North Alabama Vintage Riders Digest for Jan 1, 2018

[renchinrider]

Hi, Everyone, and WELCOME TO 2018!

NAVMC is already off and running into the New Year, and North Alabama Vintage Riders' Digest is here to capture and share the happenings of NAVMC members worldwide!

Thanks to Raymond Cox, Our Undisputed Toughest All-Weather Rider, for sharing the following chronicle of his travel from Huntsville to Stockton's Stagecoach Cafe for the Last Ride of the Year.  His is our first feature to be broadcast through this newsletter:

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Yes, I made it to Stockton for "the last ride of the year".  I had planned to start out by 5:00 am but by the time I got bundled up it was 5:30. I was then motivated to get south where I hoped it was warmer. Anyway, I got down there a little after 11.  At first sight I was overwhelmed by the number of bikes. My pictures couldn't adequately capture the number of bikes which filled the Stagecoach Cafe parking and overflowed into  the parking lots of several other businesses.

Next I enjoyed lunch with several hundred new friends.  The food was pretty good too.  After lunch there was an award ceremony honoring the oldest and youngest person to make the ride,the person who made the longest ride, and the oldest bike to make the ride. After the award ceremony there was time to admire some of the many beautiful bikes that made the trip and make a few friends.

People started leaving around 12:30 and since I had seen weather forecasts of dropping temps in HSV, I decided to get back sooner rather then later.  I shoved off for home a little after 1 pm and arrived home about 6:10. Really enjoyed the trip and would gladly do it again.
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Congrats on making the trip, Raymond, and for sharing your adventure with all of us!

There's plenty more coming up this year, beginning almost immediately.  Please mark your calendars for February 3rd.  Fred Kroeger has arranged for Barber Museum's Jennifer Nelson to come up to Huntsville where she'll join us for breakfast at the Blue Plate, and then provide us a presentation on the benefits of volunteering at Barber Motorsports Park and Museum.  There are numerous individual and group benefits available, so you'll definitely want to join the audience for Jennifer's presentation!

Many of you may have seen Jan Boggs' postings on Facebook showing a treasure trove of photos of his friend and distinguished motorcycle racer, Tony Westbrook.  To quote Jan, "Tony became a pro racer and competed in ice racing, speedway and flattrack, and was nationally ranked.  He sent me a bunch of pics, mostly 70's of him racing, and I thought I'd share some of them. Tony is one of the nicest people you will ever meet, and I am going to ask him to join the group.  He lives in Smyrna Tenn, where he operates his own business."

And it keeps getting better.  Jan is going to approach Tony about coming here to Huntsville to speak to us at an upcoming breakfast!  As soon as I have a date, I'll post it, and broadcast the invitation, both here and on Facebook.  Thank you, Jan!

Here are our upcoming events:

Breakfast at the Blue Plate Cafe II every Saturday.  Come on out!  Cafe owner Justin has allotted us a larger breakfast area, so there's plenty of room to bring a friend (or two).  The food is great, and you won't find more enjoyable breakfast company anywhere!

Jan 12-14:  BMW owners will gather for their 35th Annual Winter Rally in Starke, FL.  https://www.cyclefish.com/motorcycle_event/43469

Jan 27th:  There are three events to choose from:

- Easyriders Bike Show, Nashville.  This is a tour that travels across the nation, and will stop in Nashville over the weekend of Jan 27th.  https://www.cyclefish.com/motorcycle_event/37968

- 12th Annual Dania Beach Vintage Motorcycle Show.  I'll be attending this show, and would love to meet other NAVMC members while I'm there.  If any of you are going, please shoot me a note and let me know--would love to see you there!  https://www.cyclefish.com/motorcycle_event/42175

- Blue Knights of Alabama 16th Annual Polar Bear [benefit] Ride in Albertville. https://allevents.in/albertville/blue-knights-al-xvi-polar-bear-ride-2018/1543013145792857#

Feb 3rd:  Jennifer Nelson of Barber Motorsports Museum comes to Huntsville (Blue Plate Cafe II) to discuss the benefits of volunteering to support events at Barber throughout the year.

Feb 17th:  Our first Garage Crawl of 2018, taking place at Andrew Jennings' garage!  We'll depart from the Blue Plate, and follow Andrew to his garage.

Please let me know of any events I may have missed, and send me stories of the vintage motorcycle activities that interest you!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!