Over the top and into the mix is a slight understatement regarding the latest in one of our national motorcycling events. Dealership owner, Bruce Rossmeyer, along with the Seminole Native American Nation’s fertile ground for gaming, spruced up the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino for the holidays and the 2nd annual Ft. Lauderdale Bike rally. Cool rides, hot nights and the event was topped off with the cream of the Toy Run crop, with the running of the 18th Annual Toys in the Sun Run. This is the world’s largest toy run, with over forty thousand people involved.
The rally itself began on Friday this year. A much needed release for the ravaged lower Peninsula, since the area took a major hit from Hurricane Wilma. Our hostess, Kerry Becker, of the Boys and Girls Club in Broward County, did an exceptional job of organizing and coordinating the events, a smooth ride for the money spent. A Kick-Off party and dinner ride took everyone signed up to The Bonefish Creek restaurant to enjoy the South Florida ambiance and clear evening skies. Back at the Hard Rock Hotel was Dennis Rodman, one of the stranger beasts in the animal kingdom, signing copies of his latest debauchery, a book entitled I should be dead by now. Even the cover is creepy.
Saturday, with a bright blue sky, cloudless and temperatures perfect for riding, the registered guests were taken on a comfortable ride along the tropical coastline and treated to lunch at the Quarterdeck. A police escorted ride to Jim and Jan Moran’s Boys and Girls club put names to the younger faces in need and many new hurricane children were adopted for the Holidays!
That same day, outside Hollywood Choppers, next to the Hard Rock, was a bike show to find the next Florida Top Builder, with shop owners competing for big money. Many more spectators were taken in by the sights of the indoor vendor show, deep in the bowels of the casino arena.
The Purrfect Angels performed their cheerleader dance act, a tap and a twist to old rock songs as participants found an expensive inside bar and the usual booths of motorcycle interest. Also tucked inside were the real Floridian seers of the Seminole tribe. Tickets were available for an Air Boat Ride in a Cypress Circus rig, and a tiny alligator display, originally named Gator. Next up on stage were flamethrowers, jugglers and clowns. Set up at the four corners of the building were the “celebrity” builders who came together for the cause and to see who would win a new custom sled from the year long Seminole Hard Rock Roadhouse Tour.
Now with apologies to the gamers, the way it was conveyed, was as an internet opportunity to win one of the fours’ latest creations. Since last February, people had the chance to vote on line for their favorite Roadhouse character. Of the seventy thousand plus entries, five were chosen, flown first class to the rally to be contested against each other at the banquet on Saturday night. Once there, in front of six hundred people, a winner would be plucked from the hat and awarded the creation from their builder of choice. The Discovery Channel builders in house were Roland Sands, Doug Kiem , Johnny Chop and Jesse Rooke.
Another big contribution at the Biker’s Bash, in the evening was a live auction of donated gifts and splendors. Mike Pruss, of South Florida Choppers, worked like a mad man to put together a custom cycle for the auction. It was a sleek machine, dressed in midnight blue and was sent out to the party crowd, now soggy with holiday spirits and prime rib. It was a sharp 96-inch S&S motor, Baker tranny, with all the bells and whistles. It brought in thirty thousand dollars! Now that’s a Merry Christmas darling!
Richie Supra took the stage and serenaded the ballroom with his original songs and inspirations of Aerosmith’s Steven Tyler, the Toy Run’s favorite grand Marshall, who could not be in attendance this year. It must be tough to leave all those festivities to get some sleep for the world’s biggest toy run, but one needs to be on its best riding sensibilities for that pack!
Sunday morning the Bike Rally came to a head with a humongous pack of bikers meeting in the cold morning air, where yearly head counts vary. Usually there are close to thirty five thousand bikes in the parade from the Pompano Race Track to Markham Park, twenty miles west of Ft. Lauderdale. Originally started by Phil Peterson and the locals of Lauderdale and Miami back in the seventies, it’s gained in both reputation and popularity.
A beautiful park, it is swarmed by the pack of plenty and the multitudes that await them. Vendors come from all over the country, (one can find almost any under-the-tree present as well as the usual food fares). There was a bike show for anyone who wanted to show their bikes and take home a trophy. There was a lot to see, if we rolled in early enough especially to the park. But don’t forget to bring a toy. It’s a toy run. The toys collected are given to needy families and kids all over South Florida.
More pictures can be seen at their web site. The Amchir family directed and coordinated the weekend show, with the help of all the clubs of South Florida. It’s a mandatory run for most patchholders. Once they do their assigned jobs, they also get to run amuck in the southern biker nation’s biggest seasonal picnic area.
The saddest note was that many people forget the reason behind the event. We all get together is to help the less fortunate and this year, not enough toys made their way to the awaiting trucks. Or was it the sight of the park, its canopy of once proud live Oak trees, stark, spindly and obviously shaken by that big summer storm.
By the time the affair is over, everyone is bone tired. It’s a lot to do in one weekend, but it’s put together so that the seams don’t show and the investment makes the trip worthwhile. Kudos to the staff at the Hard Rick Hotel, thanks Justin, for doing what you could and to Kerry, again, she makes it look easy. Bruce was approachable as were the big donations from Rick and Rita Case.Dennis Rodman showed his lame ass celebrity side, which everyone says is normal for his world, but not ours. The ice sculptures were created on site as we watched and the bikes were worshipped as we slept. The rumble that comes from the heart touched many lives this Holidays season.
It’s all good, a tad over the top for many, who can’t afford a three hundred dollar dinner plate, and the former Miami Dolphin players who mixed in with the crowd both at the Bash and Toy Run did their league proud. Here are the addresses of the people you can contact if you want to hook up and show up for next year.
Tell them one of their sponsors and there were lots of sponsors, none quite like BIKERNET.COM, which is where you read about it first. Button up, show up and hold on. It makes for a very long biker holiday weekend!
We wouldn’t have it any other way.
3901 SW 47th St. Suite#400
Davie, Florida 33305
954-563-2822
www.bikerbash.org
Hollywood Choppers
Seminole Paradise
1 Seminole Way
Hollywood, Florida
954-327-7625
