Birkenfeld, OR~July 24, -26, 2009 –The members of the Southeast Portland Chapter of ABATE are gearing up for the 10th anniversary of their wild and wooly Run 21. The 3-day party from July24-26, held back in the woods near the beautiful Oregon coastline, and well known as the primo party in the Northwest is often compared to California’s notorious Redwood Run. Personally, I think the comparison is a poor one. The Run 21 is way better. This shindig is as old school and raw as it is well put together and fun, and if wild and crazy is in your vocabulary, this is the gig for you.
Situated on a rural 60-acre plot, riders arrive to find a freshly mown field surrounded by trees and bordered by a gently flowing river. Amenities are simple; dry camping only, with plenty of clean port-a-potties, no fires, and semi-truck selling bags of ice is on the property.
Run 21, so named due to the “Adults Only” nature of the run, has a short list of rules mostly pertaining to common sense manners like, “clean up after yourself.” But the most important is “No id, no entry,” so do not expect to show up at the gate with just your good looks and be allowed in. It ain’t happening.
Do, however, arrive with a sleeping bag and a party hat cuz the ABATE folks are gonna show you how it’s done just an hour ride northeast of Portland near the dinky town of Birkenfeld. The vendors will provide you with all the party favors one might need, including killer Bloody Marys and assorted cocktails, hot coffee, and great grub. If body paint becomes an immediate necessity, the air brushers are armed and ready to blast attendees with everything from a patriotic American flag over bouncing boobs, or a delicate flame job over ladies nipples. Plus there are a variety of tangibles available for the shoppers in the crowd.
Do not, however, mistake this for one of those pre-fab, insta-mall of vendor events. This isn’t the case. There are just a handful of tried and true vendors, who show up to cover the needs of the party animals roaming the Oregon backwoods. This gig really is all about the music and biker fun.
The entire venue was deemed a beer garden for the event, so roaming about with your adult beverage in hand into the wee hours of the morning is totally within the rules. By 10:30 p.m., the front gate is locked down in order to eliminate the late night road hazard that plagues so many runs. These Oregonian ABATE folks have figured out how to protect all their party participants, while trying to raise a few buck to help fight for our riding rights.
Games are old skool, fiercely competitive, and consist of the typical biker fare like the weenie bite (women are encouraged to lose their linen with “skin to win” cheers), beer belly contest, the typical wet t-shirt contest where shirts are doffed even before the water shows up, as well as a full roster of other fun adult activities.
Riding games are held on slicked out grass (yes, it does get damp near the coastline, so expect a little rain) and require a bit of skill. The burn out contest is an on-going battle between riders that seems to carry over from year to year. Tires are blown to smithereens as each contender, which includes women riders, takes their turn in the box.
Concerts this year include Foghat, Goldy McJohn and Friends, JR Simms & Texas Special, Saturday Night Orphans, Leon Hendrix Mysterience and others. The woods will be rocking. The best part is that the measly $50.00 ticket price includes your camping, as well as all the music. The profits go to help ABATE continue the fight for our diminishing rights as riders. There are still tickets available on line at www.run21.biz. There will be some tickets at the gate, but there's a 2500 ticket limit. So get your shit together quick and don't miss muster in the hills.
