy with it - how can you not!

Just had the privilege to meet Bo the morning of this ride, he saw our posting and just showed up. Very glad that he did, hope we can get in many more rides together my friend.

Now this sorry lookin' old fart is Joe T, resides in Mason, just outside of Lansing. Joe and I do a lot of kidding back and forth, he's a fun guy to talk with. Met him on an earlier ride this summer, then got to talking about InZane V in Paducah, and lo & behold, he rode along - actually we shared a room together for a week. Man, are his feet cold, but we won't go there !!

We'll have MORE members posted soon.

See yaaaaaaaa !!

2005 Season is just about OVER !

Just reminicing about some rides. Right below here, we have Timberwolf & Chili Pepper, looking out over Lake Superior, from last August's 'Bridge Ride'. This was truly a cool week-end, we had I think 29 bikes from all over the state.

These other 4 pictures are from Michigan, around the Manistee area. We had 10 bikes on our color tour, October 8th. Kinda a cool day, but still had sunshine - as you can see.
Met (4) new riders that day, which was waaaaay nice ! You'll be reading about them in future posts.

Hey! I lost a couple pics, but we'll find them somewhere along the way.

All older blogs - from PREVIOUS blog-site, which was cancelled

2008-10-26T00:30:00.000-04:00

September 2008 Newsletter of the

Grand Rapids Road Ryders

SW Michigan biking club … in association with the VRCC (Valkyrie Riders Cruiser Club)

Yep ! we do enjoy our Valks …. But ALL bikes are welcome … come join the fun !!

As we start to wind up this years riding (crap), we still have a handful of riding events and adventures going on. Here is a recap of what is scheduled, please feel free to contact me at the below numbers, if you have any questions or comments. Most of these are being hosted by various chapters, and THEIR CONTACT INFO is included with each.

September 14th … hosted by SE Michigan Chapter

Hello Fellow VRCC Members,

As most of you know, we, the Southeast MI Chapter puts on our annual "Ride in the Hills" ride & BBQ. Well, this year we're going all out with a catered Pig Roast Charity Event. As always, there will be many nice door prizes, 50/50 drawings, and of course plenty of delicious food. This year we are inviting everyone to join us, in hopes to collect enough money to make a local underprivileged family very happy this coming holiday season.

Attached, you will find a flyer in JPG (picture) format so not only you, but many others you know will have a great time at the event !!!. So, if you wish, please copy the flyer and hand them out to the ones you know.

When: September 14, 2008 Kickstands up at 11:00AM

Where: Meet at the I-94 (westbound) Rest-Area, just 6 Miles West of I-275, between exits 187 & 190

All Friends and family are welcome to meet us at the park if they can’t make the ride

Entrance to Hidden Lake Gardens is on M50 between Pentecost Hwy and Nortley Hwy west of Tipton, Michigan

Tickets must be purchased in advance by September 7th

TO PURCHASE TICKETS (or information) CONTACT:

FRANCINE VERDUCE

Phone: 734/675-6484

E-mail: fverduce@aol.com

We need you to order your tickets early to pay the caterer (before the 7th of September), so please do not delay.

FEEL FREE TO FORWARD THIS ON TO ANYONE YOU WISH

Regards,

Tony Z.
VRCC # 8089
Chapter Leader
Southeast MI Chapter

September 20th … hosted by Capital Chapter

Capital City Chapter GREAT NEWS, RIDE TO BROOKLYN HAS BEEN RESCHEDULED!

The "Ride To Brooklyn" has been rescheduled for Saturday, September 20th. We will stage at the Meijer's in Mason at 11:00 a.m. Take the Kipp Rd Exit off 127 at Mason. Go east on Kipp Rd to Meijer's parking lot. Kickstands up at 11:30. This is a beautiful ride ending at a great restaurant at Clark Lake. Hope to see you all there!!

