Sweet summertime. The beautiful days, the hazy sunshine and the long lazy afternoons...at sixty miles an hour! We got a wild ride that will take us all around the state and back to Muncie. If your ready, click it and hit it!

July 3rd, Indiana State Fairgrounds, the Indy Mile. The granddaddy of all dirt track races. The event brought together the finest dirt trackers in the country competing for the first annual AMA dirt track championship. AMA Racing Division sponsored the return of what once was the most spectacular motorcycle race in the country. The Harley race team was present and ready for action with the retiring Scott Parker. Parker, nine time World Champion, was making his last appearance in Indy as reigning champion. Other race favorites included the past king, Jay Springsteen , the current points leader Chris Carr, Will Davis and a 17 year old hotshoe from Kentucky who almost stole the show. The Super Trapp Super Tracker race pitted the Harley teams against Honda (returning to the racing scene), Suzuki, and several independent teams. But it all came down to the feature race for the fans. The previous races produced some surprises and a lot of thrills, but the main event was what the crowd of riders wanted to see.

The hot afternoon slowly turned into a steamy night of racing under the lights as fireworks exploded on the horizon around the fair grounds. Eighteen motorcycles screamed around the track sliding sideways in turns at a hundred miles a hour just inches apart. Will Davis, a salty veteran out of North Carolina lead the race as Parker and Carr fell behind, however everyone expected a late charge from the roaring pair and that's just what they got. With only three laps to go, Carr and Parker exploded into the front and the duel was on! The pair was glued together around the track, sliding into the turns at less than a foot apart. Reaching speeds at up to 130 m.p.h. on the stretches, neither gave or took an inch. On the final lap, Carr made his move on the main straightaway winning the race by half a wheel width at the finish line. The win was both exciting and disappointing for Parker, his team rode handily and his second place keeps him high in the points, but his last appearance at Indy was less than he had hoped for.

The race at the fairgrounds featured a H.O.G. hospitality booth with event pins and a free drink to all members who showed their H.O.G. card. The AMA had a vintage display of dirt bikes from previous years and vendor booths to shop between races. For those of you that attended, remember to save your ticket stub. The summer issue of Hogtales has a order form for a limited edition Scott Parker Pin available to members only. Thanks for a great race Scotty- and for the memories.

Ft.Wayne was the site of the twelfth annual H.O.G. Rally. The three day event was centered on the parade in downtown to open the Three Rivers Festival and dubbed 'Thunder at the Fort'. Saturday morning 1,500 hundred Harleys formed up at the Holiday Inn parking lot behind the Allen County and Ft. Wayne Police Drill Teams preparing for an escorted ride to the staging area. During our wait at the hotel, several members busied themselves with last minute doughnuts and coffee including Jeff Peterson and wife, Chris Hiatt and Vicki, Cara Brandom and husband, Jackie Deppe, Norm Holding, Andrea and some guy named Phil, and several others members. 'Captain Kent was on the P.A. system with his own brand of information and entertainment (mostly entertainment) and the milling crowd was upbeat and festive. At 8:15 sharp the sirens were sounded and the bikes fired up and headed out towards downtown in tight formation two abreast. After a short ride to the staging area we shut down and received final instructions for the parade. I was carrying the Chapter flag at the head of the column of flag bearing riders when a strange sound catch my attention. A bearded fellow on a ''Silent Grey Fellow' 1912 Harley pulled up in front of our group popping and back firing. The Grand Marshall had arrived and was ready to lead! Minutes later, the signal was given and all the bikes fired up and started the slow approach to downtown. After a few blocks we broke into rows of three and made a slow sweeping turn onto Main street.

The sight that greeted us was surprising and overwhelming. People six deep lined both sides of the street. The second they heard the roar of the bikes, they were on their feet hollering and waving. As the 'Silent Grey Fellow' did zig zags in front of the advancing parade ,we kept our speed down to 10-15 miles an hour. The crowd applauded and the kids covered their ears and every now and then someone would run out of the crowd and hi-five one of the guys. We continued on to downtown and the waiting TV camera's. At times the roar from the crowd drowned out the blipping of the throttles. While the size of the spectators was no where near the size of the 95th crowd, they were loud, enthusiastic and extremely happy to see us! The parade ended just as quickly as it had began at Headwaters Park in the center of town. The bike show entries peeled off and went on to the show area and the rest of us parked and began inspecting the various food booths. This H.O.G. Rally seemed better organized and had lots of things to do. Hats off to our 'Captain' and his staff for making this rally a real crowd pleaser, you guys did a good job!

As you read this, the Instructor School held at the Muncie Motorcycle School will be history. The candidates who enrolled and attended all the sessions passed with honors. The first ever (and probably the last) Instructors School put on by the State of Indiana Department of Education, Motorcycle Safety Division at Muncie was a huge success. The students were subject to five, 12 hour days and endless homework. The courses taught subjects that the Instructors will use during their Rider Courses, including classroom teaching, range management, driving skill evaluation, accident prevention, teaching skills, range safety, Indiana law, use of visual aids and testing and evaluating.

