» STAR TOURING AND RIDING ASSOCIATION

13th Annual STAR-BQ Ride Report

The 13th Annual Southwest STAR-BQ event has now come and gone. The turnout for Chapter #224 was a bit small this year as several members that had planned on going had to cancel at the last minute due to personal matters. The weather forecast for the weekend wasn’t all that great either, most of the major weather sources were all predicting rain for each day of the event. The members that did attended opted to go in cages rather than risk riding in the rain. We were a bit surprised though in the end as the only real rain we would have been in was on the way back down the coast from Ventura. The members that did attend were:

Ken and Kathy Moen

Debra Melanson

David Whitehead

Richard and Toni Woodward

Overall it was really good time for everyone that did make it. We got to some areas that we had never been through before. Ken, Kathy, Debra and myself all road up together taking the I-15 route to the 138 that Richard had proposed, up over the hills coming into Ventura from the north side of Los Angeles rather than dealing with the typical LA traffic. It would have been a great motorcycle ride after all as there wasn’t any precipitation at all during the entire drive.

On Friday (3-25-2011) Ken, Kathy, Debra and I all decided to take a drive up to Solvang and spend the day walking around and looking in all the shops. Kathy especially enjoyed the trip as the last few times she had been there she didn’t have as much time to look and see everything. On the way back down we all decided to make a stop at the old Cold Creek Stagecoach stop. If you’ve never been to this place, it’s a great ride destination for sure. A lot of history and just a beautiful place to visit. We made it back to the motel with plenty of time to take a quick nap in preparation for the evening’s Meet-N-Greet. We got to meet quite a few folks who’s names we have heard over the years but have never met. Also meet two new STAR members, Mike and Sharri who weren’t quite sure what they had gotten themselves into. They ended up having a great time though and decided that the STAR organization was definitely for them so we expect we’ll be seeing more of them in the future.

Saturday (3-26-2011) morning we spent looking around at what the vendors had for sale, took a look at some of the new bikes on display and bought a few trinkets and t-shirts. We then decided to head up to Ojai to find a steakhouse that Bob Barbano had told us about. If I recall, the place is called the Deer Valley Lodge. We did indeed find it and had lunch and we were not at all disappointed. This is another great motorcycle ride destination for anyone inclined to do so. Good roads, good food and excellent scenery along the way.

The evening ended with the dinner meeting and several emotional speeches from some of STAR’s top ranking members. We also enjoyed a special comedy act by Allen Cease’s son Kyle. Absolutely hilarious. Everyone’s dear friend Shark was also in attendance and conducted the annual action. Unfortunately I still don’t have any of the numbers but hopefully we’ll hear how well it went soon. The last estimate we did hear from Sam Laughlin though, was that there over 300 attendees this year. A really good turnout for what was supposed to be a rainy weekend.

A few photos have been posted to the chapter’s Face Book site and will also be posted on the chapter web server. Make sure and stop by for a look.

David Lee Whitehead

Chapter Secretary / Web Master