Motorcycles and Philanthropy

The weather has really been conducive to riding the last couple of weekends which made a couple of events here in Colorado Springs quite successful. Last weekend was the 19th Annual High Country Toy Run sponsored by the Pikes Peak Chapter of HOG (Harley Owners Group). It benefits the U.S. Marine Corps Reserves Toys for Tots program. It was a beautiful, warm day when over 1000 bikes took off on a police-escorted motorcyle parade to drop off gifts.

Notice the snow on Pikes Peak in the background in the photo of all the bikes in the Pikes Peak Harley Davidson dealership parking lot where the parade started. It was only a few miles, but my clutch hand was cramped up by the time we got to the drop-off site. I think it was more of a slow-speed skills test than it was a parade! I have a whole new respect for the Shriners back home in Louisiana who not only ride in parades, but do close-quarter maneuvers with other bikes too!

I never heard a final bike count or how many toys were donated, but I know that while I was there, two of those Marine Corp transport vehicles were filled with toys. Folks were pretty inventive with strapping toys onto bikes. Every kind of stuffed animal you can imagine strapped onto passenger seats - I even saw one motorycle with two little bicycles hanging off the sissy bar!

Yesterday, I participated in the 6th Annual Breast Cancer Awareness Ride sponsored by the Mountain Shadow Riders (Colorado Springs chapter of Women on Wheels). Although this event was sponsored by a women's club, there was a great mix of male and female riders. At sign-in, we were issued detailed directions on how to get to 4 stops on a 100 mile course. At each stop, there were three questions posted pertaining to things you saw during that leg of the ride. They were pretty random (e.g. how many pedestrian crosswalks were there in a given area or how many church bells were in a church tower we had passed). I thought the questions should've been more related to Breast Cancer Awareness, but the ride was still a good time. The registration fees and raffles associated with the 200 bikes that participated will go a long way towards increasing breast cancer awareness and education by the Koman foundation.

Just like the Toys for Tots run last weekend, every kind of bike you can imagine was represented. Of course, lots of Harleys and quite a few crotch rockets, but there were some pretty cool non-Harley cruisers also. Lots of Kawasaki Vulcans, Yamaha V-stars, Honda Shadows and Valkyrie, as well as more Indian motorcycles than I had ever seen in one place! The pictures are of an Indian Chief bike parked right next to mine at the start of the Breast Cancer Awareness ride. Check out the Indian head on the front fender! I know this nomenclature isn't politically correct, but that's what the company calls it.

The reason I am posting today instead of being out on my Harley is because the weather is overcast and 44 degrees! Not miserable, but enough to encourage me to stay home and catch up on domestic chores! I'm pretty good about enjoying my Harley when I'm in town though. . . I just flipped 3000 miles yesterday (I bought the bike on June 24th)!

Just to keep you up to date on my travels. . . I leave on the 17th for the Olympic Training Center in Lake Placid, NY (via Burlington, VT). I'll be staying for the weekend to visit my friend Bridie in Ithaca where she is attending Cornell. On the 28th, I go back to Beijing, China for a week, then off to our other Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista (near San Diego, CA). As always, stay tuned and thanks for checking my blog!!