April 26 - 28, BMW Riders Assoc. Ohio Regional Spring Campout

Kokosing Valley Camp and Canoe on the river  at 25860 Coshocton Road, Howard Ohio 43028 is the place to be for the national BMW RA club's spring kick off campout. This is our season opener held on the last weekend in April located 1/2 mile west of Millwood, OH (on the south side of US 36 just west of US 62). Camping is $7.50 per person per night tenting or bike pop-ups. We are looking forward to another great year at this location with its comfortable facilities: flush toilets, hot showers, a laundry, volleyball, basketball, baseball, horseshoe pits, and an on site camp store. Restaurants are close by in Millwood, Danville and Mt.Vernon.  Details HERE or on the Ohio BMW Riders facebook page. GPS Coordinates:  N40 24.133 W82 17.086

Excellent riding roads are found in every direction. Also, nearby is the Kokosing Gap Trail for hikers.

June 13-15 BMW MOA 51st Nat'l. Rally in Redmond, OR

What:    The 51st MOA National Rally
When:    June 13-15, 2024
Where:   Deschutes County Fair & Expo Ctr., 3800 SW Airport Way, Redmond OR 97756

ALL the DETAILS here.  Tent camping space will be available in the club camping area, or anywhere your heart desires.  RVs, hotels, B&Bs . . . lots of choices.  Many activities are happening that require advance sign up.

Registration discount with T-shirt until April 30th HERE. 

Sun. May 19 Distinguished Gentlemen’s Ride - Pittsburgh

Sunday May 19th, Pittsburgh is joining hundreds of thousands of dapper gentlefolk riding stunning motorcycles on the same day around the world to raise funds and awareness for prostate cancer and men's mental health on behalf of their charity partner, Movember.  

All riders must be registered at The Distinguished Gentlemen's Ride website to view local ride details.

As a classic themed event, modern-designed motorcycles, sports motorcycles, dirt/adventure motorcycles and cruiser motorcycles that do not fit within the classic style are not eligible to participate.

It was founded in Sydney, Australia in 2012 and inspired by a photo of TV Show Mad Men’s Don Draper astride a classic motorcycle and wearing his finest suit.  The idea of a themed ride being a great way of connecting niche motorcycle enthusiasts and communities while raising funds to support the men in our lives was born.

May 16 - 19 European Riders Rally, KY

This is a GREAT rally!  Join the BMW Motorcycle Club of Nashville as we host our annual European Riders Rally. We’ll offer a weekend of great riding for both the street and dual sport enthusiast.  Located along the Cumberland River in Burkesville KY, the Rally site offers plenty of flat camping areas and nearby hotels.  Enjoy lots of great food, entertainment, door prizes and camaraderie. 

All makes and models of bikes are welcome!  Click HERE for more info. and also HERE.

May 17 - 19 Gettysburg Battlefield Memorial Workers Rally

2024 10th Battlefield Memorial Workers Rally  -  A weekend of historical camaraderie benefitting the National Park Service at battlefield preservation/restoration. 

$60 entrance fee gets you two nights camping, rally mug, endless coffee and tea; Saturday night dinner; door prizes and historical tours of the battlefield. Friday night dinner gathering at the Dobbin House Restaurant and breakfast at the Lincoln Diner are available. Cabins and RV sites available for rent and must call Artillery Ridge to reserve. Please mention the BMW group when calling.

Artillery Ridge Campground & Horse Park | RV Park Gettysburg PA
Cabins and RV hookups are available by calling the Artillery Ridge Campground. office at (717) 334-1288.

