Big Sioux Riders Annual Big Johnson Award Winners

The Big Sioux Riders annually nominate and vote for a Big Johnson Award recipient.  Voting takes place at the club’s annual Christmas Party by a showing of hands after each nominee's story has been read.  Award winners have their name placed on a plaque which proudly hangs at Bak BMW.  They also receive the recognition from the club members and other riders which they often richly deserve.  The award is for the biggest screw up or faux pas of the year.  We generally avoid nominations where someone is seriously injured - the award is meant to be fun.

Historically, a rider was only eligible to win the BSR Big Johnson Award just once, but so many of the prior winners continued to provide deeds worthy of a second award that we had to change the rules.  Then later at a couple events, non-members raised the bar even further so now even non-club members can be nominated and even win this not-so-coveted award.

Each year the prior year’s winner and Big Jim Johnson are in charge of putting together a list of nominations.  You can send nominations to them along with a description of the faux pas and screw ups.

• 2004 - Jim Johnson - Award Namesake - For getting lost, falling over, and then running out of gas during the club’s only Poker Run.
• 2005 - Stan Stille - GPS Challenged.  For going to the wrong town for the Iowa Rally, even after Stan’s son Ryan had put the location (Marengo) into Stan’s GPS.  Stan went to the location of the rally the prior year (Kalona).  After losing his sleeping bag and tent on the way, Stan ended up spending the night in a hotel room in Coralville.  
• 2006 - Doug Shonley - Adventures with Pickups.  Shortly after Nancy Rae got her new truck, Doug moved it out of the way to get his bike out.  Doug then proceeded to back into the truck with his motorcycle and fall over.  Nancy Rae was laughing to hard to assist with getting the bike back up.
• 2007 - Steve Martin - Tent Stake Packing.  After arriving at the Spring Campout, Steve claims he had forgotten to have packed his tent stakes.  He loaned a few spare stakes from the others, and then fabricating the remaining stakes he needed.  The next morning Steve found he had not forgotten his stakes, they were under his tent and he had slept on them all night.
• 2008 - Judy Walker - Turn Demonstrator. While demonstrating how to do a proper corner at a MSF class, Instructor Judy accidentally fell down and hurt her ankle.  Actually this happened on the course when class was not in session and Judy was practicing.
• 2009 - Sue and Steve Lee - The Wild Berry Incident.  Sue vomited wild berry Tums onto her husband Steve while moving at speed as they traveled on separate motorcycles in Nebraska.
• 2010 - Dale Nordlie - Torque Challenged.  Dale lost the back wheel off his GS motorcycle while on his way to Baxter Cycle Open House and Campout in Marne.  No one was hurt and there was no serious damage.  Dale now safety wires his wheel bolts on.
• 2011 - Marc LaDue - Camping Prowess.  For his outstanding camping stories after purchasing and carrying his new camping gear on his Trans-American Trail trip...  and never using it.
• 2012 Dan Watson - "I Forgot About Texas".  During his big year of riding, Dan headed from Arizona to his friend Dick Edward’s home in Arkansas.  After an early morning start with thoughts of an easy one day ride, realization set in.  In his own words Dan says “I forgot about Texas”.  He had forgotten to account for time to cross Texas. Even after that fact sunk in, Dan kept going because “I was getting really good gas mileage”.  He arrived at Dick’s shortly after sunrise the next morning as Dick and Janice were leaving the house for the gym.
• 2013 Terry Hughes and Steve Martin (Jim Hawthorne Honorable Mention) - “Invisible Cornering Harley”.  During a group ride Terry failed to negotiate an on-ramp curve and ended taking his Harley Road King off road into some very high prairie grass.  Jim following said the bike just disappeared and when he went to look all he could see was Terry’s helmet sticking out of the grass.  Amazingly Terry managed not to dump the bike.  The first tow truck operator to arrive suggested riding the bike out, but Terry had no interest in trying that whatsoever.  Jim went and got on the bike and found he had no interest in trying it either due to the high grass and an incline.  Ultimately two trucks were required to winch the machine out.  Steve Martin received a co-award after he confessed to being Terry’s MSF rider coach. 
• 2014 - Brion Hase - "Local Navigation Skills".  After managing to elude this award for years, Brion Hase finally received the Big Johnson Award for 2014.  Brion's local navigation skills where brought into question when he was not able to find the grave site of our lost friend and fellow rider, Al Agrimson during his funeral.  In Brion's (my) defense, there are many, many grave yards in Sioux City "near a golf course". Obviously, this was not a great defense because Brion lost by a nearly unanimous vote from the members (Brion voted for Jim).   Sorry Tom for leading you on a one hour ride to no where during the funeral procession, but it really was a beautiful day and I think Al would have a real chuckle over our grand ride to find him.  Al always preferred riding over golf, and boy did that hearse take off fast.  I sure hope one of you other clowns can do something grand to win next year.
• 2015 Lynn Johnson (wife of the award's namesake) "Orange Rider".  After riding her R1200RT off the road, sort of destroying it, and cracking a few ribs on her way to the Mothers Day Campout, Lynn ordered her husband Jim to find her a new bike. When asked what kind of bike, she requested an orange one.
• 2016 - Tom Fountoulakis - "Plenty of Air".  After riding from Sioux City to Jasper, Arkansas, Tom announced to a group upon arrival in Jasper that he was running 28 lbs in his RT tires to get better traction.  Someone noted his tires looked pretty low, even for 28 pounds and that his tire wouldn't last the trip on that air pressure, Tom would have none of that.  The next morning when Tom came out of the hotel the tire was flat, he purchased a new tire the following day.
• 2017 -  Randy Roos - "Return Randy" - During the ride to Randy's fourth US corner near San Diego in April, his riding buddies Steve Martin and Mark Roth were both following him as they traveled through a tiny little village of Elida, New Mexico.  Elida, with less then 200 residents, has two busy full time police officers.  Either the light at the local speed trap indicating "15 mph when blinking" was not blinking, or Randy failed to notice it.  In any case Randy's follower's were both pulled over in order to personally donate to the local municipality in the form of a ticket.  Randy failed to notice this and continued on.  A few miles later, after realizing his buddies were no longer in tow, Randy returned to find them chatting with the police officer near the site of alleged infraction.  After a short discussion about his return, the officer told Randy that since he had returned, it was only fitting that he also donate to the village.  Randy was provided with the paperwork to do so and was released. 
• 2018 -  to be updated soon.
• 2019 - Winner will be announced at annual meeting December 7, 2019 - Taking nominations now.

