From the way back machine

[Rob Nye]

Hey now.

In the most recent issue of the Boxer Shorts the editor dug up this little gem from a former president. According to the editor this piece is twenty years old but I think it is not quite that dusty.


Here we go:

I’d like to describe my feelings about what a BMW motorcycle club is all about. The most important idea to remember is that the point of a motorcycle club is not the club itself, though it certainly has its importance, but rather to provide a framework of events that enable us to enjoy our bikes and the people that ride them. Our mission is to go place and do things with people that share the same interest in fine German machinery as ourselves. What these experiences will be and who we will do them with are entirely up to us. Many folks like to rally, camping and motorcycling while many would prefer day rides. Motorcycle trips do not have to be transcontinental journeys to be fun. What types of events are scheduled are not only my responsibility and the responsibility of the club officers, but are your responsibility too. The quickest way for us to become stale is to keep going to the same events on the same weekend year in a year out.

The continued infusion of new ideas is the lifeblood of the Yankee Beemers….

… We are all free to contribute as much or as little as we wish to the club effort, but believe me, it’s a lot more fun to contribute than to be a passive participant. Ther are a million little chores that need to be handled during an event including our breakfast meetings. I you feel like helping, do! You’ll make a bunch of new friends and will feel good about making things happen. It’s kind of like motorcycle riding, watching someone race is always cool, but I get a much larger thrill riding home with a million other riders….


This is just a topical here today as it was there and then.

Anyone care to play guess the author??

Best,

Rob Nye

[Chacifer]

Swider, was that you? :wave

[SNC1923]

Mr. Peabody,

I have no idea.

Sherman ;)

[flash412]

Anyone care to play guess the author?
Bullwinkle T. Moose?
Rocky T.F. Squirrel?
Boris Badanov?
Natasha (did she have a last name?)?
Spinner?
Paddlefoot?
The brick from the other joke?
No soap. Radio.?

[BradfordBenn]

Let's see twenty years old article... that rules out most YB's I know so I will go with Chace's answer of KBasa since Rob is too humble to repost is own article - I think.

[jdiaz]

Man, KBasa was even a big whiner back in the day, wasn't he? :D

[Rob Nye]

Let's see twenty years old article... that rules out most YB's I know so I will go with Chace's answer of KBasa since Rob is too humble to repost is own article - I think.

Hi Brad, :wave

Um, gee thanks. No I am not the author.

Chacifer hit the nail on the head. I followed Dave as YB chief bottle washer and simply built on his foundation and that of the folks before him.

My introduction to the YB's was pretty humorous. I used to race boats for a living and this arena is *very* competitive. My employers used to spend money like there was no tomorrow, we would buy mainsails two or even three at a time, use them for one five day event and retire them to the practice bin. I had an old R90 rat bike and I used to run into a dude on my afternoon ride home. He kept on inviting me to check out his club but my weekends were always booked racing. It was the YB website (one of the first clubs to have one) that got me roped in after two years of running into Paul.

When I got a shore job I was still sailing all the time but finally decided to check out this club. I had absolutely no idea what organized motorcying was all about and I thought it was like a service organization such as the Knights or such. I mailed in an application and wrote on the back "I will volunteer for anything", as I was a little burned out on the win at all costs mentality of high end yachting for the uber wealthy. I don't know if they read that or not but at my first rally I wound up clearing a discharge line from the toilet trailer at sunrise. :doh My hangover reminded me that this was definitely not what I had expected and I was hooked. Still am.

Dave was president at the time and seeing how much fun he was having was contagious. I learned so much so fast from being in the club, surfing the net and just showing up and hanging out, which is still a great way to keep up on the latest.

Then one day (at the end of that rally actually) the VP and Dave sat down with me at dinner one evening and said "how would you like to be president?". After spitting beer though my nose I said what do I do? They said just be you and do what you do, and the toilets have flowed ever since. ;)

One thing about stepping up is if there is a newsletter you need to generate a monthly column and I had a few stumbles with my efforts. I had a buddy, the Savant of the pavement, who I would run my stuff by before sending it into the editor as a sort of controversy check because I was so green. Every now and again I would write something that would get people a little.... anxious and when I would whine at the Savant for letting me step in the poo he would just laugh at me. We are best buddies to this day but now I have figured out when he wants me to step in it for his entertainment. :D

I thought it was interesting to see Dave's article after "all these years" and appreciate the fact that he is still involved. Much of the flavor we strive for here on the forum is an extension of the ideas expressed in the article. Both Dave and I along with the entire forum team are very happy with the sense of community here. Your effort with the Rounders and Lorzepams (hope I am crediting the right folks) track day are absolutely fantastic and a result of the community all of us have built.

Best,

Rob
I like bikes and the people who ride them.

[kbasa]

Too funny. I've resisted jumping in here, but I'm pretty flatterered to see it. I think I wrote that an even decade ago, right as I became YB president.

I was trying to tell the club what my values were for operating a motorcycle organization and what my feelings were on politics and all the other hooey that seems to happen whenever there's some level of power available.

All this time later, I still feel the same way, which isn't necessarily true for everything I've ever written. Situations change, perceptions change and opinions change right along with the first two. In this case, my feelings about what a club really is haven't changed. I guess I really haven't seen a good enough reason to change those opinions.

Thanks for dredging that up, Rob. I hear it's in this month's Shorts, but I haven't seen my copy yet.