FINAL FALL RALLY WRAP UP
Celebrating Western Heritage The White Buffalo Bikefest October 5-7, 2012 * Snyder By Randy “Harley Doc” McCamey, Associate Editor
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f it is the first weekend in October, you will find the White Buffalo Bikefest happening in Snyder. Between Abilene and Lubbock, I’m not sure if Snyder is technically classified as a West Texas town or a Panhandle town. Whichever is correct, Snyder is centrally located in that part of the state and draws bikers from all across Texas including Wichita Falls, Amarillo, El Paso, and many other places in and out of the state. The longest ride winner was Ariel DuCarme who rode in from Florida! The rally, hosted by the Snyder Chamber of Commerce, was attended by some 8,000 bikers with over 70 companies, clubs, and organizations as sponsors. Bikers from the Christian Motorcycle Association were among the rally’s many volunteers and their drill team performed some incredible slow-speed maneuvers and riding formations during the rally.
The weather was unusually cool for the first week in October, but most of us enjoyed a break from the summer heat and did not mind getting out the cool weather gear. Of course, performances by the Flaunt Girls helped heat things up too! Music all day and half the night kept everyone two-steppin’ and high-steppin’ to the tunes.
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Along with the bike show, the rally included a number of the traditional contests and competitions including a poker run and a tattoo contest. The women’s tattoo competition was won by Katera and the men’s tattoo competition was won by Jon Boy. The loudest pipes competition was topped by Gary Featherstone on “Ol’ Fat Boy”. The American Motordome Company performed stunts in their Wall of Death, where one or more bikes were ridden along the vertical walls of the giant wooden cylinder. Stunt Garbage, a group of stunt riders from Dallas and Houston, performed absolutely insane wheelies, front-wheel stops, and other riding tricks on their hopped-up performance bikes. The rally grounds were filled with dozens of vendors from lights to leathers to leggin’s and everything in between including lots of food and beer. “There is a lot of activity during the rally both inside and
outside the coliseum,” says Debbie Turnbow of Dirty Goatees, “and, having been at the White Buffalo rally for several years, sales are usually good even if the weather isn’t.” One unique feature of the White Buffalo Bikefest is that it is held during the White Buffalo Days; a celebration of a legendary buffalo hunter, J. Wright Moar, who brought down a rare white buffalo on October 7, 1876. The city of Snyder hosts a arts and crafts fair, dancers and musical performances around the courthouse square the same weekend as the rally. This helps enhance the bike rally and brings even more visitors to the area – not a bad idea; something other bike rallies and rally locations should consider. Overall, I give the White Buffalo Rally a winning score. If you are looking for a moderately sized rally to start the fall riding season next year or if you need something to really get you in the mood for a larger rally like the Lone Star in Galveston, mark your calendar for October 4-6, 2013 and check out the White Buffalo Rally.
ThunderRoadsTexas.com