Who We Are!
In case you were wondering, The Border Riders Motorcycle Club “BRMC” is a not-for-profit 501(c)(7), designed for gay men who like to ride motorcycles & who like to go camping on their motorcycles. Our membership spans the Pacific Northwest with the greatest participation in the Portland, Seattle, & Vancouver B.C. areas. We are one of the largest, & longest running gay motorcycle clubs in North America. We welcome like minded guest to come meet us at our Meet & Greets &/or on our Day-Rides.
Table of Contents
All the news you need to know about the BRMC
December 2023 Meeting Recap : By Tom C.
Photos : By Tom C.
January Meet & Greets : Portland, BC, & Seattle, we see you, come see us!
Plus
Member’s Birthdays
The BRMC 2020 Calendar of Events
Non BRMC Motorcycle Events
Request for Pictures & Closing Comments.
December Meeting Recap
By Tom C.
The BRMC Christmas meeting this year was in Bremerton, at Todd and Christian's great mid-century home overlooking Sinclair Inlet. Centrally-located, yet out of the mayhem of Seattle and all that traffic.
Chaucuterie was right at hand, and conversation flowed freely. A large living room with some of the largest single-paned windows ever to let in the afternoon turning to evening. A warm and inviting space, and large enough to accomodate all of us easily (about 20). This is a pet-friendly household, with Wilbur, Iggy and Watson adding to the festivities and allowing some great dog-bonding moments.
The food was great - beef braciole with homemade pasta with red meat sauce, home-made bread, salads, Italian table wine, and to finish it off, pears poached in wine sauce with vanilla ice cream. Molto delizioso!
Possibly the most efficiently-run meeting yet, then on to the White Elephant Gift Exchange, a highlight of every BRMC Christmas party. We will likely see some of these items making a return trip next year, but there were some good and useful ones, too. The doggy pull-rope was traded a bit, along with a USB power bank. Always good fun, and a great way to spend time together. And that's what the Border Riders is really about - a good excuse to get together and share time together.
-Tom
December Photos
2024 Annual General Meeting and Potluck
Heads up, Sparky. You need to know this. - The 2024 AGM is free to attend. That’s right! This year we are having a potluck. All you need to do is march yourself down to the 14th floor of the Millennium Tower at 719 2nd Avenue in the ever bustling hamlet of downtown Seattle with your favorite dish in hand that you are willing to share. Now, I know what you are thinking: Will my Foie Gras reheat? What if I can’t find my recipe for Pâtè Grand-Mère? Sparky, it don’t matter. Show up with what you got. Pâtè Grand-Mère? Yes! Costco Chicken fingers? Hell yeah! Tuna noodle casserole? Yes please! The point is to bring the group together, as we are… who we are, and share our culinary experiences with our brothers.
In an effort to not end up with a buffet of desserts, we do ask you choose one thing from the list in the registration form. We’ve broken it in to categories; appetizer, salad, entree, etc. Bring the one that best fits what you can provide. It doesn’t matter if it’s home made or store bought, just bring enough for 6 to 8 people.
We will be providing soft drinks. If you want something more, BYOB.
January Meet & Greets
Portland M&G
On Wednesday, January 3rd, we will meet for dinner at 5:30 at the Kenton Station (8303 N Denver Ave, Portland, OR 97217). We will the move over to the Portland Eagle (835 N Lombard St, Portland, OR 97217) for a social hour starting at 7pm. We hope to see you there! It is a great way to learn about the club and meet some of the guys. Check it out!
BC M&G
We are still looking for a member in BC to take the lead on this. Please let Stan know if you are able do this.
Seattle WAshington M&G
We’re kicking off 2024 with a Meet and Greet at Smarty Pants in good old Georgetown. It’s the usual for the Seattle area group. Dinner at 6pm, stay for drinks and conversation until you’ve had your fill. Address is 6017 Airport Way S, Seattle, WA 98108. Be there!
A Brothers Birthday
We have no members… wait, what?? No members with a birthday this month? You’ve got to be kidding? Well, I guess every April and May, for a good 20 year stint, 50 to 70 years ago, the homo-moto magic just didn’t happen.
Reader’s Corner
A place for you, the reader, member and/or guest, to contribute.
Tell us about your travels, adventures, mishaps, etc.
To contribute, send your story & pictures to News@BorderRiders.com
Keep in mind, you can write about a trip that happened over the summer. It’s doesn’t have to be something you did last month.
Gear Store
The Gear Store is closed until the 2024 Banquet. Feel encouraged to reach out to VP Dennis if there is something you want to make sure will be available at the Banquet so he can order it in for you.
From the Handlebars of the President
The AGM is just around the corner.
There are couple topics for the club to consider; 1) the future of Viktoria Day Campout, and 2) the 2024 Budget will be the will the most time consuming topics..
There are no new members to vote on & the next board is running uncontested so this part should go quickly.
We hope to see you all at the AGM. The view should be spectacular & the Pot Luck should bring in some wonderful dishes to sample. A special thanks to Dennis for score such a wonderful venue for us.
Also just around the corner is the 2024 Banquet. We still need a couple people to help with decorations and set-up. Please contact me if you are able to help with this.