--
Gary Swan
Chapter Leader, Capital City Chapter
Michigan Valkyrie Riders Cruiser Club (VRCC)
Lansing, Michigan

………………………

Also … the CBR (Covered Bridge Ride) … sponsored by the Indiana VRCC Chapters. This is a 3-day (Sept 19, 20, 21) event down in central Indiana, they do a really nice job on this ride. Charlie & Linda Lane, along with Gary & Lori House will be riding to this event – we’ll be representing Michigan here. Still room for any body else who would like to join us.

September 27th … hosted by GR Road Ryders

(rain date of Sept 28th – same time and information)

Poker Ride & Extended Dinner Ride

We’ll be meeting up at Johnson Park in Grandville around 11-ish, kickstands up at NOON sharp. Come with a full gas tank and an empty bladder. We’ll be having a very scenic ride, with several stops along the way for drawing cards, stretching your legs, grabbing a snack or coffee … or just shooting the bull ! We will be finishing up about 3 pm for a great dinner, alongside some cool lake or scenic spot. There we will finish up the Poker Hands,probably sell some 50/50 tickets, etc.

October 4th & 5th … hosted by Tri City Chapter

HI EVERYONE,

It seems like summer has gone by so fast but believe it or not it is time to make plans and your reservations for the 2008 fall color tour in Traverse City. The date is Saturday, October 4th and Sunday October 5th.
We will be staying in a new hotel this year. The name is AmericInn of Traverse City, 1614 US-31 North, The phone #1-800-441-1903 or 1-231-938-0288 and make your reservations under VALKYRIE RIDERS CRUISE GROUP in order to get our discount of $69.00 per night which is two queen size beds. We have blocked 27 rooms. YOU MUST MAKE YOUR RESERVATIONS BY SEPTEMBER 1st to guarantee a room and discounted price. Specific details regarding the ride will be coming later but I wanted to get hotel info to you now.

Joe (ridingdragon) Errante
Tri City Chapter leader
VRCC #19022

Cya L8r ... my friends, STITCH
_____________________________________

Grand Rapids Road Ryders
in association with the VRCC (Valkyrie Riders Cruiser Club)
Gary House #2260 ( aka Stitch )
Grand Rapids, Michigan
ALL bikes are welcome, your camaraderie is what's important here !
website http://journals.aol.com/stitchinman/grand-rapids-road-ryders/

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Wednesday, September 3, 2008

11:09:57 AM EDT Edit Entry Delete Entry

Sept 27th DINNER RIDER

Hello to all -

Here is our chance to grab ONE MORE ride, before the year is done. Sept 27th (Saturday afternoon) we'll be having a 'little extended DINNER RIDE'.

Much more details will be coming, but I wanted to give you a heads up on this, so you can place it on your calendar NOW!

Sept 27th, take off at 1 pm ... ride for an hour ... take a 15 minute 'Social Break' ... ride for another hour or so ... then stop at a really cool 'mystery spot' for dinner. I say MYSTERY, because I don't have the foggiest idea yet, but I'm sure it will be scenic & next to a lake, with GREAT food & friends. Will have some 50/50 drawings and raffles.

so "write it down"

more later

Cya L8r ... my friends, STITCH

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Fall Color Tour

Hey folks - it's COLOR TOUR TIME !! the note below is posted on the Michigan site, from Joe & Pam - who set up the hotel and dinner plans - THANKS Joe & Pam !

If you are planning on riding out of the Grand Rapids area, please let me know, so we can plan on a small group ride up. Lori and I will be heading up mid morning on the 4th.

This is always a nice ride up, beautiful area (especially in the fall), then we have a great time of food & laughs over dinner, usually relax back at the hotel after. Pool & hot tub available for those who wish to use.

Sunday, we have a short ride in the area, before heading home.

Make you room reservations now, for the VRCC discount. I heard that they extended it till Sept 3rd (TODAY), and I just made mine fine.

