A Comfortable Dogwood Trail Rally, and plan now for the 2007 Rally

Standing in front of our crowd at Askew’s Landing in Edwards MS Friday evening, LAURENCE LEYENS said, “I’m happy to be here, but it’s the first time I’ve ever welcomed a group to another city!” That got a big laugh from the crowd, because for the first time the Mayor of Vicksburg was welcoming us to the area. And his welcome was more than words. He brought with him a bucket full of gift certificates for meals and services which could be redeemed the following day in Vicksburg. He also brought along a camera crew from the local public affairs station, Channel 23. They filmed his welcome, several venues around the rally, interviews with our President & Rallymaster, and took several shots of the field events on Saturday. We gotta get a tape of what they broadcast. Our pictures here.

The set-up crew had arrived Thursday and were pretty busy. The payoff came on Friday. The rally opened at 12 noon. At 11:45 AM the setup team looked at each other in amazement. For the first time in memory we were all done before opening time! Small victory, but a good one. Our rally was held on the first weekend of April: Friday March 31st to Sunday April 2nd. Thanks to our member MARTIN LEWIS (AKA Da Potentate) we had many Vicksburg businesses welcoming us. We even redesigned Saturday morning’s Poker Run to go through downtown Vicksburg so that participants could stop for a nice lunch - either to spend their winnings from Friday night or to ride with friends who’d won. The Friday night winners were:

STEVE SCOTT $50 gift certificate from Josh’s Restaurant in the Horizon Casino
MIKE HILTON $50 gift certificate from Josh’s Restaurant in the Horizon Casino
JOE LYLE $75 gift certificate to Bourbon’s from Ameristar Casino and Hotel
DOUG MELOCHE One free room from Ameristar Casino and Hotel
CAROL TAUB $20 gift certificate from Rusty’s Riverfront Grill
BILL RAMSEY $20 gift certificate from Rusty’s Riverfront Grill
DEBBIE BIEL $20 gift certificate from Rusty’s Riverfront Grill
BILL STEPHENS $25 gift certificate from F&G Beverage
BILL BIEL $25 gift certificate from F&G Beverage
ROB BUNCE $25 gift certificate from F&G Beverage
G. “DOC” LIDDY $20 gift certificate from Goldie’s Express BBQ
STEVE SCOTT $25 Downtown Vicksburg Dollars
DALE FALLIN $25 Downtown Vicksburg Dollars
IAN FERGUSSON $25 Downtown Vicksburg Dollars
BOB HUNT $25 Downtown Vicksburg Dollars

The weather was perfect - warm in the day but not too hot, cool at night but you didn’t need the thick sleeping bag. Mother Nature graced us with only one rain shower on Friday, which was just enough to settle the dust. We had a tasty dinner of red beans and rice, compliments of TRAY & LISA BOURGOYNE, who KNOW what Cajun cooking is supposed to taste like. With Friday night came Kareoke. We got to find out who could sing and who was merely graced with volume. It was fun, and several folks took the microphone and displayed their skills.

Saturday morning opened warm and clear with just a touch of fog on Askew’s Pond. The geese played their assigned roles as alarm clocks and squawked and honked until everyone was up. Of course, LYLE GRIMES and the ever-filled coffeepot were both bubbling when folks walked into the pavilion. PAUL and BETTY VEGAS, LYLE GRIMES, FLETCHER CLARK, WAYNE BARRIOS, JIM FINNEY, DUANE CARPENTER and others were cheerily flipping and serving pancakes. PAUL even did a batch of his (in)famous pecan pancakes. It looked a bit like a feeding frenzy by piranhas.

The first riders on the poker run rolled out around 8 AM. This year there was no set route, just a list of venues and questions to answer at each place. We figured that if they’d found their way to the rally, they could find five places clearly marked on a giveaway map! The riders went through the battleground park and stopped at the gunboat Cairo and a new monument [Yes, the 1st and 3rd Mississippi Regiments did fight for the Union. They were freed slaves conscripted into the union army as engineering troops]. Afterwards the riders went to the confederate cemetery, a gun emplacement overlooking the bend of the Mississippi River, and the city’s long Mural Wall downtown. When they returned to the camp they exchanged their answers for cards. The winner, DOC LILLEY won with a Queen-high straight. The worst mishmash of cards ever seen was drawn by MARLYN FINNEY. Both got our traditional handmade plaques. The poker run earned $167.00 for the Salvation Army [our club charity] from entry fees and extra card purchases.

For those who stayed around camp, our midday meal consisted of delicious burgers and fixin’s put together by DAN ASKEW and his crew, and WILL DAVID’s Poker Run Bean Soup. We don’t know how many burgers Dan sold, but 58 bowls of the free soup were consumed.

