Mobile Meals is one of the best programs around, and the've been around for 41 years. However, times are hard, and they are in a pinch. If you have ever known an elderly person who couldn't get out to buy food, or if you have ever helped deliver food to these folks, you know the value of this program. 100% of all money raised will go to the Mobile Meals program and will be donated on their telethon on July 29th, "by the motorcycle community of East Tennessee." Please help spread the word on this event, and do your best to ride or just come by. Free Lunch, Live Music, and a good cause. You can't beat it! Come by from 11:00 till 2:00
Directions from I-40. Take I-275 North, Take the first Exit (Baxter Street) Turn right on Baxter, and Immediately right again on Val Street. (Val turns into Marion St) Follow Val Street around the Corner to the Shafer Insurance Building.
If you are looking for a Trail Riding club in the upper East Tennessee area you need to check out the Mountain Trail Riders Association. I haven't ridden with them yet, but I plan to. They are a relatively new club (founded in 2009), are a non profit, and most importantly are extremely active in keeping their few remaining area riding areas open. They are also very involved in the new, 8.600 acre, Doe Mountain OHV area.
Their meetings are held the first Thursday of each month at Pardners BBQ at 5444 Hwy 11E in Piney Flats just south of the Bristol Motor Speedway.
Another really cool thing they are doing is raffling off this SWEET 1975 Bultaco Pursang to raise money for their club. $5 a chance, or 5 for $20. Check out their excellent website, www.mountaintrailriders.org
As expected, the AMA Tennessee National held this past weekend was off the charts! In fact, it may have been off the charts even more than the promoters anticipated. I was told over 40,000 general admission tickets were sold online, and one guy who was parking cars told me, based on what he had seen at NASCAR races he estimated 70,000. I don't know the numbers, but it was a lot. We got there Friday night and the parking was well over 50% full. From where we were camped on a hill you could see the road coming in over 1 mile away, and it was bumper to bumper from 6:30 till 1:00. Keep in mind the Saturday Pro Race was book-ended by Amateur races on Friday and Saturday, so a healthy crowd was already there.
The track layout was great,
and since it lies in a valley there were amble places to watch from
that offered views of lots of the track.
Like most great events,there is no comparison between watching on TV and being there in person. Seeing the speed these guys carry,
and the elevation they get on the jumps, is unbelievable when your standing 30' away.
Josh Grant roosting!
TV camera stations were everywhere you looked.
Event hat, cool event tiger striped T-Shirt, a new toy Honda, and a place to play right next to the fence so you can see your favorite rider come by. Think the little guy will remember this day?
Gosh I hope this comes back next year!