For additional information email questions to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

ChampU Online Learning FREE for BMW MOA Members

INVEST IN YOU  A new partnership between the BMW MOA Foundation and CHAMPIONS RIDING SCHOOL provides BMW MOA members the opportunity to train online to improve their riding skills for FREE!  A special discount on the popular online training course, CHAMPION HABITS: THE CORE CURRICULUM, reduces the standard $99.95 fee to only $39.95 for MOA members.  And, a guaranteed rebate from the MOA Foundation upon completion of the program allows BMW MOA members to gain online learning and improve riding skills at NO COST!  Not to mention a possible disount on your insurance.

https://www.bmwmoa.org/news/640018/ChampU-Online-Learning-Free-for-BMW-MOA-Members.htm

ChampU is a complete video-based, online digital curriculum that mirrors the 2-Day ChampSchool and shares the same goal: make you an awesome motorcycle rider. The in-person 2-Day ChampSchool is a ton of fun, but it’s expensive ($3,000) and only available at a limited number of locations.

ChampU solves both of those problems by making Champions Habits (the techniques, approaches, skills, and the mindsets of the best riders in the world) available to any rider, at any location at an affordable price. World-class riding instruction is just a click away.   

Feb. 2023 Banquet Photos Online

Antonelli's rich chicken marsalla, glazed pork and excellent sides served at our annual banquet on Saturday Feb. 17th were worth a 2,000 mile round trip for some of our Floridian club members, Dave and Greg!  (Unfortunately, winter weather found Jeff D. stuck in Virginia and Josh in Tyrone.)  Check out SmugMug for photos of the event.

Congratulations to our two MOA Medallion award recipients this year:  David Donley, Recording Secretary extrordinaire, and Joe Marnell, Corresponding Secretary and IT guru.  The MOA Medallion is an honor bestowed to show appreciation for years of dedication and outstanding contributions to the Four Winds BMW Riders club.  Holly's friend, Celine Nista, a four decade rider and instructor, gave an interactive presentation on Highway Hypnosis.  Photos and stories from 2023's events, trips, rallies, highlights and lowlights were shared.  Door prize tickets were pulled and one lucky person won the 50/50 pot totaling over $300.  

BMW RA 2023 Canaan Valley, WV Photo Album

A large and assorted group of Four Windzers rented cabins, resort hotel rooms or pitched a tent in Wild and Wonderful West Virginia for the 2023 BMW Riders Association national rally.  We were fortunate that the location was practically in our back yard.  Everyone "did their own thing" from riding to rallying or volunteering and had a great time!  Check out the photo evidence here.

Jack Riepe Photos and Interviews

"Riding, writing, chasing adrenaline, and cultivating friends like wildflowers.  Whether he hit the road on two wheels or four, instead of exhaust, he left a trail of smiles and laughter.  He never belonged to himself.  Always you."

Daughter Katherine's Memories and Tribute962.29 KB

Our own Four Winds photo collection of the inimitable Jack the Reipe - court jester of his beloved moto-fans and friends.  He was a featured guest speaker at our 2015 and 2016 Four Winds rallies.  

Author… Humorist… Speaker

Jack Riepe was born and raised in Jersey City, New Jersey, and began his writing career as a political publicist. Exhausting that sector’s truth and moral inspiration in a few brief years, Riepe moved on to corporate public relations, specializing in business travel issues for major trade associations. He became associate publisher of Business Travel Executive Magazine in 1988, introducing a humor column to an industry that elevates solemnity to a virtue.

Riepe wrote Politically Correct Cigar Smoking For Social Terrorists in 1998, a collection of short stories and essays defining this social ritual and redefining male sensitivity. It was followed 13 years later by Conversations With A Motorcycle, the author’s account of his first two years in the saddle. Regarded by many as a legitimate Bildungsroman (coming-of-age novel), serious riders and discerning readers relate to Riepe’s sense of humor de noir.

Riepe writes about stuff that has happened to all of us — in romance, travel, marriage, business, illicit affairs, first arrests, and every aspect of common life — he just admits it happened to him… And he’s not afraid to go into detail.

Riepe is a columnist for the BMW MOA’s Owners News as he is a devotee of German motorcycles that move at the speed of light. He is a frequent speaker at motorcycle rallies and claims to vacation in a South American Witness Protection Program. He supports the legal profession and gets divorced every seven years. - Susan Stepanski

Obituary video great older photos of a younger Jack - and Halloween!

