March Meeting Notes:

Our Monday night meeting attendance was pretty light this month and I am guessing one of the reasons is that Hickory Hollow may seem difficult to find. Let me try and assure you that it is quite easy to get to from both I-10 or I-45 (exit Memorial). I hope to see more of you in the future. We are having a discussion on a new topic each month. Last month we talked about our dream motorcycle destination if we had the time and money. What bike would we want to ride, how much money does it cost per day on the road ($120-140 depending on motel & part of country) and just generally passing information about our great sport.

There is now a National Retread Web page that I have already sent out to those on our E-mail distribution list. http://home.hiwaay.net/~pvteye/retreads.html. This site is supposed to move to www.retreads.org, but for right now, I can�t make that address work. The national site provides Retread history, emblem definition, upcoming rallies and addresses of the Retread groups around the country. Our Houston web page is listed http://www.biker.net/retreads . I want to thank Bill O�Brien for keeping the web page current. He recently added all of the newsletters of the past year so we are up to date.

The early renewers should have received your cards in the last newsletter and I will send in the dues for the remainder of the renewals in April so I should have the balance of the cards to send out in May. If you are planning to attend the National Retread Rally in Coffeyville, Kansas in September you will need a card.

The May newsletter will include our membership phone list so you will know how to call Vince Hefley to find out where he is riding so you can join him. I always carry copies at breakfast, so if you need a copy, just ask.

We have a busy Month of April so come go riding.

We need your help � If you would like to contribute something to the newsletter, have some juicy gossip, or something For Sale, give us a call or send an E-mail so we can get it into the newsletter. [email protected]

Saturday was a beautiful day and David said he would take us somewhere. So, seven of us left Kelley's Saturday morning and headed east via Highway 90. Our first major stop would be the new home of Cowboy Harley Davidson in Beaumont. David had gotten the address out of the newest HOG Touring Handbook and since its a brand new dealership and we hadn't been there yet we just had to go check it out. Made a gas stop in Beaumont and David called to confirm where they're located on IH 10. Well, they're not yet! The operator told him that they aren't in it yet, that Harley had put the new address in the book even though they won't move until June. She gave directions to the place and we were off to find it. We had plenty to look at there as five Beaumont dealers had gone together to do a poker run so there was a nice mix of bikes around.

Binky took the opportunity to deposit his helmet at the dealership. That's probably the first time a dealership has ever had someone leave one, instead of taking one. Have you ever seen a tired headliner on an old sedan. Well, that's what the inside of Binky's helmet looked like, all droopy and it was shedding as he rode down the road. He said he couldn't stand it any longer.

Well, on to the next feeding -- you know we have to do that on an official Retread ride. After some u-turns, we finally pulled into Al-Ts in Winnie. We found the buffet still to be darn good and very reasonably priced at $5.50.

Then we headed back to Houston by way of IH-10 since we weren't too eager to get involved in spring break in Galveston and we weren't sure the ferry had reopened from an accident on Friday.

There were lots of Indian paintbrush along the roadsides, bridal wreath and other spring flowers are popping out and there was enough sunshine to make a mid-60's day just right.

Hope you're with us on the next ride. Bluebonnets should be just about right by then.

April 6 - 8: Concan

June 1 - 3: Republic of Texas Rally, Austin, TX

June 4 - 9: Americade, Lake George, NY

June 9 - 17: Laconia Motorcycle Rally, Laconia, NH

July 18: National Ride to Work Day

August 6 - 12: Sturgis, South Dakota

Sept 10 - 13: Retreads 28^th National Rally in Coffeyville

October 11 - 14: South Padre Island for Bikerfest

October : Golden Aspen in Ruidoso, NM

4/2 Stan Rife

4/2 Chuck Gruby

4/4 Jack McNamara

4/6 Frank Feeger

4/7 James Mangum

4/9 Ken Miller

4/20 Maurice McNeely

4/23 Mike Murphy

4/24 Jim Riley

Having been in the heating and air conditioning business most of my adult life I have had my share of GOOD and BAD days.

