Hard to believe March is here, and with it, the stirrings of spring. Spring rides are always an iffy proposition, especially with the quirky winter that’s still been with us. As I write this, it’s still February and I’m watching the Winter Olympics—I’m usually a fan of figure skating, but this time, the half-pipe snowboarders are just grabbing my attention! And here I am, enjoying an 82-degree weekend ride. Go figure, SoCal! And since it’s technically winter, I’ve got some winter bike nights for you if you’re thinking this meet-up stuff only happens in the summer! For Thursdays you have: Laguna Hills Cycle Gear at 23052 Lake Forest Dr. in, you guessed it, Laguna Hills; Original Mike’s, 100 S. Main St. in Santa Ana from 7:00–11:00 p.m.; Malarkey’s Grill, 168 N. Marina Dr. in Long Beach 6:00–9:00 p.m.; Bike Night on the Bay, 168 N. Marina Dr. in Long Beach from 6:00–9:00 p.m.; and in Newport at Haute Cakes Caffe European Bikes, 1807 Westcliff Dr., starting at 7:00 p.m… On Tuesdays you have Sancho’s Tacos Bike Night/Street Fair at 602 E. PCH in Huntington Beach starting at 5:30 p.m., and at Don the Beachcomber, 16278 Pacific Coast Hwy., also in Huntington Beach, from 6:00–9:00 p.m… And on Wednesdays you have: the ever-popular Bike Night at the Starting Gate restaurant, 5052 Katella Ave. in Los Alamitos from 6:00–10:00 p.m.; Cook’s Corner, 19152 Santiago Canyon Rd. in Trabuco Canyon from 6:30–11:00 p.m.; Beach Burgers, 19102 Beach Blvd. in Huntington Beach at 7:00 p.m.; and Breakaway Sports Lounge, 2106 N. Tustin Ave. in Santa Ana from 6:00–9:00 p.m. All these folks support us bikers (or they may be making a buck, but they’re still supporting us!), so get out there and meet your friends and make some new ones!… Hiya to Carl Hoffman—how’s it going? Long time, no hear!… Congrats to San Diego Indian Motorcycles on their new shop at 2400 Kettner Blvd. in San Diego. Best wishes for a successful entry into the occasionally cursed Indian dealership. We’ll all do our best to support you, won’t we, folks?… Howdy to my “almost a co-worker” Dominic Krutzfeld from LKQ Fresno. Also a hiya to biker boss Randy Wittig, head honcho for SoCal LKQ… Speaking of biker buddies in the wrecking biz, gotta say I miss you guys. Rev Leroy at ABC in San Francisco, we’ll chat again—one of these days. Dave Warren at Higgin’s in Bakersfield, at least I see you on Facebook, but it’s not the same!… Not a wrecker, but a great biker bud, Ms. Halle Fetty always fills me in on the Low Desert happenings. She was very instrumental in the Accident Scene Management Inc. Bystander Assistance classes in Indio. There were 19 graduates in the Basic class and nine more in the Advanced class at the IPAC (Indio Performing Arts Center). Halle says she is so proud and happy to bring these awesome classes to the desert. Great job to all who participated!… As usual, I’ve got a bunch o’ March birthday wishes. This month, Happy Birthdays go to my always-helpful CREW friend Jackie Ray! Also Crystal Morrison; hope your day is a blessed one. Miss Cookie Lee/LOC Chair Susie Jarvis, hope your March 11 is a special one, with hopes that it finds you well on your way to recovery from your recent shoulder surgery. CREW member Kathy Moldenhaur, hope your March 28 is a great day! One of my favorite Ladies of Harley, Christine Vanyo, I know your sweetie Ron will see that your birthday is an extra special day for you! Same goes for Denise Goyette; I know that Emy and the grandkids will make sure you have a sweet day! Anita Aguirre, I’m sure Gabe’s got a fun day planned out for you, too! Diana Ontiveros, hope your birthday is all is should be. Geno Markese, you have an awesome birthday. Lee Chandrasena, owner of Best Buys Publishing, your friends all want you to have a fun birthday, too. Raylene Massoudi, have a good one, right there along with CJ (Massoudi)—it’s a lot of work sharing a birth month, isn’t it? Same for Julie Pizzitola; hope you have a good day. (Julie works her butt off for the American Cancer Society—running the Relays for Life.) Brian Welsh, formerly of Valley V-Twin, have a good birthday. Sharlene Cross and Sam DiMatteo—you guys have an awesome birthday! Not exactly in my area, but Stoney Cox of Texas and Sandra Simmons of Sydney, Australia, hope you guys have fun birthdays!… Also, Deborah Mennig, and CJ and Raylene Massoudi all celebrate their anniversary in March so congrats on that, too! And lastly, congratulations to Rhonda and hubby Rick Brogden on your upcoming grandbaby… March 1 is Employee Appreciation Day (oh, yeah, I’m looking forward to that happening!). St. Patrick’s Day is on the 17th, so please, don’t get bold thinking you can drink all that green beer and still ride! And National Mom and Pop Business Owners Day is on the 29th. That’s it for me this month. You know the routine—send me your stuff! Biker-friendly joints, salons, etc. See you all next month! Enjoy your ride!
