Motorcycle Day postponed until June 13

If you hear thunder rumbling through the streets of Bell Buckle this week -- that's all it is. Just thunder. The annual Motorcycle Day, originally scheduled for Saturday, has been postponed until June 13.

"We went from a zero percent chance of rain to a 70 percent chance," said Jenny Hunt, with the Chamber of Commerce. "Bikers like to plan things in advance and even if it doesn't rain, they probably wouldn't show up."

"We'll have the same thing," said Rodney Simmons, also with the Chamber. "The same entertainer and everything."

The event includes a poker run -- "This year's Poker Run looks to be one of the best in event memory," said Hunt -- a concert, and a bike show.

The concert, by Big Mike Griffin, is what Hunt calls "100 percent Biker Blues." As a biker and musician, Big Mike's original sounds blend blues music with biker culture. He has performed with David Allen Coe, Johnnie Rodriguez, and other artists and set a record attendance in Daytona, Florida, at the Full Moon Saloon during Bike Week 2005.

The bike show will feature seven different classes of bikes: Full custom, mild custom, manufactured custom, sport bike, classic, antique, and trike/side car. Each class will feature trophies for first, second, and third. There will also be a trophy for Best of Show, and the Peoples Choice.

"One of the most exciting highlights of the day is the appearance of 'Wingspan' presiding over the prizes and giveaways, and the 50/50 drawing benefiting the Bell Buckle Fire Department," said Hunt.

The Bell Buckle Café will be on site serving lunch from 11 a.m. -- 4 p.m. Admission is free to all Motorcycle Day events.

The change in plans may benefit the bikers, but the new date is going to make things a little hectic for the Chamber volunteers.

"It's the week before the RC-Moon Pie Festival," said Hunt. "We had 10,000 Moon Pies delivered today."

Next weekend, May 23, will see anywhere from 2,500 to 3,500 visitors in Bell Buckle for GeoWoodstock VII, geocaching's world convention, and two weeks after the RC-Moon Pie Festival, the Tennessee Shakespeare festival opens its second season with "A Midsummer Night's Dream."

"I may go out on the Poker Run and not come back," said Hunt, laughing.