Monday, April 19, 2010

Fourth Annual Relay For Life Charity Ride. Stonewall, NC

We missed this one last year but rode in ‘08

We started out by meeting Mike K. and his wife, Kathy at the Handy Mart on Hwy 55 and then headed to Bayboro for breakfast at Charlie’s. We met Mike’s mom and dad and his dad paid for breakfast.  Off to a good start I’d say!

DSCF2466Stonewall United Methodist Church

We lined up at around 9:15 ready for the 10:00 launch.
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Before the end of the day there were to be approximately 110 bikes.
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Chad and Ashley smile for the camera. This young lady is the future bride of Chad and Lynn’s son, Lucas.  Lucas is currently in Afghanistan helping to keep us all free at home.   

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Lynn and Linda.
Whatever these two are cooking up, I want no part of it!
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Kathy and Mike.(left)



He’s one of those guys that everybody knows and always has a story.
 
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Riding through rural Pamlico County.
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The view from the bridge at Oriental.
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Pulling in to  Bethany Christian Church.

The Pamlico Sheriff and NC Highway Patrol did a great job of blocking traffic and adding that extra layer of safety.  That is most important with a large group of bikes.
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The folks at the church certainly enjoyed our arrival and we certainly enjoyed the water, soft drinks and snacks.
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Near Kennels Beach as we travel to Goose Creek Island Community Center, in a round about way.
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On Hwy 55 between Bayboro and Bridgeton.
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The view from the bridge at Hobucken.





Hobucken not Hoboken.  I use a Southern spell check!

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The three musketeers as they arrive at Goose Creek.
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Inside the Community center.
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Mirror, mirror..
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A little shade, a little water and everyone is looking at the bikes.
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A good meal a the end of the ride.  Eastern Carolina Barbeque with all the fixin’s.
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Doug Carrey wraps up the event with the prize drawings.






Doug said Pamlico County is one of the top ten contributors, per capita, in the nation. With Doug himself being a cancer survivor, I know it makes him proud.

I noticed several things on this trip.  The majority of the people we passed stopped what they were doing and waved.  Some were taking pictures and videos and many motorists, on either side of the road, pulled onto the shoulder.  A few, or at least the few I saw, became frustrated and hit the steering wheel of their car.  To those few, I present the following vanity plate.

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Maybe the irritated ones were unaware of the cause for which we rode.  The folks in attendance were obviously happy and content, it was a wonderful sunny day and there was a great lunch at the end of our journey.

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We seem to be very lucky with the weather cooperating as it does with the rides we participate in.  This was no exception.

Thanks to all the good folks at Stonewall United Methodist Church,  Bethany Christian Church and the Goose Creek Island Community Center for their help and support.

For us it was 165 miles door to door and another memorable ride in the digital scrapbook.

Parting Shots
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And yea, I’m entitled to put a picture of our bike on here every now and again!

2 comments:

Connie said...

Fantastic! Thanks for taking me along on the ride with the pictures and commentary! Great job, Ralph!

question - who was driving the bike when you were taking pictures on the road?

Ralph Southerland said...

Connie,

Debbie is the photographer in motion.
I found it difficult to keep the throttle open with my ankles.

Glad you liked the post.

-Ralph-