Welcome to all you new members who have just recently joined Rose City Motorcycle Club. We hope you will feel welcome and join in on the activities and fun we schedule for you throughout the year. We encourage you to come to our monthly breakfast meetings on the third Saturday of each month at HomeTown Buffet 13500 Sw Pacific Hwy Tigard, Oregon at 8 a.m. There is usually at least a half-day ride after breakfast for those who want to ride with some friends.

We have just completed another successful year, thanks to all the wonderful RCMC members. The type setting for the Annual FunPac is completing and going to the printer the first week of January and will be mailed to 10,000 folks the first two weeks of January 2012. Our Event dates (OR250, OR500, WS1000) are set for the 2012 riding season. The 250, 500, 1000 were very well attended last year (2011) and we expect a great riding season in 2012. I'm hoping for another record setting Grand Tour in 2012. We had almost 450 books out there in 2011.

Club membership is over 200 and growing. Den wants to get our membership over 220 members in 2012. Part of being a member of RCMC is our member benefit. Beaverton Motorcycles is continuing to give RCMC members 20% on most parts & accessories. Please show your RCMC membership card to the dealership folks before you start your transaction. And, "PLEASE" if you don't have your RCMC membership card do not insist on your discounts or try to get a discount after your purchase has been made. Thanks for being a positive RCMC member.

Den and fellow RCMC members attended the ABATE Shrine Toy Run in near perfect weather. Many thanks to all of you who helped with everything that RCMC accomplished in 2011. I want to thank again all those who gave of their time and energy to help with the 250, 500, & 1000. Without such a wonderful group of individuals, RCMC would not be what it has grown in to today. All members are necessary to build our wonderful RCMC heart and soul. It is my privilege to be the President of such a wonderful organization. Thank you for sharing you time and your spirit with me.

This was a sad year for RCMC with the passing of Don Snyder and our beloved newsletter editor Susan Wood. Both are being missed. The RCMC Board of Directors confirmed Bonny Wagoner as our new newsletter editor at the December board meeting. Please welcome her and send your riding stories and want ads to her at bonnywagoner@msn.com.

From the 2011 Seattle Bike Show -

This year's December Seattle Bike Show was in a new (old) location this year, back at the Washington State Convention Center where it had been many years ago. It was hard to judge if this is year's show was actually smaller than last year, since they spread it out over two different showrooms (buildings) connected by a causeway. But it "felt" smaller. That said, those of us that went had a good time!

My big worry is declining attendance. It is a vicious cycle - declining attendance results in smaller shows that result in declining attendance. It is completely possible to lose this annual event altogether. I hope not. But the motorcycle industry is under great economic pressure like everything else. Time will tell the tale I guess. I just hope there will be a show next year.

A couple of quick reminders:

1. The 28th annual Polar Bear Run is this Sunday - New Year's Day. The current forecast from FOX12 is partly sunny with a high of 48 degrees!

    Ride begins at:
            Cycle Gear
            SE 89th and Stark St.
            Portland, Oregon 503-257-7047
            Sign-in and on-site registration:
            10:00am - 12:00pm
        Registration
            $10 for rider
            $15 for rider and passenger
        T-Shirts
            Long sleeve and short sleeve T-Shirts (with this year's Polar Bear Run artwork) will be available for sale.
            Long sleeve - $20 Short sleeve - $15
        RCMC Breakfast meet-up before sign-in at 8:30 AM at the Village Inn - 102nd and SE Stark.
        Village Inn (503) 256-2380
        10301 SE Stark St., Portland, OR 97216

2. The next event is the Beaverton Motorcycles annual Sweetheart Ride Valentine's Day Celebration on February 13th.
    February 13, 2012, SWEETHEART RUN
        SPONSOR: Beaverton Motorcycles
        BENEFIT: The Providence Brain & Spinal Institute

As always, any questions? Please ask!

Best wishes for an excellent New Year in 2012!

I hope everyone had a great Christmas with their families and friends. I know we did. Wishing you a very safe and happy New Year.

Not much going on right now on the social scene for RCMC. The Christmas party seemed to be a big success. There were about 60 people and everyone seemed to have a great time. The food was delicious. Thanks to all who attended.

I also want to thank everyone who volunteered and helped with all the social activities in 2011. We had a lot of good times, good food, and good fellowship with our members. Everything always turns out better and is more fun for everyone if everyone pitches in and helps.

About the only information I can pass on right now is about the two camp outs for 2012. The Memorial Day campout will be held at Silver Falls State Park. The address is 20024 Silver Falls Highway, SE, Sublimity, Oregon 97385. The reservations are from Thursday, May 24 through Monday, May 28. Our site numbers are B3, B5, and B7.

The Labor Day campout will be at Cape Lookout State Park in Tillamook. The dates are Thursday, August 30 check in and departure is on Monday, September 3. Our site numbers are A39, A40, A41, and A42.

Send your articles, advertisements and notices to: bonnywagoner@msn.com

Sometimes you can live your life in one area and not realize you have some of the best sights to see right in your own backyard. Take for instance, the collection of covered bridges throughout the state of Oregon. I can't tell you how many times I hear here at home, "Covered bridges? I didn't know we had any." We have a tremendous resource right around us for some pretty cool adventures not far away (and it's not just bridges but that's for another story altogether). I can tell from the blog I began several years ago to share my covered bridge adventures there is great interest in these bridges in Europe (two hits in Europe for each one in the U.S.).

As a starting point for my bridge adventures, I used the information on the state of Oregon website to locate the remaining inventory of covered bridges. One thing to keep in mind, the website has not been maintained much since around 2003 so bridges like the Wimer are posted as washed out and a total loss as of 2005. The picture on top was taken in November 2011 so things change. And those GPS coordinates they give for the bridge location... well, my best advice is to follow the driving directions to get to the bridge and use the GPS information as just a generic reference point for where it is keeping in mind the coordinates were published back when locations were considered accurate within a half mile of the actual location.

I can say my adventures seeking out these bridges have been a lot of fun for me over the years. I admit it's a rather unique hobby. In my opinion any adventure that enriches my life experience is worth it. This has been absolutely so worth it for me. I've visited places I would not have gone to in my normal travels and added to my wish list of places to explore more.

The clock is ticking so if you have an interest in seeing these historic bridges, get to it! One of the bridges I checked out in southern Oregon this past fall was closed to visitors because it failed its structural inspection just days before we stopped to look at it. Some of the bridges are beautifully maintained, some are struggling in the budget crunch for maintenance dollars. I leave something in the donation boxes when I visit and try to support the local areas around the bridges by stopping for a snack or fuel or some such.

http://nw-covered-bridges.blogspot.com/