| EAST COAST SPEEDBALLS NEWSLETTER September 14 , 2002 |
| Hi SPEEDBALLS, Its 2:00am Saturday morning as I once again hear the rattle of my faithful alarm clock as it becons me to awake to get this AARP body moving for the trip north . After a few seconds my brain finally connects with my arms & legs & Speedy Racer stumbles to his feet . Within 15 minutes the Speedball Express is purring up the highway , heading towards Frackville, Pa. & the beginning of another " GREAT ADVENTURE ". The drive north just flys by & before you know it, the 240 mile drive is completed & Granny's awaits this hungry ATV fanatic. With most of our group either having to work or getting thier quads ready for the Hatfield McCoy Trail trip next week, most of the regulars have declined to join Speedy Racer this wondeful fall day. BUT as our club grows, so does our rider base & today three new members from Reading , Pa. who are camping atop some remote mountain & Mike Yucha & his Raptor side kick Mel have decided join Speedy Racer for todays festivities. HE! HE! So after feeding my face at Granny's & no surprise last minute riders popping up at the last minute, I headed for Shamokin, Pa. & the now defunct " K Mart " parking lot to hook up with Mike & Mel. No sooner do I arrive in Shamokin, Pa. at the parking lot , a LOUD roar is heard as Mike & his Raptor come blasting out of the bushes! HA! HA! Within a few minutes, Mel comes cruising across the parking lot with an excitied look on his face! Once hello's are exchanged, Mel begins to tell us that after the last ride, that he has installed new sprockets & chain on his Raptor. Upon hearing this I ask Mel IF he insatlled the masterlink in the right direction???? I state to Mel " That if you don't, it could pop off & leave you stuck on the trail ". With a puzzled look on his face Mel proceeds to inspect his handy work & what does he find??? The " master link is " GONE " & we haven't even gone riding!!!!!!! So Mike heads off to his house for a replacement & I head across the mountains to link up with our mountain dwellers , who are camped over near Mt. Carmel. By 10:25 am , I have rounded up our mountain dwellers & returned to K Mart to find repairs to Mel's Raptor complete. NOW its time to BLAST off for some serious trail riding & hill climbing! With just five sport quads & one dirt bike , todays ride would NOT be a " MIXED " ride , but an " SBO " ride !!!! YAHOO!!!!!!!!!!!!! Our new Speedballs want to see some of the serious hills that they have viewed on our website, so off --- cont. |