Clint's Monthly Ride: Until the Violence Stops

The day started out like most Saturday morning rides would begin, a quick kiss for the wife and kids while they’re nestled in their beds and then downstairs and into the garage to fire up the Harley.

With the turn of a key and a twist of the throttle, the excitement builds as I envision my ride with some old friends on the road to enjoy the freedom that we enjoy here in this beautiful country.

Here we go! Wham, the bike usually bellows out to all the neighbors saying, “HERE I AM, I’M A FREE MAN HITTING THE ROAD!"... but not today. I got no juice in the battery so I called my trusty riding partner Rudy. He also happens to be a neighbor, so he came to the rescue and jump-started my bike with his monster-sized F-250 and we were in business.

I followed him to his house and as he checked the oil on his Sportster—none on the stick! He then says that maybe we’re not supposed to ride today. I ponder it, and as we were deciding what to do next my bike stalls. I attempted to start it again but no luck, the battery is dead. I agreed with him at that point that we should drive to the Coffee Corner in Santee to meet up with our pals and enjoy some great java.

Rudy said he’d meet me there and when I arrived, there were already 10 or 12 bikes lined up in the parking lot. As other riders filtered in from Mast Boulevard, the recurring question was, “Where’s your bike?" After explaining why I was caging it, we took our usual group picture and then got ready to roll down to Sweetwater Harley Davidson for the Second Annual Until The Violence Stops poker run.

I led the pack in my SUV and noticed in the rear view mirror just how cool it looks to see 20-plus bikes lined up behind you on the freeway. What’s even cooler is that several clubs came out to support the event like the 2 Intense Riders, Laughing Devils, Sol Sisters and riders, along with all the independents that took part as well.

Once we got to our destination we were greeted by a crowd of cheering volunteers, organizers and enthusiasts all ready to get us registered for the cause. After many of the riders fueled up with some donuts and even more coffee, it was time to lift the kickstands.

We rode (I drove), out of Sweetwater Harley at about 9:30 a.m., and while I was with the event photographer, Paul Savage, the riders stopped at several designated spots, pulled a card at each one of them in the hopes that they would have the best five-card hand to win the top prize of the day: two tickets to a very poignant and entertaining show put on by the V-Day Campaigners and theater actors. (Information below about V-Day).

We got back to the dealership for the after party at around noon and the upper sun deck was in full swing. There was a mobile DJ that goes by the name of Bear who played some great tunes (Dancing Bear Mobile DJ), there was pizza, additional cards to better your hand if you felt lucky and a ton of raffle prizes to be won.

I hosted the microphone along with Bear, and it was an absolute blast to see so many people with smiles on their faces as they collected their winnings.

While the weather was perfect and the party was a great time, nobody lost site of why we were there that Saturday afternoon.

We were there to support women and children who have been victims of abuse. The goal was to raise money and awareness for these victims of domestic violence and we did just that. It’s important to note that a lot of the folks that come out to spend their hard-earned money are not wealthy and some are unemployed, so to give what little they have is an impressive gesture by any measure.

I think this is one of the many things that make the biker community so special.

After we gave away the last of the prizes and said our goodbyes, we headed back to Santee to spend the rest our day with our families. I will certainly be attending again next year and I hope you’ll join me.

Here’s some info on the organization that will benefit from the proceeds of this event.

Each year, CCS assists more that 27,000 women, children and men affected by relationship violence and sexual assault.  It is the mission of the Center for Community Solutions to end relationship and sexual violence by being a catalyst for caring communities and social justice.

For more information on the V-Day campaign you can visit www.vday.org

If you’d like information about how to help victims of abuse through the Center For Community Solutions, log onto www.ccssd.org.

Or if you’d like to join my Monthly Ride Club, you can log onto www.101kgb.com/pages/hittheroad.html and sign up. It’s free to join and who cares what kind of bike you ride — just ride!