Motorcycle Volunteers

That's another Spin for Kids event in the bag!   The event attracted approximately 500 cyclists, who raised just over $500,000 in sponsorship for Camp Twin Lakes.  As usual the event was well planned, organized and executed.  Here is a link to more information about Spin For Kids and the work done at Camp Twin Lakes:  https://www.camptwinlakes.org   This year I signed up for the 100 mile route along with Ken, Mike & Lee (Ken & Mike are Bike MS Alumni - Go Team Moto!) and we had a fun day assisting cyclists and sweeping the route to make sure all cyclists were accounted for.  And it was great to catch up with LadyEJ and TopDog and their crews (A big shout out to the Black Angels Motorcycle Club, Faith Riders, Get2Gether Bikers, ATL Cruisers and the Christian Motorcycle Association) For the VeloCity 2021 event I had upgraded to a mobile radio with more power.  For this event I upgraded my ride to a 2018 Honda Goldwing Tour, which is an absolute joy to ride and perfect for sup

Greetings! I hope you've been keeping well :) I've started to receive word about in-person charity cycling events for 2021.  Here is what we know so far: Spin for Kids 2021 : Rutledge, GA : October 3rd Bike MS Atlanta Peachride 2021 : LaGrange, GA : October 9th & 10th Bike MS Bay to Bay 2021 : Carlsbad, CA : October 16th & 17th  VeloCity 2022 : Fairburn, GA : May 7th, 2022 Indeed, Bike MS has a bunch of in-person events for 2021 across the USA.  See their Find Your Ride page for more details. I will send out more details via the mailing list as we get closer to these events.  Please let me know of any other events you're aware of that could use motorcycle support and I'll get the word out :) James Acworth July 2021

VeloCity Atlanta 2021 was a lot of fun! And we had beautiful weather for riding around the country lanes of Fairburn, GA. This was one of the best organized events that I have supported.  The local ARES crew ran a professional Radio Net and maintained close communications with the event organizers. There were two sets of motorcycle volunteers.  The first group of twelve reported directly to the event coordinator and maintained contact with the lead cyclist & tail cyclist for each route.  This group of volunteers represented the Black Angels Motorcycle Club, led by TopDog and his bright yellow Goldwing, as well as Faith Riders, Get-2-Gether Riders, Christian Motorcycle Association and several independent volunteers. The second group of licensed amateur radio operators reported directly to the ARES run Net Control and were directed to different routes & locations as needed.  I rode as part of this team with Duncan as my wingman.  Mark K. of the Motorcycle Amateur Radio Club combi

We're seven days out from VeloCity 2021 (Saturday, May 1st) and things are ramping up.  E-mail & text messages are flying around all over the place, routes are established, radio frequencies have been shared, waiver forms issued and motorcycles are being prepared. At time of writing there are 14 motorcycle volunteers signed up, three of whom are also Amateur Radio Operators.  A big shout out to Mark K. of the Motorcycle Amateur Radio Club, who is driving in from California to support this event.  We really appreciate you. For this event I have upgraded my radio from a 10 watt handheld to a 50 watt mobile unit, with a remote head and bluetooth connection to my Sena 20s.  Really looking forward to trying it out next weekend 😁 We can never have too many motorcycle volunteers for charity cycling events.  It's all about keeping the riders safe on the course.  There is still time to volunteer for this event if you're available.  HAM radio is not required, but I've found

The organizers for VeloCity 2021 have reached out to us for Volunteer Motorcycle Marshals to support this year's charity bicycle ride. This appears to be a very well organized and supported event.  It looks like there will be 10, 25, 50, 62 & 100 mile routes, with riders leaving at staggered times to keep participants safe during the pandemic.  Between SAG, Rest-Stop, Medical & Team Moto (that's us!) there will be 50 to 60 mobile units covering all routes. Routes will be available soon via Ride-with-GPS and all riders & support units will be using the RaceJoy app to provide the organizers with real-time location information.  This app also provides an emergency button to call in support to a specific location. The first riders are expected to depart from the Chattahoochee Hills Event Center on Saturday May 1st between 7am and 7:15am.  This event will feature HAM supported Net Control & Command Center located at the venue. I will be sending out more details and U

 Four of us from Team Moto joined the Motorcycle Marshal team for Spin for Kids 2020 over the weekend.  It was a beautiful day to be out riding and serving our community. The event was really well organized, masks were mandatory and all volunteers & riders had to pass a temperature check.  The start times for each of the six routes were staged throughout the morning.  And each route had a 30 minute rolling start.  This kept the concentration of riders low at base camp and on the course. I had the privilege of joining Net Control as "Rover 3" and was able to periodically relay updates for the 15 mile route.  I still think operating a HAM Radio while riding a motorcycle is pretty cool :-D  This year I had my antenna mounted to a sport rack and it worked out really well.  Next upgrade will be a 25watt radio.  More Power Baby!  Looking forward to next years event and supporting a wonderful cause.   Here is a link to more information about Spin For Kids.  https://www.camptwinl