OMC Meeting Report January 2015

Dream Shop

OGRES members gathered at the Fairview Clubhouse at the appointed time.  Present: Big Easy, Duke, Rip City, G-Man, Krome, Bomber and Grim.  Not present: Zeus and Smooth.

Duke represented, bringing fine cuisine from our favorite Mexican restaurant.  Big Easy brought chips and dip.  Rip City brought Wavy Lays chips, my favorite, and a bottle of bubbly.  Grim brought a cooler of beverages.  Thanks to all for the food.

We talked about the upcoming rides.  It was discussed that everyone should be making their reservations for the three OMC sanctioned rides.

Members were reminded that Challis Hot Springs had changed management and that Sergeant Mike and his family now resided in Lorna and Bob's house, on site, and were managing the place.  Members should make their reservations and Grim will make arrangements, in the meantime, for dinner that night and other extras we have been accustomed to enjoying at the Hot Springs.

All the dates for next year's OMC sanctioned events can be found at this link:

http://www.ogresmotorcycleclub.com

Duke suggested an Iron Butt Ride this year.  After much discussion, it was decided the Iron But Ride would be on Friday June 19th and Saturday June 20th.  This will be a ride not sanctioned by the OMC.

Krome asked about the best rides for guests amongst the three OMC sanctioned rides.  It was discussed that the Summer Run would be the best ride for guests as the hotels used for lodging are much bigger and would allow for the guests.  The Spring and Fall Runs are limited to 8 beds and 11 beds, respectively, and not as conducive for guests.

Door prizes were drawn for and as luck would have it, Rip City drew his own number first.  "head scratch"  G-Man, Duke and Krome were also winners.  There will be an extra special door prize for March.  Only one door prize will be given but it will be a doozy.

Duke shared a joke with the membership.  The funniest part was that Duke was only able to tell and complete the joke between fits of laughter.  Jimmy Fallon would have been proud...or something.

G-Man (Scarecrow) made the mistake of commenting that Grim did not like long rides.  Grim had to remind him AGAIN that he greatly enjoyed long rides if that was the mission of the ride.  Grim does not like long ride days on the three OMC sanctioned rides because a careful balance of riding and socializing is important on the three sanctioned rides.

Otherwise, bring on the long distance rides for Grim anytime.  Freeway or back roads.

Discussion was held about creating a traveling trophy/pin/headgear for the Flake of the Month.  It would be bestowed on the member who had been the biggest flake for the preceding two months between meetings.  The current period for this "distinction" has begun immediately.

There was a suggestion about obtaining some basic first aid training from a creditable source.  G-Man is going to speak with his paramedic son about some of the aforementioned training.

Rip City is going brown.  I guess once you go brown you never........oh, wait a minute.

Big Easy stated he wanted to do another beautiful ride up north again.  He was strongly encouraged to design a ride and we would all go with him.  OMC rides are not limited to the three OMC sanctioned rides.  Bring any rides to the group and we will go.  Grim is retired and will ride all summer when invited.  Most of the members concurred.  Oh, maybe not.  Well, at least some.

The Route 66 ride is on.  The dates are yet to be ironed out.  Right now the first two weeks of August are looking good.

Next meeting is March 5th.

Colors for Cuts

I will be bringing patch sets to the meeting tonight.  They are $65 for the set.

That is all.  See you at the Clubhouse.

Suite Time at the Basketball Game

A great time was had at the third annual OMC Night at the Idaho Stampede basketball game on January 6th.  Attending were: Duke and Pam, Bomber and Brenda, Rip City and Stephanie, G-Man and Grim.  Not in attendance were: Smooth, Big Easy and Krome.

The food was marvelous and plentiful while the company was unmatched.  Jibes and jokes were exchanged and maybe a few compliments.  Great conversation and basketball are a great combination.

And the Idaho beat Oklahoma City in a close game.

Huge thanks to Pam and Duke for hosting this event.  It is always a highlight of the OGRES yearly calendar.  

Mandatory OMC Meeting Thursday January 8th, 2015, at 7 P.M.

Please bring your $25 OMC membership dues to the mandatory meeting on January 8th at 7 p.m. at the Clubhouse on Fairview.  If you cannot attend, get your dues to Grim as soon as possible.  Grim's address is available to mail the dues, if needed.