Big Sioux Riders Christmas Party, This Friday @ 6 PM - Final Reminder

This is the final reminder that the 2017 Big Sioux Rider Christmas Party/Annual Meeting is at 6 PM on this Friday, December 15th.  The location is the Pierce St. Mansion, 2901 Jackson St, Sioux City, IA.  The fun starts at 6 PM, so don't be too late.  We currently have 38 people signed up, with a few more on the fence.  Mark Roth is preparing brine turkeys, Butch Nice is making his dirty rice, Randy Roos is preparing authentic German potato salad, and I will be bringing dinner rolls, bread and coffee.  Please bring your favorite dish or desert and something to drink.  Those who don't show may end up facing the possibility of being elected as a club officer for next year.

After dinner, we will have 2018 officer elections and then hear nominations for the Big Johnson Award for this year's (2017) most memorable moment.   So far I think the nominations are Randy Roos, Mark Roth, Stan Stille, Steve Martin, and most likely Big Jim Johnson.  For those want to nominate me, all my stupid stuff from 2016 doesn't qualify.  You can read more about the award here: http://bigsiouxriders.blogspot.com/2014/01/big-sioux-riders-annual-big-johnson.html   Jim Johnson and last year's winner, Tom ("I have plenty of air") Fountoulakis, will be accepting nominations for the 2017 award.

There will be a white elephant gift exchange again this year.  The exchange is optional, you don't have to participate in it.  All members and guests want to participate should bring something for the exchange.  Exchange gifts in the $10 to $30 range are encouraged.  We will draw to for the order, each person may choose to unwrap a new gift or steal a gift which was already unwrapped by someone else.  Each gift can only be stolen up to three times, after that it become the property of the last holder.

The Christmas Party is included when you pay your 2018 membership dues at the party.  Dues are $20 per individual or $25 for a couple.  The dues are thriftily used to cover club expenses for the party, pizza for shelter kids, camp out cost overruns,  organization dues, and other minor expenses.  Steve Martin will be collecting dues and will give the Treasurer's report.  New members are welcome and the new pledging member challenge will be waived if you sign up and pay at the party.

There has also been a request for the club to discuss dropping its BMWMOA affiliation and to switch to being a more brand inclusive touring club of all motorcycle enthusiasts.  We will discuss and possibly vote at the party.  The idea being to save on the club's membership costs each year, and to be more welcoming to younger riders and riders with similar interests.

​New 2018 Triumph Bonneville Bobber Black at product reveal in Omaha last Thursday

​New 2018 Triumph Bonneville Bobber Black at product reveal in Omaha last Thursday

November Monthly Meeting

The monthly Big Sioux Riders meeting is a week early in November.  It is this Tuesday (November 14th) at 6 PM at Bob Row's Point After, 2320 Transit Ave, Sioux City, IA.  If your the first one there, grab a big table.  We will be finishing planning for Christmas Party and discussing other business.

