Rescheduled Motorcycle Day draws healthy crowd

'Big Mike' Griffin tunes up before starting his concert at Bell Buckle's Motorcycle Day. (T-G Photo by Mary Reeves) [Order this photo]

Middle Tennessee had more than its fair share of out-of-state visitors this past weekend, but they weren't here just for the CMA Awards or Bonnaroo. Thousands of visitors found their way to Bell Buckle Saturday for the sixth annual Motorcycle Day.

"It went great," said Rodney Simmons, who organized the event with Mark Felices. "We had people coming in all day. There's no way to count the bikes, but we certainly had thousands."

The event was originally scheduled for May, but threats of a rainy weekend inspired the organizers to postpone it.

Roger Witbur, left, and Beverly Mitchell, right, accept the trophies they won for Best in Show and People's Choice respectively. From left are Witbur, Mark Felices, Rodney Simmons, and Mitchell. (Submitted photo)

"The day we canceled, it didn't rain in Bell Buckle until late in the afternoon, but the weather forecast had said 97 percent chance of rain," said Simmons. "I ride a bike myself, and I can tell you, I don't want to go out if it looks like rain."

The postponement didn't seem to affect attendance. In fact, said Simmons, he believes there more motorcyclists here this year than last, and he knew for a fact there more involved in the poker run.

"The poker run was great -- everybody loved Rutledge Falls," he said, referring to one of the destinations on the run, the icy-cold waterfalls near Tullahoma. "Some people went in swimming, but they didn't stay in long."

Roger Witbur won Best of Show in the Motorcycle Show, and with Beverly Mitchell winning the People's Choice Award, Simmons sees proof of a growing trend in the riders.

"In the last two years, either the best of Show or People's Choice has gone to women," he said. "It's changing -- the motorcycle rider is changing, the demographics are changing. These are just normal people who like to ride motorcycles. In the past 15 to 20 years, there have been more and more women."

The event had vendors, the Poker Run, plenty of food, and live music in the form of Big Mike's Band.

"It was a lot of fun for everybody this year, even those of us who put it on," said Simmons. "And the music was amazing."

Car Show Winners

Best of Show: Roger Witbur

People's Choice: Beverly Mitchell

Mild Custom American: Timothy Buchanan, first; John Yoder, second; Dwayne Samford, third

Mild Custom Metric: Scott Worch, first; Jennifer Ackley, second; Jerry Brown, third

Full Custom American: Chris Price, first; Chris Price, second; Beverly Mitchell, third

Full Custom Metric: M. W. Roberts

Manufactured Custom: Wes Hay

Sport Bike: Skip Chaney, first; Jason Willett, second;

Classic/Antique: Chris Stemmer, first; Jerry Dunlop, second; David Adcock, third

Trike/Side-car: R. Danut first; Charlie Brown aka Charles Neal, second; Jim Fowler, third

Poker Run Winners

High Hand -- Tim Gillim, first; Al Condino, second; Mike Lefler, third

Low Hand -- Melva Hancock