Food and drink will be provided so come to the meeting hungry.  There will also be door prizes.

This money is used to pay for the website, food at the meetings and other expenses.  Just a reminder as everyone is great about paying promptly and Grim appreciates it.

New Updated Info About the OGRES Night at the Stampede

It's that time of year again when the Sergeant-at-Arms hosts all OMC members in good standing to OGRES Night at the Stampede game.  Please bring your wives to this shindig.  No guests or prospects are invited.

The game is on Tuesday January 6, 2015.  Doors open at 6 p.m. and the game starts at 7 p.m. versus Oklahoma City.

Tickets will be left at with the usher by the main stairway in the Grove Hotel lobby located by the south hotel lobby entrance.  Just ask the usher at the foot of the stairs for your Taco Bell tickets.

Then head up the stairs to the second floor.  We will in Suite 208 on the second floor.

Do not wear cuts/colors but other OGRES apparel is cool.

OGRES Night at the Idaho Stampede Game January 6th 6 P.M.

The following members have confirmed that they are attending along with their spouses:

Krome, G-Man, Bomber, Rip City, Duke and Grim.

Duke has not heard from Big Easy and Zeus.

Smooth will be out of the state and unable to attend.

That is all.

New Years Day Ride Report 2015

Rip City and his Indian

Bomber, Smooth, G-Man and Rip City showed up.  Rip City rode in 10 degree weather.  It's a good thing they make form-fitted heated bloomers and such.

New Year's Day Ride 2015 9 a.m. Start

We will meet at the Egg Factory on Can-Ada Road by the Idaho Center at 9:00 a.m.  We will have brunch there and then decide about heading down to Given's Hot Springs for a dip.

Hopefully we will be able to ride our motorcycles but cages are authorized if necessary.

OGRES Night at the Stampede Game January 6th at CenturyLink Arena

It's that time of year again when the Sergeant-at-Arms hosts all OMC members in good standing to OGRES Night at the Stampede game.  Please bring your wives to this shindig.  No guests or prospects are invited.

The game is on Tuesday January 6, 2015.  Doors open at 6 p.m. and the game starts at 7 p.m. versus Oklahoma City.

Tickets will be left at with the usher by the main stairway in the Grove Hotel lobby.  Just ask the usher at the foot of the stairs.  Please RSVP with Duke as soon as possible so he can plan for the event.  Also let him know if you can't make it.

We will be in a Suite 208 on the second floor so it should be a blast.  Be there or be square.

Do not wear cuts/colors but other OGRES apparel is cool.

Cuts and Colors Etiquette

There was some discussion at the last meeting about when and where the OMC cut should be worn.  It's real easy.  You can wear it whenever you want to and represent the OMC in a positive fashion.  I wear mine almost every single time I ride my Harley.  I wear it when I ride alone and when I ride with others.  

The only time one does not traditionally wear a cut is when you are in a cage.  Then you take it off.

Other than in a cage, you wear it when you damn well want to.  'Nuff said.  

OMC Salmon Summer Run 2015

Here is the OMC Summer Run details.  It should be a blast.

• Thursday July 23    244 Miles  

The run will begin at the Chevron Station at Highway 55 and Beacon Light at 8 a.m. sharp.

Horseshoe Bend – Banks – Cascade – McCall – New Meadows – Grangeville – Orofino

Overnight lodging will be in Orofino at Best Western Rivers Edge, 615 Main Street, (208) 476-9999.  Each rider is responsible for making their own reservation.

• Friday July 24        292 Miles

The run will continue with departure at 8 a.m. sharp.

Orofino - Kamiah – Kooskia – Lochsa Lodge – Lolo – Florence – Victor – Hamilton – Darby – Sula – Salmon

Overnight lodging will be in Salmon at The Stagecoach Inn, 201 Riverfront Drive, (208) 756-2919.  Each rider is responsible for making their own reservation.

• Saturday July 25      251 Miles

The run will continue with departure at 8 a.m. sharp.

Salmon – Challis – Stanley – Lowman – Crouch – Banks – Horseshoe Bend – Boise

This ride is open to OMC members and who they invite.

The ride is limited to 10 riders.

The details have been posted at ogresmotorcycleclub.com.

