Mid State Riders of PA Chapter Meeting
Sunday, February 9, 2025 @ 1:30 PM
Sunset West Restaurant, Pleasant Gap, PA
Attendees: Doug Madenford, Marty Mondock, Jay Bartlett, Bruce Dimon, Chris Clark, Beth Clark, Randall Bock, Dan Naperman, and Tara Mondock
The February meeting began with introductions around the table – both Doug and Bruce were first time attendees.
Talk soon progressed to the plethora of upcoming events, including Winter Cycle Therapy at the Curtiss Museum in Hammondsport, NY February 22-23, 2025. Currently, Chris, Beth, and Marty are planning to attend.
The next event discussed – as an opportunity to scope out potential new bikes! – is the open house event planned at Hermy's BMW in Port Clinton, PA. The event description on Facebook includes the following note: “We'll be serving a delicious hot breakfast around 10, so make the trip out and enjoy food, in store specials, exciting new models, and hopefully some warmer temperatures!”
Marty mentioned that Joe Tavini – who attended the January meeting – has suggested hosting a tech day and well as a very appealing “Towanda Taco Tour,” that could be made into an overnight/weekend event. (Beth will bring the antacids! 
)
Bruce brought up two events he’s planning to attend that he thought others may be interested in, both of which are hosted by the BMW Motorrad Club of Washington, DC.
- The first event is the Eastern Shore Campout at Martinak State Park the weekend of May 9-11, 2025. Camping will be in the A-Loop and Bruce promised it’s “a weekend of eating seafood!” More information can be found here: https://bmw2.org/event/eastern-shore-campout-2025/
- The second event is the Square Root Rally June 5-8, 2025 (Thursday-Sunday) in Sabillasville, MD. More information can be found here: https://bmw2.org/srr/
We discussed our developing logo. Bruce mentioned having some experience with logo development, particularly incorporating the Moto Man into a logo.
Discussion moved to improving riding skills, whether that’s purposefully observing and critiquing each other on a ride or enrolling in the local intermediate (IRC) or advanced riding courses (ARC). Currently, the State College training location (https://www.learntoridepa.com/locations/state-college-pa) is only showing basic riding courses (BRCs). Chris mentioned Bret Tkacs’ website and videos for self-study and entertainment: https://brettkacs.com/learn-to-ride-at-home/
The need for new gear was briefly discussed, including the feasibility of ordering gear from Europe! Even with shipping, it CAN be cheaper…as long as you can be patient waiting for it to arrive.
Talk turned to GPS devices and navigation systems. Among the suggestions and recommendations was Chigee (https://www.chigee.com/).
Everyone was encouraged to JOIN THE CLUB (https://bmwmoaf.givingfuel.com/midstatepa). Once you do, you will be added to the private Facebook page and to the club group text.
The next meeting is Sunday, March 9, 2025 at 1:30 PM at Sunset West Restaurant in Pleasant Gap, PA.