Waking up at 6:00 AM in Vegas could never be easy. Especially so if it's the first morning after your first night ever in Vegas. Coffee isn't just a necessity on a morning like that, it's needed every bit as much as breathing is. When the caffeine finally kicked in somewhere mid way through my taxi ride to the Las Vegas Harley-Davidson, (The World's Largest) the excitement of the days promised events began. It was the Academy's third annual Celebrity Motorcycle Ride.
This annual event began two years ago with 50 bikes. That was 2004. In just two years the event has grown into an an overwhelming 1,100 bikes and raised over $50,000 dollars for the Academy's Charitable Foundation. Fifty-seven of the bikes were straight from Nashville making this event a star-studded extravaganza.
With clear blue skies and a forecast of hot, hot and hot, 9:30 AM brought us to the first celebrity bikes making their entrance into the dealership parking lot. Eddie Montgomery and Troy Gentry hosted the event as they have the last two years. Most of the celebrity riders were all decked out in their riding gear and sun glasses and I must admit at times it was very hard to tell who was who. I did manage to make out our hosts, Emerson Drive, Big Kenny, Little Big Town, Buddy Jewell, Dierks Bentley, Two Foot Fred, Rockie Lynne, James Otto, Ray Scott, Trent Tomlinson, Trick Pony, Trent Wilmon, Keith Urban and many others.
Although the weather was very warm at the dealership, the riders had to be dressed to tolerate the huge temperature differences during their three hour ride through the beautiful but chilly Nevada mountains. As scheduled the day long festivities began with Montgomery Gentry taking the stage and introducing us to some of the riders and then the whole group posed for a photograph. At 10:30 AM the ride was on and it was an incredible sight seeing that many bikes taking off to begin the trip.
Not being fortunate or brave enough to actually ride, I made my way early to Fremont Street to the VIP Celebrity Lounge where drinks and a BBQ were served to all the participants. Around 1:45 the first of the riders were making their way back to mingle with each other and catch a bite to eat before the concerts were to begin.
At 2:30 Montgomery Gentry took the outdoor stage to kick off the Jam sessions that would run clear up till the late evening hours. With performances by Dierks Bentley, Emerson Drive, Buddy Jewell, Little Big Town and Brian McComas the 5,000 strong crowd loved every minute of everything each act gave.
The shows continued on till the last acts of Big and Rich, Cowboy Troy and The Music Mafia. The crowd numbers were expected to reach over 10,000 people making this an incredibly successful event. I can't wait till next year. Hopefully by then I will have found some bravery and joined in on what looked like the ride of a lifetime.