OMC November Meeting Report

The OMC meeting for November commenced more or less on time at the Clubhouse.  Those present were: Bomber, G-Man, Grim, Rip City, Krome, Big Easy, and Smooth (belatedly).  There were two red motorcycles and two black motorcycles ridden to the meeting.  You can figure out who.  Not present:  Duke and Zeus.

Excellent pizza was furnished and we had soda pop served in Idaho snow.  Sometimes I bring enough pizza and sometimes not enough.  This time was not enough.

The Prez handed out a great primer on Group Riding and all were encourage to read it carefully as it is the sheet of music we will sing on in the future.

G-Man regaled us about the wonderful 2100 mile, 4 day ride that he and Big Easy went on last week.  Boy, a long ride like that would have been fun especially with part of Route 66 on it.  He even showed video of the ride including how he was able to ride upside down.  Boy, that was fun to watch.

G-Man also read from a website about a rival motorcycle club that he wanted to patch over to.  No three piece patches for me.  We again discussed that we had a one piece patch to differentiate the OMC from outlaw motorcycle gangs.

We then discussed how different rides had different purposes.

The three OMC sanctioned rides are designed as a mix of riding and socializing.  The number one rule for the three OMC sanctioned rides is that no member may be excluded by the design of the ride.

Wild four day rides for 2100 miles are for another purpose and I, for one, love Iron Butts and long such rides when that is the purpose and mission of the ride.  I will ride them all whenever I can.

The members discussed doing a ride to Sturgis or Hot August Nights as a substitute for the OMC Summer Run but after much discussion we found neither of those rides fit the mission.  Details for the Summer Run are forthcoming in the next couple of days.  Separate non-sanctioned rides to the aforementioned destinations are still open for discussion and I, for one, would love to do both.

Bomber won the door prize of a combat survival knife dressed in black and blue.

A New Years Day ride is planned.  Thus far it was decided we will meet at the Egg Factory by the Idaho Center.  Weather  permitting, we will ride down to Givens Hot Springs for a dip in the warm water.  More to follow.

The meeting was concluded when Krome and Rip City noticed it was past their respective bedtimes and their bikes would turn into pumpkins if they did not depart.

The next official OMC meeting is January 8th.

OMC Meeting Thursday November 6th at 7 p.m.

Prototype

Our November OMC Meeting will be held day after tomorrow at the Fairview Clubhouse.  Food and drink will be provided.  We will start promptly at 7 p.m.

Get Your Kicks.......On Route 66

Two OGRES took a took a very quick 2100 mile ride along part of Route 66 over the weekend...

Pretty easy with 80 (near 90) MPH Freeways in Idaho and Utah...

G-Man...

OMC Meeting November 6th, 2014 at Fairview Clubhouse

The next mandatory OMC Meeting will be held at 7 p.m. at the Fairview Clubhouse.  Only members in good standing are invited.  Food and drink will be provided.

2015 OMC Events and Runs

2015 O.M.C. Events and Runs

2015 OMC Mandatory Meeting Dates

January 8 

March 5

May 7

July 2

September 4 (Barbecue)

November 5

All meetings are at the Fairview Clubhouse at 7 p.m. unless otherwise notified.  

OMC Members only.

OMC Challis Spring Run 2015

• Friday June 5

The run will begin promptly at the Chevron at 8:00 a.m. at Gowen Rd. and I-84.

Boise - Mountain Home - Carey - Arco.

Lunch will be at Pickles in Arco.

Arco - Mackay - Challis.

Overnight lodging will be at Challis Hot Springs for the first 8 guests who make reservations. Call the Challis Hot Springs at (208) 879-4442. Get your own reservations.  The remaining riders will make arrangements to stay in town. 

Bring money to pay for dinner which will be prepared and served at Challis Hot Springs.

• Saturday June 6

Breakfast will be at Challis Hot Springs. All but those 8 lucky folks who made reservations will have to pay for breakfast at the Hot Springs or eat in town.

We will depart at a time set by the Ride Captain. Time is needed for soaking in the pool. Bring swim suit.

Challis - Stanley - Lowman - Crouch.

Lunch will be in Crouch.

Banks - Horseshoe Bend - Boise.

This run is open only to OMC members and who they invite.

OMC Hagerman Summer Run 2015

• Friday July 24th

The run will begin with breakfast at the Garage Cafe in Notus, Idaho at 8 a.m.

