Cycles, kids, charity: Choppers event offers something for everyone

The fifth annual Choppers4Children bike rally this weekend combined a love of all things motorcycle with an effort to raise funds for Children’s Miracle Network.

The Crowe family of Neosho came out to explore.

Michael Crowe Sr. said he rode his Suzuki boulevard yesterday, but today he and wife, Tyra, brought the kids to check things out.

“I rode it yesterday, but since the kids get to come we had to drive in today,” he said.

The girls liked the ice cream and mom said after two rides on the monster truck, the kids were pretty happy.

“They liked all the different bikes,” Tyra Crowe said.

 “They have big wheels,” said Michael Crowe, Jr. of the Raminator monster truck.

“Children are something that’s close to everybody’s heart,” said Glenda Smith.

She works with the Glory Riders of Joplin selling tickets at the gate and handing out wristbands. She says children always look as if they feel important when they get their wristband.

The atmosphere of the rally is different, Smith said, with the number of youngsters at the event. It’s a good cause for a weekend.

“There’s a lot to be said for somebody who’ll drop everything and come out,” she said. 
It’s the fifth year for the Choppers event and the Glory Riders have been the gate crew since Choppers4Children started.

“We have done it since day one,” Smith said. “As long as they have Choppers, we will be here at this gate.”

Debbie Henderson of the Glory Riders said it is a good opportunity to help out.
“We just enjoy serving people and meeting all kinds of people,” Henderson said. “You never know who you’re gonna meet and what you’re gonna see.”

Wood sculptor Tracy Daniels of Centralia, Mo., started carving his big project about 9 p.m. Friday night.

“A bench like that,” Daniels said. “If I work at it solid I can get it done in six hours.”

He carves for demonstrations at Husqvarna, Lowe’s and Bass Pro Shops. It’s his first time at Choppers and he brought lots of eagles, but he left his Harley ultra-classic at home.

It’s the first time he’s ever tried to carve flames.

“I do everything strictly freehand,” Daniels said. “If you draw on there you’re just cutting it out a minute later. It’s a waste of time.”

He said he just works from his head.

Usually he works with two chainsaws, one to block and one to fill in detail. His largest saw has a 50-inch blade and his smallest can cut to the size of a dime.

“I like going to all the events where they’re sponsoring something for the kids,” said Pete Martinez of Wichita, Kan.

His trike was in the show. He took the rear end of a 1957 Oldsmobile and cut it down, taking 2-feet out of the center. The frame is Harley and the whole vehicle is bright orange. Inside the “trunk” sits the Volkswagen engine. He built a dummy motor for display, but the real engine is inside.

 “It’s powered by Volkswagen,” Martinez said.

Les Little was sharpening knives in the Ross Company Unlimited tent. He says he has a following for his ability to get the knives razor sharp and the knives are sharp. A slip Friday night left him with a gash on his left hand. His dog, Prozac, dozes nearby.

“Each rally is different,” Little said. “It’s like throwing the dice.”

Weather and crowds change for each event.

“We were blessed to have good weather,” said Scott Watson, co-coordinator for the rally. “We didn’t have five inches of rain which is always good and I can say that the people here that gave (cash) had a good time.”

The numbers this year were down, but that doesn’t bother Watson.

“If we can give the Children’s Miracle Network $25, then it’s $25 they didn’t have before today,” he said.

He is thankful for the efforts of more than 200 volunteers and the sponsors for the event.

“When you see those kids,” Watson said. “It makes all the work, all of the difficult times, all of the phone calls all of the money raising — it makes all of it all worthwhile.”