The Carolinas’ Full Throttle Magazine
44
8th Annual Knobbies Ride The Blue Ridge
By: Wally Wersching On Friday, September 15th to Sunday the 17th, the Knob Mountain Motorcycle Club held their 8th Annual Ride The Blue Ridge rally at the Catawba Meadows Park in Morganton, NC to benefit South Mountain Children and Family Services. The “Knobbies” are a group of motorcycle enthusiasts who meet every Sunday morning for breakfast at about 8 am at the Timberwood Restaurant in Morganton, and then go for a daylong ride to “who knows where”. They were originally a BMW Motorcycle Owners Club, but now they welcome all kinds of bikes to their rides. They are a friendly and warm group of individuals. The Catawba Meadows Park is an excellent facility in Morganton, NC, which keeps getting better every year. The city of Morganton is one of the sponsors of the event. CAR HAULERS Starting @ $2190.00
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Eight years ago, the Knobbies started holding the “Ride The Blue Ridge” event, and it was a hit with bikers. Bikers came from up and down the east coast, and even Canada. The club members were amazed by the turnout, so they try to improve on last year’s event. The Knobbies rally is not like the normal biker rallies. There’s no loud band, there’s not even loud bikes. This year, and every year, the focus of the rally was riding scenic roads with friends, old and new. They had Michael Reno Harrell, a storyteller who played an acoustic guitar, for evening entertainment. This year, they had guided “Ride Along with the Knobbies” rides from off-roading to leisurely cruising down the back roads. There’s always a lunch stop along the way, and the ride ends back at the Catawba Meadows in the evening. The owner of the Timberwood Restaurant provided the food for the weekend. Many of the participants stayed at the park This year, and every overnight so they could year, the focus of the be ready to hit the road early. Some brought rally was riding scenic motorhomes and travel roads with friends, old trailers for comfort. and new. Others camped or stayed at local motels. I decided to ride up to visit them on Friday morning, and bring a stack of The Carolinas’ Full Throttle Magazines for the participants. I got there at about 8:15 am. The weather was very foggy so they all decided to wait until it burned off to go for their rides. I walked around, and realized that one of the Knobbies was missing. The vice president P.O. Wilson wasn’t there. He’s usually at all their events, and is the face of the Knobbie Club. I asked, and was horrified by the answer I got. I knew that he was getting old, around 80, but he was a very active member of the club. I learned that he fell in his bathroom, and has been partially paralyzed ever since. He is in a veterans’ facility in Augusta, Georgia that specializes in spinal cord injuries. P.O.’s whole life changed in one second when he fell. His daughter sold his bike and his home because he’ll never be able to ride or live in a house with stairs again. It’s scary because it could happen to any of us any time. If you want to talk with P.O., call him at 1-800-836-5561. I’m sure that he’d love