Nuts and Bolts of Putting a Bike Run.
or (the screws and fasteners of what to do when you get stuck planning the event)
Cartoon /"Hey! Who is this guy? Why the heck should he tell us how to have fun on our bikes?"
Ballons /
two bikers \ "I don't know. Is he a bazillion years old and done it all?"
talking \
\ "Sheeeeeeit! I don't think so. Looks like he ain't much older than a pup. He ain't no biker."
I have been riding motorcycles for about 16 years. I never had much use for bike runs, biker parties, or such carrying on for more than two thirds of that time. It was just a good fun way to get around. One weekend I remember taking off from Yuma, Arizona on a thursday afternoon and visiting Mesa Az, Silvercity NM, Salt Lake City Utah, San Diego Ca. and made it back to Yuma in time to make it to my 8:00am class on monday morning. Heck of a ride. Saw a lot of country and rode like a mad man. I once lost a windshield on my Goldwing to a hail storm in Missouri, and I jumped a sporster off an alligator into the mud in east Texas. At least I think it was a gator. I didn't go back and look. During all that time if anybody asked me if I was a biker I would always answer, "Heck no, I'm a motorcycle enthusiast." Usually not that nicely either.
When I met my wife in '93 she liked riding with me. I told her a condition of our getting together was that she had to learn to ride her own bike. I was thinking of things like sharing the thrill of precision cornering going up Yarnel hill, or the smell of little purple sand flowers popping up in the spring cruising across the desert. She talked me into going on a toy run. I thought it was great. Just about tore me up. We took our toys directly to the state children's home in El Centro California. I saw guys twice as big and a heck of a lot tougher than me choking back tears. I have believed in toy runs ever since. They do a really good thing, and it makes bikers look good. Remember, I didn't think much of being considered a, "biker." We went to a few more toy runs, and made a few other runs over the next couple years. We watched a few bike games here and there. I thought it was fun to watch. In 1997 at the ABATE of Arizona April Fool's Rally she talked me into signing up for all the games. I'ld seen a few, and some I hadn't. We wound up taking a first place and a second place. I was hooked. We went to the ABATE Motorcyle Roundup later that year and gave it a good attempt the next spring at the HOG Rodeo. Somewhere along the way we discovered poker runs, midnight runs, big weekend parties, and really big week long motorcycle events like Arizona Bike Week and the Laughlin River Run.
I picked up my my first "new" Harley(r) in December 1996. That automatically made me a member of the HOG club. I still didn't figure I was a, "biker," and I didn't really want to be, but it was strictly a fun club so I figured what they heck. Somewhere along the way I decided to donate some sound equipment in exchange for a life membership in HOG and ABATE local chapters. I still didn't consider myself a biker, although I would not have taken as much offense to being called one as I would have a few years earlier. After a couple years in ABATE and I started getting a clue. I also started to realize all the good things my local HOG chapter was doing. I decided to admit I had been corrupted. I now consider myself a biker. No I'm not a patch holder and I'm not looking to become one. (HOG patch doesn't count) I've been aproached about prospecting, and being a 1%er isn't for me. But, by golly and most of the things I find holy, I'm a biker.
I sure have done a danced around why I'm the guy writing this column haven't I? Well, in the course of becoming corrupted by all that biker mentality I discovered I had a fascination with bike games. Not hard riding dangerous stuff like motorcycle demolition derby or battle trax. Yes, there is actually a motorcycle demolition derby, although I have never seen one. I was interested in fun stuff like the slow ride and the weenie bite. I asked a few people if they knew other games. People might get tired of the same old thing. There wasn't a lot of information available. There were a few references to a bike games book that had been written a long time ago, but nobody seemed to have a copy or know where it could be found. I went on-line. I posted a few inquiries on the motorcycle newsgroups in Usenet but didn't get much response. Finally a break. A fellow who was running a motorcyle events calendar sent me the e-mail list from his guest book. He suggest I e-mail all those people and see if anybody could help.
I set up a mass mail system and sent out about 500 e-mails. I received 256 response in the first 24 hours. A few calling me every manner of anatomically challenged low life for daring to send them an unsolicited e-mail, but the vast majority were helpful. Some sent ideas of people games. Most sent suggestions for bike games. I was able to put together a small list of bike games. One fellow who was no doubt trying to be insulting suggested I try the LA Momma. That's where you wrap your momma around the front tire of your bike and ride to LA. I think he still has some unresolved issues with his momma. To sum that up I received about 400 responses, and I wrote a small article about bike games. I posted on several of the motorcycle related newsgroups. That was three years ago. Until I changed ISPs last summer I was still getting occassional e-mails from people who wanted advice on putting on motorcycle events based on that post.
A few months ago I started a web page at Geocities(r). http://www.geocities.com/onebikenut . Its sole purpose for existance was to be a resource for motorcycle event planning, promotion, and mostly to provide a list of bikes games. It has expanded a little bit, but the core of the page is still the HOW TO articles page. Tim Wagler visited the site last week, and he liked a couple things there. He asked me to write a regular column for his site. I decide to give it a try. I'll keep back copies of this column on my site for anybody who may want to read them at http://www.geocities.com/onebikenut/columns.html
The next column will be about the basics of putting on a poker run. I'll try to touch on planning, promotion, liability, and some of the things that make it fun and safe.
Email Tim if you would like to be notified everytime I put out a new column for Riders-Hill. I'm gonna try and make this a monthly column. Heck, Email Tim if you think my writing stinks and I should be flogged. Hate mail means you are at least reading this.
MC Knight
[email protected]
http://www.geocities.com/onebikenut