Stitch

It seems like summer has gone by so fast but believe it or not it is time to make plans and your reservations for the 2008 fall color tour in Traverse City. The date is Saturday, October 4th and Sunday October 5th.
We will be staying in a new hotel this year. The name is AmericInn of Traverse City, 1614 US-31 North, The phone #1-800-441-1903 or 1-231-938-0288 and make your reservations under VALKYRIE RIDERS CRUISE GROUP in order to get our discount of $69.00 per night which is two queen size beds. We have blocked 27 rooms. YOU MUST MAKE YOUR RESERVATIONS BY SEPTEMBER 1st to guarantee a room and discounted price. Specific details regarding the ride will be coming later but I wanted to get hotel info to you now.

Joe (ridingdragon) Errante
Tri City Chapter leader
VRCC #19022

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Monday, July 28, 2008

10:04:20 AM EDT
Feeling Adventurous Edit Entry Delete Entry

New Twist ... to St Iggy !!

Howdy all - first off, we hope that many of you are planning on the St Ignace week-end ride, August 15-17 ... this is posted on the Michigan website. This is our 8th or 9th annual, always an outstanding ride, with great friendships and food - a parking lot party that all of St Iggy talks about. If you haven't been there, you should try to. See the Mich site for all details, and BOOK YOUR ROOM now !!

**** and please note here, slight twist to this week-end. I (Gary aka Stitch) plan to leave THURSDAY morning this year, get there ONE DAY EARLIER. Then planning an all day ride on Friday up to Tahquamenon Falls State Park (there is a fee for this, I think it's $5). The Upper & Lower falls are just gorgeous (bring your camera), there are miles of wooded, semi-twisty type roads that we'll be riding on. Then we'll be having lunch at the Tahquamenon Falls Brewery & Pub - this place is pretty famous for outstanding food & beverages.

Then we'll be back to St Iggy Friday late afternoon, for when the rest of the group shows up for the rest of the week-end. This is something that I want to do, so I will be riding whether it's just me (and my GPS), or whether some of you folks want to join me. I'd love to have a handful riding along, friends always make the ride just that much more special. If you are planning this extra day, you should contact Trish at the Thunderbird, to extend your stay. Drop me a note as well, we can probably connect somewhere downstate for the ride up, or I'll just see you in St Iggy Thursday night.

Cya L8r ... my friends, STITCH
_____________________________________

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Monday, June 30, 2008

11:41:31 AM EDT Edit Entry Delete Entry

$3000

Just a quick update, to that benefit ride we just had. I hear that we made a little over $3,000 for the cause ... this is tremendous - thanks to all who participated in it.

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Sunday, June 29, 2008

2:18:23 PM EDT Edit Entry Delete Entry

Copper Harbor Ride

COPPER HARBOR RIDE - July 10th thru the 13th

All the way to the top of Michigan, shoot - you can reach out and tickle Canada from there. Never been there, but I hear it's gorgeous - and always a pleasure to ride in the U.P. Thinking about going ??? It may be too late already - I'm not sure ... contact Timberwolf & Chili - our northern leaders.

We have about 40 currently ready to go ... can't wait to get moving on this one !!!

Here is a little bridge, we may see along the way .. not sure though, it's kinda hard to find.

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Benefit ride to Elkhart

Had a pretty good ride last Saturday, had 6 of us from the Grand Rapids area attend this benefit, being held in Elkhart, IN. A good friend of Scott Lane, fighting some lung cancer issues, had this benefit in his honor. Great music, very good eats, made some new friends, helped to raise a bunch of money, to help offset Pat's expenses.

Would have loved to have many more show up, but we still had 6 (5 Valkyries and this goofy BMW - we love ya anyway Kevin) ride down from Michigan, to help a brother in need.

This is one who rode down, hope we didn't scare any folks away.

