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. Our HDF community continues to grow and has become quite large over the years. Many of our members have ten or more years of active posting in our subforums. Friendships are formed, many lasting for years. Some of our members meet other members and share a memorable ride and casual conversation. Some of our members enjoy "forum popularity" and some are just loved for who they are. Our Administrators and Moderators have kicked around the idea of recognizing a "Member of the Month". In the Moderators Room the Admins and Mods will nominate an HDF member each month. We will have discussions to recognize their accomplishments until one member has risen to the top and is named as Member of the Month. Return to this sticky thread each month to meet the next Member of the Month..
As January comes to a close, we are very happy to introduce our first Member of the Month: Buzzcap7.
If you don't know Buzzcap7, you don't know what you are missing! Buzzcap 7, also known as Mark has been a member of HDF since 2007 with over 20,000 posts. Many of our new members surely have been regaled with Buzzcap7, a welcoming committee of one.
Mark got into riding motorcycles about 13 years ago and has already clocked over 300,000 miles. We all have our own definition of an "epic ride". For Mark, what can be more epic and logging no less than three Iron Butt rides! The Iron Butt Association (IBA) has an extreme ride called the Bun Burner Gold where a rider must document a ride of 1,500 miles in 24 hours. Mark completed that one. Check! The IBA also has "normal" iron butt rides where you have to complete a ride of 1,000 in 24 hours. Mark completed that one, twice! These rides are memorialized on the IBA website.
Mark has owned four motorcycles in the past 13 years. Which one was his favorite? A rental. Go figure. He once rented a Heritage Special, so that is totally understandable. Mark currently rides a 2017 Ultra Ltd. He chose this bike for its comfort, awesome radio, great storage, and he can whip that bike around like it's a strap-on. Okay, TMI... Whether he is zipping around downtown or cruising on the freeway the Ultra delivers on all counts. For about six years Mark would ride an average of 32,000 miles per year. If you are thinking by now that he has calluses on his butt, I'd have to agree. These are very impressive stats of a man who just loves to ride. Mark loves to ride all over the United States as well as Canada. He has done it so often he even has the Canadian NEXUS card. That makes him a regular! He has garnered an award from the Southern California Motorcycle Association (SCMA) for riding the four corners under a specific time frame. This is a "bucket list" item for many riders. He has become good friends with several of the officers of SCMA.
In his local area Mark runs a group called the Boca Motorcycle Riding Club who do over-night runs, parades, as well as local and long-distance rides. Everyone is welcome in the BMRC, a fun group of non-drinking bikers who focus on keeping everyone SAFE. They try to do 4-6 times per month.
Like most of us, Mark has had his share of scary moments as well. These events did not sway him from riding. Not at all. It has energized him to be even more focused on safety, not only for himself but all who ride with him. He is not without his quirks. Mark loves to ride in the rain. No, really, he loves it. Nothing is better than chasing rain cells hoping for a real gully washer. Note to self, keep an eye on the clouds when riding with Mark! He finds it exhilarating. He is also a published writer in a few motorcycle magazines.
When Mark isn't riding, he spends time with his amazing wife and two sons. These happy empty nesters are very proud of their sons and their successes. Mark claims that his sons received their intelligence from their brilliant mother. If that is the case, then they most certainly received a friendly and caring demeanor from their father. Mark enjoys vegetable gardening and a spiritual lifestyle. Loving everyone and forgiving everyone with compassion, empathy, and an open heart is what motivates Mark. To him integrity, morals, character, and keeping one's word with a handshake is most important. A charitable man he likes to give to our Veterans and LEO's. Mark earns his living in real estate and owns several companies. In one of his companies he gives his agents nearly 100% of everything right back to them. They have got to love that!.
I have the great honor to be the first to congratulate Buzzcap7, our first Member of the Month!
Last edited by BuzzCap7; Jun 1, 2022 at 05:38 AM.
Reason: Added Directory.
February has flown by and I'm happy to announce "harleycharlie1992" is our Member of the Month. Charlie has been a member of HDF for just over ten years and has racked up an impressive 17,000+ posts. Our "Unofficial HDF Chaplain" has helped soothe raw emotions and respectively acknowledged sad news with his heart felt prayers. He is truly a blessing for all who interact with him.
His forum identity, harleycharlie1992" is actually a nickname he earned from his riding buddies in 1972 when he purchased his first Harley Davidson, a brand new Super Glide for a whopping $2,600. He previously had several bikes but his first HD made him one happy man, but it would not be his last! The 1992 portion of his name comes from the date November 22, 1992 the year he accepted Jesus Christ as his Lord and savior. A little way to honor him. In time he bought a new 2001 Electra Glide and eventually put a Zippers 107 engine in it which made the bike very fast. He always felt cramped on that bike especially with the fairing so close to his face. When the new frames came out in 2009 he decided to visit the dealer and have a close up look at them. There it was....a CVO Road Glide staring him in the eye....calling to him....demanding him to take his place in the saddle. Before he knew it the contract was signed. It wasn't until the next day when he had the bike out in the sunlight that he discovered the beautiful metal flake paint and he fell in love all over again. He and his wife Tess took many great trips on that bike. Memories to last a lifetime. One of his favorite memories was a trip they took to Lake Tahoe cruising up famous Hwy 101 taking the coastal route through Monterey. It was a perfect ride. They stopped in Napenth to watch the sun set while enjoying an evening meal. With light traffic and a heavy load, thanks to Tess' packing a little extra just in case, they found their way to Tahoe and enjoyed a spectacular week of breathtaking scenery and sensory overload. From Tahoe they headed to Las Vegas.... and well, what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas. It was a wild 4th of July!
