From The GUNNY'S SACK

This year's West Coast Regional NCOM conference near Tacoma, WA was a great success for us out here in the upper left corner.

We had speakers on riders' rights from several folks. Our own Sam Hochberg, Oregon A.I.M. Attorney, talked about some of the things going on here in Oregon with beanie helmets, and with the ''Gang'' affiliation labeling in Portland. We lost the case in court, and the biker elected not to appeal. The good news: NOT ONE BIKER has been designated since this lawsuit as a member of a ''criminal gang'' (i.e, motorcycle club), because of the furor over it.

Spike Neal, an Oregon civil rights attorney and avid freedom fighter talked about discrimination and how it affects us. Marty Fox, our Washington A.I.M. Attorney, talked at length about the effects of new federal anti-terrorist legislation on bikers and clubs.

And last but not least, Outsiders MC's PigPen outlined the progress of the Confederation of Clubs in Washington, and Brother Speed MC's Showman from the Oregon Confederation of Clubs brought us up to date with that group. Show man dropped a bomb on us by announcing his retirement from active participation and handed the reins to Longview Tom of the Gypsy Jokers MC, who was already serving as Vice Chair. Tom was later elected to a full term as Chairman at a subsequent meeting in November.

All in all a very good Regional convention. We're eagerly looking forward to next May in New Orleans with the International meeting of NCOM and ICOM.

WINTER: All right folks, even though it's still warm out we need to think about winterizing our rides. Get your manuals out and do the good stuff before you put the scoot to bed for the year, if you don't ride wintertime in your neck of the woods. If you do it right, you'll be ready to go the first time the sun is out in the spring. Don't get caught short like you did this year. If things keep up the way they are we may well be able to ride all year this year here in Oregon. Won't hurt my feelings at all. Most of us here ride year-round anyway. Just gets us a little damp, that's all. NEWS BITS'N PIECES:

BURBANK, CA: Jay Leno's Harley drew $360,200! It's been all over TV and news media. That bike isn't worth that kind of money but the public needed a good excuse to spend money to help the victims of Sept 11th. The proceeds from the online e-bay sale of the scoot and matching truck went to the Twin Towers Fund for victims of the terrorist attack. Very generous of Jay Leno, I say.

Thanx, Jay.

MIDDLETOWN, PA: Here is another winner from the lottery who will ride herself a new scoot. Pamela Romanishan from Danielsville, PA won her new Harley Sporty through the second chance drawing of that state's lottery. She and her hubby are scooter lovers and as luck would have it she was in the middle of taking her states rider ed course when she got word she won. She and the old man are walkin' on the moon right now and she has her own ride. I'm proud for her.

PAKISTAN: Like there's not ENOUGH crap going on in the world right now, seems that SOME of these terrorists took to motorcycles to conduct one of their strikes. You might have heard about it: 15 Christians got mowed down in October by six motorcyclists. They hopped off their bikes, jumped into a church with their AK-47's firing and yelling about a ''graveyard for Christians,'' and rode off. I guess a bike is like a knife or a gun. It can be used for good and bad. I wish it didn't happen at all -- but I wish it wasn't with BIKES.

MILWAUKEE, WI: The chairman of Harley-Davidson, Jeffrey Bleustein is selling off twelve MILLION bucks worth of his Harley stock, so the news wires said. My boss Sam Hochberg tells me that from what he reads, the motor company is still in very good shape.

In fact, he says he MEANT to tell me I should've bought some Harley stock for my retirement fund when they hit around $35 or $36 a share, after the September 11th attacks. Now it's back up to about $48 a share. Damn! Well, I just hope that Harley stock continues to grow and make America proud.

MAKUHARI, JAPAN: They had a car show here, and according to a copyrighted story I saw from Reuters, two of the futuristic ''concept cars'' on display had fold-up MOTORCYCLES built in, as part of the car's back seat! Can y'imagine? You're broke down on the side of the road, you just pull out the

back seats and you have TWO little bikes to scoot on down the road! Now, how about we start talkin' Ford and Harley into teaming up to do that for cars here in the USA, instead of just Harley styling and ''colors'' on trucks?

KYOTO, JAPAN: Here's a 65 year-old Biker Buddhist monk who hangs out at Kyoto's ''Temple of the Golden Pavilion.'' His thing is to ride his bike out to students on their school excursions in the area, and give 'em a lecture on his Temple's history. Now this little story is coming to you from the Gunny who's got a few years on that monk, and I still ride, too! Don't let those years get you off your scoot!

GUNNY AGAIN: The recent events in September have backfired on the persons responsible in that instead of this country cringing and taking cover, we have taken steps to bring these criminals to justice. Suddenly our national pride and faith in ourselves is evident. Our national banner, the stars and stripes, has taken new meaning among our people. I'm so very proud to say I'm an AMERICAN, and so very proud to stand with my brothers and sisters and proclaim that THESE DEEDS WILL BE PAID FOR BY THOSE WHO INITIATED THEM. We'll surely be talking about those attacks at the next NCOM Convention, since every-other year, it's also the ''International Coalition Of Motorcyclists (ICOM) Convention.

It will be held in May 9-12, 2002, at the Radisson Hotel in New Orleans, just blocks from the famed French Quarter. The reservation number is toll free 1-800-333-3333. The hotel is at 1500 Canal Street, New Orleans, LA 70112. This Convention promises to be one crackerjack of a gathering of freedom fighters from all over the USA and the world.

She promises to be there.

Make your reservations soon or you will be out of luck. Rooms are going much faster than expected. The rates are cheap: $79.00 per night if you mention the NCOM Convention. These are unheard of rates for this kind of accommodation. If you never get to another Convention, don't miss this one.

You will meet with so many people from all over the world that will inspire you in our ongoing fight for our individual rights to live our lives making our own choices about safety and how we live. It's 3 full days of seminars led by fellow bikers and by our A.I.M. Attorneys. This is just one more excellent example of how the A.I.M. (Aid To Injured Motorcyclists) program and NCOM (National Coalition Of Motorcyclists) support our way of life. Our

A.I.M. Attorneys around the country put their money where their mouths are, and NCOM pays most of the freight to put this on.

If you have an accident CALL YOUR A.I.M. ATTORNEY. They will help you, or at the very least, give you some free advice. Call TOLL FREE 1-800-ON-A-BIKE (531-2424). You can reach Sam Hochberg, Oregon A.I.M. Attorney at (503) 224-1106 or toll-free 1-800-347-1106. They even speak Spanish there now, too! Aloha, er I mean, Adios.