Alex Grant had a brainstorm a couple of months ago. Why not celebrate a bit of St. Patty’s Day, do a bit of fundraising for a good cause, learn a little something about our motorcycle engines and maybe put back a Guinness or two? From my winter slumber, I only imagined a cold and miserable day – a few folks huddled around a burning oil drum, trying to keep warm. I never would have believed we’d have such a great day.
Everything seemed to come together – I guess bribing the local meteorologist actually worked.
The day began with a meet-up at the Key Bridge Exxon and a ride into VA led by Scott Fulton and Aaron Brodsky. Steve Teague and the folks at Breadsoda had us well set up when the ride returned. Guinness on tap. Motorcycle videos projected on the walk. And the parking garage set up for a tech-talk. At least 25 bikes (and scooters from our friends at Turnbull DC) lined Wisconsin Avenue.
Wellesley Scott from Modern Classics set up shop and gave a great primer on the inner workings of motorcycle carbs – and how you can improve your performance.
Steve Mills and Robert Alvarado from the DC Firefighters Burn Foundation helped us to sell a deck full of “raffle-cards” to raise money for their good work in burn rescue and treatment. The prizes donated from local bars and restaurants, as well as Modern Classics, Chesapeake Cycles, Lowbrow Customs, Church Street Cafe Classics included everything from fine t-shirts and hats, to Triumph protective reading gear. We were blown away by the generosity of the donations and the excited crowds who helped us raise over $680 for the Burn Foundation.
So thanks to Alex Grant for a brilliant brainstorm and working his ass off making it happen!
Thanks so much to Jan Brodeur for organizing the raffle – and keeping us straight; to founding member, Joe Johnson for flying back from Portland to hang with us again; and to my lovely wife, Clare, for putting up with me running around working on this and even coming to share the festivities with us.
Don’t worry… this is just the first of many more events to come…
