Ted from Venture BMW posted to the Alabama BMW Motorcycle Owners e-mail list that he was looking for three volenteers to ride in his sponser spots at the front of the Trail Of Tears Motorcycle Ride. Don Kimbrell, Don Norwood, and myself were the first three to answer his E-mail. I also had Connie to ride with me to take pictures for proof of the ride. Ted furnished us all with new Venture BMW T-shirts and even offered the use of a bike for the ride. The two Dons had fairly new bikes (a K1200LT and a R1150RT), but I took Ted up on his offer. He furnished a R1100RT for Connie and I to ride. I went by Venture Friday afternoon to pick up the bike. I swapped my gear to the RT and headed to Connie's to pick up her and her gear. We had scaled down what we were bringing because we were use to having two bikes to pack gear on. We didn't have any problem packing the needed gear for two up camping on the RT.

We waited for the rain to stop and headed for the Trail Of Tears Pre Ride Party at 29 Dreams Campground. Tim and Greg went all out for this party. There were venders, and plenty of food, beer, music, friends and good times for everyone. I even managed to win the 50/50 drawing. I think the weather kept a lot of people away, but it was a good party anyway. If Tim and Greg tell you they are throwing another party, you'd better plan on going. The rain held off till after the party was over (around midnight). It rained during the night, but had stopped again by the time we pulled out Saturday morning at 6:30 sharp.

I'm not sure of the count, but I'd guess a several hundred bikes left 29 Dreams. We met another hundred or so bikes in Leeds and picked up more along the way. Our first gas stop (and last for the BMWs) was in Cullman. By then both of the Dons had joined the ride. We arrived in Madison about 90 minutes before the main ride was scheduled to arrive. That gave us time to eat, have a look around, and show off our Venture BMW T-shirts.

Thanks to Ted, we left Madison about 40 bikes from the front with our VIP badges. The badges also came with hand made necklaces that are made different every year for the VIPs. There were only 80 made this year, so it makes a pretty good keep sake.

I rode this ride two years ago and was pretty near the back. I said then that I would not ride it again unless it was near the front. You've all heard the saying that if you're not the lead dog, the view never changes. Well I'm here to tell you it does. Being near the front is like a total different ride. It was actually enjoyable and we got to shake hands and speak briefly with the Governor and Branscombe Richmond (Bobby Six Killer).

I'm glad we rode the RT, because it rained off and on all during the ride and the RT is a great all weather bike. The rain doesn't slow down a BMW and we had to pass a few of the other riders because they were slowing down due to the rain. The rain didn't slow down the spectaters either. They were under umbrellas, in rain gear, and some were just getting wet to stand, sit, or lay on the side of the road to cheer us on.

The two Dons headed home Saturday after the ride, but Connie and I decided to stay the night. Most of the crowd thinned out after a couple of hours becauce of the events going on in near by cities. I think that may be why they scheduled things in other cities. It took a lot of the strain off of Waterloo. There was a pretty good crowd left, lots of venders, and a concert. We were pretty tired, so we skipped the concert. The rain held off the rest of the afternoon and all night, but it started raining on us shortly after we left Sunday morning and rained all the way to Birmingham.

I can't say enough to thank Ted and the staff of Venture for all they did preparing for the party and the ride, and a special thanks to Tim, Greg and the rest of the 29 Dreams crew for hosting such a great party. If Ted needs riders again next year, he can count me in. The only thing we need next year that we didn't have this year is a Venture BMW flag to fly off of the back of the bike.

I'll be adding some pictures later, but for now this is all you get.