By By Adrienne McKenzie
This past weekend was quite the adventure.
After getting off work Friday night, I went to Brewton to spend the weekend with my parents. Saturday morning I joined my dad on a bike ride and by bike, I don't mean the kind you have to pedal to get started. I mean the kind of bike that goes 'vroom vroom' when running.
My dad, Earl McKenzie of Brewton, recently bought himself a motorcycle. I at first was extremely concerned at the thought of him riding the dangerous piece of machinery, but after riding with him one afternoon I figured things would be all right. After all, he only scared me once.
The whole point of the ride was to see how many people would be interested in joining a Christian biker group to try to break the stereotype of the 'bad boy biker.' Once a group is formed, they will have meetings about once a month and will participate in charity rides and will possibly put on charity rides. The ride itself was entitled 'Escambia County Christian Bikers Organizational Rally and Ride."
With the bike ride being for a good cause and since I had confidence in my father to get me through the bike ride safely, I said 'yes' to coming along and I'm glad I did. I woke around 7:30 a.m. Saturday morning, got dressed and hopped on the back of his ride. We drove down to Burnt Corn Park in Brewton and boy were we surprised at the turnout!
There were around 28 bikes, some of them with two riders. I would estimate about 40 to 45 people participated, but I am not certain.
The day started at 9 a.m. with a meet and greet for all the bikers to fellowship together, to learn each other's names and to "oooh" and "ahhh" over each other's motorcycles. There was also a raffle where those participating had the chance to win T-shirts, hats and other fun items such as belt buckles. I personally wanted a pink hat that was being raffled off but my number was never called.
The ride itself began at 9:45 a.m. at Burnt Corn Park. We went across the bridge on Highway 31 into Alco. We followed Hwy. 31 until we turned left onto Foshee Road. We went on back roads throughout the countryside of Brewton.
We went through roads full of twists and turns and on the way passed Magnolia Branch Wildlife Reserve. We finally ended up at the BP service station on Hwy. 21 where Interstate 65 hits Atmore. I had no idea I could get from Brewton to Atmore without taking Hwy. 31, but we sure did it Saturday and it was a beautiful ride full of gorgeous scenery.
We took a break at the BP station to socialize a bit more and to relax our limbs before we hopped back on the bikes. We rode into Atmore down Hwy. 21 before we got caught by a train where Hwy. 21 intersects with Hwy. 31. After waiting for the train to pass, some of the bikers made it through the green light before it turned red. That's when Atmore police officers stepped in and allowed the rest of the bikers through, which was very courteous of them to do.
We took Hwy. 31 all the way back into Brewton all the way to David's Catfish House where most of the bikers took a load off and fellowshipped over fish, shrimp and in my case a hamburger.
It was fun to see people I've known for years that I would have never though I'd ever see on a motorcycle at the bike rally. I really never thought I would be in a bike rally, but I was and I had a great time.
I appreciate all the Escambia County Christian Bikers for letting me ride with them Saturday morning and I hope their Christian Biker group grows into a great organization and even though my rear-end was completely numb after the two hours on the bike, I still had a great time. I hope my dad will bring me along on the next biker rally and ride!
Adrienne McKenzie is a staff reporter for The Atmore Advance. She can be reached at 368-2123 or via email at lifestyles@atmoreadvance.com