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23rd BIENNIAL GVMC/OMC HALFWAY RUN/ ALL THE WAY RUN
GVMC/OMC
23rd BIENNIAL HALFWAY RUN/ALL THE WAY RUN
May 11-13TH 2023
(CLOSED CLUB EVENT)
Change of format for this year 2023 For 2023 it will be an ALL THE WAY RUN down to Oakland California for the 40th Anniversary of the opening of the Oakland Motorcycle Club's Clubhouse
Accommodations A Block of rooms is being held at the Best Western Plus Hotel in Hayward California -380 W.A. Street
The rooms are reserved under OMC/GVMC Block for May 11-12-13th. Check out on May 14th.
The rooms are being held only until April 10, 2023 There is a seven day cancellation period once you book.
To book - Please call Valerie at 510-785-8700. Her hours are 7:00am until 3:00pm Monday- Tuesday- Thursday - Friday. And 7:00am until noon on Wednesdays
Schedule
May 11th - Brent and Tracey will be hosting an Open house at their home on Thursday evening.
May 12th - The OMC will be hosting a Banquet on Friday Night.
May 13th - A Ride on Saturday Morning and OMC Open House on Saturday afternoon.
May 14th - Check out and travel day.
We are organizing a shuttle from the hotel to the OMC Clubhouse for the Banquet on Friday night.
Please note Once you have made your reservation or your decision to attend if you do not plan on staying at the hotel please notify Dwight at dwightpat@shaw.ca
He will need to have an accurate head count for the Banquet and the shuttle.
WE HOPE YOU WILL JOIN US FOR THIS FUN FILLED EVENT. THIS YEAR MARKS ANOTHER MILESTONE, IT HAS BEEN 40 YEARS SINCE OUR FIRST HALFWAY RUN SO LET’S MAKE THIS AN EVENT TO REMEMBER!
FOR ALL YOU NEW MEMBERS THIS IS YOUR OPPORTUNITY TO GET TO KNOW THE MEMBERS OF OUR SISTER CLUB THAT YOU HAVE PROBABLY HEARD SO MUCH ABOUT. IT IS ALSO A GREAT TIME TO RELAX AND ENJOY THE COMPANY OF YOUR OWN CLUB MEMBERS, RIDE WITH THEM AND GET TO KNOW THEM BETTER. THERE IS ALWAYS SOME FRIENDLY COMPETITION, A SCENIC RIDE, FOOD, FUN AND LOTS OF TIME FOR SOCIALIZING.
GETTING THERE WILL BE YOUR OWN ADVENTURE, MAKE A PLAN AND JOIN A GROUP, TAKE A TOUR OR JUST TAKE THE DIRECT ROUTE ON YOUR OWN. WHATEVER YOU DECIDE, WE’LL SEE YOU THERE!
Check in the Photo Gallery and Past Events to see the great fun had at this event in the past.
Event Comments:
The Halfway Run got a new venue and a new date for 2023. From 2007 through 2019 this event has been held in Cottage Grove, Oregon at the Village Green Inn. Sadly, that has now been sold and is in the process of being torn down. We were unable to find another suitable location on such short notice so when we heard about the OMC celebrating the 40th Anniversary of the opening of their Club Hall it was decided to make this an “All The Way Run”. The OMC set up a weekend of events for us that coincided with their Anniversary Open House and hotel arrangements were made. Twelve people from the GVMC made the trip, four couples in vehicles and four riders. Most of the trips went as planned but Jim and Jackie ended up with an adventure.
Here is Jackie’s story of their trip:
The Great Turkey Adventure:
On Thursday, our last day of travelling down the Washington/Oregon coast on our way to the All The Way Event in Oakland turned out to be a little more exciting than expected. Jim says that we ran a fowl of a local.
We were travelling about 50 miles an hour on Hwy 101 about 7 miles from the small town of Laytonville when a 35-to-40-pound turkey hit us when it was trying to fly across the road. It shattered our windshield with glass coming inside all over Jim and I and the dashboard and floor, Jim could hardly see out the windshield but managed to get us to a wider side of the road where we stopped and got out to survey the situation. We were like “What the heck was that?” I had seen something come up out of the bushes on my side of the road and saw it flying across in front of me. When its body got to Jim’s side of the car it hit us and bounced away, but we never saw where it went to; the evidence was the turkey feathers stuck in the smashed windshield. We weren’t hurt at all just covered in glass.
