NORMAN — Fifty motorcycles circled the northeast corner of Richmond County on Saturday to raise money for a local church.
Proceeds from the Bikers Blessing Ride, which coincided with Norman’s second annual Chick-n-Pick-n Music Jamboree, went toward the Church of God of Prophecy church building fund.
The annual ride, which began in 2012, used to start at the church, but this year the bikers took off from and returned to the Norman Community Center.
While some were from the Dragon Riders out of Mount Gilead, most were independent bikers and co-workers of the organizers from CSX and Richmond Community College, who heard about the ride by word of mouth, according to Sally Ingram.
The route took them east on N.C. 73 to Wind Blow and then south to Hoffman where they had a scheduled stop.
While there, Ingram said the accompanying deputy, Capt. Ricky Campbell, advised them of a delay a few miles south on U.S. 1 at Rockingham Dragway, where a man who had flipped a four-wheeler was being airlifted.
With his suggestion, they re-routed up McDonald Church Road to get back to Norman where they had their choice of fried chicken or fish plates, which were free for participating.
“We appreciated his services and how well he handled every situation,” Ingram said. “He was awesome.”
In addition to the ride, there were several door prizes including: gift certificates, T-shirts and riding sunglasses from Family Cycles; T-shirts, hats and cash from Little’s Automotive; gift certificates from several restaurants in Southern Pines; a 32-inch TV; and buckets full of cleaning supplies from Auto Zone and Advanced Auto.
“All of the bikers had a great time and said they’d be back next year,” Ingram said.
