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Boxer Shorts, December, 2004 - 1 of 4

Looking Back

by Kit Wise

Kit The year has gone by quickly. When I first took on this job of being president of the Yankee Beemers, I thought the toughest part would be writing these monthly columns for the Boxer Shorts. I don't do a lot of writing - just drawing, and with a computer at that. But, even though coming up with a subject to write about has sometimes been challenging, I have enjoyed sharing with you my thoughts about our club and motorcycling in general.

The past year has been a good one, if not an exceptional one. The Yankee Beemers have adjusted to a new breakfast meeting place, and a pretty good one it has turned out to be, at that. Our usual events have been successful, well attended and reasonably dry, for a change. Some of us missed our participation in European Motorcycle Day at Larz Anderson, but we have the makings of a great new annual event in the Green Mountain 400, thanks to Rob Nye and Max BMW.

The success of all we have done together is entirely due to the efforts of those members who have stepped forward to volunteer their time. All the regulars whom we have always counted on have continued to contribute, and many new faces have come to the front as well. The folks who have helped with the Breakfast Committee and the Club Store come particularly to mind.

We have had a steady influx of new members. I am particularly encouraged that quite a few younger folks have joined and become active. It was also great to have members bring their kids to events like Heath and the Wacky Hat. The kids seemed to have a great time, and we enjoyed having them there.

On a sadder note, we lost a great friend with the passing of Chief Lorin Gowdy. We'll miss him, but we will always remember him fondly, especially when we return to Heath.

I have to admit that I have some personal regrets. I had hoped the year would bring many exciting innovations to the Yankee Beemers. It doesn't really feel that way to me, and I feel personally responsible. I can console myself that the year has been as good for us as past years, but I don't feel that is enough. This is one of the reasons I decided not to run for president again this year. I hope that our new president will be more of a leader and less a caretaker than I feel I have been. I have been pleased and proud to be president of the Yankee Beemers, but in truth my heart has not been as fully engaged as I hoped it would be.

Let me close by sharing with you a story that illustrates how much the Yankee Beemers have come to mean to me. It may seem a stretch to connect this story with the YBs, but the link is very strong.

Before I joined the Yankee Beemers I didn't really like to travel. I was a stay-at-home guy. But I did join, and being a member soon led to the day that I know was the first day of the rest of my life. It was that day in 2001 when I rode with Pete Munro and Greg Eischeid through a gap in the mountains on the Lost Coast of California, and the Pacific Ocean opened before us. That was the day that I learned to love to travel on a motorcycle.

Two years and a couple of months later I was on my second motorcycle trip in Europe, this time with Moose Laramee and Gordon Bowersock. We had ridden the famous Passo dello Stelvio and explored the fabulous roads of the Dolomites in northern Italy. We rode down out of the mountains into the great valley of the Po River and turned to the beautiful small city of Vicenza where we found a comfortable small hotel on one of the main city squares.

This architect's breath was taken away by what I saw as we walked around Vicenza. There, among many other great buildings, was Andrea Palladio's Palazzo Chiericati, a building on which I had written a paper when I was in architecture school, only bigger and more beautiful that it had ever seemed in photographs. In the deepening dusk Moose and Gordon and I set out to find a restaurant for supper. As we wandered down a darkish narrow street, we heard music coming from an open, lighted door part way down a vaulted alley. It was someone practicing Bach on the cello. We stood transfixed by the sound in this golden moment. It was the most glorious few minutes of our entire trip.

Now I can hear you muttering, "who is this guy who thinks we have any interest in Andrea Palladio and Bach, and what does any of this have to do with motorcycles?" Well, I grant that many of you may not be interested in Palladio and Bach, but they are two things that I love, and motorcycles and what I learned from the Yankee Beemers led me to them.

I only hope that you, too, will ride to a golden moment with something you love.

Thanks.

Kit Wise

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