Our club was formed in 1979 in Ray, ND. Five of the ten original charter members are still in the club. We are an AMA Chartered Club and have been since our inception (except for one year that we forgot to send in the renewal). We currently are one of two AMA clubs in AMA District 30 which comprises North and South Dakota. The other club is the Jackpine Gypsies that started the Black Hills Rally and Races. One of our founding members was an AMA Road Rep for two years and later was elected an AMA Congressman. We are incorporated in the state of North Dakota as the Ramblers Motorcycle Club of Ray, ND.We currently have 43 members in North Dakota, Canada, Minnesota, Montana, Wyoming, California, Colorado and Washington. In 1985, 1986 and 1987 we threw the party for the 1st ND MDA Run that was started by Dick Widme, the Dakota Harley dealer who was one of our members. We had what we believe was the largest single club party in ND history-to this day. It was featured in BIKER LIFESTYLE Magazine. We pit cooked over 1200 lbs. of beef, pork and buffalo. Willie G. Davidson came to our party and had such a good time that he came again the next year which is very unusual for him as his time is very limited. We presented him with a leather plaque with our colors on it that now hangs in his basement. The next year Peter Fonda came to our Spring Bash and partied with us for the weekend.The Ramblers’ motorcycles have won over 200 trophies from bike shows in ND, including many club participation trophies. Ramblers have served as judges for the Norsemen, Freedom Riders, Jamestown Crusaders and Magic City Bike Shows.One of our members won the Keg Roll at the 1st EASYRIDERS Rodeo in California. Ramblers have been in at least two EASYRIDERS videos. We put on a ND Alphabet Run for several years. One of our members started the North Dakota Ladies Run which is celebrating its 17th anniversary this year. It has been featured in every women’s motorcycle magazine there is. This same member has raised $49,500 for the Pony Express Ride to benefit Breast Cancer research.Our members have served on the ND ABATE board as President, Vice-President and Board Members. Our Club Card has been in the ABATE newsletter since it began. A Rambler has been an assistant District Rep and District Rep in District 1 for 15 years. We’ve put on games at Menoken and participated in the Dakota Territory Toy Run.We've adopted a stretch of highway and picked up the garbage along it for 15 years. This year we are in the process of giving away 90 25th Anniversary Rambler MC teddy bears to police and ambulance services in our riding area to give to scared children at disaster scenes.We have supported American Legion Baseball and put on games for the kids at Ray’s Grain Palace Days. The Ramblers staged bicycle races for kids and Weight Lifting Contests at Tioga’s Farm Festival. We rode in the North Dakota State Fair Parade for six years. We help sponsor V-Twin Performance’s Motorcycle Drag Racing Team which includes one of our members.I bring all this up to give you an idea what we have been up to for the last 25 years. We may be getting a little older and not as active as we once were but we are still a North Dakota Club with a proud tradition. We put on at least two events a year-the Spring Bash in May-for many years North Dakota’s spring opener and the Club’s Birthday Party in October. We’ve had from 150-400 bikers at these parties and have put forth a lot of time and effort to ensure they had a good time with beer, games, and some of the best food anywhere. We got our reputation the old-fashioned way-we earned it over 25 years of riding, attending and putting on events so please consider coming to Wheelock in October and help us celebrate our birthday. Roger Enders
|
|