While Billy Lane and Dave Perewitz blasted across the Bayou towards Rick Fairless’ Strokers Warehouse and the Dallas ER show to be captured by the Discovery Channel cameras, we ditched the media blitz for a more humanitarian effort south of the Equator. The first dry-run Tahiti Benefit to support the handicapped kids of the Tahitian Islands. But why? Have you ever ridden a motorcycle through paradise? It was the chance of a lifetime.
Poppa Bear & Momma Bear
That’s where an upstate New York biker, TBear (also a Bikernet contributor) and his lovely wife Maggie, came into play. They vacationed in Tahiti and fell in love with the islands. TBear met the president, Kiki, of the Tahiti Harley-Riders Club. The two have become brothers, and Tahiti his second home.
Sure, it’s a whack notion to create a run to the middle of the Pacific Ocean between Chili and New Zealand. You can’t haul motorcycles there without major expenditures, but if you could the ride to circumnavigate the largest island, Tahiti, its 3.5 hours of gorgeous black volcanic sand beaches, tropical jungles and rural villages. The next island over by ferry with motorcycles, Moorea, the shape of a cloverleaf, is less than one hour around. To say it will be a helluva long run, would be smokin’ herb. On the other hand, if you’ve been in the states riding from run to run, from bike show to jamboree for a decade, you might be looking for something not listed in the HOG members calendar of events.
What if you could fly to a Paradise in the middle of the warm Pacific with 20 other riding couples, builders, master painters and just relax in an intimate setting with Polynesian drinks and crystal clear waters for a week? If Billy Lane comes along or Jose, we’ll have a contest for the fastest jet ski. This trip, we fabricated a model outrigger canoe to test the currents, and Crazy Horse flamed the main hull with fingernail polish. But the other side of this exotic adventure into the South Pacific benefits the handicapped kids of the islands. There’s 40 centers for educating handicapped kids on the islands. Each one is supported 80 percent by the government and 20 percent by private funding. If they need anything new, a playground or library, they must rely on the private sector for funding.
From the meeting with TBear and Kiki came the spirit behind the Tahiti Run, the kids. Kiki’s club supports any needs the kids have. He owns a ship welding facility in the Papeete Port and has three kids of his own. They have 17 members in their club, and if a school needs support, the riders gather families, businessmen, whatever is needed to succeed for the youngsters. There are only 75 Harleys in all of the Tahitian Islands, but there are hundreds of kids who need assistance. One of the major obstacles to helping kids is reaching the parents and making them feel secure in bringing their handicapped child forward for assistance and education.
This particular Run for the Islands was designated a test program for the Charity drive and support for the Harley Riders Banquet. There are two of such banquets a year and this one was designed around a handful of American Bikers coming to party with Kiki and the boys, but this was no ordinary gathering. It was a fully organized and orchestrated banquet destined to seat 600 guests. They overshot their attendance mark by over 200. It was a banquet set on the grass of the Sofitel Hotel adjacent to the beach under sprawling palapas and tents. A feast of Polynesian food was laid out and refreshing drinks adorned with colorful umbrellas and hibiscus flowers brightened out eyes. It was an event of royal native proportions. As for myself, it was the dancing that so intrigued my gaze.
The music was light and a mixture of modern with a native ring to it, like country-rock. The kids and adults alike danced a sort of traditional rumba/samba pressed together like snakes against curvy limbs of a tree. Men are the rigid limbs whereas the women are the flexible snakes that move so tantalizing that I felt my gaze locked on the curve each woman as her waist remained a flowing pillar and her hips swayed so seductively. A hundred young and old couples on the dance floor moving in sensual unison. The ladies wore snug, flowing dresses as if an island Paea dress painter, stroked their shapely bodies with his brush. I ordered another Mai Tai to soothe my nerves. The banquet raised a record breaking $30,000 US for the kids.
The first effort for the kids after our 8-hour flight from Los Angeles on Tahitian Airlines was an immense success. During the day we rode bikes, supplied by Kiki and his brothers, around the island. The American Bikers clan consisted of TBear and Maggie, Stephano and his wife Christine, Crazy Horse and her bike building husband, Jimmy, and myself and the lovely Layla. As the pack pulled away from Kiki’s home I rode in the rear on a Softail Standard since Stephano hadn’t ridden a motorcycle in 22 years. Christine was a childhood friend of Maggie’s and her husband was the only member of the crew not associated with the bike industry. He was a NYPD cop, a member of the fugitive squad and a fascinating guy, who kept us glued to his humorous reports of busts and fugitive hunts.
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