The 2017 Big Sioux Rider Christmas Party/Annual Meeting will be at 6 PM on Friday, December 15th.   We will be meeting that the Pierce Mansion again as in past years.  Mark Roth is preparing grilled brine turkeys again.  We will also be having our traditional white elephant gift exchange with gives in the $15-30 range.   There are also be officier elections and special awards.   I'll be sending out an RSVP list and more details at the end of November.

November 18th is the Open House at Baxter Cycle in Marne, IA.  They will have free coffee, donuts and other eats as well is deals on about everything.  For you cross dressers, the Triumph apparel is pretty cool, relatively inexpensive, and looks good on your non-Triumph ride.  http://baxtercycle.com/

The International Motorcycle Show in Minneapolis will be December 8-10th this year - http://www.motorcycleshows.com/city/minneapolis-mn-0

Thanks everyone who provided Steve Martin with your MOA membership information, Steve and gotten that renewal process completed.  We will vote at the Christmas Party to decide if we want to continue that membership.

Save The Date - Fri, Dec 15th - 2017 Christmas Party

At the monthly meeting this past Tuesday, we voted to have the Christmas Party at the Pierce Mansion in Sioux City again this year.  Steve Martin made the arrangements.  The Big Sioux Rider Christmas Party will be at 6 PM on Friday, December 15th, 2017.  Mark Roth will be making brine smoked turkeys again, Randy Roos will be bringing German potato salad, and Butch Nice, who passed the pledging new member challenge shortly after the meeting Tuesday, will be bringing dirty rice which he claims to have perfected with a lot of research and testing after the Husker Rally.  We will be asking everyone else to bring a side dish or desert, and if you can't decide between which we recommend a desert.

There will be a white elephant gift exchange again this year, so start shopping now. Both you and a guest(s) can participate so bring something to exchange for each.  I'll be working on the rules.  Gifts around $20 range are recommended.

Jim Johnson and Tom ("I have plenty of air") Fountoulakis, the esteemed 2016 winner, will be taking nominations for the highly sought 2017 Big Johnson Award (http://bigsiouxriders.blogspot.com/2014/01/big-sioux-riders-annual-big-johnson.html).  We have many nominations this year.

The Christmas Party is included when you pay your 2018 membership dues at the party.  Dues are $20 per individual or $25 for a couple.  The dues are thriftily used to cover club expenses for the party, pizza for shelter kids, camp out cost overruns,  organization dues, and other minor expenses.  Steve Martin will be collecting dues and will give the Treasurer's report.  New members are welcome and the new pledging member challenge will be waived if you sign up and pay at the party.

Weekly Rides Last Two Weeks of September 2017

We changed our weekly ride day to Thursday back in August.  We are continuing to ride on Thursdays for the rest of the year.  The meet up location was originally Sam's Club on Singing Hills Blvd. but because of all the heavy traffic and construction in that area, we are moving the start point back to HyVee gas station at 3333 Gordon Dr.

We are originally scheduled to have weekly rides through September.  If the weather looks good, we may continue to have rides into October.  Rides will be posted on Thursday mornings via email.  If you would like to be on the email list, email me at brion.hase@gmail.com.  If you are wondering about the ride, text me at 712 253 4650.

September 21st - I have kind of a nice route in my head which goes through Mapleton, Castana, Winnebago, and some of those towns.  There are a couple of nice eateries in in Decatur, NE I would like to try.

September 28th - We should crash the "Last Thursday" motorcycle get together in Sioux Falls.  Its a monthly get together of various motorcycle brands - https://www.facebook.com/lastthursdaysiouxfalls/?ref=page_internal
(yup, against my better judgement that is a link to the Internet in the Internet).

Lastly we have Applefest in Woodbine Iowa coming up on September 30th.  I won't be available, but I'm sure Steve Martin will be organizing some kind of ride there.

