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!

Ride to work

I have ridden to work for the past two days since the weather is so nice and gas is so damn high. I was comparing the difference between riding to work in a car and on a motorcycle. There's one major difference, in as opposed to on.





One of the main items is the traffic. While most of our riding is done on the weekends we avoid the rush hour traffic. Rush hour is a good word to describe what goes on in the morning but stupid hour applies to the high school "children" driving way too fast in Mom's Volvo or Dad's Mustang. They certainly impress their friends but lack the experience to handle a car and watch out for others simultaneously. In general everyone is running behind and driving fast to make up lost time. It reminds me of driving on an icy roadway: slow down and leave extra space. But if you leave extra space someone just eases right in. This is the kind of thing you really notice when you're on a bike. If you don't have the heightened sense of awareness you become part of the blacktop.


It's cooler in the morning than you realize and 58 degrees is almost cold at 60 miles an hour. The medium weight Harley Screamin' Eagle jacket works out just right and by afternoon just throw it in the tour pak and enjoy the upper 80's. One thing on shirts though, a button up Oxford flaps like crazy. T-shirts are definitely better for riding.















I stop at the light this morning, left foot goes down first and then my right. I was fiddling with something and noticed my right foot wasn't solidly planted. Instead it was resting on a painted section at the head of the lane. A little slick you ask? Very much so and it wasn't wet this morning. It hasn't rained in over 3 weeks so there is an additional buildup of oil and grease from the vehicles. My normal lace up leather shoes just don't cut it compared the my motorcycle boots. You need tread on your boots to minimize slippage. It would be best to exchange shoes on the next trip. In your cage the only thing you feel is the floor mat.



One day I will go to the drive through on the Harley. Where can I find a chrome cup holder? Until then it's breakfast at home when I ride the bike.




On a bike you are always aware of your surroundings and you only need to put your foot down to reconnect to earth. Next time you're at a stop light move your foot around and notice the texture of the roadway. You will be surprised to notice that some surfaces are fairly smooth and not what you would expect for traction.




Leaving work and being able to ride a motorcycle home is well, awesome. The traffic is not as intense as in the morning and I stop at Gold's Gym for a workout. Gold's in New Bern has a great covered area in the front that works well for bike parking and there is usually a bike or two out front. Once the workout has been accomplished it's a quick ride to my Mom's and then the cruise over the high rise bridge and on to home.







Ride to work!

Ride your motorcycle on this day to demonstrate:

• The number of motorcyclists to the general public and to politicians.
• That motorcyclists are from all occupations and all walks of life.
• That motorcyclists can reduce traffic and parking congestion in large cities.
• That motorcycles are for transportation as well as recreation.
• That motorcycling is a social good.

Memorial Day Ride

Monday promised to be a great day and even though we thought the holiday traffic may be heavy we opted to ride to Beaufort. We started out at about 10:30 or so and headed to Beaufort down 70 East. The traffic was fairly normal and by 11:30 we were at the Beaufort waterfront.


What a surprise to see that every parking space was taken along the downtown waterfront area. Doing a slow cruise down the street we saw a wonderful sign: Motorcycle parking only. And there in one slot was a BMW 1200 GS. We decided it would improve the BMW's image to be seen in the company of a Harley-Davidson so we assumed the second slot.









Once we stowed the gear we headed to Clawson's for some lunch.




We had a brief stroll along the nearby waterfront, checked out a couple of shops and decided to ride to the public launching ramp at the far end of Front Street.






At that end of Front Street the Live Oaks create a canopy over the road way. I often wondered how many of these very trees knew of the real Blackbeard.






We enjoyed the bustle of activity while some families launched their boats and others were returning from a few hours on the water.






We headed down Lennoxville Road next just to see the sights. We were impressed with the very large homes that have been built recently with more on the way. Talk about high end real estate!

Leaving Beaufort we rode Highway 101 and decided to take a detour down Adam's Creek Road. I had not been down in this part of Craven County in more than 30 years. We followed the 12 mile winding road only to find it dead ended at a small strip of beach on the Intracoastal Waterway locally referred to as Adam's Creek.













We had the beach to ourselves and quite a few photos later we headed back to New Bern.










While we missed the majority of the traffic by running 101 instead of 70 we caught up to the mass exodus to the west when we hit Havelock. By the time we made the James City traffic lights it was stop and go through the lights.






The Ultra showed us the amount of heat she generates from her 96 cubic inch engine in that stopped traffic as the early summer temperatures were in the upper 80's. We now have 2100 miles on the odometer, not bad for four months of riding and most of that winter weather.

Quotes

I really like quotes, good ones at least. You know, those words of wisdom that have multiple applications. Here are a few quotes that can apply to motorcycling:

“There are only three sports: mountain climbing, bull fighting, and motor racing. All the rest are merely games.”
– Ernest Hemingway

“Keep thy eye on the tach, thine ears on the engine, least thy whirlybits seek communion with the sun”
– John 4:50

“Insisting on perfect safety is for people who don’t have the balls to live in the real world.”
– Mary Shafer, NASA Ames Dryden

It takes more love to share the saddle than it does to share the bed.

The only good view of a thunderstorm is in your rearview mirror.

Riding faster than everyone else only guarantees you’ll ride alone.

A good rider has balance, judgment, and good timing. So does a good lover.

Two-lane blacktop isn’t a highway – it’s an attitude.

This one is for Chad and Lynn: Sometimes the best communication happens when you’re on separate bikes.

And my personal favorite: Never ride faster than your angel can fly.