3rd Annual GR Road Ryders Poker / Dinner Ride

2008-10-26T00:21:00.000-04:00

3rd Annual GR Road Ryders Poker / Dinner Ride this is a MYSTERY RIDE as well ... the route we take i

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3rd Annual GR Road Ryders Poker / Dinner Ride

this is a MYSTERY RIDE as well ... the route we take is gorgeous (but only I know where we're going - that way if I get lost ... nobody else will know). The dinner stop, again only me (oops, I told Lori today, may need to tie her up till Saturday) they have great food in a quaint little town. Even the "way" that we will be playing the poker hands, no one will know who wins what ... until we are at dinner. The BEST HAND 'may' not win the most $$. This will be fun !

September 27th .... with September 28th as a rain date

First off - weather looks to be outstanding this week-end ... sunny, mid-seventies, VERY LOW chance of rain ... for all THREE days !!

Planning to start meeting up at 11:00 am, hittin' the happy trail at NOON !!!

Approximately 2 3/4 hours of riding time, with 2 stops along the way. Great roads, couple lakes to be seen, miles & miles of rivers we'll be scootin' along, some tree-covered stretches, lots of turns. But no tight twisties, sorry - we're not in Tennessee.

We will be doing a 50/50 drawing as usual ... buck apiece or 6 for $5.00

Also will have a FREE raffle drawing ... each poker hand bought will receive 1 raffle ticket. GR sponsor - Shawmut Hills Sales - are donated a few items, and we have a couple other items ... so it should be fun.

The POKER HAND - $10.00 each, can ONLY play ONE hand per person. There will be the option of purchasing a bonus card ($5) at our 1st stop as well. I'm going at $10, just to help keep the costs lower - but obviously, our cash prizes will be lower as well. I also anticipate that we will have several winners (at smaller amounts), rather than one big & happy winner - while the rest of go home crying.

The "way" that you will win will be explained clearly at dinner - this will be a surprise to all - but will be FUN !!!

The dinner itself, and drinks, are on you.

The whole purpose of today, is for fun with each other, great friendships to form, enjoy the great outdoors on 2 wheels, see some scenery that maybe you haven't seen before, and to get home safe and sound - what more could you want ??

The link to Johnson Park in Grandville, MI is below

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=johnson+park++grandville+MI&sll=42.934197,-85.327141&sspn=0.008829,0.023775&ie=UTF8&z=15

I did post a couple of hotels - one at the start of the ride and one at the end of it - with names & phone numbers - for any who plan to stay over. I might combine this into a 2-day event next year, depending on how this year goes.

Can't Wait !!

Thanks for reading this - hope to see you all on Saturday !!

Stitch

Upcoming dates

2007-07-24T22:18:00.000-04:00

A note from
Grand Rapids Road Ryders

July 2007

Here are some dates coming up, which may be of interest to you. Look them over, jot them down in your calendar, ask questions if need be, plan to join us for some.

.. July 14th – 20th This is almost right upon us, if you haven’t planned on this already, it may be too late, but contact Bob Tasior (Rtaz) ASAP, maybe you can still just aboard. This is their 2nd Lake Superior Ride – sure to be great. Unfortunately, I cannot make it. This will be wrapping all around this gigantic lake, views and scenery like you can not believe.

.. July 21st An All-Day Saturday ride around the Lake St Clair (lying between Detroit and Canada). Tony and the SE Chapter are running this one, so if you can’t make the week-long ride above, here is an outstanding one-day ride. I do plan to go on this, never been there – no idea of what to expect, but looks really nice. Half the trip IS THRU Canada, so please bring your passport, or picture ID and birth certificate – they WILL BE needed.
I plan to leave GR at 7 am on July 21st, to meet up with the SE Chapter folks at 10 am, sure would be great to have a few from the GR area join me on this day trip. I will be leaving from Bob Evans Restaurant (M-6 and Kalamazoo Ave exit) at 7 am sharp (need to, to get to our meeting point in Detroit at 10 am), I will be getting there a little early, probably grab some breakfast and coffee – join me here as well, always enjoy your company.