It was one of those particularly bad days that nothing seemed to go right. I was knee deep in alligators and hoping this bad day would soon come to an end.

It was late in the afternoon and I was in my office trying to sort out the days "wrong" things when I heard the front door open. I looked up to see a lady entering who must have weighed at least four hundred pounds. I got up from my desk, introduced myself and asked if I might be of some assistance. She replied that "yes you certainly can" and that she was in need of a window type air conditioner for her living room. I explained that I would need the square footage of the room to determine how many BTUs of cooling she needed.

She looked me straight in the eye and said "look here, sonny, don�t come off with all that technical crap with me. All I know is that I want enough BTUs to cool a BUTT as big as a tub. I almost laughed out loud but was able to restrain myself and replied "yes mam I think we have just the one you are looking for."

I guess the moral to this story, if there is one, is "when you are up to your ass in alligators, don�t despair, for something will come along to MAKE YOUR DAY".

I�ve heard it said by some, after some sort of harrowing experience, that they thought they had a new lease on life.

After surviving two pretty serious back surgeries, numerous illnesses, two heart attacks and a quadruple by-pass, I am not one to believe I have a lease on life, but that life has a lease on me. Keeping this in mind, I have tried to live my life on earth to the fullest and following these guidelines:

Believe in the Almighty, for His is the name at the top of the lease.

Enjoy the things I have and not lust for the things I do not have.

Love my Family and friends and treat them with respect, as I would ask them to respect me for what I am.

Do the things I like to do most.

Go places I would like to go and see things I might never see again.

Be content with what life has given me.

Breathe every breath as if it were my last, for it may very well be.

Read the fine print on your lease for mine says "NON RENEWABLE".

Jack

When: 9 am, Saturday April 21^st and Sunday the 22^nd.

Leave from: International House of Pancakes at Hwy 146 and I-10 (Northwest side of I-10)

Ride organizer: Tim Hollingsworth � (281) 660-2759

Trip Plan: An opportunity to see the small towns/sites off the beaten path. The miles we need to cover are reasonable so we can enjoy our trip and stop along the way. We are also going to try and find some counties in Louisiana � Parish the thought.

Spend Saturday night: Breaux Bridge at the Best Western (337) 332-1114. They quoted their rates for double occupancy at $65. An alternative is the Holiday Inn Express at (337) 332-3017. If anyone is interested we can share rooms and make a nights stay a little more affordable.

There is a fine Cajun restaurant named Mulates in Breaux Bridge that is a must visit. (337) 332-4648

The first portion of this ride to around Cameron will be our monthly ride. The day riders will return to Houston after lunch.

_____________________________________________________________________________________

I recently saw several notes relating to the rebuild of the brakes on the CBX and thought I would share some of the comments. If you have ever tried to rebuild your brakes then this may be of interest.

Tom: I am having trouble with the rear brake master cylinder. I have stripped the unit down and removed the snap ring and actuator but I can�t get the piston assembly out. It�s quite stiff and all I�ve managed to do is depress it to the bottom of its travel. Any tips???

Bob: Try an air hose gun with a rubber tip on the end. If that doesn�t work, connect it to the front master cylinder hose and use the hydraulic force of the front master cylinder to drive the piston to the rear. Crack the banjo bolt loose after each stroke to let the front master cylinder return, if it takes more than one stroke. Since the system will be tight there is no provision for piston return until you let some air into the system. One stroke should do it though.

Joe: Hang the F*&K on with the compressed air advice. You need to give a safety warning before telling someone something like that!

Bob: Down here in OZ we are well aware of the ol� U.S. of A�s love of a good law suite for actions which are entirely the victims responsibility. I was going to put a safety warning in, but I thought that most people have some common sense. If it make you feel better, here is a suitable warning: