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Clubs and Groups Ok, normally I'm not much of a "joiner" but in recent years I've allowed myself to be associated with a couple of clubs and some yahoo groups. My main reason for doing so has been to gain a better connection to the bay area community at large and to meet up with some new folks. I must admit that some of these connections have been by accident. It's also another accident that I've taken charge and become host to at least one of these groups. So here we go in no particular order... The San Francisco Northstars Motorcycle Club - I am currently a member of the San Francisco Northstars Motorcycle Club. This group was started over 30 years ago for the express purpose of riding around the countryside on motorcycles while occasionally stopping for a bite of something wonderful to eat. Yeah, these guys do like their food! Not to mention a few other hooligan activities. We've been know to have a penchant for good tequila, fancy firearms, and fast motorcycles. This does not mean riding while intoxicated and taking potshots at other motorists while traveling at warp 10! We often end our rides at places like Songdog Ranch, Kings Canyon, Death Valley and other scenic locals where we then open up the bottles around the campfire. Makes for some damn good story telling! Currently the Northstars meet at SF Brewing Co on the last Wednesday of the month. Meetings are open to interested folks. For rides we do ask that a member sponsor any newbies. This is so the sponsoring member can do a pre-ride with this person and fill them in on the details of how we ride. In particular safe riding practices that include reasonable spacing, bike handling skills, no stupid maneuvers like passing in blind corners or scaring other motorists. We want everyone to start and finish each ride with no extra detours to the hospital or local jail. The Motogirlies - A few years back I met up with some gals while riding at Hollister with Doc Wong during one of his dirt clinics. These gals hooked up with my girlfriend at that time and began hanging out at the Lanesplitter in Berkeley. Pretty soon they had a pretty good quorum of women riders and decided to make it an official club, The Motogirlies. For some silly reason they allow me to hang out with them and attend their meetings. The focus is on getting women together to provide a network for rides, riding info and other activities. The club is open to guys but they do have some women only events. I've offered up my garage and services to help get folks involved in maintaining their own bikes and learning the in's and out's of bike maintenance. I've also offered to lead some multi-day rides for those adventurous enough to get out of the city. If you are interested in the group they meet on the first Tuesday of the month at the Lanesplitter in Berkeley and the third Friday of the month at the Lanesplitter in Oakland. You can also join the Yahoo Group to get in on the conversations and event info. The Eastbay Dinner Group - Originally called ba-wednesday and now known as ba-eastbay this weekly dinner group consists of motorcyclists from across the spectrum. We meet each week at a different restaurant located in the East Bay. Everything from Thai, Mexican, Korean, Pubs to a night at the Parkway for pizza, beer and a movie. I moved the group over from a majordomo server to Yahoo Groups a couple years back. Since then I've acted as moderator for the group. We do screen memberships only for the purpose of keeping spammers off the list. No one wants to deal with unwanted messages. For the most part we get together for good food and great conversation. Often members post invites for other rides and activities outside of the dinner routine. It's a great way to meet new people and network in the biker community. Mailing List Roundup - A number of mailing lists are maintained up at Carl Paukstis' Mica Peak website. They can be found here http://www.micapeak.com/mailinglistroundup Carl has compiled an incredibly detailed list of groups, mailing lists and newsgroups all related to motorcycles and motorcycling. I belong to a couple more yahoo groups for XR650's, Triumph Tigers and dirt riding. Just about anything and everything is out there if you just look. Just beware! These things are addictive! AYU - As Yet Unnamed? I'd love to be able to point you toward a website or something but no can do. AYU is a group of motorcyclists who prefer not to pay dues, attend meetings, wear "colors" or do any of the other typical club behaviors. They simply respond to an email invitation from their provisional leader and then hit the road. If you are interested in that sort of group then I suggest you contact Paul and let him know you wish to be added to his email list. Basically he will email an invitation to ride to all recipients who then chose to respond...or not! Most rides are multi-day excursions to any of a number of destinations in California and occasionally Baja. One thing you can say is that this group knows how to have fun! Lots of time on the road and great places to stay and eat. BASK - Stands for Bay Area Sea Kayakers. Mostly referred to as an eating club with a kayaking disorder this group of folks enjoys their time on the water and off. I especially enjoy the annual trek to Mendocino for a weekend of rock gardening and sea cave exploration interspersed with pigging out on fresh abalone and fish. On any given weekend you can find someone in this club who will join you for a day on the water whether it be watching birds, surfing, circumnavigating Angel Island or chasing migrating whales. They have a private email list for club members but you can check out their website at http://www.bask.org GCP - Stands for Gold Country Paddlers. This is one of the larger white water kayaking groups in Northern California. There is a website at http://gcpaddlers.org/ but that is really just a place marker. The real meat of the group is via the list server and the monthly newsletter. This is where you can arrange to paddle with other folks and share paddling stories of all types. Class II Kayakers - A couple of years ago I got hooked on white water kayaking. I took a lesson up on the South Fork of the American River and then went looking for folks to paddle with. I found it to be difficult as a newbie to find more advanced folks to paddle with since most were interested in runs that were beyond my capabilities. So my friend June and I came up with the idea for a new group. A place for newbies and intermediate level folks to post paddling opportunities and share river experiences. No pressure, no BS. You can join here: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/classtwokayakers/
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