Leah's Ride and Benefit
Leah's Ride and Benefit
As we are out and about we try to keep an eye out for runs and events that we have not heard about and are not in our Schedule of Events and this was the case with Leah’s Ride. We saw the poster at the Boars Nest and phoned the contact on the poster. We received the event information, added it to the Schedule of Events and sent out a news letter to the subscriber base informing them that there was a new event scheduled for the end of August.
Leah DeTroye is the 13 year old daughter of Chris (Hammer) DeTroye who was taken from us and Leah on May 15, 2010 when he was involved in a motorcycle accident. The proceeds of the event will help defray the costs of this tragedy that the family has had to endure and will also go towards Leah’s college fund.
The event was organized by Roette Rheel, executed by Satans Coachmen of Corinth NY and hosted by the Long Horn at Lake Vanare. One hundred twenty bikes showed up for the event which is a testament to what Chris meant to the biker brotherhood in the area and also to how just the cause is.
As rides go this is about as good as it could get. The route was simple enough to follow. It involved circumnavigating the Great Sacandaga Lake. The ride departed the Long Horn and traveled up the south side of the lake and crossed to the north side of the lake via the Batchellerville Bridge. A quick rest stop at the Old Trail Inn and the ride proceeded down the north shore of the lake into Hadley NY and from there on to the Long Horn. The pace of the ride was excellent and the Satans Coachmen did an excellent job of providing blockers and insuring everyone’s safety and well being. There was an entourage of cars following the ride as well as a van and trailer in case of a breakdown. To me the most unnerving part of the ride was crossing the Batchellerville Bridge. For those of you who have never crossed it, the bridge is wide open with minimal guard rails and it just felt like a good gust of wind would blow you right off into the lake.
When we arrived at the Long Horn there were ‘burgers, dogs and cold salads waiting in a buffet for us. As we commenced to chow down we were warned that this was just to tide us over until the real buffet comes out in ninety minutes or so. So often when you arrive back from a run the food that is supposed to be hot is cold and the food that is supposed to be cold is hot. Since Jeremy at the Long Horn owns both a restaurant (The Long Horn) and a catering business it would only make sense that things were timed just right. When the buffet of chicken BBQ, beef stroganoff, green beans and red potatoes was served it was well worth the wait. The food was exceptional. There was an outside bar serving beer and bottled water and the interior bar was in full operation as well. One thing that impressed me was the level of staffing at the event. Personnel with Long Horn staff shirts were everywhere insuring that the guests were well taken care of.
Entertainment was provided by E’Town Express with a guest appearance of Jim Thomson who plays in a local band. The music was excellent and E’Town Express is starting to cut some of their own material and I must say it is really good stuff. Check out their web site to learn more about the band.
There was a 50/50 raffle, a Chinese auction and a silent auction. Up for grabs in the silent auction was a set of hand carved crystal glasses and a hand carved bottle of Jack Daniels both of which commemorated the life of Chris. There were also 2 framed pictures drawn by a local artist that depicted Chris in the environments that he loved the most, fishing and riding.
Roette and Leah drew the winners of the 50/50, the Chinese auction and announced the winners of the silent auction.
I had a great time on this ride as well. A co-worker of mine rode up from her home in Ballston Spa to participate in the ride and it was nice to be able to ride with her. She was easy to pick out of the crowd, just look for the pink “Motorcycle Girl” shirt that said “Yeah, You have just been passed by a girl”. Thanks Anne for coming up and I hope you enjoyed the ride. My neighbors Hairy and Bin and their son Jason were there as well. I was not able to hang with them as much as I would have liked to but it was nice to see them out on Hairy’s new ride.
I truly hope that this becomes an annual event so that as a group we can continue to celebrate Hammer’s life and be able to continue to contribute to Leah’s college fund and her future. I can think of no better use of my time on a week end in August.
Comments(2):
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Leah's Ride
Wednesday, September 01, 2010 Hairy
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Friday, April 22, 2011 russell