Interview Mainline Public Television "Authors Speak" 2020 - half hour of the real Jack sounding rather professional

DesMoine 2018 rally interview

FuelStop Chats Episode 22 in 2021 

Chasing the Horizon 2018 podcast  0:10:30 start time with Wes Fleming Episode 40, Dec. 2018 

Club Meeting pro video by Jill Frenchie.   Jill Mernick Frenchie.  One of my first video "jobs" was recording our beloved Jack at the monthly motorcycle breakfast - eat & wrench 11 years ago - as always he was enthusiastic and funny.

Jack's Facebook page

2023 Four Winds Rally PHOTOS Are Published!

The 200 guests attending the 57th annual Four Winds "family reunion" rally enjoyed the rare pleasure of three whole rain-free refreshingly cool days at Redbank Valley Park this year!  (Thurs. night rain doesn't officially count.)  We were excited to see many old familiar, friendly faces as well as first-timers who arrived from Canada, Florida and everywhere in between on a wide range of years, makes and models of beautiful machines. The multiple dinner, lunch, scenic and off-road guided rides were quite popular as well as self-guided exploring. BMW MOA Ambassador, radio show co-host and million-mile rider Roy Dykman hosted a morning coffee and conversation; S. Barrett provided a tire plugging and repair demonstration; B. Crookston organized the field games circus; and D. Scelza prepared a presentation on the strategies of long distance endurance competition rallies. Thanks to the MANY volunteers who pitched in at every level to pull off another great rally - Yay Team!!

Enjoy the fresh batch of 2023 rally photos posted HERE!  All Four Winds rally photos since 2004 can be accessed from THIS page.  (Select any photo to open full size on a large screen for full effect.) 

A shout out to our generous door prize sponsors Kissell Motorsports, Mosites Motorsports, Pitt Cycles, Cycle Gear, Sky Med, New Sweden BMW Riders of South Jersey, BMW Motorrad Club of Washington DC, and Bob's Motorcycles (formerly Bob's BMW).

BMW MOA 50th Rally Photos Here!

The BMW-MOA 50th Rally photos are posted! Our collective cameras didn't capture everyone – but we tried! Four Winds Riders were blessed with a primo location in the Chartered Club Camping section where our rented canopy and chairs were in constant use. We probably set a record with at least 31 Four Winds members in attendance (though never all in one spot at the same time) while entertaining a constant stream of friends and guests from many states flowing through our hospitality tent.

Other than Canadian wildfire smoke, the weather was pleasant and the location near Richmond, VA, at the birthplace farm of the legendary Secretariat, was convenient for 6,000+ attendees to enjoy more activities than anyone could possibly do or see in three days. Visiting, meeting people and relaxing was a full-time occupation for some, not to mention plenty of good riding and historic points of interest around the area.

One of our Fla members, G. McCall, took some of the drone shots. The last dirt track video is our J. Ritter handling the obstacles with masterful control. Faithful rally-goer, Camper Ron K., surprised us by arriving with his family despite recent serious health setbacks. J. Marnell pushed through major physical health challenges and rode his bike to the rally. Two Crookstons executed a round trip to the rally and back home in one day. 83 yr. old MOA Ambassador and Pioneer, Norm Phoenix, was parked in our corner affording us the opportunity to learn of his experiences being the only person who has ridden his bike to ALL 50 of the MOA rallies! He remembers dates, locations, and details that this scribe can’t recall from our own history of only 20 rallies.  Some folks coordinated visits with nearby familly, graduations and weddings into their trip.  All in all, an epic one for the books!

"When & Where" Event Lists

Nationwide "When and Where" lists to plan your adventures for the year and try keep up with which events might be re-scheduled.

https://www.bmwmoa.org/events/event_list.asp

https://bmwra.org/upcoming-events/