Kentucky-Tennessee Report If the month of May is any indication of what this year is going to look like in the biking community, it’s going to be phenomenal! In Kentucky, since our last visit there, Backroads of Appalachia released their FREE mobile App for both IOS and Android. As anticipated, there were thousands of downloads and motorcyclists, car clubs and off-road dirt diggers went out to see what it was all about. Initial feedback is that it’s a solid platform. Sure, there’ some polishing up for complete continuity and the great thing about that is that it’s highly interactive. Users have immediate access to help the process along. From turn-by-turn navigation to points of interests the Backroads team wants to hear from riders and drivers. Go to Backroads of Appalachia on Fb to download the FREE link.
As we’ve mentioned before, Kentucky has so much to offer both riders and drivers alike. If you’ve wondered what it’d be like to see what you bike or car can do on an airstrip, yes a 2,999 foot airstrip, then don’t miss their King of The Airstrip Event on July 16th, 2022 at the McCreary County Airport. You just might get an opportunity to see what the McCreary County Sheriff’s have under their hood. Twenty five bucks gets you into the running. More info at: Whitely County Motorcycle Group on Fb. Memorial Day weekend was by far the busiest we’ve had in recent years with two major events in East Tennessee. First, Smoky Mountain Thunder Memorial Ride XXII, the largest organized ride in the state, exceeded its record of last year with over 4,400 bikes for the 65 mile Police escorted ride to Veterans Overlook. Secondly, our friends over at the Wild River Boogie Fest pulled off another incredible rally over the Memorial Day weekend. Over a thousand riders from across the region lined up to get on the festival grounds in Maryville, TN. Tucked in along the Little River, the rally had everything you’d expect from burnouts, three days of nonstop music, ridiculously fun biker games, local rides, bike shows, camping and some lazy river tubing to cool off. Look for it again next year. Finally, over in Townsend, TN the Smoky Mountain Small Bore Rally, co-sponsored by Born To Ride Motorcycle Media, attracted Groms, Ruckus, the Honda Monkey, Helix and other small bore badassery for their two-day event. Everything from drags, stunts, Poker Run/Scavenger Hunts, field games and the outstanding riding keeps this rally BTR 16 | BORNTORIDE.COM
growing and growing. Riders towed their trailers from across the country as far away as Alaska, and even Canada to get their Small Bore on. The event coordinators, Tiffany and Matt Carpenter are already looking for a larger venue for next year as they’ve outgrown their Townsend location. When event coordinators, riders and communities come together to support motorsports tourism, it’s a great thing. –Indian Rider Bill Indianriderbill@yahoo.com
