Two Wheeled Tales: First Annual Veteran's Benefit Charity Run

This past Saturday, The Legion Riders of Post 106 hosted our first annual Veteran’s Benefit charity run. The day dawned bright and with a welcome tinge of cool to the air. I say ‘welcome’ because it was going to warm up soon, and soon it did! By the time I left my driveway to help with pre-run setup, there was no need for a jacket, or even an overshirt.

A few members had shot out a bit earlier to do one last check of the route, and they returned with an “all clear” report, and things were looking good. Registration tables, clipboards, pens, waiver forms, wristbands and cash (for making change) was all set out and readied.

Registration ran from 9:30 til 10:30 and the bikes began to trickle in. Taking their turns in the line to sign over their safety, as well as hand us some cash for a nice paper bracelet (for the cookout, afterward), the riders then moved inside (out of the heat) where the bar was open and the drinks were cold.

A few pre-run announcements to thank those that had come, as well as to let folks know that we had LEO support for some of the major intersections we’d be crossing today. Also, we’d have to do some self-blocking along the route, but having scanned the crowd beforehand, it was easy to see that most of these guys knew the deal, so we left it at; when it's your turn, slide out and protect the column.

Enough talk, time to ride!

The route was scenic and we meandered along at a leisurely pace. Some of the roads were rather narrow, and there were more than a handful of stop sign intersections to navigate. Blocking went off without a hitch, though, and we all arrived back safely, with a hunger in our stomachs and a thirst in our mouths.

The grille had been busy while we were out having fun, and the continuous supply of food quickly went toward satisfying the aforementioned hunger. The drinks flowed well, too, and soon the crowd settled into a content mass, happy to enjoy some shade and an occasionally bit of breeze. Road tales were exchanged, along with some bawdy jokes and lots of laughter. The raffle ticket girls worked their way through the small throng and managed to wrangle many a bill from those in attendance. The numbers were called, the winners collected their spoils, and those of us who’d bought losing tickets appeased our pain by needling the winners into opening (and sharing) their newly found assets.

Not sure of the final take for the day, but I think it was a bit shy of a thousand bucks. Not bad for having pulled this thing together in about a month and a half’s time - and not bad for the Veteran’s groups that it will go toward! We have plenty of room for improvement, and we'll definitely improve things for next year's run, but this wasn't bad for our first try.

As is normal for this type of thing, the crowd dwindled as the afternoon wore on. Those of us that were local, though, merely moved inside and continued the revelry into the early evening hours. The time did come, though, when a few of us said our goodbyes, packed up our things, and headed over to Ed and Sue’s for a cookout they were hosting. There, we kicked back a bit more food, a bit more drink, and we got to catch up with some folks not seen in a while. It was a perfect way to end a great, great day.

Pics!

Ha, can you believe they had me do the pre-run announcements? In George’s words; “We asked you to do it because you’re good at yelling at people.” (Not sure if that’s a compliment or not…)