Fed and happy, it was time for the field events. VECH VECHORIC had as much fun as the participants. For the Balloon Toss, the rider must pilot the motorcycle under a bar, going slowly, but without putting a foot down. The rider on pillion tosses a water balloon up, over the bar, then catches it. At least that is the theory. Many impromptu showers occurred on the field of honor. In the end, DAVID COLES and ___________ were the victors. Then came the Slow Race, where contestants had to navigate lanes 3' wide and 20' long. Touching a foot down or going out of the lane disqualifies you. Last rider to the far end wins. JIM HARBIN was the balance-master! What could be simpler than negotiating a serpentine course on a motorcycle, blindfolded, with dozens of onlookers screaming directions? This year’s Blind Man’s Bluff winner was the calm and collected JOHN LANGBURG. He must ride in heavy traffic a lot! After proving his abilities to control his motorcycle in the Slow Race, JIM HARBIN came back with pillion passenger ___________ to win the Tennis Ball Pylon competition. The rider went down a course while the passenger plucked tennis balls from atop pylons. Sounds easy? On the return trip, they had to re-balance them atop the pylons. A superb demonstration of motorcycling skills and hand to eye coordination!

Every rally has awards for those who have pushed the envelope of motorcycling. The Dogwood Trail was no exception as we gave some very nice laser-engraved wooden plaques to these winners:

Oldest BMW Ridden to the Rally: VECH, 1936 R12
Oldest Male Rider: FRANK SCOTT, 85 Years Young
Oldest Female Rider: BETTY VEGAS, 64 Years Young
Long Distance Male Rider: DOUG CROWE 2845 miles from Olympia, WA
Long Distance Female Rider: CAROL TAUB 1510 miles from Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Long Distance 2-up Riders: RAY AND SHARON MOSS, 254 miles from Millington, TN
Youngest Male Rider/operator: CLARK MERKLE, 17 years old, no residence given
Youngest Female Rider/operator: BRITT GABLE, 17 years old from Laurel, MS

Many won door prizes - thoughtfully donated by businesses and individuals. Each person had 5 tickets to put into envelopes corresponding with prizes. So folks had a chance to win something they wanted.

MARTIN LEWIS: 50% off parts and service from Hebert’s Cycles in Baton Rouge
RITA O’MALLEY: 40% off parts and service from Hebert’s Cycles
FRANK GLAMSER: 25% off service from Hebert’s Cycles
NOEL ADDY: BMW hat from Hebert’s Cycles
BILL STEPHENS: BMW hat from Hebert’s Cycles
TOM LINDSLEY: Honda spray polish
RANDY WOY: Honda spray polish
HARV REED: BMW MOA T-Shirt donated by BMW MOA
JOE LYLE: Clip on light
TRAY BOURGOYNE: Cyber Light kit from James Gordy
RANGER COOK: Helmet cable lock
CAROL TAUB: $50 Hair service and product discount from Nouveau Hair, Flowood, MS
IAN FERGUSSON: Helmet Sunblocker
WILL SWAN: Hattiesburg Cycles T-Shirt
BILL STEPHENS: R1150 handle bar risers
RANDY WOY: City of Vicksburg lapel pin
WILL DAVID: City of Vicksburg lapel pin
DOUG CROWE: City of Vicksburg lapel pin
ROBIN DUNCAN: Continental front tire JOHN O’MALLEY: Insulated gloves
TIM HENDRICKS: Motorola 2 way radios
RITA O’MALLEY: Motorola 2 way radios
RON WEEKS SR.: BMW R25/3 Die cast model
SHANE SMITH: BMW MOA Henley Shirt donated by BMW MOA
RAY MOSS: D’Rose Inn, Leakey, TX 2 night stay
JOE SKAGGS: D’Rose Inn, Leakey, TX 2 night stay
CAROL TAUB: Insulated gloves
STEVE SCOTT: R1100R seat
VALERIE FLYNN: LED brake light
CAROL TAUB: Olympia summer gloves
JAMES GORDY: Pen, flashlight and tire gauge set
B.B. NEELY: Lowered footpegs for 1150GS
JIM HARBIN: Silver Creek evaporative cooling vest
FRANK SCOTT: Gortech air gloves
VALARIE HAMMER: Coleman gas lantern
WILL DAVID: Bike Mike 3
ROBIN DUNCAN: Horizon Casino duffle bag
MARVIN OSBORN: the Art of the Motorcycle book
BOB FROBOESE: Battery lantern
DAN GRIMMETT: BMW cap
J.C. BLADES: 12 volt LED work lamp
ALAN DUNCAN: K75/100 tank protector/cover
VALARIE HAMMER: BMW heated vest
DON KING: MS Atlas
MARLYN FINNEY: Gerbing’s heated gloves
MARVIN OSBORN: Oilhead oil filler cap
We had the traditional 50/50 bucket floating around the rally site. Tickets were $1 each or 6 for $5. The winner gets half the proceeds and the other half is donated to the club charity. This year the lucky devil was DENNIS KUNZLER, who walked away with a cool $135.00 for a $5 donation. We heard that he re-donated his share of the funds to a Vicksburg casino, but that may just be rumor.

Saturday night brought some fine fried catfish and other delights, plus the return of the popular country singing group, Moonshine and Magnolias, who rocked the campground into the night. Sunday morning began for most with a grateful stop off for Lyle’s coffee, a bit of pancake, then off to pack the tents and say farewell to friends for another year.

Overall, we had 132 registered ralliers and 17 day passes. It was smaller than past years, but filled with more activities. A mighty good time was had by all.

Will David
Newsletter Editor
April 30, 2006