Hey Maritime Canadians, help the kids!

[foster]

On Feb. 28, one of the Moncton clubs is hosting a poker run with every cent raised going to the Children's Wish Foundation.
You can get all the information off the web page of the Albert County Trailblazers at: http://www.albertcountytrailblazers.freeservers.com/
Just click on their EVENTS page for all the details. feel free to explore the rest of the site, of course.
But essentially, the poker run costs only $10 and guarantees tons o' fun all day long.
I'm planning on attending (can't be positive just yet) and it would be nice to meet some 3WW folks there.
Plus you get to help a lot of very sick children at the same time.
Hope y'all can make it!

[Adam250sx]

G'day Foster, I am plan on attending that Poker run should be a great time. If I am able to get there we should defenitly hook up.

[85bigred250es]

I wish I could get up to that one. Oh well the next one I guess.

[foster]

85BigRed, if you can make, you'd surely be very welcome.

Adam, it would be nice to hook up. The starting point, if I recall correctly, is almost in your FRONT YARD!
:D

[TimSr]

This one is way out of my local area, but as somebody who attends a lot of local poker runs, they are just a blast, and I highly recommend anybody within traveling distance to make an attempt to go. What could be more fun than a trail ride with a few hundred (or a few thousand at some) of your fellow off road enthusiasts?

[foster]

Thanks for that endorsement, Tim!
And it's all for such a good cause.
The prize line-up is not yet complete, but I was talking with the organizers yesterday and they are aiming for some really exceptional stuff! When they finalize the list of schwag, I'll post it here.

If anyone has never gone on a poker run before, here's how it works:
Riders travel a designated route and pick up a playing card every few dozen miles or so. At the end of the run, he who has the best poker hand wins first prize, second-best hand gets second prize, and so on down the line. As well, there are TONS of door prizes being arranged for this run, which are drawn at random from those who got a crappy poker hand and didn't win anything through their hand of cards.
As well, there are plenty of refreshments afterwards, and a big barbecue set up on the trail at the half-way point with cheap burgers and hot dogs, again with the proceeds going to help sick kids.

This is an ideal way, too, for anyone who has never experienced a winter trail to check out what it's all about. All these trails are groomed with a real trail groomer so you don't have to spend your day pushing your bike through snow drifts. The trails are literally smoother than city streets. Usually a rider must purchase a trail pass to ride these trails, but in this case all are welcome and no trail pass is required.

Pray for decent weather!

[foster]

Here's the trail BEFORE grooming:

http://www.albertcountytrailblazers.freeservers.com/images/tucker_2.jpg

And here it is AFTER grooming:

http://www.albertcountytrailblazers.freeservers.com/images/tucker_4.jpg

[85bigred250es]

85BigRed, if you can make, you'd surely be very welcome. :D

Thanks foster. I will definately make it up to one this year . I will watch the clubs site and NBATVING for future dates

[foster]

Ok, tomorrow is the day.
So far they have over 100 prizes.
They expect more than 170 bikes, judging by the phone calls. And that's an very conservative underestimate.
The trails couldn't be better. As long as the temps remain below zero, the trails should stay stable.
Best prize so far is a two-up seat, but they are working on even more fantastic prizes at this late date, and since it isn't solidified yet, I won't make idle promises.
And every penny goes to help sick kids.
If any one is looking for some fun tomorrow (Saturday), this is your opportunity. Drive to Riverview, NB, and when you cross the causeway or bridge from Moncton into that fine community, turn left down Hillsborough Road. It's just a few kilometres until you reach the Point Park PetroCan, behind which you will find Woody's Pub, the starting point. You'll see the full parking lot, and that'll be your first clue that you are there.
REMEMBER: a ton o' bikes are expected, so registration is limited. Regisration begins at 10 a.m. Be there early or forever hold your venom.

[timex69]

hey man
do u plan on having anymore by the winters end..ill tell dad to get our truck working so we can head over

[foster]

:shock:
Well, this run had good and bad parts to it.
First of all, well over 100 bikes showed up, and that was great, because we raised about $1,600 for the Children's Wish Foundation.
The bad part was how the trails just crumbled under all the traffic.
Too darn much snow for that much traffic!
http://www.albertcountytrailblazers.freeservers.com/images/brad_stuck.jpg
Even with an intense grooming effort at huge cost to the club, which gave away every cent of profit from the run, the trails just couldn't hold up.
Many people got stuck, and often. But all in all most people had fun. (There were a couple of complaints, to be sure.)
My big regret is that I had so much trouble riding to the starting point from where my ride was stored, that I was late getting there and missed out on a chance at meeting a 3WW member who was in attendance. I looked for him out on the trails but conditions were such that it was everyone for himself, survival of the fitness, all that sort of rot! :D The priority was getting through the snow and not running out of fuel because of all the extra effort the bikes were having to go through.
Timex, you can be sure I'll let you know when another run is coming up.
There were some great prizes, none of which were won by me, though.
Another big regret was that my two riding partners got run over by a drunk driver a few nights beforehand and while they were luckily not maimed or killed, they were in no shape to join me in the run. One is black and blue all up and down one side of his body; the other is too, plus he tore knee ligaments and is in for some long months of rehab. :( They were loading up their snowmobiles on their truck when the truck got rear ended by someone concentrating more on his bottle than on where he was driving. Charges have been laid.