Kyle Petty Charity Ride Across America
We hang out with Kyle Petty and the rest of the riders.
This is the last of our three part series on the Kyle Petty Charity Ride Across America. If you have been following the magazine you are aware that the Kyle Petty Charity Ride Across America selected Lake Placid NY as their departure point for this year’s ride.
On May 6, 2011, Karen I departed for Lake Placid to cover the ride departure. This is a major motorcycle event that was happening in our area and we felt that we should cover it. I took the bike and Karen followed in her F-150. The ride was a little cool but not all that unbearable and we reached Lake Placid in less than two hours.
We checked into our hotel room and then checked into ride control to obtain some idea of the evening events. All of the evening events were scheduled to occur in the Dancing Bears Lounge which is part of the High Peaks Resort which was the ride headquarters.
We had about 4 hours to kill before the events started so we played tourist up and down Main Street. This was a special day for me. Normally when I cover a run, Karen gets left behind and having her with me to cover this event made it all that much more enjoyable and special.
Prior to the first event at the Dancing Bears Lounge we went to Dancing Bears Outside to have a couple of beers and just chill out. While there we talked to two riders who rode up from the Carolinas. When they arrived on Thursday, May 5, 2011 they were greeted by a snow storm. We talked to some of the locals and this was not a flurry but a full blown storm. Enough snow was dropped that day to leave a covering of snow on Whiteface Mountain which had been bare prior to the storm. We had a rather good laugh to ourselves as they described their ride through the snow.
As the evening events began we went into the Dancing Bear Lounge. We ordered dinner at the lounge and if you are ever in Lake Placid and are looking for a good place to eat, I would recommend the Dancing Bear Lounge. We spent the evening at the Dancing Bear Lounge mixing with the ride participants and one thing we noticed right away was the large amount of Southern Drawl in the lounge. What I experienced was really totally different than what I had imagined. I guess I went there expecting to meet a bunch of RUBs but the people that I encountered were anything but that. If you removed the accent and dropped them into any of our rides you would never know the difference.
Around 7:30 PM Kyle Petty arrived. The High Peaks Resort had been holding a blind auction, raffles for autographed hats and shirts and a 50/50 drawing. The staff of the High Peaks Resort presented Kyle with a check for over $6,000.00 from the proceeds of the auctions and raffles. We made out OK as well as we won one of the sets of autographed ride gear.
On Saturday morning the ride was scheduled to depart at 7:45 AM. After a welcome and orientation speech from Kyle the riders mounted up and headed out towards Corning NY. There were 150 bikes in the ride as it departed and the number of support vehicles in this ride is impressive. As they headed to Corning we mounted up and headed back to Warrensburg. The nice thing about riding solo is the ability to stop when you desire. As we were heading home we passed a custom car show so I stopped and took a look. There were some really impressive vehicles on display and it made for a nice diversion.
We enjoyed the privileges that were extended to us by the Kyle Petty Charity Ride Across America and we wish to thank them for that. This ride is on my bucket list but before I can participate I will need a different bike and around $10,000. Definitely not in my near future that is for sure.
Departure Day