Notus - Wilder - Marsing - Murphy - Grandview - Glenns Ferry - Hagerman.

Overnight lodging will be at Billingsley Creek Lodge (208) 837-4822 or Hagerman Valley Inn at (208) 837-6196.  Get your own reservations.

• Saturday July 25th

Breakfast will be at the Oxbow Inn in Bliss, Idaho

Bliss - Gooding - Bellevue - Ketchum - Redfish Lake.

Lunch will be at Redfish Lake.

Redfish Lake - Stanley - Lowman - Banks - Horseshoe Bend - Boise.

This ride is only open to OMC members and who they invite.

OMC Joseph Fall Run 2015

• Friday August 28th

The ride will begin with breakfast at the Garage Café in Notus, Idaho at 8 a.m.

Notus - Parma - Nyssa - Baker City - Haines - Elgin.

Lunch will be at the White Horse Cafe in Elgin.

Elgin - Wallowa - Enterprise - Joseph.

Dinner will be at the Stubborn Mule in Joseph.

Overnight lodging will be at the Indian Lodge Motel (541-432-2651) in Joseph, Oregon. Each rider must make their own reservations.

• Saturday August 29th

Breakfast will be at the Cheyenne Cafe.

Joseph - Pine Creek - Hells Canyon - Cambridge. 

Lunch will be at Mrs. G’s Roadhouse in Cambridge.

Cambridge - Weiser - Payette - Sand Hollow - Middleton.

This ride is open only to OMC members and who they invite.

This calendar will also be posted at www.ogresmotorcycleclub.com.

OGRES Garage Party aka OMC September Meeting

Back Row: Bomber, G-Man, Rip City, Big Easy, Smooth, Grim and Duke
Front Row: Brenda, Sherry, Stephanie, Kay, Pat and Jeannelle

Members gathered at Bomber and Bomber's Babe's (BB) crib Friday day with the weather cooperating beautifully.  Present:  Bomber, G-Man, Rip City, Big Easy, Smooth, Grim and Duke.  Not present: Krome and Zeus.

Duke gets high marks for being the only OMC member that showed up on his Harley.  All had challenge coins for the challenge except Rip City.  This made easy choosing the member who offered the blessing and prayer.

After initial greetings, we were ushered into the garage where delicious hors d'oeuvres were awaiting.  After munching on those a bit, we all sat down for the meal orchestrated by BB.  The room was appropriately decorated in Harley-Davidson colors.  No Indian colors but that was okay as Rip City showed up wearing the aforementioned colors.  The food was top notch and I would go into more detail but I can't spell the names of the dishes.

We have often remarked how unusual it is for the all members of the OMC to really get along with each other.  It is even more remarkable all the wives also get along so well.

After eating the fine repast in the hallowed orange and black hall, the assemblage moved to the sumptuous patio.  Photos were taken and dessert was served.  The dessert was also delicious and it was noticed that most tried both the chocolate pecan pie and the torte.

Three mule deer showed up in the grass while the group was conversating.  Yeah, it might be a word. I was suddenly hungry for venison but BB was not keen on shooting family so I put my gat away.  After staring at us for a while, the white tails went on their way after eating their fill of bird seed.

Thanks to Bomber and Brenda for opening their home to a bunch of OGRES and facilitating such a great evening.  Brenda had special gifts for the girls and they went home happy.  The Prez was last to leave as I hated to end such a great evening.

See you in November.  Or sooner.

Oh.  And it is not easy to guess what brand of bike Rip City rides.  Although he has plenty of nicknames,  He Who Kicks Rocks was the hit of the party.

Rip City aka He Who Kicks Rocks

OGRES Garage Party Tomorrow Night !!!

OMC Run Rules

Rip City

What happens on the Run.....Stays on the Run......Er......Oops......Too late.

2014 OMC Joseph Fall Run

Dan (guest), Bomber, Smooth, Lee (guest), Grim, G-Man, Rip City

The gang met at the Garage Cafe in Notus to begin the ride.  Present: Rip City, G-Man, Grim, Smooth and Bomber.  Not present: Duke, Zeus, Big Easy and Krome.

