.............Saturday May 19, 2007, I took part in the 3rd Annual “Ride to Remember” Poker Ride to benefit the Alzheimer’s Association. This 125 mile ride started at the Macon Harley-Davidson Dealership and after three stops, ended at the Jones County Fairgrounds in Gray, GA. The best poker hand won $500.00 plus there was food and entertainment at the end of the ride too! The Macon HOG Chapter assisted by providing road captains and I was asked to give the safety briefing. This was very much a learning experience for me. It is the first ride of this magnitude where my involvement was more than a rider. With an estimated 135 bikes it is not a time to practice. As the HOG Chapters Safety Officer I tend to analyze every ride I attend now. This was not a chapter ride but I couldn’t help looking to see what could be done better. Let me say the difficulty factor explodes the bigger the event is. I only had a glimpse at the work and dedication it took to pull this ride off. I have to tip my hat to the organizers. Oh, I forgot to mention, this was one of six rides being executed simultaneously. YES, six separate Harley-Davidson Dealers joined this years “Ride to Remember” with rides kicking off in Atlanta, Dalton, Augusta, Albany, Savannah, and Macon, each location a separate ride. Did I see any mistakes? Well yes, there is always room for improvement. Will I mention them here? NO! The reason is the event went off very well. Let me repeat myself: THIS EVENT WAS GREAT! They raised a heck of a lot of money and all the riders had a great time. As for any mistakes I observed, criticizing this year’s event would serve no purpose. I’ll see what I can do to help make the next event better. Oops! I think I just volunteered. I was not involved in the planning of the event and it’s easy to find fault looking from the outside in. I would like to challenge all who take the time to read this article to take action. When you see something that you feel could be done better, step in and do something to improve it. Saturday I was fortunate enough to witness how one couple’s drive to finding a cure for Alzheimer’s disease resulted in raising thousands of dollars in a STATE wide poker run. Why, because they lost a loved one to this terrible disease. They will never get their loved one back, but they have stepped forward to make a change. I consider myself to be fortunate because they let me ride with them Saturday, more importantly I consider them my friends. I would like you to meet Clay and Lisa, the couple I’m talking about. All you have to do is drop by one of our Macon HOG Chapter events. Take time to get and know some fantastic people who are making a difference. To see some pics from the ride visit http://public.fotki.com/0808/2007-ride-to-remember/
