Hot Rods, Harleys fill the streets of Strathmore
Shannon LeClair – Times Reporter
The fifth annual Harleys and Hot Rods Charity Poker Run took place on July 10 and saw bikes and hot rods filling the street in front of Underground Performance on Highway 1. Starting at 9 a.m. people gathered together for pancakes and sausage, and to get their poker card. There were 137 people who came to take part in the ride, coming from as far as Ontario, and 18 additional party attendees.
“Our oldest rider now I believe is 79,” said Cindy Jensen, one of the organizers.
It started when the bike community wanted to give back, and somebody wanted to do something.
“It was also to sort of show that they are just riders, they are just normal people. We just wanted to give a more positive out look to bikers and people who ride,”” said Jensen. The Mustang club is also a big part of the ride, bringing their cars to show off. There were trophies designed by Abstee,l and West Jet even donated a trip for two anywhere they fly this year. It was $5 a ticket and there were only 920 printed. The bikini bike wash took place despite the cold and rain, though the bike rodeo was cancelled.
It was not a shotgun start; every one was able to leave when they wanted, taking a poker card with them. When they arrived at a participating business they would pull a card out and it would become part of their hand. There were prizes awarded for the best hand and worst hand. After collecting their hand participants headed to the Agricultural grounds to present their hand and take part in a night of festivities. There was a wet T-Shirt contest, tattoo contest, and a silent and live auction. Dinner was provided and the band Stratabuse came in for entertainment. To make sure no one got on their bikes after having a few at the beer gardens, camping spaces were rented out and there was a shuttle service to and from the hotels in town.
“We’ve had a really good positive response from everybody and a lot of local support,” said Jensen. There are talks of maybe starting a breast cancer ride as well. The ride has raised $61,000 to date and the numbers for this years ride will be in later this week. The ride is run 100 per cent by volunteers, with all of the profits going to the Children’s Wish Foundation.