Charity ride stops in Whitehall

The cry went up "They're nine miles out!" A hum of enthusiasm grew from the townspeople who had gathered to welcome the over 100 motorcycle riders who were taking part in the 23rd annual Kyle Petty Charity Ride.

The riders who hailed from California, Texas, New York, Iowa and Colorado among many other states began in Portland, Oregon and will end up in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on Friday. They ride with their North Carolina police escort and crew cars and trailers about 416 miles a day in order to complete the 2,400 mile trek within the week. They gas up about every 150 miles hence their stop in Whitehall.

Waiting with this reporter were Jack and Debbie Amos who were NASCAR fans and were looking forward to visiting with NASCAR 7 time champion, Richard Petty who was one of several celebrity scheduled to stop. Unfortunately Richard was unable to make the Monday leg of the trip, but there were plenty of other celebrities on hand.

Dawson Hoerauf, Sawyer Keener and Braden Larsen gridiron players for the Trojans were waiting with footballs in hand to see Herschel Walker formerly of the NFL and Heisman Trophy winner George Rogers. Also waiting and warming up his camera was Farren Crain who had recently moved back to Whitehall from North Carolina and who is a motorcyclist (street bike).

Soon the "bikers" roared into town and the Town Pump where they were going to fill up with gas and food and walk around for about one-half hour before they headed back on their journey. This was the opportunity to find out exactly what type of person took part in this type of event. Whitney Burnette from Columbus, Georgia, is a four-year rider and this is her second year on the Charity Ride and her first time in Montana. Patricia and Doug Biggerstaff of Fresno, California, have been riding with the group for three years. When I mentioned to Patricia how brave they were to be riding in a Montana Spring – snow, sleet and rain – she took a moment to show me the Jacket Heater that Santa had given her. Fortunately, they own their own Plumbing Business and are able to take off for almost 2 weeks to take part in this Ride.

Darrell Andrews of Siler City, North Carolina explained that some of the riders ship their bikes to the beginning destination and others, like him, ride both ways. He stated he will be riding about 3,189 miles this trip. Another North Caroliner, Steve Anderson from Fayetteville, has been riding motorcycles for about 13 years but this was his first year in taking part in this Ride. He had been to Montana before when he took part in the Smoke Jumper School in Missoula in 1984. He was a 32 year member of the Army Special Forces and a member of Motormark1 which is an advanced motorcycle training organization.

Since 1995, these Charity Rides have been held to help bring attention to and to raise funds for the Victory Junction Camp which opened its doors in 2004. This is a camp in Randleman, North Carolina, established by Kyle Petty in memory of his son, Adam. Over 7,950 riders have ridden more than 11.6 million cumulative motorcycle miles, visiting 48 of the 50 states.

Sue Erickson of Whitefish, Montana, has been riding for 12 years with the group. In addition she is a volunteer at the camp. This free camp is a place for children with chronic or life threatening diseases to gather one week a year with their peers. There are nine camps in the summer and family weekends during the spring and fall. To date over 24,870 children and their families have received life-changing camp experiences. Here they receive encouragement and the comradeship of other children with the same life situation. This establishment is also a member of the Paul Newman Serious Fun Children's Network which includes nine camps in the United States and 17 worldwide explained Chad Coltrane, Chief Executive Officer of the organization.

For more information concerning this camp or an application form one can contact them online at http://www.kylepettycharityride.com or on Facebook.com/kylepetty45. Erickson added as she mounted her mighty steed to complete the route for that day that one can also donate Afghans and bears for the camp attendees.