Upcoming
GLMC Harvest Road Rally - Sept 30, Hutchinson, MN -http://www.glmc.org/harvest.php
Applefest - Sept 30, Woodbine Iowa - http://woodbineia.com/applefest/  Check with Steve Martin
BS Rider Fall Campout, Oct 6-8 in Verdigree, NE - Tentative date, waiting to see who is interested.
Falling Leaf Rally - Oct 13-15 in Potosi, MO - http://www.gatewayriders.com/falling-leaf/

Pizza Party Canceled

We have to cancel the Pizza Party for the Kids at the Shelter this Sunday.  We didn't get enough people to do it, its a busy weekend for many.  We will setup a new tentative date in June at the meeting next Tuesday.  I have June 18th and 25th are available.  Please let me know if there are weekends which work good for you if you can volunteer but can't make it to the meeting.   A weekday evening in the summer may also work. The pizza party is for the kids at the shelter.  We try to give them an hour or two to eat pizza, drink soda, look at our motorcycles, and just be kids.  Sorry to play on everyone's heart strings, but a lot of the kids have been through hell and letting them to feel like a normal kids for even for a few minutes is a big deal.

We have a meeting on May 23rd at 6 PM.  Meet at Bak BMW and let's try again to go to Bob's in LeMars.  If it is raining, meet at the Icky Nickel.

Next Wednesday is our final chance to go to Iowa's #1 hamburg place in 2017 during National Hamburger Month.   The Big Sioux Riders weekly rides start at 4 PM at the Sam's Club Parking lot near Singing Hills Blvd and I-29.   We ride every Wednesday when the temp is 62 degrees or more and rain is not likely, May through September.

Weekly Ride Canceled, Bob's on Saturday

Hello Everyone,

Today is the first day of our Weekly Wednesday ride at 4 PM, but it looks like the weather is not cooperating.  We are not going to reach 62 degrees by 3 PM and it's probably going to rain about that time, so the ride canceled.  Hopefully next week will be better.

Also, the Autobahn Club in Sioux Falls is making their spring pilgrimage to Bob's Bar in Martinsburg this Saturday (4/8).  The Big Sioux Riders have an obligation to crash that party of for no other reason then to just say hello and to spike our cholesterol for a day or two.  They should be in Martinsburg around or or shortly after noon Saturday.  I plan to be there and then go for ride with Steve Martin afterwards. Feel free to join us.

March 21st Meeting Summary

We had a productive meeting last night (3/21).  Following is a summary.

The Iowa Motorcycle Safety Forum is back in Ames on May 19th this spring.  Details: http://www.iowadot.gov/mvd/motorcycle/safety/

For the campout we will have cheese burgers, hot dogs, coleslaw, chips, and brownies (Mark/Terry) Friday evening.  Terry has refrigerator space for hauling cold items (thanks).  All four cabins at the campground have been rented.  If you have a cabin and want to share space let me know.  Terry has reserved lot #20E, which is on the north side of the cabins.  Doug has the south lot reserved #27E (his rig blocks a lot of wind), and the club has a lot south of that rented, #29E.  We plan to grab lot #27E which is a handicapped spot and can't be reserved in advance without a handicap and others as needed.  We have to rent one spot for every 6 campers.  On Saturday, we have decided to meet for a light lunch at the BBQ place in South Yankton for lite lunch, NE rather then in Niobrara.  It's Backroad BBQ, 55698 898th Rd, Yankton, NE.  http://www.bigsiouxriders.org/14th_Annual_Big_Sioux_Riders_Spring_Campout.pdf

We are looking into doing the Ride-in for Pizza and Soda the kids at the Crittenton Center on May 21st.

We will have a weekly ride starting in April.  Ride will start at 4 PM on Wednesdays on days when the temp is above 62 at 3 PM.  We will meet at the Sam's Club on Singing Hills.  Expect to ride for an hour or so before and after lunch. 

Jim Johnson is organizing a ride-in in Oark, Arkansas at the Oark General Store about noon on Thursday, April 20th.  Contact Jim for details.

14th Annual Big Sioux Rider Spring Campout, Mother's Day, At the Dam - May 12th - 14th, 2017

The "14th Annual Mother's Day Big Sioux Riders Camp Out" will be on May 12-14th in 2017.  The Camp Out starts on Friday afternoon as in recent years.  Everyone is welcome to stay and camp with us Friday and/or Saturday.  This year's location is again the Fort Randall Creek Recreation Area (SD State Park near Pickstown, SD).  We are cooking the Friday evening dinner this year (cheeseburgers, coleslaw, chips and desert).  There will also be a cook out Saturday evening at the campground (brats, kraut, campfire beans, chips, and desert).  Free, hot coffee will be provided the whole weekend.  This is a low key, low cost ($20 for one night, or $25 for both - includes a 7 day SD Park vehicle permit) get together and a good time for everyone to get out and get their tires warmed out.  Friends and all riders are welcome.  I'll post more details in the next few weeks.

Update Feb 27, 2017!!  The printable event flyer with more details is here (clicky):
http://www.bigsiouxriders.org/14th_Annual_Big_Sioux_Riders_Spring_Campout.pdf