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Memorial Day Pictures

Two Tone — Sat, 06 Jun 2009 14:14:59 +0000

I just realized I had not posted anything about the great time we had celebrating Memorial Day with the Vietnam Vets M/C.

The weather was the best it’s been in years, & everything went off smoothly.

For Lynn & I, this year was especially emotional because we didn’t know they’d be honoring our friend Gen. Tom “Pugs” Tinsley. It reminded us of a friend we lost & the hurt & pain of his wife Joanna’s & daughter Eden’s loss. It really hit home that our friend Bud was really gone.

We’re always proud to be part of the weekend events and so without further ado…here are the pictures. Enjoy!

Beyer's Lake Memorial Day Celebration

The VNV's Memorial Day celebration at the Alaska Veterans Memorial at Beyer's Lake.

195 Photos

Anchorage Park Strip Memorial Day celebration

The VNV's Memorial Day celebration at the Anchorage Park Strip Veterans Memorial in downtown Anchorage, Alaska.

146 Photos

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2007 HOG State Rally…Fairbanks – Part 1

Two Tone — Wed, 20 Jun 2007 20:55:33 +0000

Went to the HOG State Rally, which was in Fairbanks (pretty much rotates between north & south in Alaska for now) this year.

Lots of the same familiar faces as well as some new ones! Minx and I always appreciate going to the rally as it’s a great place to meet & greet as well as hookup with many people we have not been able to connect with (for whatever reason). We can all let our hair down and enjoy three days of fun.

We took off Thursday morning. A little chilly, but warm enough that it wasn’t a bother. As usual, we left Anchorage and had breakfast in Wasilla (we normally eat at the 49er at four corners, but it has been closed this year) at the Trout House – formerly Windbreak Cafe.

From there it was a short hop to Trapper Creek for gas. As before the roads were good and they were still doing work on the bridge just before Trapper Creek.

The ride from there to Denali park was awesome! Sun and clear skies. Just on our side of Denali by the Grizzly Bear cabins (mile 231) they have it to one lane with a traffic light. Be careful as it’s on a blind downhill curve!

The road to Healy was, well, the road to Healy. I know that one day soon…it will be repaired. Bumps, frost heaves, tar patches and tar snakes. Luckily, no rain.

All the way to Nenana….sun and clear skies.

It wasn’t till Esther that we hit the rain.

It was pretty good too. By the time we rode from Esther to Fairbanks (roughly 5 miles) it was bad enough that with a full face it was getting difficult to see.

That’s the reason Donna (who was riding behind me) lost it on the off ramp.

We were at the final stretch. The exit to Airport Way…and the stop less than a 1000 feet from the Fred Meyer where we would gas up and relax after a good haul.

The Airport Way off ramp is a roundabout that you have to slow down for and with the weather being what it was I was slowing down to less than 25mph. Just because it was a flat turn and it was slick with oil.

That didn’t help Donna enough though. She high sided at the corner. Took me almost two minutes to get back there – I should have just rode up the off ramp .

When we got there she was in pain (of course) but conscious.

Luckily, her grand daughter – whom she was packing until Nenana – had gotten tired and we put her in the truck.

As we were seeing Donna in the ER, another friend walks in. As I begin to ask if he’s here to see Donna, I realize he’s covered in dirt and limping….so I grab him and get him admitted.

By the end of the day Thursday there were five bike accidents (some on the way here and some in Fairbanks).

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Poker Run for Face and Mary

Two Tone — Tue, 12 Jun 2007 22:27:20 +0000

There is a poker run being setup as a fund raiser for Face & Mary (who went down Memorial Day weekend after the Beyer's Lake event) for the Saturday, June 23rd. It's a ride from Anchorage to Seward – specifically to end up at the Pit for the Sentinels Solstice bash.

Poker Run will be $20.00 per hand, with a 25/75 split (25% to the winner / 75% to Face & Mary). There is a call for door prizes, etc. to add to the run. Pound-4-Pound will be also making special T-Shirts for the run with the proceeds going to Face & Mary.

The VNV have a tax deductible corporation (VISTA – Veterans In Service To Alaska), that will allow all donations to be charitable.

They want to keeps the groups small (less than 20 per group), to manage the run and traffic as it's high RV season.

Here is the itinerary so far -

10am: Meet at Carrs Huffman Parking Lot. Sign up for poker run.
10:30am: Pre-ride briefing.
11am: Departure to Seward.
1st Stop: Girdwood – Draw First Hand
2nd Stop: Turnagin Pass – Draw Second Hand
3rd Stop: Summit Lake Lodge – Draw Third Hand
4th Stop: Moose Pass – Draw Fourth Hand
Last Stop: Pit Bar, Seward – Draw Final Hand

This will put you at the Sentinels Solstice Bash where they plan on having some other fund raising activities as well.

Discussion was started of making this a regular "motorcycle community" event, where the funds raised go to whomever needs help after going down.

For now, the focus was just on this event, with a future meeting to move it forward.

Apogee Studios have agreed to create posters, etc. so as they become available I will also post that info here.

For more information, you can contact RC at 360-1226 or rcinak

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Interested in a Parade with the Dawgs of the North?

Two Tone — Tue, 12 Jun 2007 22:25:02 +0000

The Dawgs of the North are looking for riders interested in joining them for the 1st Juneteenth parade on Saturday, June 16th. There is no fee for this event…just a chance to parade downtown!

For those who can attend:

Meet @7:30am at 9th and Hyder (behind the post office on 9th).

Any questions, contact Ty at 907-351-9345 or tysylva!

Also please pass along to any groups/riders we may have missed!

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Been So Busy I Hadn’t Talked About Beyer’s Lake!

