Almost another riding year behind us, brothers and sisters; we made it. Please give thanks that the crazies didn’t get us, and remember those in your prayers that did not make it… On Wednesday, September 11, 2013, Larry Tingley, longtime service manager at Sandy’s Harley-Davidson in Freemont, Michigan, lost his life in a motorcycle-deer accident. Larry, a very popular and well-liked employee, was also the pilot of the V-Rod Destroyer dealership race team. He won the All Harley Drags at Muskegon Bike Time, as well as setting a personal best time of 9.63 seconds at 137 mph at Stanton Dragway. Larry took his last ride on Sunday, September 29, with 190 of his friends while leading the pack in a Harley hearse. R.I.P., Larry, you are loved by many… After all was said and done at the Sturgis Rally, City Manager Daniel Ainslie reported that after expenses the city took in $547,000; more than the 2012 rally. Usually the city contributes $15,000 to the varied Sturgis Rally charities, but this year the city decided to help some of the local ranchers that were hit by the early October blizzard. Some of you donated freely; Shadow for one, and others that might have gotten into a little jam—you all helped. Half of the monies go to the Meade County producers and half to Sturgis businesses to recover from the storm. There; don’t you feel better already?… William Rogers and Dennis Hardwick have been charged with stealing thousands of pounds of copper wire from the Harley-Davidson Pilgrim Road Powertrain facility in Menomonee Falls. They made off with 46 spools of wire valued at about $65,000. Rogers was an employee at the facility and admitted they usually stole the wire on Sundays, selling it to buy crack. Hardwick said he didn’t receive any money. Both face up to 10 years in prison and $25,000 in fines. Where they are going, the term “pass the pipe” has a whole new meaning… Ohio State Patrol Trooper Jacob Daymon who ran into the back of the motorcycle of Corey and Amy Waldman has been charged with “Failure to Maintain Assured Clear Distance;” a misdemeanor, folks. The Greene County Grand Jury declined to indict him on felony charges, probably because the Waldmans do not hold any hard feelings. I hope we all agree that this is the best resolution to the incident… A Pekin City, Illinois, police officer did not need a radar gun to determine that Adam Lester (26) was speeding, because the blur was probably the first clue. The officer gave chase and determined Lester was going 140 mph as he screamed down a highway and tried to hide behind a bar and bowling alley. When the officer approached him, Lester was wearing a woman’s coat. He told the officer that he “had to pee,” but he asked his 16-year-old female passenger to switch coats to try to fool the PoPo. Not. Our knight in shining armor was then taken for a slow ride to the station where he was charged with speeding, and fleeing, and endangering a juvenile passenger. It was reported that there were no accidents in the back of the cruiser… Ron Minart, owner of Mason City Harley-Davidson in Iowa, has received an award from the Iowa Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve for supporting his employees that have served in the military. One of his employees, Rick Heald (employee since 2002), survived two deployments to Iraq and when he returned home his job was waiting for him. Heald said that it was very important to know he had his job waiting for him, as most returnees have a lot on their plate and it lessens the stress… Richard Smith of Austintown, Ohio, was digging around his flowerbed next to his front porch getting ready to pour some new concrete when his shovel hit something metallic. He started digging and realized it was a motorcycle. He had heard the previous owner had buried a Zundapp (German made) somewhere in the yard back in 1961 when his son was killed on it in an accident. Smith is going to see if he can restore the old Zundapp, but if not, he will probably rebury it in the backyard… Rob Mazzocco of Milan, Illinois, had been diagnosed with end-stage metastatic colon cancer and has been given six months. His friends and family decided to put together a benefit poker run while he was still with them to help start a trust fund for the children. Rob hopped into his friend’s sidecar with his 8-year-old son on the back and off they went for the inaugural run when a car hit the motorcycle. Luckily no one was hurt. The run continued and the three of them returned to the benefit after a checkup at the hospital. “It wasn’t our time to die today, either; that’s why we’re still here,” said Rob. That’s it for this month. It’s all about you, the Midwest biker. Ride fast, but ride safe.
