MB rally- "pirates run"

[kiawrench]

 am off today to make the "pirates run" as part of spring bike rally. This run is being done this year to help a few local families cover medical bills -
We have over 300 bikes signed up for a 200 mile run to the city of atlantic ,nc, along the "pirate road" us hwy 17- from murrell's inlet sc. is actually 187 miles one way , and follows close to the original road used by early pirates as a land route from one safe harbor to the next one south.  The town of atlantic is just south of ocracoke island, stronghold of edward teach,aka "blackbeard" and murrell's inlet is the home station of "calico jack " aka john rackham, the only pirate to allow women to serve as equal crewmembers and pirates- ann bonney and mary read.
     the ride sponsors have set up commemorative "pirate decks "- decks of cards with bits of carolina pirate history on them through a printing company, and the poker run segment is being capped by by prizes and awards worthy of the run, 250.00 best hand, 25.00 worst kept hand .
  in addition to the poker run part, riders will be able to get photos in "pirate era villiages and lairs" .a local fellow has agreed to put his actual ship to sea and "fire" on the group when we stop on the return part of the run in atlantic beach. the ship is a period correct cutter , 14 guns ,and manned by a crew of 31 - this same ship does a lot of coastal re-enactment events, as well as many events featuring the old wooden ships. (they never really fire cannon balls or shot)

   the return part of the run will be late afternoon,early evening, ending at the campground in murrell's inlet with a full"pirate's feast" all open pit fires and period correct food and drink.


  we sent a list of invitations up to the top four floors of the convention center, maybe a few will actually attend- billy lane has already answered,he can not make the run due o contract obligations.

the Conferences and meetings the rally revolve around begin in the morning,8 AM- helmet laws, rider certification,and lot of other stuff is on the table again this year, as well as planning for th efall rally .
ok, hav eto leave, ride is due to start, hope my lil vision makes it .

[kiawrench]

finished the run ! bike ran great ! neck hurts, lower back is a bit sore, but i finished the run. !
did not get to say much to any of the bigwigs on the run, most were milling around a van with "personal stock" every time we stopped along the way . billy lane was not allowed to make the run, due to some legal travel restrictions of some sort, but a good many of his travel crew did ride along (road test on one really sweet direct drive unit- no visible drive train, no visible brakes, rear tire almost unseen -all fender and motor- sort of a monster street sweeper with some really wide tires ,front and rear .9 ft ,8 inches from axle to axle- guy said it was like riding a king sized bed, and turned just as easy ! he was almost completely worn out by the time we got back (3 am ). the "pirate ship battle" was not a let down, saw the ship just as sun was starting to set, the guy fired 5 shots, 2 from the six pounders, 2 from a pair of three pounders ,and one from a rail gun. was a bit on the wild side, we would see the smoke, then hear the shot a couple seconds later. kinda cool .

  we stopped in at a recreated "pirate stronghold" built after some guy did research on a few of the islands out in th eouter banks area, high wooden fence,big wide ditch around the outside of wall, deep too , small cramped buildings built mainly of localy obtained ships timber and a good bit of mud bricks. all cooking areas are outside, and th eplace was staffed by 20 or so folks that do pirate shows - a couple of "fights " over food and a "wench" and some good food and we were off to myrtle beach. we had a total of 235 bikes and a few two up bikes, and by the runs end, three trailers were full of bikes with stretched frames and s&s engines. no stock yamahas made it to the trailers, mine ran great all the way (with one fuel stop for the chopper rider's two )
i think once i get wife to stop being mad, i will take her up on th esame run, maybe can trade her at the stronghold for GROG!  kidding !

menu at the strong hold:
sea turtle stew (for enviro reasons, it is made with small chunks of lamb and pork)
spit roasted pork(whole hog)
pit roasted beef
grilled chicken
scalded pole beans (whole green beans )with a vinegar dressing
potatoes
corn on cob
pepper salad , mostly hot ones with spinach and tomatoes
"grog"  mostly a weak rum flavored tea of some type, not real grog
coffee and "king's tea" hot ,lemon and a touch of cream -thank you .

not a menu i would prefer to live on, but tasty and "free"
funny thing-- if you didnt have a fork on you, you didnt get one - most ate with fingers anyway.
one rider that did manage to create a problem was ,by "pirates code" , marooned at a special stop, they actually pulled the run off the highway, and one of the event peer members stayed with him until entire line of bikes was out of sight,he was asked not to rejoin the run .

i may not hav egot to meet the big wigs on th erun, and i do hurt this morning, but i would make this run again ,even if i had to pay the run fees and join in the poker run segment.(100.00 per bike,addl 25.if second up plays too.) the total monies raised was over 3500.00, someone dropped a 1000.00 kicker into the fund- not sure who it was, but am sure money wont be wasted .(amounts were determined after costs of dinner and seabattle were paid out )

[kiawrench]

nuttin goin on, rally is getting boring working this year, same story all across the table-- money low, no lodging, can i ship this from your booth?   all      day      long 
i think next rally (in fall) i am going back to walking teams, at least you get some changes

[h2olawyer]

At least it sounds like the ride was fun.  At least for everyone except the one forced to "walk the plank".

If you ain't the lead dog, the view never changes . . .

H₂O

[kiawrench]

H20- the guy was getting really silly on something he had to have brought in his own saddlebags, walking the plank was the least of his worries, they almost had to have guy arrested due to hassling the celebs in the front of the run. i didnt rate a riding spot up there, was near the back, in the accordian with all the other common folk.


Motor vehicle incidents involving motorcycles through Tuesday

Crashes | 54

Fatalities | 1   (was not car related- guy ran over his buddy playing chicken on harleys)

Citations | 379 (about half are due to loud pipes)

Source: Horry County Emergency Operations Center

Ocean Boulevard traffic controls starts Thursday

Ocean Boulevard traffic will be one-way, southbound, from 29th Avenue North to 17th Avenue South, from 2:00 p.m. to midnight Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Right turns off Ocean Boulevard will be allowed at cross streets that have a stoplight on Kings Highway. When the one-way traffic pattern is in place, the two northbound lanes of Ocean Boulevard will be reserved for emergency vehicles.


City resident complaints due to noise or "unlawful acts" on bikes - None reported by city or county officials.


 

[kiawrench]

this thing is almost over-
not too many things went wrong
only had one attempted murder, guy driving van tried to deliberately run over a couple on a harley- they "cut him off" bail denied, case pending

the total number of biker related events is way down, ,deaths related to bikes was 3, down from ten
other things were tracked ,once they get a number i will post it. seems spending was way way up from last year, over 1400 bikes were bought and sold in ten days!(mostly dealers and vendors )
i scored a new set of workboots, no charge, H-D "brake lights" , from one of the vendors ,he sort of couldnt find his van, so i made sure he got to his hotel and then went back and woke him up next morning to open his booth .
bought some frog togs at half price ,black ones, needed a new rain suit anyway ,for work .
did buy a few other things, got some decent discounts from the vendors, i guess working that info booth had it's own perks after all .