Up and Coming Weekly is a weekly publication in Fayetteville, NC and Fort Bragg, NC area offering local news, views, arts, entertainment and community event and business information.
Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/25625
Reward! by JIM JONES FEBRUARY 26 •CANCER RUN at Legends. 4624 Bragg Blvd. Call 887-2364 for more info. FEBRUARY 26 • POLAR BEAR RUN with the Pittsboro COA. Registration 11:00 - 11:45 a.m. Ride leaves at 12 p.m.. Door prizes and 50/50 drawing. Rain date March 5. For more information contact Mike @ 919-363-8662. FEBRUARY 27 • CAPE FEAR HOG RIDE to Bay Breeze Seafood in Sanford. Depart from the BP Gas Station on Bragg Boulevard & Sycamore Dairy at 10 a.m. Visit www.cfhog.com for more info. MARCH 26 • CAPE FEAR HOG POKER RUN to benefit the American Cancer Association. Registration at 11 a.m. Kickstands up at noon at Cape Fear Harley Davidson. Last bike in at 2:30 p.m. Random locations will be given for poker run stops at opening briefing. $10 a hand $5 second hand.Call 987-2874 for more info. PATRIOT GUARD RIDERS The Patriot Guard Riders is a diverse group of patriots from every state that come together to honor fallen soldiers at funeral services across the country. Visit www. patriotguard.org for more info. TUESDAYS BIKE NIGHT at Chili’s Grill and Bar in Southern Pines. Happy hour, drink and food specials. All bikes welcome. 4 p.m. to close. WEDNESDAYS BIKE NIGHT at Applebee’s, Cotton Square, Fayetteville, drink and food specials beginning at 7 p.m. All bikes welcome. A few weeks ago I was riding my bike through the woods around Fort Bragg when my music went silent. I was listen- ing to my MP3 player on my GPS and using a set of regular earplugs in my helmet. I was going through some heavy brush and concentrat- ing on my riding and the task at hand. I assumed Be sure to secure your valuables to avoid losing them. my earplugs became unpluggged from the GPS which happens often. After two or three minutes had past I looked down and saw that my entire GPS was missing! It was not a big deal to find because I had not gone that far and was traveling at low speeds. However, if I was unable to recover it, it would be an expensive mistake. The real reason I lost my GPS was because I did not properly secure the unit with the screw-down lock brace that comes with my Garmin Zumo 550. Losing equipment, accessories and luggage is common theme for motorcyclist. Although no one plans on loosing anything off of their bike, it happens. Here are few techniques to help you just in case. Write “reward” with your phone number on anything that is valuable. Most Breast Cancer Run Feb. 26th So that Uninsured Moms, Wives, Sisters and Daughters Can Get Mammograms! For more information call 4624 BRAGG BLVD. people are good hearted and will try to reach you if they find it. Be sure to put your cell phone number on the item in the event you are traveling away from home. Use a Sharpie and write your information somewhere out of sight. In my case it would be on the back of the GPS unit so that when it is in the bracket it would not be visible. Luggage is the number one thing that I see people loose. If you have a lockable luggage systems then make it a habit to lock the luggage before you ride. There is nothing worse than dropping a bag at 55 mph or getting to a stop point and realizing your stuff is gone. If you have removable luggage then mark the underside with a Sharpie so that it is easily visible. Electronics are another good place to use “reward.” For my laptop, my user name is “Reward” with my phone number. For my cell phone I have “reward” along with my home phone number. If you are on a long trip with a friend, then you may want to consider putting his or hers number on your phone display. Strapping on equipment always requires caution. No matter how much experience you have you always have to check your gear. This summer my first-aid kit was strapped on the back of my bike. One of the tie-down straps came undone and the kit wrapped around my back wheel axel. At first I was not aware of what was happening because it was behind me. If that was a bike with a chain it could have caused a serious lock up. Afterwards it occurred to me that it would have been ironic if I was killed by my own first-aid kit. Fortunately I only lost a few items in my first-aid kit and had to replace the bag after it was chewed up by my back wheel. Another good idea is to check your straps before you take off and if needed stop a few minutes into the ride to make sure nothing has shifted. If you see your buddy has something loose let them know before it’s too late. Always check your straps and equipment at every stop. Develop a pattern to help keep you focused. Next time you set out, give yourself a little security by making sure every- thing is properly secured and marked in the event someone finds you have over looked something. If there is a topic that you would like to discuss you can contact me at motorcycle4fun@aol.com. RIDE SAFE! JAMES JONES, Contributing Writer COMMENTS? editor@upandcomin- gweekly.com WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM FEB. 23 - MARCH 1, 2011 UCW 23