About 300 members of the Gold Wind Road Riders Association gathered in El Dorado over the weekend for the annual state rally.
The weekend consisted of seminars, games and fellowship with other riders.
“The comradery you get out of it,” said Larry Cowan, of Shawnee, Okla., of what he enjoys about the rally. “It’s fun to show, it’s fun to be in the parade, but it’s like a family.”
Cowan is a member of the Region H Chapter of GWRRA, which was Chapter of the Year for 2009.
Bill Miller, also a member of the Region H Chapter from Shawnee, was in attendance.
“It’s a family because you don’t belong to one chapter,” he said, “you belong to GWRRA. Anywhere you go you can walk into a chapter.”
There is even a Gold Book, which is like a phone book of GWRRA members, listing their names, hometowns, phone numbers and what services they have available to help others, such as a truck in case one’s motorcycle breaks down.
“We can travel all over the country and never stay in a hotel,” Miller added. “If you break down, you have someone to call.”
The association is organized so there are local chapters; district level, which is usually state-wide; then the region, which is five states.
Jack Wagner is the leadership training director for Chapter H.
He explained that everyone in the organization, which includes all of the states and 80 foreign countries, is a volunteer.
“The majority of our efforts are surrounding public safety and awareness of motorcycles,” Wagner said. “There are a lot of safety education programs for riders.”
Their motto is “Friends For Fun, Safety and Knowledge.”
That motto was reflected in the activities at the rally.
Among their seminars are GWRRA history, tire repair, how to show a bike, “An Accident, now what?” and COY seminar.
They also held an observation run, light parade, bike show and a mock crash scene.
The weekend concluded with a church service hosted by the Christian Motorcycle Association.
“The town has been very hospitable,” said Gary Drake, state director. “This is one of the best turnouts in recent history.
“We have got so many friends,” he said of the members. “I have friends I visit every year in Iowa.”
This was the first year the rally has been held in El Dorado and they already have plans to return to El Dorado next year.
