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En Route to Wing Ding 28
We were heading to Nashville, Tennessee,
on Saturday and received a call from
one of our other Chapter participants. He said
he had a flat tire on his Gold Wing and for us
to go on. I told him we would come back to
meet him at the Honda dealer in Salisbury,
North Carolina. Then I called the other
Members in our Chapter and told them about
what had happened. They said they would
meet us in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, later that
day.
After Ted Doby got his tire fixed, we headed
out for Tennessee. We were making good
time on I-40 and my Gold Wing started to go
dead. We had no power! I tried to call ahead to
Ted, but my cell phone did not work at that
time. I placed my helmet at the back of my
bike to show others we had a problem with our
bike. We saw over 100 Gold Wings pass us and
only two stopped. They said they saw our kids
on the guard rail and just had to come back.
They told us they had to go four miles past us
and then go about 10 miles to get back to us.
They were from the New Bern, North
Carolina, Chapter and asked if they could
help. At that time we got a call from Ted, who
was looking for us. I told him what had taken
place and he went for help. We talked to the
two from New Bern and then they left. A short
time passed and a man from Kentucky in a
white Ford stopped. He wanted to help also. I
told him I had help on the way, but he said he
would stay until someone came. He had a
Harley and once had a problem with his bike
and could not get anyone to help.
After about one hour Ted came back and he
had a new battery. I replaced it, and we got on
the way again. After we were on the road for
about thirty minutes, we lost power again. Ted
said, “Let’s put my battery in your bike and see
if it will run.” We did, and it started back up.
We were going to see if we could get to the
Honda dealer outside of Knoxville, Tennessee.
We got Ted`s bike started and headed out
again. We were on I-40 almost at the
Strawberry Plains exit ramp and it stopped
again. The Knox County sheriff came up and
helped us get into a motel parking lot.
I called around to find one that night, but
no one had an alternator for a GL1500 in
stock. Ted started out early the next day and
found an alternator from a Member in Glenn
Bernie, Maryland—Dave Pumphrey. He and
his wife Gloria are the best people in the world
to me. They told me to use the alternator and
send it back to them when I got mine fixed.
They are a prime example of what GWRRA
Members are all about. After all, we had a
great time in Nashville at Wing Ding 28.
My son Bailey won the youngest sidecar
rider plaque. He had ridden over 500 miles;
my little girl Brooke rode in the sidecar with
Bailey also, but she is ten months older than
Bailey, so she did not win. At the time of Wing
Ding, they both were five years old.
After the ride was over, we had gone over
1,100 miles. That is a long trip with two fiveyear-old
kids! No matter what, we still had fun
and that is what it’s all about.
Bryan Corriher
GWRRA #113069
China Grove, North Carolina
Marooned By Motor Home
John & I have been Members of GWRRA
since 1984 and have never traveled without
our Gold Book. It has been very useful over the
years.
After attending Wing Ding 28 in Nashville
and spending two weeks in Natchez Trace, we
were headed for a campground in Ohio to
attend the Honda Homecoming event. We
were tooling down Highway 675 in
Springboro, Ohio, with our 39-foot motor
home and our Gold Wing in tow, when we
heard a loud boom. At first we thought it was
a propane explosion, but upon stopping to
check it out, we found that our rear inside tire
had blown out, along with the side panel of the
motor home. We pulled off the highway to a
safe location and immediately checked our
Gold Book for Members living in that area for
an SOS. It was noontime on Sunday. John first
contacted Sheryl Bullman of Centerville’s
Chapter OH-X2, who came out to meet us and
took John back on the highway to help locate
the panel that blew off the RV, but they had no
luck in locating it. Thank you, Sheryl, for taking
the time and effort to come to our rescue.
We really appreciated your quick response and
help.
We then contacted Peg & Bud Rahe, of
Springboro, the Chapter Directors for OH-X2,
for some assistance in locating a new tire and
they graciously offered to let us camp in their
yard with the RV and even fed us lunch. Bud
helped John with tools and assistance in getting
the tire off, and Peg checked the Internet
for a Michelin tire store. They even loaned us
their car the next day to pick up a tire that we
located thanks to Peg and her research. You
folks are the greatest, especially taking us into
your home when not knowing much about us,
other than that we are Gold Wing Members!
John & I can’t give enough thanks for all
the GWRRA Members that have assisted us
over the years—the GWRRA Family of
Friends network. It’s always nice to know that
when you travel and are in trouble or need
assistance, that the Members are always there
to give assistance and support!
John & Pat Lesnefsky
GWRRA #32089
Seaford, Delaware
Trailer Smash Aftermath
About 5:30 p.m., Wednesday, August 30,
my wife Bonnie & I were on the west side
of Houston, Texas, heading for Key West,
Florida, on the last leg of a Four Corners Tour.
Having traveled 640 miles that day, we were
tired and in need of a place to stay. We passed
an area with several motels, got off the interstate,
pulled into a parking lot and decided to
go back the several blocks where we had seen
the motels. A motorist motioned for us to pull
out ahead of them onto a three-lane, one-way
street. I looked, saw nothing coming, and as I
rode into the center lane, heard the squealing
tires. I attempted to pull back to the right lane,
was not quick enough, and a van hit our
Escapade trailer in front of its wheel on the left
side. Thankfully we did not go down and I
pulled off the highway.
The man that hit us was very nice. There
was no damage to his van. Our trailer had minimal
damage to the body (which says a lot
about the integrity of Escapade trailers), but
the tongue was severely bent, at about a 30-
degree angle.
I was still able to pull the trailer, but it was
low in the front and tracked at least a foot off
center. We got to a nearby motel and after
checking in, out came the Gold Book. I told
the first person I called, Sam Belinoski, our
problem and asked if he could help or had any
suggestions on how we might get our trailer
repaired. He said “Yes, I can, and yes, I do.”
Sam suggested we call Houston Trikes and
Trailers in the morning and talk to owner
Everett Hunt, also a GWRRA Member. Sam
said that if we couldn’t get the problem
resolved to call him at work the next day and
he would bring some tools and see what else
he could do to get our trailer repaired.
On Thursday morning at 7:30 a.m., I called
Houston Trikes and Trailers and Everett
answered the phone. I told him our problem
and he said he would see what he could do and
call me back in an hour. When he called back
he said he was on the phone with California
Sidecar and they would overnight a new
tongue. It would be there at 10 a.m. Friday if
I would pay the shipping. Of course I said that
would not be a problem and to have them ship
it.
We carefully rode the 45 miles to Houston
Trikes and Trailers in Webster, Texas. Everett
is one of the nicest people I have ever met! He
was so friendly and genuinely concerned about
our problem. He checked our trailer over to
see if there was other damage, directed us to a
motel nearby where we got a room, unloaded
the trailer, then went back and dropped our
trailer off at his shop. I also called Sam
Belinoski to thank him and tell him everything
was being taken care of.
Everett suggested some things in the area
16 Wing World