Or is that La Nina? At any rate, it has been way too warm for us here in Texas. Looks like this summer will contend with the summer of 1980 where we had 69 consecutive days with a high in triple digits.

Chicago Starters

We were fortunate to be able to join the Chicago starters in The 4^th Annual Mother Road Ride/Rally®. A great bunch of people with bikes and riding styles as diverse as their personalities. They are a forgiving group when the 'expert' gets lost. (You met the 'two up' riders last month)

For next year our plan is to meet somewhere in the 'burbs, then just roll through the start of Route 66 downtown and be on our way.

Your suggestions regarding a meeting place are most welcome at our offices!

A Meeting to Treasure

Back in May, 1997, Audrey Burgess took time to stop at the Roy Rogers & Dale Evans Museum in Victorville, California. She had the good fortune to be in the museum when Roy himself was there. Rogers graciously posed with Audrey for a picture (Carroll Burgess manning the camera) and Audrey sent it along to us. Sadly, Roy Rogers passed away earlier this summer. He is survived by Dale Evans who is said to visit the Museum from time to time. Audrey truly has a precious memento of the King of the Cowboys.

FLH Owners Alert

The Department of Transportation (Phone: 301-590-1218) wants to hear from any HD FLH owner who has experienced an ignition switch failure. DOT is gathering information for a possible recall to install new switches. But don't weep for H-D. Earnings were up for the 2^nd quarter of 1998 . . . they shipped 37,753 bikes, an increase of 11.2% over the previous year. Sales of the HD based Buell rose 46.8% to 1,497 bikes.

Texans Rescue Ducati

Texas Pacific Group, a Fort Worth, TX based closed end investment fund, has bought the remaining 49% stake in the Italian bike maker Ducati. They bought 51% in September, 1996 when production was down to 30 bikes a day and the workers hadn't been paid for a couple of months. Now they're building 135 bikes a day, sales have doubled and everybody is getting paid.

Road Snaps

Billy Lane stopped in downtown Chicago to say Hi and to tell us he was wrapping up 18 days running Route 66 from west to east. He did it on a 28 year old bike!