By Terry Karkos,Staff Writer
Motorcycle rodeo attracts large crowd

OXFORD – Despite Saturday’s heat and some events that didn’t start on time, the 14th Annual Great Northern Motorcycle Rodeo attracted more than 1,000 people.

They came on bright, shiny Harley- Davidsons, Hondas and other makes, three-wheel motorcycles – including one comprised of the rear of an orange Volkswagen – and all-terrain vehicles, cars and campers.

“The turnout was awesome,” Al Croteau said prior to the 5:30 p.m. start of a series of skill-riding competitions.

Croteau is president of the Saracens Motorcycle Club, which hosted the two-day event at the Oxford Fairgrounds.

“Fourteen hundred to 1,500 people turned out, and we had really good weather. It’s been super,” he added.

The winners of the event’s new poker run, which offered $5,000 worth of cash and prizes, and a bike show, which featured the best and worst of motorcycles, were not expected to be announced until later Saturday night.

Because the poker run ran so late into the afternoon due to the larger than expected number of participants, the club wanted to wait until everyone made it back before continuing with scheduled events like a moped distance-tossing event and slow-ride balancing contests.

The mood was mellow all afternoon while bikers mingled, greeted friends and talked motorcycles.

Peter Gould Jr. of Corinna, said he likes to attend the Saracens motorcycle rodeos because “it gets you out of the house.”

“It’s something to do. You can see friends, talk bikes, and everybody’s all like-minded, you know,” he added.

Saracens club founding-member Jean “Black Jack” Cote, who started the club in 1970 with another motorcycle buddy, said the Saracens are trying to build the event’s crowd back to numbers they’d had at past events.

“We’ve been doing this for a while. This is our 14th straight one, but we did them back in the 1980s. But because of the time of year we have them, it’s a tough date to keep secure and grab people.

“Everything that we have done here has been done and tried before, but people are still enjoying the old traditions,” Cote said of the day’s turnout.

Due to the poker run’s success, Croteau said the club would continue it next year, but offer $10,000 worth of cash and prizes.