Did We Break The Record?

Did the Mac Pac break the Guiness Book Record for the most BMW motorcycles in one paradew formation? Complete details will be available within 24 hours. But I was compelled to make a statement now.

Never have I been prouder to be a member of any social group than I was yesterday...

The Mac Pac (the premier chartered BMW riding club serving southeast Pennsylvania) represents the epitome of fellowship, friendship, social consciousness. riding expertise, and technological know-how. I cannot tell you how choked up I got watching our guys (and women) coming flying into the Montgomeryville Cycle Center parking lot on Sunday, May 2nd. While expectations ran high that we could beat an existing Guiness Book record, something else was evident. The infectious smiles of the Mac Pac instantly revealed the delight of sharing a kind of private joke... A joke that starts out with, "So a handful of guys who ride German motorcycles (known to be favorites of the barbed wire in the jockstrap crowd), got together and decided..." And it became instantly apparent that while breaking the record would be fun, just getting together on a scale like this was historic enough.

And every member of the Mac Pac started the conversation the same way, "What can I do to help?" There were ten volunteers for each position.

But then things moved to a higher level... Riders starting throttling in from all over. They came from Connecticut, Virginia, South Jersey, Lake Placid/New York, Bayonne/New Jersey, Queens/New York, from west of Harrisburg, Pa, from Maryland, and from Delaware. Rogers George (holding dual citizenship in the Mac Pac and the Mid-Atlantic Riders group) came roaring in with his contingent. Don Eilenberger blew in from South Jersey with guys from the Jersey Shore Riders and the New Sweden Group. Mike Cantwell drifted down from the Adirondacks, NY (about 90 minutes from Montreal, having taken an unintended Google Maps tour of Princeton, NJ). Some started while it was still dark to make this event — and rode over a hundred miles to help pull it off.

Each had several things in common... They all had that infectious smile... They all shared the same private joke... They are all part of an incredibly unique motorcycle riding community. It was then I realized that they had extended those same credentials to me. And considering how I ride, I am proud to be part of the punch-line.

Yesterday would not have been possible without the leadership and participation of the Delaware Valley Riders, The New Jersey Shore Riders, The New Sweden Riders (NJ), The Mid-Atlantic Riders, and over hundred of independent BMW riders, whom we all met for the first time. Also, it came to my attention that Brian Rathgen, publisher of Backroads Magazine, also alerted the masses to this event. Backroads Magazine is a very interesting publication that appeals to the riders of all marques, with spot-on ride reports, stories, op-ed pieces, and technical reviews that hit the mark without requiring the subscriber to read between the lines.

I would like to thank the registration crew who made the sign-in process utterly painless yesterday.

They were:

• Patti Minner, who just got her biker’s permit.
• Gordon Till, parts manager for the Valley Forge Harley Davidson dealership
• David Crank, who rode in on a pristine Vellocette (which couldn’t be counted)
• Rogers George, who tells jokes with punch-lines that require footnotes.
• Kimi Bush, a real firecracker, was a big help in distributing the door prizes, (which were ten $25 gift certificates from Montgomeryville Cycle Center, courtesy of Bob Jones).

Another unspoken hero of the day was James “Big Jim” Ellenberg, his wife (the lovely Dot), and his son Alex, who baked well over 1,000 chocolate chip, pecan, and peanut butter cookies, and donated them to the event. “Big Jim’s” cookies are world famous for a big taste (a dozen weigh well over a pound), and will soon be available commercially.

I would also like to thank Bob Jones, who worried terribly that the heat would kill me and that I might die on his property. After repeatedly advising me that I could move the registration tables into the air conditioning, he rolled out a fan that must have been 16-feet in diameter, set it to “Force Five,” and had it blow straight on me.

In truth, I did almost nothing for this event. But I would be remiss if I did not call your attention the effort extended by Todd Trombore and David Case. Todd was the voice of exuberance. David was the persona of practicality. I was ballast. There was talk going around that we should make this an annual event. Why not? We should set a combined goal next year (between five of the local clubs) to break 500 motorcycles. That would be a pisser, too.

Complete details of yesterday's event (see previous blog) will be posted late tonight.

Fondest regards,

Jack • reep • Toad
AKA The Lindbergh Baby (Mac Pac)
AKA Vindak8r (Motorcycle Views)
AKA The Chamberlain -- PS (With A Shrug)