MORE Motorcycle Sport Touring Association News for 2024
By Norm Kern
When I wrote the January column back in December there were big Motorcycle Sport Touring Association (MSTA) changes in the works.
On January first, I became MSTA club president. Having previously served as vice president, am replacing Pat Mogavero, who has done an excellent job as president for the past seven years. Pat is happy to be promoted to member but will continue to be very active in the club.
For those who don’t already know, I have been riding for almost sixty years, beginning in spring of 1965. Starting with two small Honda’s, a Norton Atlas and an early 60s BMW, I got into two-up touring, first on the BMW, then on Moto Guzzis. My off-road experience began in AMA enduros in 1967 and I competed through the 80s, transitioning to dual-sport and ADV riding in the 90s. I had a motorcycle dealership for Guzzi, Vespa and KTM from the mid 70s to early 80s and built custom CB and entertainment systems for bikes. Over time, my road riding evolved to a Kawasaki Concours and the sport touring riding style in 1986.
In 2001 I got a Honda ST1100 and learned about MSTA, (then HSTA) joined and immediately began attending rallies. I was an early adopter of GPS technology and began collecting routes from club events and converting them into GPS files. This interest grew and over the years I became one of the club’s GPS gurus.
In 2016, Pat Mogavero and I went on a motorcycle trip to UK and Isle of Man. Pat had been MSTA vice president for a few years and was ready to move up. He asked me to be his vice president and we were approved by the club executive committee in January, 2017.
In 2018, I took over the popular regional MSTA Mail Pouch FlyBy rally and made it into FlyBy Week, which became my test bed for rally promotion and new features. It was one of the first MSTA events to have a website. In 2022 while redoing the FlyBy site, I decided to go ahead and build websites for all MSTA events, which has helped to promote the club.
Thanks to Pat Mogavero and the other officers and volunteers MSTA’s membership quit declining and has become stable. Pat is handing the club over to me in an excellent condition with most of its needs for better organization and service to members already taken care of. I feel that MSTA is in an excellent position for 2024 and is poised to start growing again, which is my primary goal. Look for better promotion of events, more social meet up opportunities, more welcoming support for new event attendees and better communication between volunteers and officers. 2024 is going to be a great year for MSTA!
Lou Laguna has been promoted to vice president, replacing Norm.Lou is from Pennsylvania, and retired from his regular job in 2023. Now that he has more free time, he wants to be more involved with the club. Last August, Lou moved to Sparta, North Carolina, which has opened a lot of opportunities for him.
MSTA state and area directors
The club has always had member representatives in areas where membership numbers are strongest. They communicate with nearby members via email and subgroups on Facebook and promote local meet-ups, rides, meals etc. For 2024 we are strengthening that network and already have new directors in North Carolina, West Virginia, Missouri and Illinois, with more to come.
MSTA event news
I reported on 2024 club events last month but here are a couple of updates. MSTA now has eighteen rally events for 2024, which is the most I can remember in my twenty three years in the club!
Sky High Tour- is a brand new Just-For-Fun rally in Colorado. Come and ride the Highest Paved Road in North America. The destination is the Mount Blue Sky Summit, (formerly Mt. Evans). It will be held July 12 – 14 in Evergreen, Colorado (Road routes only) https://ridemsta.com/co-sht
Durango Daze- Colorado state director Doug Logsdon is moving his previously mentioned Montrose rally to Durango, Colorado, due to more choices and better pricing of hotel rooms. This will be a casual Just-For-Fun rally to be held in Durango, Colorado, September 13 – 15. It will include a selection of both road and ADV routes.
https://ridemsta.com/co-dd
How to join in the fun for 2024-
- Go to Facebook and join the MSTA – Motorcycle Sport Touring Association group
- Go to https://ridemsta.com/membership-2/ and join to become a full member
- Go to https://ridemsta.com/events/ to look over the calendar and make your plans to attend a rally.
- If you are in NE Ohio,
I hope to see you on the road or at a rally. Please feel free to message me at nkernmsta@gmail.com with your comments and questions.
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Connect with local Ohio Motorcycle Sport Touring Association riders at these monthly breakfasts:
Southwest Ohio Breakfast, 9AM, February 17
Village Family Restaurant
144 S. Main St.
Waynesville, OH 45068
Central Ohio Breakfast, 8AM, February 4
Portside Cafe
6515 S High St
Lockbourne, OH 43137