Two Tone — Tue, 05 Jun 2007 18:53:53 +0000

Been so busy with the aftermath of the Sunday Beyer's Lake Run that I realized I hadn't actually done a run report on the ride or event!

The Annual Beyer's Lake Memorial Day ceremony it put on by our local Red & Black chapter.

Rain, wind – in this year's case…hail – does not stop them from performing the ceremony.

Bikers from all over the state come to pay tribute to those who gave their lives defending our nation. It's a humbling (and for me tearful) ceremony as we honor, and for many of us remember the lives lost.

The ride from Anchorage was uneventful. A bit on the chilly side it was a good ride to Wasilla (some wrecks, but they were cages). Once we made it outside of Wasilla was when the weather turned. There were spots of reall bad rain but overall, you could getaway with just chaps.

The roads were, of course, great till just past Willow. With the rain, the road scarring from the plows this winter made some spots "exciting" but manageable.

We met up with HOG members who went to the "Meet in the Middle" (a HOG overnighter just outside Denali Park where the Anchorage, MatSu and Fairbanks Chapters meet & greet then ride to Beyer's Lake for this event).

By the time we reached Trapper Creek (where we go to Cash Creek to meet with the R&B for muster to Beyer's Lake) it was raining. By muster it had turned to a good rain where I decided I needed to put on the rain gear.

I ended up DAMN glad I did!

By the time we reached the muster location (Mary's Mt. McKinley View Lodge) it was coming down pretty good. It let up just a bit at Mary's so the wait/briefing was tolerable.

The parade to the lake was rain/hail, but as we were taking it easy it was also tolerable. There were some heaves on the way to the memorial, but at our slow speeds, easily manageable.

By the time the ceremony started we had a break in the weather so that by the end we actually had sunshine! Minx and I rode to Mary's where I dropped the rain gear and went to Cash Creek for the after event bash.

Of course, it's where we heard about Face & Mary (Red & Black members)…who went down on their way back from Beyer's lake.

On their way back to Cash Creek they were behind a trailer who had no brake lights and stopped suddenly. Face went down with the motorcycle and Mary was ejected. Face was airlifted from the scene and Mary was shuttled to Talkeetna and airlifted from there. Mary's only major injury was a cracked pelvis on her right side, however this is the same side as a leg injury she received in 2004. Face had multiple injuries – shattered shoulder, cracked ribs, lung damage, left ankle, left and right leg.

This, of course, sombered the Cash Creek bash but knowing Face & Mary were alive kept everyone in as best spirits as possible.

We stayed till @4ish and the ride home was sunny (with spots of clouds) back.

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Last long ride for the 2006 season Saturday…..

Two Tone — Mon, 02 Oct 2006 18:07:43 +0000

We joined the Mat-Su Alaska HOG chapter on their last official cruise of the season. We rode out to Talkeetna, which is about 120 miles north of Anchorage.

There is no other way to say it….if was FUCKING COLD!!!

Leaving out from Anchorage at around 10:30am it was about 40 degrees and the sun was shining, so it was a cool but OK ride to Wasilla. After we left Wasilla, we encountered some FOG….lots of fog. It started in Houston and went to the other side of Willow. I’m figuring it was easily @30 degrees in the fog (based upon the condensation on the windshield and my gear) and with no sun it was just windchill city till we hit the other side of it.

Fully bundled didn’t make any difference and I have decided that I will be getting electric gloves (it will be on my Christmas wish list for sure as well).

Regardless of that it was a great ride. Traffic out was crowded but good (no idiots going out) and our return @5pm had very light traffic back.

It was also a fuckload warmer than the morning ride out.

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Alaska State Fair Parade

Two Tone — Sun, 27 Aug 2006 02:45:48 +0000

We seemed to have good luck today as we (Judge Roy, Minx and I) rode out to take part in the Alaska State Fair Parade with the Mat-Su HOG Chapter. The weather literally held till the end (then the rain showed up)!

The ride out was a bit cool, but nice overall.

The parade was fairly short and we all had a pretty good time, minus the one bike that broke down (from overheating). Lots of cheers from the spectators and when we did a rolling thunder, we definitely had people covering their (and their kids) ears!

All things considered, the Mat-Su guys should look at the swap method that the Alaska chapter uses to keep bikes from overheating.

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All things conidered…we did well on our first mission for the Patriot Guard

Two Tone — Sun, 20 Aug 2006 01:26:31 +0000

Friday afternoon I represented the Patriot Guard at the funeral services for Shane W. Woods of Palmer, Alaska who was killed in action on August 9th. I was very pleased with his family’s overall demeanor and openness. His father, Wayne is a great man of faith and believes that God called him for another purpose, even if that is to unite all of us together in fellowship at his funeral.

It was a shame that someone so young was lost to us, but his memory and example are ones that I know will be carried on by his friends and servicemen.

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Why do I do this to myself?!?!?

Two Tone — Tue, 08 Aug 2006 18:09:46 +0000

I’ve taken on the job of State Captain for the Patriot Guard Riders here in Alaska. You can smack me now…

Actually – you can’t.

I’ve always thought the idea of the Patriot Guard was a grand idea. Here in Alaska, we’ve had the luxury of having a very active Red & Black group so I’m not worried about support. Since there isn’t a program for the state I’ll most likely just make us a specific support arm for the Military and the Red & Black, as they already do pretty much all the memorial services for the state. So..interested in joining the Guard here in Alaska? Let me know or better yet just Sign up and I’ll contact you!

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New vest done…FINALLY!

Two Tone — Fri, 04 Aug 2006 08:56:35 +0000

Seems like it took for friggin ever for my new vest to come in, but it’s here, fits great, and has the full Dawgs patch on the back.

This one is brown (unlike the tan vest I used to wear), and really helps the patches to stand out nicely. This vest is also thicker so it really holds up as well.

Let the break in begin!

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