That’s how Rodney Blackwell described a new addition to the annual Party in the Pines motorcycle rally, which returns for its seventh year May 25 to- 27 at the Longview Fairgrounds.
Blackwell, who is chairman of the event for the League of Business Owners, said between 2,500 and 3,000 motorcyclists attend each year. This is the first time the rally will feature the drill team of the Glory Bound Chapter of the Christian Motorcyclists Association.
It’s hard to describe what the drill team does, Blackwell said, “other than to say they drive very fast, very close together, and they make it look easy.”
“It should be interesting to watch,” he said.
Glory Bound is based in Wichita Falls, and its drill team formed about three years ago.
“There’s actually several motorcycle drill teams in the United States right now,” said Glory Bound president and drill team member Ricky Scales. The team was the brainchild of Scales’ riding partner and Wichita Falls motor officer Mike Phillips. Phillips is the drill team captain and chapter vice president.
“What motorcycle drill teams do is provide an example of what can be accomplished through education and really learning to ride your motorcycle well,” Scales said.
Ten members of the team’s 15 motorcyclists will make the trip to Longview.
“What makes our drill team unique to any other drill team in the United States — as far as I know our drill team is the only one that uses trikes as far as our demonstrations go,” Scales said.
He compared the drill team’s demonstration to something a horse riding club might do, with pre-orchestrated drills that the team regularly rehearses.
Two performances are planned, at noon and 3 p.m. May 26, in an approximately 2,000-square-foot area at the fairgrounds.
“We will start with high-speed crossovers,” Scales said, explaining that means the riders start on diagonal sides of the drill pad, ride to the center and cross over at a high rate of speed — all without crashing.
“That doesn’t happen by accident. It doesn’t happen without practice, and because we practice we can do it safely,” Scales said. “That can be a quite impressive thing to see.”
Figure eights and a maneuver called the “Trinity” — three counter rotating circles of motorcycles — are other features of the performance, with most portions of the drill performed at slow speeds of 3 mph to 5 mph.
Drill team members on motorcycles are riding “touring bikes” that weigh between 800 and 900 pounds.
“They’re big. They’re heavy,” Scales said. “Most people think you can’t do on a motorcycle what we use these things for. We can turn it around in two parking spaces without having to put your foot down. We can do all these things keeping our feet on the pegs at all times.”
And doing all those things provides opportunities for the riders to fulfill their organization’s primary mission, Scales said — “to change the world one heart at a time.” The Christian Motorcyclists Association is an evangelistic group, and its primary ministry is to motorcyclists, Scales said. “(The drill team) is a tool that we use to help draw people toward us so we can talk to them ultimately about a relationship with Jesus Christ,” Scales said.
Still, if there are people who don’t won’t to talk to them, at least they’ll see a group of men who can have a good time and get along without turning situations that inevitably occur — like crashing two bikes while practicing — into a crisis.
Proceeds from Party in the Pines are used to support local veterans’ organizations as needs arise during the year, Blackwell said.
That’s all part of a history the rally has each year of supporting the military and veterans. Hundreds of motorcycles participate in the annual Freedom Parade through Longview each year. This year’s patriotic bike parade begins at 2 p.m. May 27. (Visit www.pinerally.com to view a map of the parade route.)
The rally’s focus on veterans will expand this year, with an oral history project in partnership with the Library of Congress and its American Folklife Center. Congress created the Veterans History Project in 2000 to collect the stories of America’s war veterans from World War I on.
Until this year, rally volunteers hadn’t been in a position to participate in the Veterans History Project, which relies on volunteers to collect veterans’ stories. A new partnership with Texas State Technical College and its veterans organization is making it possible this year, Blackwell said.
Veterans who attend the rally will have the opportunity to make video recordings of their stories, which will become part of the Library Congress.
Blackwell estimated 1,000 rally participants each year are veterans. Because of the time involved in making the recordings, volunteers likely won’t be able to make more than eight to 10 each day. Blackwell hopes the project becomes a permanent part of the rally, perhaps expanding with more cameras and volunteers in the future.
“I think it’s a wonderful legacy that we’re going to contribute over the course of the rally,” he said.
Other events at Party in the Pines include live music, guided rides through East Texas, cycle games, Joker Run and more.
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source: Longview News-Journal (Ferguson, 5/17)
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