Bi-state motorcycle event: Riders must pay to ride this year
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By Kurt Allemeier | Wednesday, January 16, 2008 |
Motorcycle riders take part in a past Bi-State Motorcycle Awareness Ride in Davenport. This year, riders will have to help pay for traffic control for the annual event. (QUAD-CITY TIMES FILE PHOTO) Buy this Photo
A year after tussling with the city of Moline about the cost of police providing traffic control for the Bi-State Motorcycle Awareness Ride, organizers say bikers will have to pay to ride this year.
The Bi-State Motorcycle Awareness Council anticipates paying $4,500 to Moline and Rock Island for traffic control for the May 3 ride. In previous years, costs have been waived.
“We are also anticipating Davenport and East Moline, but we are hoping that won’t happen,” Tim Wassell, the council’s promotional director, said.
Don Schaeffer, Davenport’s interim police chief, said the city wouldn’t charge for traffic control, while East Moline Police Chief said the final decision on whether to charge the ride for police assistance would be up to the city council.
The Bi-State Motorcycle Awareness Council announced this week it will charge $7 per rider for those who pre-register. Registering the day of the ride will cost $10. Riders can also get a registration package that includes a T-shirt, event pin and bumper sticker for $15. The group is also looking for event sponsors.
“Historically, all the money we raised was through 50/50 sales and raffle sales,” Wassell said. “We could keep enough to pay for clothing and merchandise and also give to charities.”
In the past, most of the event’s bills have been paid after the ride, including a donation to Easter Seals. About 1,500 riders participated in last year’s 23rd annual event.
Organizers don’t want to surprise people with the fact they will have to register and pay to participate this year. A booth will be set up with registration slips at the 25th annual Rod and Custom Auto, Motorcycle, and Products Show Jan. 25-27 at the QCCA Expo Center.
The hope for this year’s ride is to keep the number of riders close to what it was last year.
“The people coming out to support our message of motorcycle awareness and safety will continue to support it,” council president Mike John said. “People who come out to show off won’t.”
John understands that cities can’t completely write off the costs of providing police protection along the ride route. This year’s ride will start at the Rock Island County Fairgrounds in East Moline.
“Budgets have been cut,” he said. “Cities have to be able to pay these officers somehow.
“Even if we had only 300-400 people,” John said, “they were going to have to go to something like this because of rules and budgets.”
The council’s big push for ridership traditionally hasn’t been until April, but now they are hoping people know they will have to register.
“It is not that we want to get people to register,” John said. “We know they will. It is wanting people to know that things have changed.”
Registration forms will be available at local motorcycle shops and also be available online at awarenessride.com. The registration form is expected to be enabled soon.
Though the issue of paying police officers has been resolved, Moline Police Chief Gary Francque still has problems with the large number of riders. He hopes the registration requirement shaves a few riders from the event.
“They’ve made hundreds and hundreds of residents angry because they are stopped for a long time,” the Moline chief said. “We are hoping they can get it down to a reasonable size.”
At a glance
Event: Bi-State Motorcycle Awareness Ride
On the Web: awarenessride.com
Registration costs: $7 to
pre-register; $10 the day
of the ride.
Contacts: Tim Wassell,
(309) 796-1139; Mike John, (309) 737-2252.
Kurt Allemeier can be contacted at (563) 383-2360 or kallemeier@qctimes.com. Comment on this story at qctimes.com.
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