The other day I saw someone on my facebook motorcycle group that there was going to be a Poker Run to help benefit one of the group members family. His father, Randy Lehmkuhl, had died suddenly and unexpectedly back earlier in the summer. The Poker Run was to help raise money for the family to pay for medical and funeral expenses. I thought to myself that it would be fun to do a group ride, and it was for a good cause, so why not be a part of it. The Run started and ended at Lulu's Inn in Watkins, CO, a little small farming community outside of the suburbs east of Denver. There were roughly 40 bikes or so, I think I heard someone say they counted 36 bikes at only point, so it was a really good turn out. A nice variety of different style bikes. Mostly H-Ds of course, but there were some nice customs, both big name and garage build. One guy I was riding with actually had just finished his build and had only just put on 60 miles the previous day. His motor was so tight/fresh and not tuned well yet that he had to push start it after every time he shut it down. He did try to kick evry time tho.
The group was of big enough size that we actually rode out in 2 different waves. And the guys I was riding with were obviously veterans at this kind of thing. Tho most of the riding was thru the eastern plains and countryside, at every intersection there were a couple of guys that would block traffic with their bikes so the group could stay together and not get separated.
The 2nd stop was Strausburg, CO. We took US36, also known as Old Colfax Ave, for 15.6 miles to Rookies and drew our next cards. Now, myself, being the most excellent poker player that I am (can you taste the sarcasm?
) was doing as well as I do in real life poker, lol. No worries, I was in it for the ride anyways. We didn't stay long and we hopped back on our horses.
On to the 3rd stop, Kiowa, CO, another cowtown in the middle of nowhere. We took Kiowa-Bennett Rd basically the whole way there for 33.4 miles. A nice beautiful ride thru the Colorado countryside. We averaged about 65 mph, but now and again we would push it up to 75-80 for a short bit and then back down to cruising speed. Just my style! There were a 2 or 3 different couples who would cruise up in the passenger lane slightly faster while their wives were on the back taking video and waving to everyone riding. Some people sped up really fast to get ahead of the group and pull over quick and take video of everyone passing by. Needless to say I was really enjoying myself.
I was having so much fun I had to restrict my smile for a good pic
The 4th stop was Franktown, CO. Do you think you can find this one on the map?
Just a short stretch to the west on HWY 86 for 16 miles. At this stop, most everyone had at least 1 beer and grabbed some appetizers. Here, we finally took a short rest and relaxed a bit, as our previous stops were just grab a drink and cards and on to the next stop. One of the organizers and close friend of the deceased had noticed that I was sitting by myself and invited me to join their small group for a beer and fried pickles. YUM! I explained to them that I didn't know anyone on the ride and that I saw something on facebook and thought it would be good fun for a good cause. They thanked me coming and then introduced themselves, a brother, 3 close family friends and Randy's son Zach. We shared stories of Randy's past and really enjoyed seeing so many people having such a good time in Randy's memory. It was time to head out and I finally rran into my 1st problem with the Blackhawk. All the fuel had baked out of the carb from sitting in the hot Colorado sun for so long and the float needle cooked itself in the seat. I had NO fuel in the carb, so I go to punch the carb with my carbon knuckle gloves to get the needle to release and I PUNCH OFF MY AIR FILTER AS EVERYONE IS PULLING OUT! Damn! Quick pull out my screwdriver from my backpack, get the needle to release and quick put the filter back on. Luckily there was 1 other guy and his wife that were having trouble getting their bike started too. We both got back running at the same time so we road together back to Lulu's for the final stop.
I wasn't sure what the actual route was back to Lulu's so I took the one route I know very well, Parker Rd to Quincy Ave to Watkins Rd back into Watkins for 19.4 miles. Back at Lulu's we enjoyed some ice cold beer and great food. Had some laughs and shared some stories. The raffle was AMAZING! LOTS of items, t shirts, hats, bike accessories, framed motorcycle art, coffee mugs, and the hometown gun smith donated a VERY nice tactical shotgun for a silent auction. 3 round tables total of raffle items! I stayed for the 1st round of the raffle, but I left at about 5 pm I started to realize that between riding in the hot ass sun all afternoon and having a couple beers in the AC it was time for me to go home and take a nap. I did hear right before I left that so far they had raised almost $2K already between donations, regular raffle tickets and the Poker Run itself. They still had the 50/50 raffle and the silent auction for the shotgun too that was not included in this.
All in all, I had a really great time and even made a couple new friends. I'm glad that it was a successful turn out and I hope the money raised will help take off some of the burden of the Lehmkuhl Family.
Total Distance: 102 miles
This is officially the longest trip the Blackhawk has been on, and it performed like a champ. It was also a big hit among all the bikers. There were guys telling other guys "Hey man! Did you this guys bike?! He's got an old Indian!"
Scottie
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Topic: Benefit Poker Run - SUPER FUN TIME! (Read 1763 times)