Some very nice people stopped to help us and wanted to drive us for help, but we didn’t want to leave the car with all our belongings and besides needed a moment to catch our breath and decide what to do as we had no cell service.
Luckily, a Highway Patrol car was going by in the opposite direction to attend another call and when he saw us turned around to help. He had to get to his other call so he told us to drive slowly and carefully with our flashers on to the next town and we could get help from a Napa store. He said he would radio the next officer and let him know that we were on the way. Sooo with Jim crouched down so he could see under the cracks and me advising more to the left, more to the right we made it safely to the next town.
The fellow couldn’t help us at the Napa store but recommended someone else in town. We called them but they didn’t do windshields anymore. They recommended a shop in Ukiah 35 miles away. We called him but he was too busy to help us, so he recommended someone else. Luckily, those people said they could order a windshield and put it in first thing the next morning so that meant an overnight stay. In the meantime, Jim had contacted BCAA who contacted Triple A to send us a tow truck. A very helpful driver arrived but not for another two and a half hours.
He towed us to the shop in Ukiah where there was a hotel a block away. While we were waiting everyone who came to the Napa store wanted to talk to us about our accident. One fellow told us that we were the second car to be hit by a turkey that day.
The next morning, Jim had the car back to them a 9:00am and by 10:30am the new windshield was in, all the glass vacuumed out of the car, and we were on our way again.
We arrived at the hotel in Hayward at 2:00pm on the Friday and had a few hours to get lunch and catch our breath before heading off to the banquet dinner. Our main regret is that we missed the Meet and Greet at Brent and Tracy’s on the Thursday evening. But at least we were fine and able to enjoy the rest of the celebrations. ………………………
I asked Jim Brooke for a paragraph or two about their trip down so here in Jim’s words is his complete report on the event:
Jim Brooke “All The Way Ride”
Bill Wells, Dave Seifert and me (Jim Brooke) left on Sunday the 7th going South for the event. Travelling to Astoria, Florence, Grants Pass, Fort Bragg then Hayward on Thursday. Unfortunately, Bill was feeling unwell and returned home from Florence.
We met up with two OMC members Bob Pushwa and Duffy Collin at Grant’s Pass who led us on some awesome twisties.
When at Hayward we went to a great gathering at Tracy and Brent’s, old and new members from both clubs and good food to boot! Fun! Friday was quiet until the bus took us to the club for a celebration dinner, more people and chatter with great food, wine and gifts. Our bus back to the hotel was very loud and rowdy.
Saturday was a ride in the Oakland area to memory locations of the OMC. I was lost within two turns but thanks to Brian shepherding the GVMC all was well. Back at the club some OMC history was told while another great feed was laid out. We said our final goodbyes, thanks to all and especially to Tracy and Brent for a great event.
Before returning to our hotel, we stopped over to visit Mark who had been feeling poorly and did not attend the events. We had a good visit and I think he enjoyed the time and seemed to be feeling a little better.
On Sunday Dave and I left and returned North via Douglas City (not Grant’s Pass), Lincoln City, Shelton then home. We spent a minimum amount of time on I-5 and 101 going back and forth between on twisties. Altogether we rode 4500 KMS and had a ball. No chicken strips on our bikes or anything else so we got home safe and happy on the 18th.
Thanks for a great event and ride. Jim ……………………
I also asked Dave Kingston to tell us about their trip so here is Dave & Pat’s trip in a nutshell:
All road trips start with planning… Oakland would be the third long road trip I did with Pat. First was San Francisco then Utah/Arizona now it was back to the Bay Area. My friendship with Pat started as coworkers in 1990 and over the years it became my part in our friendship to be the planner. So, I planned.
Bikes were ready, I had a new HD tour pack (with backrest) and rain gear just in case. We opted for Hwy 97 – first night Ellensburg. My planned route quickly fell apart with snow on Hwy 2 the day we left. So, it was Hwy 9 & 90 to Ellensburg. Day two was an easy 5 hrs. down 97 to Bend, Oregon. Or so we thought. We were 100 miles north of Bend when the rain started, not a gentle Spring rain. It was 5 degrees Celsius, with rain so heavy that the cars in front of us could only be seen by their spray. The motel room heater in Bend worked all night to dry our boots and gloves. The next day was cold and damp, so we opted for a short day to Klamath Falls in a motel with a Hot Tub. We arrived to find the Hot Tub was closed for maintenance. On day four, with Oregon behind us and looking forward to some California sunshine, we crossed Noble Pass Summit (5,935 ft). The sky was brighter, but it was still cold with at least four feet of snow on the side of the road. We got through the pass and down to Chico mid afternoon where it was sunny and warm. All is good.
