BA-MARC Meeting Notes – June & July 2001

Summer meetings don’t compete well with good weather and riding opportunities.  Such was the case at our June meeting when attendance fell to only six hams on the table.  Though attendance was low at June's meeting, the amount of group involvement in community events was quite impressive as our chapter reached new high ground in performance and capabilities.  Here is some of what was accomplished in these two months and where we are heading:

In the beginning of June, two BA-MARC members, Larry McDonald K6ACE and Roger Rines W1RDR, assisted in the American Lung Associations “Two Rock & Roll Event” hosted in and near Petaluma and Tomales Bay area.  Two write-ups for that event, one by Larry K6ACE and one by myself are available at:
June_July2001Meetings

At the end of June, our BA-MARC group directed all of the COMM activities for the course and SAG wagon support for the Multiple Sclerosis Society’s MS-100 “Back to the Beach” fundraiser.  This was the first event where we took all the responsibility for communications and SAG wagon support and we learned a lot of stuff as we directed the activities of 10 hams, 5 SAG wagons and 6 CB equipped GoldWings.  Two write-ups for that ride (one by David Sawyer, K1DRS and one by Roger, W1RDR) are also available at:
June_July2001Meetings

Our first leadership role as communications director for an event went well as everything came together like a charm even though we competed for volunteers with Amateur Radio’s Field-Day activities that weekend.  Our success in that event earned our BA-MARC chapter rave reviews from participants and event organizers.

Early into the June meeting it was clear we needed to refocus our summer activities so we didn’t need to make the decision of whether to sit in a dimly lit room talking about riding instead of being on the road riding.  Riding is clearly more fun and the decision to ride brought up the energy of the group.  Within seconds of voting for riding we had a ride replacing our July meeting and we will try to ride after our August meeting.

July’s meeting launched our first annual “Pie Race” where we had some winners and some losers.  To get a good understanding of who did what, read the “BA-MARC Great Annual Pie Race” story when it appears in next months newsletter.  This event should be observed at least once a year so we can understand how our pie eating skills are developing.  However, it might happen more often if hunger becomes uncontrollable. 

On July 28^th, a few BA-MARC members rode route support for the Oakland Chapter of Multiple Sclerosis “Tour de Jour” Redwood City event.  This was our first invite to this event for support and our invitation came late.  The “Blackberry React” group handled communications on the course using various bands and radios from their net control location at the Seaport in Redwood City, CA.  A complete write-up on this event will be in next month’s newsletter.

October 7^th will be the date of the American Diabetes Association “America’s Walk for Diabetes” in Palo Alto, CA.  Last year, this event was the largest fundraising walk in the state, and it was 6^th in the country in terms of money raised.  Contribution for this half-day event exceeded $220,000 and our local ADA organizers think they can beat that amount this year.  BA-MARC will handle all the COMM and SAG activities for this event.  We have also been asked to handle their “Tour de Cure” event next May 2002.  We haven’t committed to the May event, but we have already been making arrangements for the October event.  Our connection with ADA event organizers came about as a result of working with a lead that MARC president John Reynolds W5JFR sent us sometime last year.

ADA’s walk will be the first event we do where no electrical power will be available for net-control activities.  Batteries often work fine for half-day events, but having a more sustainable power source like a small generator will give us better long term flexibility and endurance.  To give our group this field flexibility I’ve selected a small whisper quite (52db-59db) Honda generator. It will also come in handy when I’m staring at a black computer screen during blackout periods.  Information about this generator is available here:
https://www.mayberrys.com/honda/generator/models/eu2000i.htm

On July 29^th there was a Skyline volunteer fire department fundraiser to equip their new fire truck.  In our area, we have a chiropractor, “Doc Wong” who host Sunday morning rides that always contain a skill discussion before the ride.  These are useful sessions for those who are interested in developing their riding skills.  Most of the riders tend to be on sport or standard bikes, but occasionally a cruising or touring bike appears.  These riders don’t tend to handle the 800+ curves in this 115-mile ride well so don’t attend more than a few times.  In any event, coupled with this fundraiser, Doc Wong hosted a "Rider Skills and Survival Day at Alice's" riding clinic at our famous Alice’s Restaurant location.  There were professional riders from the national circuit and support from some of the local dealers, law enforcement and area towns.  This location isn’t good for a lot of people because of the limited space, but the idea of doing a safety clinic is long over due in this area given how many times the Skyline fire department helps to put riders in ambulances and bikes on flat beds.  In the early stages of this event we had considered supporting the communication needs, but we dropped out when our involvement wouldn’t have had much impact.  Information on this event and about Doc Wong’s Riding Clinics is available here:
June_July2001Meetings

In September we will have some form of role assignments within our group.  As we continue to grow, it is important for all members to have some influence in how we operate, and I would like to distribute some of the responsibilities within our chapter.  How this will be handled, isn’t clear, but I’m sure as a group we can talk our way through a process to make something happen.

In July, BA-MARC had it first lady ham join our ranks.  Sandra Pacheco KG6HHP was our SAG Wagon driver during our recent "Back to the Beach" M fundraiser.  When she joined us she didn't know anything about amateur radio, but decided to get her license and join us as a ham operator on future charity events.  Sandra rides a dark blue PC800 motorcycle that is in great shape.  Please join me in congratulating Sandra for being able to get her license in only three-weeks and for joining MARC

73s,
Roger…
W1RDR