The Third Annual Shriners Charity Ride and Poker Run

You know the great work that the Shriners do. They make such a positive impact in the lives of children with specialized medical needs but yet go quietly unnoticed. That impact requires a steady influx of funding from the private sector in the form of donations. To that end, they have to be creative in organizing events that appeal to certain groups of people. In my opinion the 3rd Annual Shriners Charity Ride and Poker Run was a hit right out of the park.

The crew(Chad, Lynn, Ralph and Debbie) met at the Country Biscuit at 8:30. We expected more company at breakfast and Jeff Ipock had a table reserved for us. Since the bikes' tanks were topped off we felt we needed to top off as well in preparation and anticipation for what was to be a fantastic event.





We arrived at the Sudan Temple at 9:20 and got in line with the early arrivals. We had plenty of time to register and get the paper work in order. With a map, wristbands and tickets for the drawing in hand we browsed the parked bikes.





There were Yamahas, Kawasakis, Hondas and Harleys all clean and gleaming and ready to go.


The ride would take us from New Bern down to Grantsboro and across the Minnesott, Cherry Branch Ferry to Highway 101. From there it was on to Beaufort then to Jacksonville via Highway 24. Leaving Jacksonville we headed to Kinston on 258 and from Kinston back to New Bern by way of 70 East.






First stop: Pamlico County Shrine Club. My first impression was "You really feel welcome around these guys." proved to be true throughout the day.











James and Donna rumbling in at Pamlico County. James is a Shriner from New Bern.




This is about three quarters of the bikes that eventually arrived in Pamlico County.






The ferry was to leave at 10:45 it was about 10:20, time to go. The ferry was loading just as we arrived. Didn't even have time to come to a slow idle.






There were a lot of bikes on this run of the ferry. Even a few 3-wheeled Honda Civics. Just pickin' on the Wingers!






Off the ferry and running down toward Highway 101. This is a trick shot Debbie aimed out the back of our Ultra. Kids don't try this at home! And yes the weather was starting to threaten us with a little drizzle.






Just outside of Beaufort on 101 we arrive at the Carteret County Shrine Club. A bunch of mean ol' bikers in parade formation, who would have thought.






After a brief rest and some refreshments it's time to get ready to head to Jacksonville.





Here we are just over the Morehead-Beaufort bridge as we head into downtown Morehead on 70 West.







We ran into a fairly good rain when we left 70 to run down 24 just west of Morehead. Thank goodness it didn't last long.






87 in a 45. Well that could be trouble. Is 42 miles an hour over the speed limit an issue, officer?







The snacks at the Onslow County Shrine Club were quite welcome but it was time to move on. From 17 South we head to 258 North with Kinston in our sights.







258 North from Jacksonville to Kinston is a nice ride. It's a two-lane country conduit connecting Jacksonville and Kinston and offers some nice scenery. The low traffic makes it appealing to motorcyclists.





For some reason we didn't take pictures at the Lenoir County Shrine Club but I did get a chance to say hello to Joey Bryan. Joey was selling tickets as hard as he could. He's the Secretary and Web Master for the Lenoir County Shrine Club.




We arrived back at the New Bern Shrine Club around 2:45 and had racked up around 180 miles. The bikes began showing up in small groups for the next hour.








There was a lot of discussion about events, sights and weather along the way and possible alternate routes that could have been taken.






There is a rumor that a certain group of riders made it from the Lenoir County Shrine Club to the New Bern Shrine Club in less than 22 minutes including traffic from the bypass exit. While not one to spread rumors I did happen to see someone's GPS and it just happened to be displaying maximum speed of 93.7 mph. The max speed was most likely from a run at the drag strip and it had not been reset. I want to make it clear that no one I ride with would exceed the posted speed.







The Shriners even had live entertainment lined up!









Flounders Seafood and Smokehouse catered the event. The food was great and quite welcome after a long day. Everyone enjoyed fried chicken, barbeque pork, cole slaw, potato salad, rolls and iced tea.



Here, the Master of Ceremonies, Rick Welborn, gives away a multitude of prizes from all those tickets sold during the day. Not only is Rick the Business Manager for the New Bern Shriners but he is also very passionate about their cause as was evident from his comments and involvement.






By the time the event was over the rain was just beginning so we headed home about 6:15 in a light drizzle.



The event was well planned and the refreshments at each stop were greatly appreciated. I didn't hear of any break down or other incident. Rick stated that there were 154 registered bikes and 175 registered riders/passengers total. As of Monday the count indicated they had approximately $3000.00 to donate to the Greenville, SC Shriners Hospital.






Suggestions for next year: One that Rick passed along was for everyone to meet in Kinston and then ride to New Bern as a group. That would make for some great photo opportunities. My suggestion is to have commemorative ride pins for sale. I have a special place on my vest for for an 08 Shriners Charity Ride pin.







I'll end this entry with a few of our favorite photos from the trip. Hope to see 'ya next year!