The crew exchanged the usual jibes and greetings before enjoying a nice breakfast.  We then rolled away on the way to our latest adventure.  As we rolled away, it appeared all were ready although G-Man was just putting on his helmet prior to climbing on his bike.  We were used to this as it was not unusual for G-Man to be still primping when everyone else was started up and rolling.  (Sound of a phonograph needle ripping across a vinyl record.)  As we rolled away, the pack was noticeably short of the 7 members.  We looked over our shoulders and could see us being waved back to the cafe.

G-Man's "Old Blue" had failed him for the first time and would not fire up.  A quick call to Carl, at Boise Cycle, rewarded us with an educated guess that it was the crank position sensor judging from G-Man's most recent motorcycle check-up.  We reluctantly left G-Man in our rear-view mirrors but I knew he would catch up somehow.

We rolled through the countryside through Midvale and over through Payette.  We then headed up through the backroads and along the river. There was a moment of "rolling silence" as we passed through Huntington and the site of the "Kid Rock" near disaster of a year ago.  We rolled on up through small towns and burroughs and jumped on the freeway for a short jump to Baker City.

We stopped at Baker City for fuel and encountered a couple of guys on 100th Anniversary Ultra Classics.  Ironically, one of the bikes had stopped charging.  We sounded very savvy and experienced as we told them it was either the stator or the regulator.  (Flashback to two years ago where we had the same adventure with Bomber's bike in the same town!)  One of the bikers jumped on his bike and headed to the same little ATV/motorcycle/RV shop where we had found the regulator for Bomber's bike.  Truth is stranger than fiction.

We rolled on down the road passing through Haines, Union, Cove and ended up in Elgin for lunch at the White Horse Cafe.  We landed right in the middle of a female birthday party with the four participants being in their 60s and 70s.  They were surprised when one of the members made a fuss over the birthday girl and gave her enthusiastic birthday well wishes.  We had a great lunch and Rip City bore the brunt of the friendly jibes and ribbing since G-Man was not present.  We called G-Man and he was enjoying a nice ride in the AAA tow truck delivering "Old Blue" to the dealer.

We rolled on up the road passing through Wallowa, Enterprise and finally Joseph.  The traffic was unbelievably light and it almost seemed as though we had the road to ourselves.  It was the most peaceful, serene and relaxing leg of a run I had ever experienced.  It did not feel like the 270 miles that it was.  Even with the late start, it was the earliest we had ever arrived in Joseph.

Sometime during this leg of the adventure, we found out, over the new-fangled wireless telephone, that G-Man had the crank position sensor (great call Carl) replaced on his RK and was headed our way at warp speed.

We checked in to Walter Brennan's Indian Lodge Motel and put our gear away.  We headed downtown to do our tin sign shopping and chocolate shoppe stop.

The sign shop and hardware store have changed and moved but we found some tin signs that were perfect for Smooth, Bomber and even an Indian sign for Rip City.  Even though he said his wall was full, Rip City could not pass the Indian sign up.  I can't blame him.

Rip and Cherokee

We went over to the chocolate shoppe and I spent $3.50 for three little pieces of chocolate.  They were very good, however.  The high prices do keep one from overeating.  We then stopped by the custom t-shirt shoppe.  As luck would have it, the shop had some very cool "Highway to Hell" t-shirts commemorating the road through Hell's Canyon.  Unbelievably, the motorcycle celebrated on the t-shirt was a vintage Indian motorcycle.  Very cool t-shirt for only $15 bucks.  Rip City and Smooth got a special 2 t-shirt price for $30.  Wow!  I had to pass on the t-shirt as my size was out in the sleeveless version.

Unfortunately, the fly store shop still had not restocked any foreskin shirts.  Dang it.

After that special find, we sauntered back down Main Street to the motel.  We had only been lounging around drinking Diet Coke for a few minutes when G-Man rolled into the parking lot rejoining the band of OGRES.

We headed over to the Stubborn Mule for our annual visit and found a table.  We got our orders in and settled down for the longest wait in the history of mankind (or womankind).  After several eons, I stood up to stretch my legs on the front sidewalk and my ploy worked.  As I stepped in, our food finally arrived.  However, I was rewarded with the best ribeye steak and mashed potatoes I had scarfed down at this restaurant.  I enjoyed the peach pie also.  As I look around, most everyone must have been satisfied as the plates were empty.

