DO YOU RIDE?

Not knowing what to expect and without having any previous experience. I made the snap decision to ride in the 2023 Nanticoke Lenni-Lenape Pow Wow motorcycle run held by a local MC chapter. This is an annual event that brings together native american riders from along the east-coast and as far away as New Mexico.

The run is a seventy-mile loop. It starts at Delaware Memorial Bridge in Salem Co., tours rural south jersey with a mid-way stop at the Nanticoke Lenni-Lenape Indian tribal grounds in Cumberland Co and ends back at Salem County Fairgrounds just in time for the pow wow Grand Entry ceremonies. This is a very well thought out travel route and precisely timed ride.

Ultimately, this run would serve as my first experience with this particular MC and as a rider in such a large organized group ride. This would be far from my longest group ride to date, but by the end of the day...it would surely feel like it.

I'm not new to riding motorcycles, I come from a family of riders and I got my first bike when I was 11 years old. With over 30-years behind me, I am far from a beginning rider. With that being said, when it comes to Motorcyle Clubs and registered group-ride events I am a complete newbie and have no idea what I'm doing!

Last year in 2022 marked the inaugural pow wow run event and I was not able to participate. My bike, a 2005 Harley Electra Glide, was ready to go but my wife and I decided to make a family trip out of state that weekend.

Since that time, I followed the MC’s social media page to view the post of the event I missed and in the process I learned more about the community work they perform and the social causes they support. Surprisingly, their goals and mission statement actually aligned well with the work that we currently do at the non-profit. The more I learned about the MC it motivated me to participate and be a part of this year's 2023 Annual Pow Wow Run!

I had a year to get ready for this years ride. I’ve been upgrading it for months and I knew it wouldn’t be ready for the June pow wow ride, but I had convinced myself that no matter what,  I would be a part of this year's Pow Wow ride.

I kept my promise to myself to make the ride! So with only 72hrs before the Saturday Morning run I scrambled around and bought a dirty ‘03 1200XL just based on the market place pics. This snap decision would come back to bite me in the ass!

The filthy 20-year old sportster fired right up and it would be good enough to get me to the Annual run.
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It was a balancing act for me to sit back and take in the dynamics at play and understand who the players were and how I would fit into this wild ecosystem. I felt like I didn’t want to appear too cocky or too weak for that matter.

​The protocols were hard to follow and I didn’t know who was in charge and who was not. At some point it felt like I was being thrown into a new school, sports team or with all the machismo…a crowded boxing gym!

Most of the club guys were friendly but the two main organizers of the local chapter were stern, serious and had a very dry sense of humor.

Deadpan and I honestly had no idea if they were serious or screwing with me.

One second they were concerned about everyone’s safety and the next they were breaking balls about something minor.

This also was very understandable as it was clear they were responsible for the event and everyone attending it.

I was 10-minutes late to the meetup and was nervous about going there in the first place. As I rolled up to the meetup part of me hoped I had missed them. It would give me a reason to not complete the run, facing my fear of riding and save me the humiliation and judgment that I knew I was subjecting myself to.

When I finally pulled up, I was shocked to see so many men that looked like me! Same skin tone, same features, family names and demeanors. This immediately gave me a sense of familiarity that allowed me to relax enough to take it all in!

I wasn’t sure who to talk to and who not to talk to. The whole damn thing was confusing.

We began with a bike blessing and smudge before a pre-ride briefing and instructions.

Smudging the bikes and riders set an intention for the day and became a theme that permeated the run.

Members and their families were first to smudge and friends of the club followed. Everyone watched as each person smudged until all were received. The smell of cedar and tobacco filled the air and was a powerful ceremony that transfixed all that watched and participated.

I allowed my excitement to participate in the Run to get the best of me. I wasn’t finished putting the ultra back together and it was in no shape to ride, so I took a bike that I just bought days before. A sportster XL1200C, which gave me apprehension from the start riding anything other than a touring bike. I figured I’d be ousted just for the fact I was on a sportster. In reality the bigger factor of ridicule was me breaking down 3-times and holding up the entire pack of 50 motorcycles. It happened once on the way to the grounds and then again on the ride to the pow wow!

Yeah that was me…the capital ASSHOLE of the day with a broken down bike responsible for being late to both the club breakfast and pow wow grand entry. I can’t forget the look on the faces of the chapter leaders, I didn’t see any president or officer patches, was less than impressed! So it was no surprise they weren’t running over to ask me to hang around. One actually yelled out “Fix your shit before the next time you ride with Us!”

Regardless of the searing embarrassment I felt, there was a sense of pride I hadn’t experienced in a long time. Also, it was good to be out in the open air and with like minded men in service for our community.

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