The nine students spent equal time riding demo's and exercises on the range and in the classroom learning the guidelines laid down by the Motorcycle Safety Foundation and State of Indiana Department of Education. The weather stayed dry and, except for one hot day, pleasant. The candidates had little time to enjoy the weather however, as their breaks were few and short.

The class of seven men and two women completed the course and were assigned to various sites for their student teaching. Mike Mitchell, Teresa Yaney and Derrick Bentley were assigned to Muncie for the class of July 23-25. The weather turned hot and nasty for student teaching, the heat index registered 113 both Saturday and Sunday making conditions severe, both for the students and for the new instructors. After teaching their first class under the watchful eyes of two Chief Instructors, the three passed their final evaluation and were awarded National and State Certification as Motorcycle Instructors. The three chose Muncie as their homesite securing the future of the Muncie school.

Their class achieved several firsts in the Instructor Program- first school held in Muncie, youngest instructor in state (18 years old, Ft. Wayne), first married couple graduated to Instructor (Swineharts, Auburn)(both women become two of only fourteen female instructors in state), second married couple to hold certificates for Site/Administrators/Instructors (Yaney's), first #1277 member trained and based at Muncie (Mike Mitchell).

Because of their hard work and dedication, many riders will be trained from the Muncie area with a caring and knowledgeable staff. The total of five Instructors for the Muncie Site secures the survival of the school into the 21st century and saves it from the chopping block of the State Department.

I want to personally thank each one of these people for stepping up and taking time away from family, work and motorcycling to help others. Mike Mitchell (Pendleton), Teresa Yaney (Anderson) and Derrick Bentley (Elwood). You folks will never know the lives you have saved by making this sacrifice.

Pittsburgh, PA was the site of the H.O.G. sponsored Primary Officer Training School held in mid June. Myself, Mike Sheets, 'Captain' Kent and Phil Benson attended the three day training session. The goal of the conference was to promote, educate and acquire knowledge to effectively operate the local H.O.G. Chapter. The training sessions were held in Pittsburgh and Columbus Ohio. Using guests speakers and various experts (all H.O.G. members/riders) from around the country, the training centered on four main area's- The 3R's "Caring for Volunteers, "C.H.E.W." (business affairs), P.M.A. (being an effective leader) and S.I.P.D.E. (riding safety). Each session had a particular theme and discussion with time allowed for interaction with other H.O.G. Officers from around the country.

The advantage of networking with other Chapters proved valuable as a learning tool for all of us. We found out about things that were working right in our Chapter and about the common problems that all of us share as organizations.

Because of the large amount of information we received and the limited space I have this month, I'll cover the responsibilities of the four Primary Officers- Director, Assistant Director, Secretary/ Treasurer and Safety Officer.

DIRECTOR: Uphold local bylaws, conduct Chapter meetings, attend annual H.O.G. meetings, coordinate officer responsibilities and coordinate all Chapter business/ activities with Chapter Sponsor.

ASSISTANT DIRECTOR: Assist the Director in carrying out his duties, responsible for promoting Club membership, membership orientation and keeping members informed of H.O.G. programs.

SECRETARY: Administer needs of the Chapter, keeping the minutes, maintain enrollment forms and release forms, insure all insurance requirements are met, submit H.O.G. annual application and other reports required by H.O.G., submission of injuries report forms and maintain and store said forms and reports.

TREASURER: Collect funds, report financial status and transactions to membership, submit annual reports to H.O.G. and comply with revenue recording and reporting responsibilities.

SAFETY OFFICER: Form working relationship with local law enforcement, have working relationship with Motorcycle Safety Instructors and encourage special sessions for H.O.G. members, sit in on board meetings to advise on safety issues, educate members on recommended Group Ride Policy and promote safety within Club for all riding activities.

Next month I'll cover Road Captains, Editor, Ladies of Harley and Activities Officers.

In closing, the training we received was very useful and important. I know all of our Officers (past and present) have worked very hard to keep our Club fun, safe and interesting. It's just another fun aspect of motorcycling that awaits all of our new members and past members that attend the meetings and events.

SAFETY TIP OF THE MONTH; Motorcycles have blind spots just like cars. Make it a habit to turn your head and glance in the direction you want to go, especially when passing another vehicle or changing lanes.

Finally, let's close out this session with a note of thanks. Chris Hiatt kindly donated a computer for me to use as I write this column. He also delivered, set up and trained me in it's use. The amount of mileage and money he spent is incredible, however the TIME he gave up away from his family, business and motorcycle is deeply appreciated and beyond a simple "thanks". Your a true friend to our Club, motorcycling and myself.

P.S. Sorry about the thirty phone calls relating to "SAVE AS"!

Ride Safe everyone...