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My wife and I had the privilege of attending the 7th annual FREE SOULS MC Motorcycle Rodeo this year near the town of Veneta, OR...What a great experience.

The campsite was all level and grassy for a change and the porta potty's were CLEAN. They even had Sky Divers deliver the Club Colors on Saturday afternoon.

We had the best steak dinners, with all the trimmings, I've eaten in a while and only $7.00 a plate. Biscuits and gravy every morning is another treat I can't turn away from, also very reasonably priced at $2.00, or $3.00 with eggs to order. Just doesn't get better than that.

Great bike games too, some that I remember from the ancient days of the fifties, and kids games to keep them occupied.

The music was enjoyable and well played and the bands closed the evenings around midnight so everyone was able to get some sleep and enjoy the next morning. Weather was super too. All in all it was really nice and security was always there to help but you never saw them unless they were needed. No armbands or hats or anything that made them stand out. This run was truly FAMILY oriented. We won't miss another of these runs if we can help it.

FEEDBACK: Over the years we have asked for your impressions and we have some for you this month. My good friend Paul Blezard responded on our bitch about the price of gasoline. Here's his comments:

Gunny, you Yanks don't know when you're well off. How much is gas in the U.S. now? $1.50? Maybe as much as $2 in some places? Well, over on this side of the pond we're paying well over a $1 a LITRE! (And there are 4 litres to a U.S. gallon remember).

A pound is about $1.40 right now, and we're paying 77 - 80p per litre, say about $1.20. I make that the equivalent of $4.80 per U.S. gallon. It's at least 80% tax, naturally. (It's not as if we don't have our own oilfields!) Bearing the cost in mind, I'm surprised that motorcyclists over here don't pay more attention to their gas mileage.

And remember, too, that in a lot of European countries they pay similar rates for their petrol (as we call it) and have to pay about a dollar for every ten miles of AutoRoute/autostrada/autopista highway they drive as well.

MORE FEEDBACK: We also heard from Christof, The Rolling Barrel, from Germany. He tells us about Simon Milward's, former General Secretary of the Federation of European Motorcyclist Associations (FEMA), around the world progress. He's raising money for "Riders for Health" and "Doctors Without Borders". More about that later in this issue.

AND LASTLY, from Mike Olsen ''WIS'' in California comes info that Corbin is also manufacturing a Sparrow three wheeler with a V-twin that gives you about 60 miles to the gallon of gas, and will do ''100'' miles an hour. This Critter might be worth looking into.

Thanks to all that took the time to comment, I love it.

NEWS BIT'S N PIECES: Everyone is talking about Harley-Davidson's new entry into the scooter world. Called the ''V-Rod'', it's a dragster styled fluid cooled belt drive 1100 cc speed merchant. It won't be to everybody's cup o' tea, but this thing will do 140 MPH right out of the box. I'll be keeping a weathered eye on this dude and so should the rest of us. Glad to see Harley waking up to the scooter world. The bike's priced in the $17,000.00 range and looks like it's worth it.

SPRINGFIELD, MASS: Champion bicycle racers Oscar Hedstron and George Hendee launched America's love affair with the open road on May 24, 1901, when the country's first motorcycle rumbled through Springfield's streets. Springfield celebrated the 100th birthday of the Indian Motorcycle.

Hundreds of antique bikes with the skirted fenders and left-hand throttles rallied at the Indian Motorcycle Museum. Yes, it was spelled ''MOTOCYCLE,'' and it was an excellent machine over the years. It truly was the FIRST motorcycle made in this country.

BOLOGNA, ITALY: Mourners around the world are grieving the passing of Fabio Taglioni, the engineer credited with the design of the 90 degree L-Twin in the early 70's that still powers the Ducati motorcycles today.

Fabio Taglioni's career, fueled by his passion for motorcycle engines and racing, was fundamental in Ducati's international success. Men of his caliber are the ones we should all thank for the machines we so proudly ride today.

SHREWSBURY, CONN: Here's a duzzy for road rage. A car passes two women riding a motorcycle and allegedly one of the women flips the guy off. The clown chases them off the road into a parking lot and gets an aluminum bat from the trunk of his car and proceeds to whack them around. One gal tries to protect herself with her helmet and he smashed it with the bat. Both women were hurt, but refused medical aid. The cops arrested the nut at his home. Moral of this story is be careful who you flip a bird to. WOW!

WORLD BIKER ARRIVES IN NORTH AMERICA: Simon Milward, a 36 year old Briton, former Secretary General of the European Federation of Motorcyclists, arrived in Anchorage, Alaska from Magadan in Russia.

Milward left England on January 1st, 2000 and the USA will be the 28th country on his trip around the world. He has ridden 72,000km through Europe, the Middle East, South Asia, Indonesia, Australia, SE Asia, Japan and Russia.

There is a serious side to Milward's trip. He is raising $100,000 for two medical charities. One is Doctors Without Borders; the other is Riders for Health, specializing in healthcare delivery to out of reach regions by motorcycle. His primary purpose in North America is to find sponsorship for twelve motorcycles to use in a new project in Indonesia.

Milward's motorcycle, the John T Overlander, was handmade in the UK in 1999 from 90% donated parts and equipment. It uses a 600cc single cylinder engine from Austria, a huge 45 liter Italian fuel tank, and a French internet tracking system. I've talked with him and he's a very interesting guy.

For more information on Simon's trip, log on to simon@millennium-ride.com

GUNNY AGAIN: Our summer is fast coming to an end folks and I'm sure you all had a happy safe one. For those of you that ran into accident misfortune, I hope you called your nearest Aid To Injured Motorcyclists (AIM) attorney for help. These folks ride the same as we do and know our lifestyle and what we face every time we ride because they face the same things we do. They are here to help us. Besides, the consultation is free. These guys network so you're getting expertise from all over the country. The national number is 1-(800) 531-2424 and your local AIM attorney is in your phone book. You can reach Sam Hochberg in Oregon at 503/224-1106, or SamBikeLaw@aol.com. You can also find your local AIM attorney on our website, www.aimncom.com. Keep the round side on the bottom. Gunny, Oregon AIM Chief of Staff