The thermometer sits on a comfortable 50 degrees on our back porch at 0600 this Sunday morning, a pleasant respite from the stifling hot weather that seized control of our region and much of the country for the past few weeks and will return on Monday.
A nice break, once that allowed me to finish up the replacement door opening system of our garage Saturday with a new lift motor, new track, new belt and new safety sensors.
The 2/3rd horsepower Chamberlain opener system is belt-driven and extremely quiet and replaces the noisy Lift Master one that is was at least 20 years old and rattled, scraped and shook.
Replacement became necessary when one of the torsion springs on the steel door broke and we also found the old drive belt chewed up, the track sagging and the sensor wiring frayed.
The folks at Bond replaced our broken spring and I found a new Chamberlain door system on sale for half-price at Lowes in Christiansburg in a Fourth of July sale.
Project finished as the sun set Saturday with new remotes programmed and the door opening and closing quietly.
This leaves a pleasant Sunday morning for a ride down to Clarences Steakhouse on U.S. 220 South of Martinsville for breakfast with fellow riders in the Roanoke Valley Harley Owners Group.
Sunday marks my 10th year of membership in the RVHOG chapter and the end of a decade of service as webmaster of the group. I’m surrendering that role, along with my position as newsletter editor, at the end of the year and hope to spend 2019 as just a member and rider.
The RVHOG tenure in their officer corps marks my second time as an officer in a motorists’ enthusiasts group. Amy and I were members of the Potomac Region of the Porsche Club of America in the 1990s and into the new century during our time in Washington.
We owned a red 911 Targa in those days and I served as chief steward of the group’s driver education program, starter for the PCA Club Racing events at Summit Point Raceway and other tracks, webmaster for the group, vice president of the chapter and, finally, president in 2000.
A lot of fun and a lot of work that gave me a break from the madness of life in the nation’s capital.
“No more,” I said after the time at PCA but then RVHOG came along and there i was again serving as an officer in posts for another enthusiast’s club.
I’ve served in other volunteer positions over the years, including president of the Greater Alton Jaycees in Illinois in the 70s, board member and vice-chairman of The Jacksonville Center (now the Floyd Center of the Arts), board member of the Floyd Chamber of Commerce and, currently, an at-large member of the Advisory Board of the New River Valley Alcohol Safety Action Program (ASAP).
I’ve found that serving in such posts allows me to pay back the help and support of a community where I’ve lived and worked over the years.