Standing in

the parking lot of a mall at 5:30 in the morning was

unique in itself.

Hearing

"Register here, no waiting" and then a cowbell

ringing added to the mystery.

I was

volunteering at the "Ride For Kids," conducted

each year as a fund-raiser for the Pediatric Brain Tumor

Foundation. This was the 17th ride in Georgia and the

first one for me.

Over a

thousand motorcyclists registered for the ride from the

North Point Mall to the town of Helen, each bringing in

the funds they had raised during the past year.

Altogether they turned in over $244,000.00. The cowbells

were rung each time someone turned in $300 or more.

I was

seated at a table stamping the backs of checks, other

volunteers were signing the riders up and my favorite

volunteers were those assigned to bring around donuts and

coffee.

At 9:15 we

were told to cease our volunteer activities and prepare

to get on our motorcycles, about 90 percent of which were

Honda "Gold Wings". "Preparing" meant

heading for a port-a-potty and wiping the rain drops off

your helmet.

No, I don't

drive one but I sit proudly as a co-rider. Sam Hill is

the driver and I get to ride with him because his wife,

Sami, has her own bike.

Chapter S

of the Georgia Gold Wing Road Riders Assoc. got to ride

at the head of the line because it collected the most

money last year, then came the volunteers and then those

that registered the earliest, etc. A sheriff's deputy on

a motorcycle headed out at exactly 9:30 a.m., we fell in

and were on our way for the 65 miles to Helen. We never

stopped until we got there, with various county law

enforcement blocking the crossroads along the way.

There were

literally thousands along the way in their front yards,

standing in front of their churches and on the bridges. I

couldn't count the times we all waved back, it was

especially neat to see the children's faces light up when

you looked specifically at them and waved.

The 1,200

motorcycles made a line of traffic about 6 miles long

which kept the Channel 2 helicopter busy recording all of

it.

After two

hours and thousands of waves we arrived, were given a

sack lunch, found a seat under a huge tent and met about

a dozen of the youngsters who have recovered from a brain

tumor. One of them said she didn't realize so many people

loved her by giving the money needed to cure her. A

number of them were teenagers who had been cured for

several years and told of their plans for college.

Listening to them certainly made it all worthwhile.

I came away

with several warm, fuzzy feelings. One was for the

18-month-old who wasn't cured yet, but you just knew she

would be, and the pride of belonging to Fayetteville

Chapter P, because we won first place for bringing in the

most money, over $25,000.00. And you know what that

means, next year we get to ride at the head of the

column. I've already marked the first Sunday of June,

2001.

Carolyn

Cary is Fayette County's official historian and editor of

"The History of Fayette County," published by

the Fayette County Historical Society. Her e-mail address

is [email protected] .