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Despite a poor weather forecast and a smaller-than usual turnout, LuAnn Vogel-Stanley said Saturday’s eighth annual Rick’s Ride was still a success.
“We made $2,700, and that’s pretty good, especially considering the weather forecast,” said Stanley-Vogel, who had been particularly concerned 45 minutes before the ride when the number of motorcycles at the Granville Knights of Columbus was far below what she usually saw. “It turned out all right. We had about 65 and while we usually get about 100, (but) when I was riding at the back of the line, it sure did look like a lot of motorcycles.”
The group left Granville at 1 p.m., rode north into Vermont, came across the new Lake Champlain Bridge, then headed back through Comstock.
“We didn’t get any rain until after we left Comstock,” said Vogel-Stanley, who noted that if the group hadn’t stopped in Comstock, it would have gotten through with no rain.
She said there was rain when the riders returned to the Knights of Columbus, but that it stopped, and the riders – and those who came for the chicken barbecue – had a great time.
“People came back, and started buying 50-50 tickets and raffle tickets. That’s where we made a lot of the money. Plus a lot of people came to get the barbecue, people who had not gone on the ride.”
The event is staged in memory of Vogel-Stanley’s brother Rick, who died of a heart attack nine years ago. Half the proceeds will go to the American Heart Association, and the rest will be distributed locally. Vogel-Stanley said one of the local donations will go to the Backpack Fund.
This year’s group was a mix of regular riders and a number of new ones. “I saw a lot of new faces, but the regulars were there,” she said. “It was a nice group of people, and they were happy despite getting wet.”
Ted Vogel, who plans the ride, said the group had gone over the old bridge three years ago, from the other direction. He is the planner for the rides and said he likes a ride of at least 100 miles. He said he expected this year’s route was 120. In the past, the group has gone well into Vermont and had one ride that ran south through Cambridge and back. “You want a nice, flat ride,” he said.
Saturday was only the second time the event had rain, Vogel said, “But it was like this. We got back, the sun came out and it was steamy.”
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