With heavy downpours, Rip made an executive decision to forego the incumbent plan for all to ride to Nampa to enjoy Mexican food. Instead, he got the word out to meet at the clubhouse (thanks again, G-Man) and then go to Sockeye Grill for dinner. All were grateful for and happy with the change.
Members present: Rip, G-Man, Duke, Smooth, and Rowdy. Members absent: Grim, Slick, Bomber, and Gundy.
The meeting began on time, with normal chit-chat, brotherly teasing, and laments about missing those who were unable to join.
The VP explained the agenda: we would review a couple of important handbook items and then go eat together. During the chit-chat, all agreed how our OMC President makes it very easy to follow him and how we all appreciate his leadership on the road (and otherwise). Rip gave his thoughts about how difficult it is to lead a group like this and would take some getting used to for anyone. Coincidentally, Smooth even commented about how “smooth” Grim is able to be while leading our rides. Rip asked if any of the members would like to lead a portion of a ride this year and no volunteer hands were raised… methinks Grim’s shoes are just too big to fill. 😀
After moving on to discuss Appendix B in the handbook, Duke made a suggestion about making sure Prospects are Star certified before joining. After more discussion, the members decided to suggest a topic for a future meeting and potential change to the MC guidelines where not only Prospects, but Guests should be certified. The topic was batted around a bit and then centered on the assessment of any Guest’s capabilities to be the responsibility of the Sponsor.
During our review of Appendix C, safe riding measures were discussed and the group talked about having more space between us while riding in formation. Another safety suggestion also came out of the discussion… should the OMC consider standardizing on a specific length between riders, like 3 bike lengths, 5 bike lengths, etc.?
The final topic discussed was around adding “estimated MPH” to the safety briefing ahead of our rides.
All agreed the above topics/suggestions will need more discussion in a future meeting when the President and additional members are present.
The meeting was then adjourned and the crew went to the Sockeye grill to have some dinner. Predictably, most picked meals where the special “scoop” fries were included and Duke and Smooth continued to eat relatively healthy, leaving the rest of us feeling a bit guilty. The most surprising thing of the night was when Rip left the restaurant without ordering any ice cream.
Fun evening.
RipCity and Rowdy