2009 'Ride Across Maryland' raises $200,000

"Ride Across Maryland" riders arrive at the Francis Scott Key resort (Photo: Lauren Bachur)

Although the 2009 “Ride Across Maryland” is now in the history books, the memories of the good times, the good-will and the amazing riders and supporters will long be remembered.

The ride began at the Columbia Mall and ended at the Francis Scott Key Resort in Ocean City. The first bikes rolled in to the FSK resort at 12:04 Saturday afternoon. Looking west along Route 50, in a procession that seemed to last forever, group after group of bikes kept coming. Spectators lined up to watch, camera shutters clicked, and bikes just kept coming. Harley’s arrived by the hundreds. Honda, Yamaha, Kawasaki, Suzuki, Victory, BMW and Buell were all well represented. Custom bikes, trikes, antiques, bikes with sidecars and even a Boss Hoss & a Spyder showed up. When they had all pulled in and parked, two huge parking areas were filled to capacity with row upon row of two-wheeled chrome, paint and metal muscle!

Riders shed their gear, stretched their legs and set-out to enjoy all that the “Ride Across Maryland” and a booked-to-capacity Francis Scott Key Resort had to offer. Music, food, socializing, laughter and fun ruled the afternoon. Vendors sold everything biker: boots, vests, patches, belts, pins, t-shirts, jewelry, chaps, and even an assortment of all pink tools! Give-away items including key-chains and side-stand pucks from Maryland Cycle Direct Insurance, and posters, t-shirts and bags from the Maryland Motorcycle Safety Program were available to all. A beautiful day turned into a perfect evening. Carrabba’s restaurant provided dinner to all registered participants. Live music, good spirits and great attitudes made for a fantastic evening for all.

Sunday started with a grey sky that promised rain. What seemed like two drops fell at around 11:00 am, then the clouds parted, the sun came out, and the day warmed into a cloudless and perfect summer day. Group rides seemed to be the theme of the day. Bikes cleared out in the morning as various groups headed off in their own directions. Activities around the FSK Resort were low-key throughout the afternoon, until the groups began to trickle back in from their rides. A dinner served by the Outback restaurant hit the spot just before the evening wrap-up festivities began.

At around 8:00 pm, Dick Gelfman took the stage in the entertainment tent and thanked everyone who participated in making this years ride a huge success. Dick thanked the staff of the “Ride Across America" foundation, which is made up of all volunteers, except for one paid part-time employee. He recognized all of the Corporate Sponsors. The highlights of the evening were the awards presentations, the raffles and the donation to the Susan G. Komen for the Cure foundation.

First, second and third place awards were provided for: largest “ride-team” and the most funds raised by a ride-team, a couple and an individual. “Team Outback” from the Glen Burnie Outback restaurant took the award for most ride members and most funds raised, with over $59,000 in total donations.

Raffles came next. In the true spirit of the weekend, charity and generosity stole the day. A hand-made quilt was raffled. The winner then sold the quilt to another participant for $1,000. Then, both the winner and the buyer donated the quilt and the $1,000 back to the “Ride Across Maryland” foundation! The 50/50 raffle netted another lucky winner over $400, which she also donated back to the “Ride Across Maryland.”

Prior to turning the stage over to the band “Flipside” for the evening entertainment, Dick presented the Susan G. Komen for the Cure foundation a check for $200,000, the amount raised by the 2009 “Ride Across Maryland!” To date, the Ride Across Maryland foundation has donated approximately 1.7 million dollars to breast cancer research through the Susan G. Komen for the Cure foundation.

View additional photos from the weekend events by clicking on the slide-show at the bottom of this page.

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