The next day Oakland was a very pleasant four-hour ride, avoiding most highways, we arrived at the hotel in Hayward to a Hot Tub that was open, friends from home and a very warm welcome from the OMC. …………………….
The Best Western Inn in Hayward was the destination for our stay, the hotel was convenient to all locations and very accommodating to us.
The festivities started early on Thursday evening with a Meet & Greet at Brent and Tracy’s great house on the hillside in their spacious backyard complete with a full outdoor kitchen set up. It was fun to see and catch up with many old friends and meet some of the newer members as well. Dan Gulart was taking care of the bar and kept us entertained with his pouring and mixing tricks. Some very nice wines from a friend’s vineyard were served along with whatever mixed drink people were looking for. Brent showed off his barbecuing skills with delicious chicken that complimented the great feast that Tracy set out for us. All in all, a fantastic evening. Thank you, Brent, and Tracy.
Friday evening getting ready for the big event. The OMC were putting on a special banquet for us at their club hall and we had arranged to have a bus pick up our group from the hotel. Promptly at 5:00pm our cushy little 14 passenger minibus arrived loaded up 14 passengers and departed promptly at 5:15pm. Our driver’s name was Hans and he laughingly listened while a few of the passengers offered up directions, he explained that his GPS would take care of everything, and he delivered us safely to our destination and left us with a promise to return.
The Club Hall was dressed to the nines, each table held a beautiful centerpiece made by the OMCA ladies. There were specially made oilcloth runners in black with rows of both club logos imprinted in orange.
There was also a commemorative coffee mug and an All The Way Run pin laid out at each place setting. It wasn’t long before plates of delicious appetizers started to appear on the center table, and this set the pace for the great evening to come. A delicious dinner soon followed and then it was on to the presentations, speeches, and entertainment.
We started off with a gift for each club president presented by the other and then on to our presentation to the OMC for the 40th Anniversary of their Club Hall. We had an original poster from the day of their opening 40 years ago that was framed with the original pin attached to a commemorative plaque. This was very well received and much appreciated by everyone. The evening continued with Dan now wearing his master of ceremonies hat assisted by Duffy calling on various individual club members to stand and tell a motorcycle joke. These ran the gamut from hilarious to ohh noo, but all great fun. The surprise highlight was the excellent storytelling from Brent and Tracy dressed as a couple of snow-covered lumberjacks reciting “The Cremation of Sam McGee”. Great job you two! The festivities closed once again with Wes doing a great rendition of his song about the meeting of the two clubs.
But all good things must come to an end, and it was soon 9:30 and as promised our little bus was waiting. It took a while to say our good nights and round up some happy stragglers, but we eventually managed to load ourselves all in. It was a much noisier, boisterous crowd heading home. Everyone agreed it was a great time.
Saturday morning found us heading back to the Club Hall to meet up with the riders and watch the start of the ride. Promptly at 10:00am Brian led a group of 40 plus riders on a nostalgic tour past two of the previous Club House locations, an historic hill climb event site and on to a twistie ride through the Oakland Hills past many more points of interest.
Three hours later with all the riders back safe and sound and the Open House underway we were treated to a great buffet of spareribs, pulled pork, mac & cheese, baked beans and much more including a delicious lemon cake for dessert. During our buffet feast Larry. told us the story (from memory) of the history of them building their current Club Hall. Starting with the purchase of the property and what sorry shape the building was in, through the ins and the outs of the process and of the skills that the various members brought to the table. There was the building of staircases, mezzanines, kitchens, a room for the ladies and so much more. The theme was that it started with a dream and the club members actually made it happen. Congratulations OMC it was a job very well done!
Once again, the time had come to say our good byes and it was a difficult one. This has been a very nostalgic weekend for everyone. The two clubs have been friends and Sister Clubs for forty five years - many memories, lasting friendships and friends who are no longer with us. Hope to see everyone two years from now hopefully back in Oregon but maybe even in Vancouver.
