Adventure of Berkeley Springs, WVASubmitted by Martin Teltser, June 27, 2006 On Saturday, June 24, 2006, 17 bikers gathered and departed Frederick , MD for Berkeley Springs in West Virginia . Before leaving Frederick , I told fellow club member, Edward, that I was concerned about keeping up with our other bikers. He said that we are not racers and do a normal pace. We traveled a lot of hills, and curves on back roads. It was different for me to change gears frequently on the back road. When we stopped at a gas station close to the Virginia borderline to rest, President Dale Ford explained and gave me advice on to handle different gears on hills and sharp curves. For example, I was looking at my motorcycle's front fender and speedometer during riding. I was nervous about losing control on the curves and hills. He emphasized that my head needs to be horizontal. He told me to let my mind control my motorcycle. Also, he told me to be relaxed and to look ahead without worrying about the speedometer and gears. When Vice President Dick Moore saw what Dale advised me, Dick shared with me about his experience controlling his motorcycle on sharp curves and hills in Skyline, West Virginia some time ago. He struggled to control it all day until he finally made it home. Before arriving to Berkeley Springs, I stalled my motorcycle out on steep hill. Another club member advised me to change to 1 st gear next time. Dale also advised me to change to low gears on hills. We arrived successfully and walked around the town. The town is nice and small. Our club broke into groups then the groups went to a swimming pool, spa, or a restaurant for lunch. After leaving the town for Frederick , we stopped by another gas station on way. Dale noticed that I improved my handling on curves and hills. I am really glad that our motorcycle club helped me build up my motorcycling skills. I realize that taking trips is more effective than taking an Experienced Rider Course provided by the Motorcycle Safety Foundation. At our cook-out party at Eric Mansfield's home, I told Eric Mansfield and his wife that he did a great job as a road captain, and that the trip was a challenge for me. I thanked him.
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