Please come join us at our next club meeting, scheduled for Monday, May 9th, 6:30 p.m., at Panera Bread, 1156 Military Cutoff Road, in Wilmington. Panera Bread is located near the Mayfaire Town Center Shopping Center.
We had a great turn-out for our April meeting at the PT's Grille in Leland. A few photos from the meeting are posted on our Google Picasa web page. Thanks to everyone who joined us, including our latest club member – Kerry Polk.
The planned dates and tentative locations for our club meetings from May through October are now posted on our club calendar hosted on Google. The dates and locations are always subject to change, so please recheck the calendar web site before each meeting. Each month's meeting date and location will continue to be posted on the club web site and be confirmed here in the monthly newsletter.
May Ride-to-Eat
Turnout for our April ride-to-eat was light, due to the scheduling change to Sunday, April 17th due to the severe weather experienced the previous day. Hopefully everyone enjoyed the great food at the Front Porch Restaurant in Elizabethtown, as well as the back road riding. However, it was disconcerting to see some of the tornado damage in the area near Elizabethtown.
Our next club ride-to-eat event is tentatively scheduled for Saturday, May 7, 2011 (the rain date will be May 21st). This time, we will take a back road ride to the Duplin Winery Bistro in Rose Hill [Google Map Link]. Watch for an updated announcement soon in this newsletter post, which will provide more details on the departure location, time, and route.
BMW MOA International Rally
It is less than three months until this year's BWM MOA International Rally, which is being held July 21-24, 2011, in Bloomsburg, PA [Google Map Link]. If you have not made your plans to attend, you should do so soon. Many local hotels are reportedly already filling up. Information about the BMW MOA National Rally is available through the BWM MOA Rally Web Page [http://www.bmwmoa.org/rally11]. Online resgistration for the rally is now open.
I have set up a Google Document where club members can indicate whether they are planning to attend, list their plans/schedule, post whether they are looking for a riding partner for the trip to Bloomsburg, etc. Access to the 2011 BMW MOA Rally Information Document is open to all club members, using your web browser [free Google account required to access].
2011 BMW MOA Mileage Contest
Speaking of the BMW MOA, their 2011 mileage contest began on Saturday, April 9th. Starting mileage forms are available in the April issue of the BMW Owners News magazine. You can also print the front side and back side of the contest form using these links. If you are participating, you need your form to be signed by two active BMW MOA members, or by a club officer (yours truly). If you need your form signed, contact me via ccbmwridersclub@gmail.com to arrange for a mailing-and-signing. Your starting 2011 contest forms must be postmarked by May 9th!
Club Ride Event
Virginia International Raceway is hosting the 11th Annual Virginia Festival of Speed motorcycle racing on the weekend of June 18th and 19th. This is Championship Cup Series (CCS) event is very affordable to attend -- ticket prices are approximately $10-$15 for one-day only (Saturday) and a two-day ticket is $15. This is currently a potential ride event that is being considered if there is sufficient interest (preferably a minimum of three or more participants). If any club members would be interested in participating, as a one-day, up-and-back ride, please contact Bill Murray at ccbmwridersclub@gmail.com.
GPS Tip-of-the-Month
If you are a Garmin GPS user, you already know that Garmin's documentation on using their desktop computer mapping software (Mapsource for Windows PCs, Basecamp for Macs) is not very helpful. Fortunately, there are some hardworking GPS enthusiasts who have already written some tutorials that will help you better understand how to use Mapsource/Basecamp.
The first tutorial is a PDF file that can be downloaded from the Bike Web web site (http://www.bestbikingroads.com/useful_docs/MapSource_Tutorial1.pdf). Although this tutorial is a couple of years old, it still provides instructions that will help you start out using Mapsource. The ADVRider.com web site also has a good Basic Mapsource Familiarization tutorial. Another useful tutorial on the ADVRider.com site discusses how to create routes in Mapsource. Reviewing these three tutorials will help you get started with using Mapsource and getting more from your GPS receiver.
May SBK and MotoGP Events
More exciting World Superbike and MotoGP racing events are scheduled in May and will be shown on SpeedTV. While subject to change, here are the broadcast dates and times for the events that SpeedTV currently has listed on their web site:
MotoGP
Portugal Grand Prix - May 1st, 8 a.m. (Live) and 5 p.m.
Portugal 125 - May 3rd, 12 Noon and May 5th, 3 a.m.
French Grand Prix - May 15th, 8 a.m. and 6 p.m.
World Superbike
Italy (Monza) - May 8th, 4 p.m. and 5 p.m. (Races 1 and 2)
Rebroadcast May 10th, 12 Noon and 1 p.m. and May 11th, 3 a.m. and 4 a.m.
World Supersport
Italy (Monza) - May 10th, 2 p.m. and May 12th, 3 a.m.
AMA Pro Racing
Infineon - May 14th, 11 p.m.; May 15th at 3 a.m. and 4 a.m.; May 16th, 12 a.m. and 1 a.m.
The schedule for the second half of May is not yet available from SpeedTV. An update to this schedule will be posted later.
Ride safe and ride far.
Bill Murray
May 1, 2011
