Here in the Northeast, spring is in full swing, so get out there and ride! Here’s a great event for those of you who live anywhere near the Philly/Trenton area. Barb’s H-D is hosting the 6th annual Armed Forces Freedom Ride held on May 20. Signup is from 8:00–10:00 a.m. at Barb’s dealership at 926 Black Horse Pike in Collingswood, New Jersey, with a ride past the aircraft at the airfield of Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst and finishing off with a BBQ and music. Proceeds benefit the Burlington County Military Affairs Committee and the Marine Corps Law Enforcement Foundation. Go to www.armedforcesfreedomride.org to register and to find out more info… In early February, the town council of Narragansett, Rhode Island, voted unanimously to approve an ordinance that allows police officers to perform traffic stops on motorcycles that they can hear clearly from at least 200 feet away. Riders will be cited if the exhaust system on the bike isn’t factory installed. Fines start at $100 and jump to $500 for a third-time offense. Is this even legal?… New Roc Harley-Davidson in New Rochelle, New York, has changed ownership and been renamed Empire Harley-Davidson. New Dealer Principal Cooper Friend and General Manager Kyle Hildebrand had previously worked together at Green Mountain H-D in Vermont and L-A H-D in Maine. Cooper and Kyle, both longtime motorcycle enthusiasts, have relocated their families to the New Rochelle area. Stop by the dealership at 8 Industrial Lane to welcome the new guys!… Chrome TestRide, a new leasing program for Harleys, is now available at Harley-Davidson of Ocean County in Lakewood, New Jersey. Finance company Chrome Capital has partnered with H-D of Ocean County to enable the dealership’s customers to ride a Harley for two or three years with no further obligation. When the TestRide period ends, the customer can purchase the bike or simply return it to the dealer. Asa Murray, Ocean County’s dealer principal says, “We are pleased to offer leases on not only new, but used Harleys as well.” And Sales Manager Ron Mitro states, “Rider’s Edge graduates are excited about riding, and TestRide makes it really easy for them to jump on a bike at a good rate, with no-to-low down payment. Customers don’t end up with any negative equity when they want to upgrade.” Go to www.harleydavidsonofoceancounty.com or call the dealership at 732.367.7000 for more info… Boston Harley-Davidson celebrated its anniversary of one year under new ownership with a spring open house on March 24. The dealership offered free dyno runs, maintenance seminars, a H-D Fit Station that introduced their new 2012 spring fashion line, food, door prizes, and the chance to see the bikes and meet the racers with the winning team from Capone Racing Enterprises… There’s a new motorcycle club in Maine that was formed by veterans to help veterans. According to its website, the nonprofit Garry Owen MC raises money for veterans through rides and events, parties, benefit dinners and community service to help local veterans’ groups and support veterans in need. To join, you or an immediate family member must be a vet (or on active duty), and you must ride a motorcycle 750cc or greater. To find out more about this family-oriented club, check out their website at www.garryowenmc.org… On March 24, more than 200 motorcyclists rode 88 miles to bring a piece of the World Trade Center from Friends of Firefighters, an old firehouse in Brooklyn, to its new home in Princeton, New Jersey. First responder, military and other clubs and individuals took part in the escort to bring the 10-foot-long steel beam to a temporary site in Princeton until a memorial can be built, hopefully in time for the 11th anniversary of 9/11. A number of other communities in the New York/New Jersey area have also requested and received steel from the World Trade Center, and displayed them as centerpieces in memorials built to honor and remember those lost in the terrorist attacks on 9/11. For more information, email roymjames@yahoo.com… Chris Salgardo, owner of Kiehl’s, Paul Cox and several other celebrities just completed a five-day charity motorcycle ride from Las Vegas to Los Angeles. Kiehl’s Desert Run for amfAR was intended to raise funds and awareness for amfAR, the Foundation for AIDS Research. Along the way, a chopper built by Paul Cox was unveiled, and the bike, named Damian, is now the official Kiehl’s chopper to be used on all LifeRide and Desert Run trips. Salgardo also announced a $25,000 donation to amfAR. Kiehl’s, a cosmetic retailer that was founded as an apothecary in New York City’s East Village 160 years ago, has raised over $1 million for HIV/AIDS research, and has raised over $180,000 for amfAR in the past two years. If you’d like to donate to this worthy cause, one way is to purchase the Desert Run Travel Essentials Kit (100 percent of net proceeds go to amfAR). For more information, check out Kiehl’s Facebook page at www.facebook.com/KiehlsSince1851 or to purchase the kit go to http://bit.ly/GXOW9P… In January, New Jersey Assemblymen Nelson Albano and Matthew Milam introduced A508 (Senate companion bill is S1685) to prohibit law enforcement agencies in the state from establishing checkpoints limited to certain types of vehicles and requiring that every checkpoint include all types of vehicles. ABATE of the Garden State backs this legislation, as does the American Motorcycle Association, and both organizations have sent out legislative alerts to all AMA members in New Jersey. Consider this a call to action for New Jersey motorcyclists: Contact your legislators, voice your support of this bill and urge your legislators to co-sponsor the bill. To find your legislators, go to www.njleg.state.nj.us/members/legsearch.asp.