Stan C.
2023 President
Vice President Chatter
My big news is that I have purchased a home for retirement near Tampico which is west of Yakima. I will be splitting my time between the Creek House and Burien. There is some fun riding in the area and a lot of dirt roads close by. I may have to get another bike for those 😊
For those looking for a weekend to get away there will be plenty of space for visitors when Mike and I get it set up. Creek right beyond the back deck.
I’ll continue to be active in the club attending the monthly events and try to work my schedule to make it to most of the Meet and Greets.
Happy New Year to all!
Road Captain Rumblings
2024… Two, zero, two, four… How are we a year away from being a quarter through this century? It seems only yesterday I was at a Pioneer Square bar having a philosophical discussion with my friend Nataly and my husband Christian about the current craze of swing music, the resurgence of Cocktail Culture, and Lounge. The Rockabilly, Psycobilly, Garage, Psych, Punk, Ska, Mod, and Neo-Disco scenes burbling up from the underground as we approached the new millennium. As if everyone was trying to examine all that had happened over the past 100 years. Rolling it around, exploring every nook, edge, and fold, trying to make sense of it all. And now here I am, 24 years later, staring slack jawed and dazed at the events that have so far made this century. Not the national or international, but the personal. The things I have been a part of, the things I have not.
I find myself as the Road Captain for one of the oldest gay motorcycle clubs in the United States and Canada. A long history that’s older than I, and I feel it’s an honor that I get to be a part of this group and help guide it to what it becomes. I am older now and don’t analyze the past as I once did. I seem to focus on the here and now, this moment. But when I look to the past and see all those scenes, music, motorcycle clubs that have come and gone, the key factor was people, participating in something or a range of somethings they loved that inadvertently made up their lives. I am glad you are all here for this thing we are making. I am glad we get to be a part of each other’s lives.
2024 is shaping up to be a great year. I can’t wait to share it with you all.
Todd McN
2023 Road Captain
Treasurer’s Ramblings
“Piggy Bank Looks Balanced”.
See everyone at the AGM.
Sincerely,
Tom C
2023 Treasurer
Secretary Thoughts
The Christmas party was a lot of fun and it was an absolute pleasure to see so many folks there.
The December weather has been a departure from typical and we have been given some wonderful sunny days with temperatures in the 50s. I hope that some of you were able to take advantage of it and put a few hundred miles on the bike like I was able to.
Next up is the Annual General Meeting, see you all there.
Justin W.
2023 Secretary
2024 Calendar of Events
January 20th - Annual General Meeting - Location YTBD.
February 17th - Annual Banquet - hosted by Doug H in Canada.
March 16th - Club Meeting - hosted by Jeremy W in Kent, WA.
April 20th - Club Meeting - hosted by Kas C & Chris M in Vancouver, WA.
May 17th to the 20th - Victoria Day Campout - Pine Flats near Ardenvior, WA.
June 14th to the 16th - June Campout - location YTBD.
July 19th to the 21st - July Campout - location YTBD.
July 20th - RSP Road Riding Tactics with Team OR - Astoria, OR.
July 21st - Highspeed Emergency Braking with Team Oregon - Astoria, OR.
August 16th to the 18th - August Campout - location YTBD.
September 20th to the 22nd - September Campout - location YTBD
October 19th - Club Meeting - hosted by YTBD
November 9th - Club Meeting - hosted by YTBD
December 14th - Holiday Party - hosted by YTBD
Monthly Meet & Greets
BRMC members will be available for interested individuals to meet and learn more about the club and how to get involved. For locations and times, check out the following list of times & location. Watch our FB for last minutes details pr changes.
Portland: Meet & Greet - 1st Wednesday of the month, 7 pm at The Portland Eagle. Dinner together normally proceeds the actual M&G. Dinner location moves so watch our FB Page for last minute details.
Vancouver BC Meet & Greet (tentative - Watch FB) - 2nd Wednesday of the month. 4 to 6 pm at The Met Hotel, New Westminster. (Canceled until further notice.)
Seattle: Meet & Greet - 3rd Wednesday of the month, 7 pm at someplace new. Watch the newsletter, website or Facebook for exact location.
Member & Guest Non-Sanctioned Day-Rides
In addition to the club's monthly M&Gs, local rides frequently happen on the 1st Saturday of every month. Additionally, members & guest going on an impromptu day-ride, or to some other activity, will post their plans on our FB page so others can tag along. Again, watch our FB page for last minutes details or changes.
To learn more about local event’s, impromptu events, or to check status on any event, check out our FB page or email the Road Captain at Captain@BorderRiders.com.
Hey, did you notice that trend? Yep, keep an eye on our FB page for last minute changes and details for all events.
Contributions of Photos & Stories
Please feel encouraged to send us your photo’s of our activities to News@BorderRiders.com
Also, if you do anything interesting outside the club, we’d love to hear about it. Send us a short story with some photo’s and we will try get it into the next newsletter. It doesn’t have to be motorcycle related to be interesting. We are very diverse.
If you have photos and stories to share, please send to news@borderriders.com