Charlie has enjoyed at least 15 bikes over the years, his favorite being a Screamin' Eagle Deuce that was purchased in 2003. Somehow without realizing it he found himself customizing a custom bike. Wait, what? Hey, once you are bitten by the bug it is simply the flow. Money comes in, money goes out. As time went on his passion created an amazing bike that drew a crowd everywhere he went. He entered it in over thirty shows and usually placed 1st, including the Easy Riders Show back in 2006/2007. One glorious memory is the time he entered it in the Pomona Easy Riders Show. Although he didn't win, one of the professional bike builders was looking over Charlie's Deuce. Okay, not just looking it over but he was staring at it, spellbound by its beauty. As Charlie stood near the bike he mentioned to the man that he thought his bike was the best in the Show. The man commented "No, this is my favorite bike of the Show". Charlie may not have gone home with a trophy, but he went home a winner knowing a true artist appreciated his work at the highest level.
Charlie started riding motorcycles in 1970. He loved motorcycles, the lifestyle, and all it stands for. He knew he had to be part of that culture. With untold miles behind him now his most epic ride was with his wife Tess when the cross the United States riding to Virginia Beach to visit his wife's sister. What an amazing trip they had seeing all that America has in its splendor. The Grand Canyon, the Great Plains, the Oklahoma Bombing Memorial, Graceland (Tess is a huge Elvis fan!), just to name a few.
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Some of us have hobbies. Charlie has a passion and a calling. Coming to Jesus Christ in 1992 was life altering for him. Facing 25 years to life is most definitely a life altering event, but in that jail he met Christ. That caused him to want to know all there is to know about this worldview. Christ touched his heart and changed his heart profoundly. Landing in prison for a nine year sentence he was able to further his studies and saw the need for those still lost in their lifestyle of negative history. A lifestyle that could have been his but for the intervention of Christ. Five years later in 1997 when he got out he thought he could make a difference. Surprisingly it is much, much harder to get back into prison as a free man than via prosecution. Ten years he tried and finally resigned to the fact that it would not happen. He got involved with a local jail house church to do God's work, never forgetting those behind walls and barbed wire who desperately needed salvation. Two years went by and he was signing on for another year when a new Captain changed the rules. No ex-cons can volunteer here. Now what? What was in God's plan for Charlie? Man's plan had failed it was up to God. Charlie prayed. "Lord! Where do you want me? How can I best serve you?".
God thought it over and sent the call thirty minutes later. Charlie's friend, a prison Chaplin named Bill, called him. "Hey, what are you doing?", he asked. Devastated and still reeling from the Jail Captains decision Charlie told his friend all of the details. "Well, that's too bad", Chaplain Bill said. Stunned for a moment Charlie thinks, "wait a minute. What kind of compassion is that? I just poured my heart out." Chaplain Bill asked his question again, "so what are you doing?". Charlie simply said he did not know. "Well, I got you approved to come into this prison. Today. There's a program that's going on tonight and I want you there.", Chaplain Bill said. There was God's answer. One door closes and another door opens.
Ten years have passed since 2009 and Charlie is now the yard pastor. Charlie is doing the Lord's work on the very yard that he served his sentence on so many years ago. These days Charlie goes to the prison three or four days each week. Just last week he took his wife Tess to meet all of the men who have been praying for her for the past three years for God's healing of her cancer. These men, hardened by whatever crime landed them in prison and living behind a wall they can't leave laid eyes for the first time on this woman praying for. Pouring their love into their prayers asking God for his grace. This woman now stood before them and they wept. For five full minutes a standing ovation filled the air. One woman. So many men with tears of joy in their eyes just to be able to meet her. A loving God creates a greeting like this.
The Prosecutors wanted to give Charlie a life sentence, but they failed. However, God gave Charlie a life sentence but on his terms. A life in service of his Lord and Savior to reach men nobody else can reach. These men are now his family, his children. He has "adopted" them, these young 30 and 40 year old "kids" and they are his. Charlie is there to guide them on their walk with Christ from behind walls and bars to the light. He makes a difference. For many of these men it is the first time they have experienced Love. They know they are loved by Charlie and loved by Jesus Christ.
Congrats to Buzzcap7!
I think this is a fantastic idea. It likely wont dissuade me from my posts, but, I do like that forum regulars who are positive contributors will get some well deserved recognition!
7 Surprising Harley-Davidson Products that Are Not Motorcycles
Slideshow: The bar-and-shield logo shows up on far more than motorcycles, some of the company's most unexpected products have nothing to do with riding.
Slideshow: From the troubled AMF years to modern misfires, these bikes earned reputations for reliability issues, questionable engineering, or disappointing performance.
Crazy Bunderbike Build Looks Amazing, But Is It Impossible to Ride?
Slideshow: The Swiss custom shop has taken a Harley Softail and stretched it into something so long and low that it looks closer to a rolling sculpture than a conventional motorcycle.
Engraved Rebellion: Inside Bundnerbike's Glam Rock II
Slideshow: A standard cruiser becomes an intricate metal canvas in the hands of a Swiss custom house known for pushing Harley-Davidson platforms far beyond their factory brief.
Slideshow: Harley-Davidson's challenges aren't abstract; they show up in dropping shipments, shrinking dealer traffic, and strategic decisions that aren't yet translating into growth.
HDF Member of the Month
for giving us that little push to move the above concept (the Directory) to fruition.
