Have you heard about the Biker Ice Bucket Challenge? Members of my club, the Iron Knights MC, posted some hilarious videos showcasing their challenges. They were quickly followed by videos from Liberty H-D and their H.O.G. chapter in Rahway, New Jersey. Apparently this started as the Cold Water Challenge, the origins of which no one is certain, although some surmise it began in certain fire departments. The way it works is that you are nominated by someone who has just completed the challenge. You have 24 hours to complete the challenge, which usually involves someone dumping a bucket of cold ice water over your head (firefighters have gotten more elaborate, using fire hoses, dunk tanks and other apparatus). You post a video to YouTube or Facebook as proof and then make a small donation to a charity of your choice. If you do not complete the challenge in the allotted time, you must donate a larger amount. Those completing the challenge post a video as proof and nominate five others; kind of like a Facebook chain letter, but for a charitable cause. It’s been spreading like wildfire, and with the temperature at 92 as I’m writing this, it doesn’t sound like such a bad idea… Another charitable cause in New Jersey was the 27th annual Gooch’s Garlic Run put on by Blue Knights NJ Chapter IX on June 18. The run went from the Rockaway Mall to the Ironbound section of Newark where everyone enjoyed the food and live music at Iberia and surrounding restaurants. Proceeds from the run benefit families of New Jersey children who have been stricken with serious illnesses. This year’s recipients were the families of Lilly Beth Batche, a 3-year-old girl diagnosed with Wilms Tumor who recently underwent surgery to remove the cancerous tumors, Logan Robert Wagner, also 3, who suffers from a rare chromosome duplication that results in serious medical illnesses, and one-year-old Sebastian Carlo Barreda who was born prematurely with underdeveloped lungs and spent many months in hospitals on a ventilator… Johnstown Fire Fighters IAFF Local 1950 in Johnstown, Rhode Island, held a raffle for a 2014 Fat Boy, with the winning ticket pulled on June 7 at the Whiskey Republic in Providence. The Fat Boy went to retired firefighter Joseph Andriole. Only 300 tickets were sold at $100 each, and $30,000 was raised, of which $1,000 was donated to the MDA Rhode Island/Southeastern Massachusetts Chapter. The rest of the funds will kick off the firefighters’ annual “Fill the Boot” campaign held every Labor Day weekend to help the MDA support Jerry’s Kids… The inaugural Marlborough (Massachusetts) Police Department Motorcycle Ride to benefit Special Olympics was held June 21, starting and ending at the Special Olympics Massachusetts Yawkey Sports Training Center. Officers from several other Bay State police departments participated, and the ride was followed by a barbecue… The Tumbleweeds Motorcycle Club held their annual vintage motorcycle show at the Star Drive-In in Taunton, Massachusetts. Club President Dave Neault said they were “just a bunch of old guys who like old motorcycles, and we try to keep alive what motorcycles used to be about.” The club was formed in 1940 and the event, which started in 1999, has grown to include somewhere between 400 and 500 vintage bikes. This sounds like one of the best-kept secrets for vintage events in the Northeast!… On June 1, the 24th annual Operation God Bless America Ride took place to raise money for the Martinsburg (Virginia) VA Medical Center. The ride started in Greencastle with nearly 1,800 riders taking I-81 to the hospital. The money raised goes to the patients’ recreation fund, which helps make their lives a little more pleasant by providing televisions, exercise bikes, hearing aids, shaving gear and outdoor recreational equipment. The ride has raised more than $480,000 over the past 23 years… A New York motorcyclist stopped at a hotel in Belfast, Maine, decided he needed a “massage” and called a number listed on a website. A woman showed up with another guy, but the motorcyclist decided he didn’t need her services. While that discussion was going on, a duffel bag containing cash, leathers, an iPhone, GPS system and other electronics was stolen. After the couple left, the motorcyclist realized he’d been robbed so he called police who set up a sting. While the couple was en route to meet an undercover officer for a “massage,” they got in a car accident where police got the two to confess. Everything was returned except for the cash, which the woman said was never in the duffel. Careful, guys!… The Wyoming Valley MC held its 18th annual SPCA Run on June 22 with 400 riders departing the Luzerne County SPCA in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, and arriving at the Ashley Fire Hall. The club has raised well over $100,000 over the past 17 years, earning them the number-two spot for most dollars given. The donation will allow the SPCA to pay for dog and cat food, medical treatment and rehabilitation to ready the animals for adoption… A shout out from Diva Dawn and me to the guys who helped us figure out an alternate, less traffic-jammed route home from the Emporium in Patchogue, Long Island, after Aidan’s Ride N.Y. Kevin Quinn gave us detailed directions and Stan from Newburgh led us back to New Jersey, which was pretty far out of his way. Getting home before dark, and without our bikes overheating, was the icing on the cake. Big thanks, guys.