There is a rumor that after dinner, a random card game broke out in Rip City's room.  It was especially handy that Rip City chose a chair with both mirrors in the room at this back.  It was a very fun game, so I heard, and there were many, many bad beats involving high powered hands.  Lee was down to a buck and rallied after whining about never winning a hand.  Dan was the first one out and I might have ended up with the most overage, barely, over the hot card shark Lee.  For the first time in memory, Rip City ended up with chips in front of him that weren't made of potatoes although he was short of what he started with.  Smooth was his usually unflappable self and ended up 45 cents ahead.

Everyone enjoyed a peaceful slumber except for Dan.  Next door to him was an amorous couple who made for a less than peaceful nights sleep.

First thing in the morning, we found that Dan's bike would not start.  Fortunately, this was not a new problem and Dan was sure, after the dew dried off the bike in the sun, that it would start.  It did.  We went down to the Cheyenne cafe and enjoyed a nice breakfast.  We got there just in the nick of time as the cafe filled completely and quickly after our arrival.  Unfortunately, the owner was the only waitress and it took a while getting our breakfast.  Again, I gotta get used to the small town pace.  We got the "stink eye" from  a group of the regulars as we had the big table that they required.  Or they were put off by the sight of wild motorcycle outlaws.

We collected our motorcycles and headed to Hells Canyon.  We had been warned several times the road to Hells Canyon and Pine Creek was gravelly and potholed worse than normal.  I had dismissed the warnings as the road has always been a bit of a challenge with the potholes, switchbacks and shadow changes.  But the road was under construction with large stretches of gravel and increased potholes and pavement break-ups.  The group elected to skip stopping at the Hells Canyon overlook and we stopped at Scotty's at Pine Creek instead.  The road between Joseph and Pine Creek was more challenging with the washboard gravel stretches but still a great run.

We sauntered in to Scotty's and grabbed beverages and snacks.  G-Man quickly jumped on the Scotty's wife and scolded her for not getting the remodeling done that she had detailed the last time we were through the area.  He succeeded in making her irate for the rest of us to interface with her.  Wow, how rude!  Rip City then picked on me for being extra nice to her to try to mend the fences.  It's no wonder I am retiring in 8 working days and they still have their noses to the grindstone.  People skills, people !

We then headed out after talking to several guys on cross country/dual sport bikes.  We told them about the road we had just passed and they just giggled as it sounded to them like a super highway compared to where they had been riding.  Oh well, I will stick to good old smooth pavement.  Not a fan of gravel.

The rolling rabble continued down past the reservoir and across the bridge back into Idaho.  The ride between Pine Creek and Cambridge was extremely enjoyable with the sweeping rolling curves and topography making riding the steel steed a dream.

We rolled into Cambridge where we stopped at our usual cafe, Mrs. G's Ranch House.  We made our way into the usual back room with the big round table making us feel decidedly like King Arthur's knights of the Round Table.  I have no doubt that Galahad and Lancelot received a lot better service.  Or maybe it's just me needing to adjust to slow small town pace after the fast pace of the City.  It didn't help that I wasn't completely concise about my order.  Uggh...brown gravy.  The peach pie was good, though.

We grabbed gas at the Sinclair that had reopened since the divorce closing event of the previous year.  It was easy going down to Weiser where we picked up Joy (Dan's wife) as she waited on her Street Glide to join us.  We continued on to Payette, where I missed the turn to highway 52 to head towards Middleton.  The signal light threw me along, with the 52, as I was looking for a Highway 30 sign.  I'll just stick with the sergeant half brain explanation.

Then a nice run on Highway 52 over to where it turns into Sand Hollow road as we dodged the old folks in the Lincoln, the cowboy-hatted caballero in the Ford F150, the hay hauling semi truck and the tanker truck.  As we dodged the folks leaving the church, we rolled into the Shell station at the junction of Highway 44/30 for the goodbye stop.

Final goodbyes, handshakes, hugs, lies and jibes were exchanged before the crew went their ways home or to church meetings.  What a great 480 mile ride with such a great gang.  I left wishing this was not the last official run for the year.

I am proud to be an member of the OGRES and wear the cut proudly.  Old Guys Rule!

Boise Cycle's Harley of the Month

Duke and his 2010 Harley-Davidson Tri-Glide