If you are in the Midwest and have a run, a short anecdote, won a motorcycle, or what have you, you can see it in Mile Marker MMXI. You can e-mail me at fnabkey@msn.com or call me at 616.340.3223.

I am sitting here struggling to meet my deadline, recovering from major shoulder surgery and without the use of my right arm and hand, dictating this article to “my nurse” Judy, it occurred to me that Terry Roorda has nothing over me when it comes to nurses. ‘Cause now I can identify with his reference to his “Personal Nurse.” Thanks for the help, Judy (and Shadow) for some assistance in editing my article… Congratulations to Steve Piehl for being nominated for the J.C. (Pappy) Hoel Outstanding Achievement Award from the Sturgis Motorcycle Museum. In 1983 Steve was a college graduate and had just gotten a job with Harley-Davidson. The Motor Company came to him and wanted him to organize a factory-rider organization. A few months later H.O.G. was born. Who would have known that in less than 30 years H.O.G. would grow to over a million members?… The Hawkeye Chapter of H.O.G. recently held their 11th annual Hawkeye Chili Cook-Off in Coralville, Iowa. Nine members of the Lone Tree Fire Department judged the event, as all donations were given to the fire department. Congratulations to Dean Rogers for his chili being named top choice of the judges. He had no secret recipe or ingredient. “I just decided last night to make it. I never had a recipe; I just make it up as I go.” He is also the sales manager at Hawkeye H-D and received a chili belt which was hung on the showroom wall. Coming in 2nd and 3rd were brothers Brian and Craig Wicks, who are also H.O.G. chapter members… In February, the Harley-Davidson Museum commemorated Black History month by showcasing how African Americans have influenced the motorcycle lifestyle. The exhibit included bikes, stories and pictures of H-D legends, such as William B. Johnson, the first African American H-D dealer, and Bessie Stringfield, the first known African-American woman to ride solo across the country. How about Ben Hardy? He created one of the most famous motorcycles in the world—Captain America, for the film Easy Rider. Back in the ‘60s, it was the African-American motorcyclists that were creating and riding choppers in SoCal. Did you know that H-D is number one in sales to African-Americans?… Jim Stone, of Belton, Missouri, was so proud of his H-D 2008 limited edition Ford truck with 37,961 miles, he could hardly wait to get it home to show his buddies while visualizing how it would look hauling his $47,000 Harley Ultra. He went to Osceola, Iowa, and took it home to Missouri. One of his buddies said, “Nice fake Harley truck you got there.” According to Anchor Motors in Osceola, Iowa, he knew what he was buying but Stone is claiming otherwise. Stone has notified the Iowa Attorney General’s Office and they say that Anchor Motors has a problem, but according to Anchor Motors, there is no problem. Stone says, “Hey, I can’t complain. I am driving down the road right now in a fake truck getting a rock-solid 11.2 miles per gallon.”… Congratulations to all H-D dealerships and H.O.G. chapters in answering the challenge from The Motor Company to raise $500 each. Over $160,000 was collected from November 1 through December 31. The proceeds will go to USO (United Service Organization) to be used for packages to troops overseas in the coming year. Congratulations, Wild Prairie H.O.G chapter from Wild Prairie H-D in Eden Prairie, Minnesota, on collecting $10,853. They were honored at their chapter meeting February 9 by H-D staff and members of the military and USO. Each care package sent will include two complimentary tickets to the H-D Museum in Milwaukee, which is about 250,000 tickets total… Bobby Hartzell of St. Louis and his daughter stopped to buy some Kool-Aid, and when they came out his Harley was gone. The Morgan County Sheriff’s Department recovered it on September 21, and there it sat for months at Bill’s Towing in Jacksonville. Morgan County notified St. Louis Police who did nothing about the situation. Every time he called about anyone recovering his scoot, he was told his motorcycle was still missing. He finally got his bike back after paying Bill’s Towing $3,000 plus another $2,000 in interest on the loan. Katie O’Sullivan, spokeswoman for the St. Louis Police Department, said there had been an oversight in mailing out the owner notification forms. Both parties are working to resolve this issue… Al Ereditario, from Lorraine, Ohio, bought a “Hog for a Cause” raffle ticket at the Milan Melon Festival. He and wife Rebecca drove to Kalahari Resort for the 7th annual Girls Night-Out Event. He drove back home, and 15 minutes later received the call that he had won the 1200 Sportster XL customized and donated by Fitzgerald Body Shop of Monroeville. The big winners of the evening were the four local cancer programs: Cancer Services, Fisher-Titus Mammography Fund, Fireland’s Regional Cancer Center Fund and North Coast Cancer Foundation. This year the event raised $53,000 and since 2005, more than $238,000 has been raised through these events… The Niles Burn Run Inc. (Niles, Michigan) will hold its 11th annual Great Lakes Burn Camp Poker Run this year with more resources than ever. The former Sauk Trail Bar and Grill in Union suffered fire damage in 2010 and never re-opened. Mark Lancaster, former owner of the property, turned over the lease to the Niles Burn Run Inc. “It was a great surprise,” said Burn Run President, Doug Myers. Lancaster used to cater for the Burn Run and was impressed with their program. The property has been valued at $109,000 and will be sold to fund the Great Lakes Burn Camp and benefit its growth… Carl Blauwkamp, CEO of LaMar Construction, realized he wanted to do something for the March of Dimes after his triplets were born five weeks early in 1999 at DeVos Children’s Hospital in Grand Rapids, Michigan. One of his daughters, Madison, has a rare immune platelet disorder. On February 24, Paul Teutul Jr. unveiled a new purple chromed chopper for March of Dimes with the LaMar Construction logo. The bike build will be featured on an episode of Senior vs. Junior on the Discovery Channel in mid-March. Blauwkamp’s goal is to raise $3 million for the March of Dimes through ticket sales and publicity surrounding the bike. A statewide raffle campaign will run through November to benefit March for Babies fundraising efforts. To see this beautiful street-legal bike or to purchase tickets, go to www.marchofdimes.com/michigan… That’s it for this month, folks. It’s all about you, the Midwest biker. Ride fast, but ride safe.

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