Revving up for the Wild Hog Motorcycle and Music Rally

Get your bikes revved up and mark your calendar the weekend of April 25-28 when the Wild Hog Motorcycle Rally and Music returns for an 11th engagement.

The 2013 lineup was officially unveiled Tuesday night at a special Business After Hours held at the Wild Hog Saloon. Delbert McClinton, a regular performer at the King Biscuit Blues Festival, will headline this year's Wild Hog Music Festival.

A Texas native, McClinton grew up listening to Bob Willis and His Texas Playboys. Some of the masters of blues music served as his tutors including Jimmy Reed, Howlin' Wolf and Sonny Boy Williamson. During a tour of England, McClinton demonstrated a few of his harmonica licks to a young John Lennon. The lineup card also includes a return engagement by 7 Bridges The Ultimate Eagles Experience, The Return – A Beatles Flashback, Geneva, Grand Theft Audio and Purfek Daze. The times of the performances will be announced at a later date. Originally from Nashville, Tenn., Geneva and her self-titled band have been touring for several years. They were the first band to perform for U.S. troops in the Middle East at the onset of Operation Iraqi Freedom. Geneva has written, recorded and released 5 CDs featuring songs primarily inspired by their experiences on the bike rally circuit. Geneva filmed a reality show, “Geneva's Rock –N-Ride”, which airs seasonally on select Fox networks. She has graced the cover of over a dozen mainstream biker magazine covers. This year marks Geneva's 10th anniversary headlining the biker world.

 Besides all the live music and full display of motorcycles, all of the usual activities are on tap for this year's festival. They include field events such as the poker run, weenie bite, burn out, slow race, balloon toss and more. There will be a bike parade and bike show plus all the food you can eat. Other events on the card are the Dyno Shootout, mechanical bull rides, the ever-popular Ms. Wild Hog Beauty Contest and new this year, oil wrestling. The festival will open Thursday evening April 25 with the traditional early bird and registration party for early registrants, sponsors, volunteers and wild hog riders groups. The event will close Sunday, morning April 28 with a worship service and the blessing of the bikes.

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Source: Helena-Arkansas (Hogan, 2/14)

Bikers rally at State Capitol for new motorcycle bill

Hundreds of bikers rumbled their way to the State Capitol Monday morning to promote a new piece of legislation.

The group of bikers is asking state lawmakers to pass the Motorcycle Crash Prevention Act, a bill aimed at lowering the number of motorcycle accidents across Texas.

Among other things, the bill would provide funding to expand Texas’ “Share the Road” program--a public service campaign intended to make drivers more aware of motorcycles on the road.

If the proposed bill becomes law, it would also fund more training for riders.

One of the event’s organizers says she's optimistic about the bill passing, thanks to the motorcyclists' lobby.

"We're all registered voters and we're heavily involved in all the politics of the state,” Terri Williams with the Texas Motorcycle Rights Association said. “We want to make them aware of us in large numbers to let them know that we have the backing of the state of Texas with the motorcyclists."

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Source: YNN (AP, 1/28)

RIDE FOR KIDS: RAISES $3.8 MILLION TO FIGHT CHILDHOOD BRAIN TUMORS

America’s motorcyclists and families battling childhood brain tumors joined together to raise more than $3.8 million to support the work of the Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation in 2012. The Ride for Kids, held in 40 cities across the country, recognizes top fundraisers in four categories: Motorcycle business, motorcycle club/chapter, individual and special organization.

The overall leaders for 2012 were:

- Northwest Honda of Houston was again the No. 1 motorcycle business, with its customers raising $291,754 for Ride for Kids events in Houston, Dallas, Lafayette, La., Albuquerque and Birmingham.

- Gold Wing Road Riders Association (GWRRA) TX-C was also a repeat winner from Houston. Its members collected $87,026 in donations at four Ride for Kids events to make TX-C the country’s top motorcycle chapter.

- Texan Sam Caine was the top individual fundraiser, with $81,413.

- The Caden Johnson Memorial Fund was the country’s top special organization, raising $57,192 in Dallas/Fort Worth.

“Children with brain tumors and their families had a lot to cheer about last year,” said PBTF President and CEO Robin Boettcher. “The motorcycle community, volunteers and sponsors helped us fund cutting-edge international medical research and provide support, such as college scholarships for survivors. We’re gearing up for some exciting changes in 2013, and thank everyone for their ongoing support of our work to cure the kids.”

Program enhancements for 2013:

Ride for Kids events are planned in 43 locations in 2013, including the 40 on the current schedule and three pilot rides to be announced later this year.

At each event, we will continue to draw for a new Honda motorcycle and other great prizes. Online registration and integrated personal fundraising pages are coming this spring. The early bird registration rate of $40 per motorcycle includes one ticket for the prize drawing. Walk-up registration (day of event) is $50 per bike.

