Excerpt from the GWTA, Region A, Washington, Chapter Q, Chehalis / Centralia, May 2004 Chapter Newsletter.
Hello to all, and welcome to May! Hope you’ve already taken advantage of some of the great April
weather we’ve had. If not, it’s way
past time to take your bike out of winter mothballs, start her up, clean her
up, check her out (including tires and tire pressure) and fill her up. It’s time to ride! Tom and I put a lot of miles on the Venture this past month. When the sun is out, so are we! April has been full for us. I want to share my BIGGEST accomplishment
with you. Over the weekend of April
16-18, I had the opportunity and privilege of participating in the Grays Harbor Motorcycle Education, LLC’s
Basic Rider Course (BRC). I
attended this course with my son Tommy.
(This is the same course that Sue H. attended.) The course consisted of both classroom and
range training. If you are thinking
about a motorcycle safety course, or know someone who is or who wants to earn
his or her motorcycle endorsement, I whole-heartedly recommend this
program. It is very organized and
professional. It is run by some very,
very wonderful folks who are sincerely dedicated to motorcycle safety, to the
proven success of their efforts, and who, obviously, love the sport, magic, art
and fun of riding motorcycles. Rick
Jenkins is the owner of
GHME, LLC. He has several assistants, but his
supporting team member that was on the course for my training, was a
motorcyclist named Mario Winkelman. Both men have many years of riding experience and both have a full
background of training certifications and training experience. If I never ride a motorcycle, I came away from
their class with a huge sense of accomplishment and confidence in the fact that
I have more riding fundamentals that I ever thought possible. I have a solid base to begin practicing
riding my bike. I also have more
respect for and more understanding of my motorcycle and for what it takes to
safely operate it. The class was a lot
of work, a lot of fun, and was it was full of heart. I wish I could tell you I was their star student that particular
weekend. Alas, I cannot tell you
that. I can tell you that I did pass
the course, and by the time you read this, I will have obtained my
endorsement. I won’t be riding my bike
in our group for some time, if ever. I
love riding as a team with Tom, and that probably is where you’ll see me…on the
back of his bike. However, I do hope to
spend some time in the CHS parking lot.
Would love to have you join me sometime! Rick Jenkins and his staff also teach an Experienced Rider
Course (ERC). It is my
understanding that GWTA will help with class tuition. If you would like more details, you can find Grays Harbor Motorcycle
Education, LLC on the web at www.ghme.net. Our own PowerSports Northwest is a sponsor of this program. So are South Sound Honda in
Olympia, and Pacific Marine and
Motorsport in Hoquiam. All three of these businesses strongly
believe in the value of motorcycle riding education and all three have provided
some of the machines in Rick’s fleet that the students use during their range
training while participating in this course.
(I have a feeling they believe in Rick Jenkins, too!) Until next month, Ride Safe – Lynn B.