Hi BMW Club,
I hope you enjoyed many colorful autumn rides as we wrap up 2024. Here is the latest news about our club.
Club Elections
Our club election is open and it's time to select our 2025 board of directors. Voting started November 14 and you can vote until December 1 using an anonymous online survey at our website (You will need to log in first):
2025 BMWMOCM Officer Elections
We will have new leadership in 2025: Jeff Ricker is running unopposed for president and Terry Stirewalt is his running mate as vice president. Vice President Beth Forristall and I have really enjoyed leading the club for the past three years, and we appreciate all of your support.
As you will see in the election survey, we have six candidates for three open “at large” board positions:
-- Two candidates will serve a two-year term. They replace Daniel Maki and Daniel Degallier, who are completing their terms.
-- One candidate will replace Dan Elasky, who is stepping down after the first year of his two-year term. Dan spends much of the year in Arizona, and is not currently riding. When he saw the great list of board candidates, he decided to let someone else take his place. Dan is still an active member of our club and will continue to coordinate our club mileage contest with Steve Handeland.
I look forward to moving to my new role as past president, and working with our new club leadership. Speaking of which, thanks to Greg Fetter for serving our club as past president for three years. With Jeff Ricker taking over as president, I become the past president and Greg is officially out of a job. (Don't worry. We will keep Greg plenty busy working on the Hiawatha Rally, club elections, and other special assignments.)
Club Rides and Events
We wrapped up the 2024 riding season with several great events:
-- The weekday camping SIG (special interest group) attended the Pure Stodge Rally in Elkader, Iowa September 20-22 . Thanks to Curt Henry for organizing our camping SIG this year.
-- Steve Handeland, Chuck Banks, and Chuck Bushnell led excellent club rides in late September and October.
-- Our annual fall color ride event was October 18-20 in Trempealeau, Wisconsin. Next year's fall color ride will be back at the Little Bluff Inn September 11-14, 2025. If you are planning to attend, please email Chuck Bushnell at rbike.chuck@icloud.com by June 1, 2025. We need three months advance notice to make a group reservation for dinner Friday or Saturday night.
-- We had a great turnout October 27 for the end of the mileage contest. About 25 people joined Dan Elasky and Steve Handeland at the Ox Yoke Inn in Maple Plain. They are still doing the number crunching, but Dan estimates that our club total for 2024 is between 300,000 and 400,000 miles. Thanks to everyone who participated! We will announce the final results at our winter banquet.
Hiawatha Rally
We are actively planning our 48th annual Hiawatha Rally, which will be May 30 to June 1, 2025. We desperately need volunteers to make our rally successful. Please email rally chairs Dan Maki at pdmaki@msn.com and Owen Applequist at owen.applequist@gmail.com to see how you can help.
One critical position: we need a volunteer to partner with Daniel Degallier as co-chair of our door prize campaign for both the banquet and the rally.
Good news: Dan Maki stopped by Money Creek in September and the main restroom/shower facility is finally done.
Lane Filtering
The new lane filtering law takes effect in Minnesota July 1. 2025. Our club is working with Phil Stalboerger (club member and national MOA luminary) to promote the law and educate both riders and non-riders about the changes.
Thanks to Thomas Rieck for creating this nice page on our club website, which introduces the law.
Accident Statistics
Our treasurer, Chuck Banks, received sobering motorcycle crash statistics from an MSF (Motorcycle Safety Foundation) contact. The MSF instructor asked us to pass on these statistics to our club:
-- Halfway through October, Minnesota already had 66 rider fatalities compared to 61 for all of 2023.
-- Motorcyclists comprise 18.6% of roadway deaths but historically represent under 2% of road use miles.
Toys for Tots
Our annual Toys for Tots collection will be December 12 at Rosetown American Legion. Bring one or more unwrapped toys to share with children in need. We will serve pizza and salad.
Club Banquet
Our annual winter banquet will be Saturday February 1 at the Lost Spur Event Center in Eagan. We will open registration for the banquet as we get closer to the winter holidays.
Thanks,
Tim Schwartz
BMWMOCM President