Belton - Bikes. Blues & BBQ

Well this is my first review -- so yeah!!!

I am an avid bike rider and someone who likes to donate time and money to a great cause and this weekend proved to be just that for a group of bikers.

I had the opportunity this past weekend to join a group of big hearted bikers on a poker run to raise money for the local Autistic & Special Olympics children around Belton, MO. While I do not have the official count I'll bet there was close to 100 bikes there this weekend. The ride started out in Belton, MO and we left around 11:30ish in the morning for a tour of MO. Now, I don't live in MO (I am on the other side of the state line) but I have to say I am always amazed at the countryside in MO and some of the nicest people you will ever meet. After departing from Belton we made our first stop to draw a card and I met some really nice people who offered to help me not get lost. One thing that I really like about other rides I have been on (besides a police escort) is that we all stay together, not the case here. After I drew my first card and went back to my bike to get ready to head out I noticed that several riders took off on their own for the next stop. Hey we're bikers free spirits! Realizing that we were probably not going to stay together one of the other riders in a group offered to let me tag along - which I was very grateful for since I had no idea where I was going. The nice folks that organized the ride did provide maps and mark the route as well as tell you were the stops were along the way, but I get lost real easy. I know a GPS posterchild. While I am not going to comment on every stop we made I have to comment on this one place that stuck in my mind - Fugglies. So, there we were riding along and then we made a left into a neighborhood and I thought - ok, were just going to ride through and eventually get to a business type district where the bar was located - nope. We drive along and I see what looks like an old neighborhood church and a bunch of bikes around it. First thought, that is kind of odd to name a church Fugglies. Boy was I wrong. We get inside and it is the coolest place with a really nice atmosphere. I stuck around there for a while talked to some people about bikes and just normal chit-chat. Again, great group of people. So, after leaving there the ride continued as normal and all went well. Another thing I liked about this ride is that each leg was about the right distance. Some rides there is a very short leg followed by long lines to draw a card and then get everyone back on their bike for another short leg. This one had had what appeared to me to be equal length legs between each stop. Which was very nice! The organizers were very well organized! My hat is off to them - thank you. This was the first annual ride and for it being their first one - it looked smooth to me. I know, there were probably things going on that I was not aware of and that is going to happen, but to the riders it all seemed to go off like clockwork. They had the card drawing process down to a routine and at the end I was one card away from a straight. Dang it. So, even though the whole group did not stay together I did join in with a group and they got me back to Belton around 4pm. Most of the riders took off to parts unknown with the intention of coming back around later that night to hear the blues band play. I stuck around until about 8 and I was just beat tired so I decide to skip the band this time. I apologize for not having any comments on the blues band, but I'll bet they were great as well.

Since this was a bikes, blues & BBQ - I cannot forget to comment on the BBQ - AWESOME!!! The sauce for the BBQ was very tasty and I really enjoyed it - both plates. :-)

Overall, it was a pleasure to be part of this ride and I feel honored to have been able to participate and help raise some money for a very worthy cause. I would recommend this ride to anyone and I am going to put this on my calendar for next year as well.


Bucky