CA2Q Tri Valley Wings
Alan and Shirley Jarumay
Alan Jarumay
GWRRA#: 197996
Date of Birth:Jan 22, 1960
Place of birth:Somewhere in the Philippines
Raised in:San Francisco, CA
Formative years:Handfed by Hanna-Barbera in the sixties
I puttered around mopeds and scooters when I was a teenager. I rode a few 550s and 600s, but it wasn’t until I rode a friends Suzuki 1000 in the mid-70s that I got hooked on big bike “torque”. In 1984 I bought a Honda Sabre (700cc). The first “real” bike I actually owned. Nice enough bike, but nothing that really tickled me to go riding much. I had that bike for a few years with not a whole lot of miles before finally unloading it while it still had value. I tried the “new thing” of the superbikes like the Ninja 900s (never owned any) and came to realize, I’m not an adrenaline junky. I did some dumb things on my own and other people’s bikes almost killing myself twice. But I lived through it and learned some valuable lessons. I waned from riding for a few years until it struck me how I missed the exhilaration, freedom of having the wind in my face and hair (before the helmet law), the open road and now and again a little adrenaline rush. But I didn’t want to do it with my belly resting on my gas tank. So I bought a cruiser, a Kawasaki Vulcan 1500. I finally got a bike with the low end torque I’ve always craved. I enjoyed that bike, but then I woke up to another problem; my wife. I never thought she enjoyed riding, certainly not after we went down once years go on the Sabre. But she started riding with me again on the Vulcan, but not very much. It was when I said I wanted to get a Harley did she finally tell me she really enjoyed riding, but not on a cruiser bike’s little padding they called a passenger seat. She said; do you remember about ten years ago we saw a couple of Goldwings? She didn’t have to say much more after that, I said let’s go to Milpitas Honda. One week before I was to buy a Harley, I bought our first “Wing”. Shirley and I never looked back. It’s not just about riding anymore; it’s about sharing the experience with my life partner.
Not long after getting the Wing did we start looking for Riding Groups. The web led us to the GWRRA website. We were impressed with the organization and started looking at the local Chapter sites. We picked out CA2Q to be the nearest and the pictures showed a nice enough looking group. We made contact with their Membership Coordinator (Bob Tobin) and came to our first Chapter meeting at Gianni’s Restaurant in Livermore May 2004. Four years later on January 2008, Shirley and I were installed as Chapter Directors.
The four and a half years that Shirley and I have had the “Wing” has been some of the most fun and exhilarating times of our lives. We’ve learned so much about ourselves, experienced and seen so much of our country that we both agree may not have happened otherwise. And we’re still learning and experiencing and hopefully, for many more years to come.
Shirley and me on my 1984 Honda Sabre.
Shirley Jarumay
GWRRA#: 197996-1
Date of Birth:Jan 31, 19__ (a woman never tells)
Place of birth:Southern New Jersey
Raised in:Grenloch, NJ
I was first introduced to motorcycling when I purchased a Honda CB125 in the early 70’s. I rode it to work and college for several years. After graduation I had to choose between a car payment and a cycle payment and the car won out. This was an easy decision because I realized that I wasn’t a particularly good rider and I was terrified to lean on the curves (sound familiar).
When Alan and I met in the 80’s, he decided he would buy a new motorcycle. He chose a Honda Sabre and I enjoyed did riding around as his co-rider, but we never traveled too far outside from the Bay Area. On a ride to the Marin Headlands one day, we saw a large group of Goldwingers. We stopped and talked with them for a while. Although they were older folks, we found them to be friendly and more than willing to chat with us. I also noticed that the co-riders seat looked far more comfortable than the narrow seat and sissy bar I was used too. I believe it was then and there that we both felt that some day we would own one of those beautiful Wings.
Several years later Alan moved on to a Kawasaki Vulcan 1500. It was certainly a much larger cycle with a more comfortable co-rider seat, however, my tailbone still would begin to hurt after only 45 minutes. I didn’t really enjoy this cycle as much as I had hoped and wasn’t willing to do any long distance rides.
After several years of owning the Vulcan we got new neighbors and they owned a Road King. They also belonged to the local HOG and seemed to be having a lot of fun both on the bike and with the group. I took a test ride on the Road King and found it to be very comfortable. Perhaps this would be the right bike! Alan had other ideas and his preference was a Soft Tail and not a Road King. I soon realized that the co-rider seat of a Soft Tail wouldn’t offer much more comfort than our current cycle. I remembered the Goldwing from years earlier and mentioned to Alan that I might be more interested in riding if we had a Goldwing. I thought it might be just the cycle that would allow us to tour the country.
That’s all Alan needed to hear. We soon made a visit to Milpitas Honda and in May 2004, we purchased our Candy Black Cherry Goldwing. We went on our first ride with Chapter CA2Q May 15, 2004, less than 1 week after buying our Wing.
I still had a lot of growing to do as a co-rider, but our Chapter has helped me along the way. We have now have taken several trips around our beautiful land and we are building precious memories together. We have made many new friends and are having a wonderful time.
Alan & Shirley in Moab, UT, August 2008