A new prize redemption program will give fundraisers a greater selection of incentive items. Participants can earn a collectible event T-shirt for as little as $100. Depending on how much is raised, they will qualify for one additional incentive with a selection of great prizes offered at each fundraising level.

Thanks to our partners:

American Honda is the presenting sponsor of Ride for Kids, and GEICO is our national insurance sponsor. Our supporters include Cycle World, Advanstar Communications and the International Motorcycle Shows.

This year’s Ride for Kids/Cycle World motorcycle drawing features a 2012 CBR1000RR donated by Honda and customized by Gregg DesJardins with assistance from Blue Cat (Roberto Serangeli), Performance Machine, Cycles 128, Bell Helmets, Leo Vince, Saddlemen, CRG and Dunlop. Get your chance to win online. No purchase is necessary to win, and the drawing is void where prohibited. See official rules for details. The winner’s name will be drawn in May 2013.

Riding to cure the kids:

Pediatric brain tumors are one of the deadliest forms of childhood cancer, striking 11 American children each day. The Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation works to eliminate the challenges of this killer disease by funding medical research and family support programs.

The Ride for Kids program has helped make the PBTF the world’s leading non-governmental source of childhood brain tumor research funding. We are also one of Charity Navigator’s highest-rated nonprofit organizations.

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Source: Cycle World (AP, 1/30)

Driver sought in hit-and-run

A Hallsville man died Sunday night after wrecking his motorcycle and then being run over by a pickup truck whose driver fled the scene in rural Upshur County, said investigating Texas Depatment of Public Safety Trooper Brandon Love.

Officers were seeking a white pickup which ran over Maxwell Kyle Hardin, 35, as he lay in the roadway of FM 726 after wrecking the motorcycle in an accident which also injured his girlfriend, Love said.

Hardin died after being taken by ambulance to East Texas Medical Center Gilmer, where Upshur County Pct. 4 Justice of the Peace W.V. Ray pronounced him dead at 8:35 p.m., said Love.

Donna Rene Miller of Hallsville, who was marking her 36th birthday, was taken by ambulance to Good Shepherd Medical Center in Longview with possible head injuries, but was expected to recover, Love said.

She and Hardin had left a birthday party for her at her home in Hallsville, the trooper said.

Authorities do not know whether it was the motorcycle crash, or the pickup, which killed Hardin, Love said.

The trooper gave this account of the accidents and related events:

The couple was southbound on FM 726 between the intersections with Hwy. 154 and FM 1650 (near Glenwood), when Hardin swerved the 1999 Honda Shadow to miss a deer. The driver lost control and ran into a ditch on the roadway’s right side, throwing him and Ms. Miller off the motorcycle.

Hardin was lying in the southbound lane when, probably within 30 seconds, the southbound pickup ran over him and stopped momentarily before continuing southward on FM 726.

A man who was sitting on his porch witnessed the motorcycle accident and was going to help when he saw the pickup run over Hardin.

The witness couldn’t tell anything about the driver, but said nobody exited the vehicle. Authorities have no description of it, other than it was a white pickup, and anyone with information on the incident is asked to call the Tyler DPS office at 903-939-6000 or the Upshur County Sheriff’s Office at 903-843-2541.

Leaving the scene of the accident was a felony offense.

Hardin and Ms. Miller weren’t wearing helmets, but she was able to call 911 on her cell phone. Love was notified of the incidents at 7:15 p.m.

Those were the first of four traffic crashes attributable at least partly to animals in rural Upshur County Sunday evening. The other two, both caused by a calf who strayed into FM 2263 three miles northeast of Gilmer (off Hwy. 155), resulted in no serious injuries, according to Love.

David Sterling, 55, of Gilmer, was southbound when his 2001 GMC pickup struck the calf, Love said. Sterling exited the truck, was charged by the animal, and received a minor knee injury when he ran and jumped back into the vehicle, said the trooper.

Love said he was called to that accident at 10:30 p.m., arrived at 10:39, and was turning his patrol car around when he witnessed the second crash. The calf had run northward up the road, and 55-year-old Amron Dailey of Gilmer overturned her southbound 2005 Chevrolet Malibu when she swerved to miss the animal, the trooper said.

“I saw her car rolling in my headlights  in the ditch. . . I saw it roll twice,” Love said at the scene. Ms. Dailey escaped injury when the vehicle ran off the roadway’s right side and ended up right side up, straddling a ditch.

Ms. Dailey was wearing her seat belt, which “definitely saved her from getting ejected,” Love said.

Both accidents occurred near the intersection with Blue Bell Road, and both Sterling and Ms. Dailey were alone in their vehicles, Love said. Both reside on FM 2263, he stated.

Love and an Upshur County Sheriff’s Deputy used a flashlight to spot the calf in a pasture beside the road. The animal jumped up and ran a short distance away from the officers into the pasture.

Rain began within an hour after Ms. Dailey’s crash.

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Source: The Gilmer Mirror (Williams, 1/31)