.. August 11th GR Road Ryders Dinner Ride, will be taking off at 4 pm for a couple hour ride, then a nice relaxing and laughter-filled dinner with friends – YOU be there !!

.. August 17th – 19th Midnight Ride and U.P. Tour This is turning into one outstanding event … somewhere around 70-80 ‘wild and crazy’ folks show up for this. We leave early on Friday morning (7 – ish) to meet up with the Tri-City chapter, then take a leisurely ride up to and over the bridge. Stop for a nice lunch, check into our hotel for the night, great dinner together with friends – eventually hit the sack. Then we get up in time to watch the 10,000 riders come into St Ignace after riding all night, then we have breakfast all refreshed and all, then head up into the U.P. for all day great riding.

***** And then on Saturday night …. Whoooo eeeeeeeee – if you haven’t been there before, hold onto your hats !! And THAT is a pun, my friend – because hats are a big part of this “NORTHERN MARDI GRAS” festival. You just gotta be there to understand. Rooms are filling up fast, we’re staying at the Thunderbird Inn in St Ignace. Call (906) 643-8900 to make reservations, but do it soon !

.. August 25th There will be a lot more INFORMATION on this in the near future, but please start to make plans for this day. We are planning on the GR Road Ryders “METRO POKER CRUISE”. This is going to be so very cool, use the link below to the 28th Metro Cruise site. This is their 3rd annual, last year they drew over 8,000 vintage and classic cars, 175,000 people – just waaaayyy outta sight.

http://www.28thstreetmetrocruise.com/v4/go.gnf?s=metrocruise just copy & paste into your browser

We are planning our POKER RIDE, to coincide with this Metro Cruise, will be an all day event. Will be starting at 11:00 a.m., will run our poker route, with lots of fun and NEW ideas here – CA$H to be won. We’ll be ending up with a big ‘burger & brat BBQ’ in the afternoon. This will be about 2 blocks from 28th Street and all the wild and outstanding action of the Metro Cruise. Hotel INFO will be available on the site, we have a spot for you to ‘pitch a tent and camp overnight’ if you choose. But you’ll want to stay the night, because hot rods & classic vehicles & trucks & big engines burnin’ tires – all will be going on thru the evening, and YOU WILL WANT TO BE THERE.

More Info will be coming, but mark your calendars

Later all,
Stitch

Grand Rapids Road Ryders - Valkyrie Riders Cruiser Club

Couple of new posts here folks !

Just Testing Here !!!

Northern Wolfpack BBQ

Baldwin's Blessing of the Bikes

Da Q in Da Woods

Automatic Garage Door Opener

whooooooo weeeeeeee !

May 3rd at NOON

April 25th - 1st 'PLANNED RIDE'

New 3 day bike fest in Ohio - let's RIDE !

All this post is from a PREVIOUS BLOG I had - which I transferred here

Monday, July 16, 2007

Aug 25th ... Metro Poker Cruise ... Grand Rapids area

Wednesday, July 05, 2006

Next BIG DINNER ride

Monday, June 26, 2006

Notes & Pix for Upcoming DOTS Rally

Thursday, April 13, 2006

Members - and upcoming rides

Sunday, February 12, 2006

2006 Winter Party in Mt Pleasant

Friday, October 28, 2005

NEXT SUMMER !! Whooo-eeeeeee !!

More Members in Grand Rapids - & beyond

Sunday, October 23, 2005

2 MEMBERS - of the Grand Rapids Road Ryders

2005 Season is just about OVER !

About Me

Links

Previous Posts

Archives

All older blogs - from PREVIOUS blog-site, which was cancelled

Sept 27th DINNER RIDER

Fall Color Tour

New Twist ... to St Iggy !!

$3000

Copper Harbor Ride

Benefit ride to Elkhart

3rd Annual GR Road Ryders Poker / Dinner Ride

3rd Annual GR Road Ryders Poker / Dinner Ride this is a MYSTERY RIDE as well ... the route we take i

Upcoming dates