News from the Motorcycle World

Attorney general rules motorcycle clubs' events are illegal gambling

AUSTIN - Motorcycle clubs that stage "poker runs" for charity will find 2006 less bountiful because Attorney General Greg Abbott ruled Tuesday that such fundraisers amount to illegal gambling under Texas law.

Poker runs typically have a participant paying a registration fee or have the motorcycle rider purchase cards or hands at various rally points. At the end of the run, a cash prize is usually awarded for the best hand, the second-best hand and the worst hand.

Abbott ruled that a poker run with cash prizes would amount to a lottery under state law. He said an organization that kept part of the proceeds for charity would violate the state's prohibition on gambling.

"Even if the contribution goes to a charitable cause and the nonprofit organization will pay prizes from other money, a participant pays money for the chance to win a prize," Abbott said. "Thus we conclude ... the nonprofit organization would become a custodian of a bet in violation (of the state Penal Code)."

The ruling will broadly affect motorcycle organizations across Texas. At least seven have posted poker runs on the Internet through March. Charitable poker runs in the past year have been hosted by motorcycle clubs as well as police and fire departments around the state.

The poker run that prompted Abbott's opinion was organized by the Blue Knights Texas XXXI chapter to raise money for Galveston County Deputy Sheriff Michel Roy, who was injured in April when his squad car collided with a drunken driver's vehicle.

The Blue Knights is a motorcycle club consisting of active and retired police officers.

The club's advertised run said riders could buy hands for $10 each with no limit on the number of hands that could be purchased. At the end of the run, prizes would consist of $700 for the best hand, $200 for the second-best hand and $100 for the worst hand.


Event drew complaint
Galveston County Criminal District Attorney Kurt Sistrunk said he received a citizen complaint on the poker run the day before it occurred. He said he called Blue Knights officers and asked them to call the event off.

"There was no getting around it, in my estimation, they would be violating the law if they pursued that event," Sistrunk said.

Blue Knights chapter President D.J. Alvarez said after that call, the club continued with the poker run, but canceled the cash prizes.

Alvarez said only three or four riders backed out of the Blue Knights run that weekend, but he said Abbott's ruling will have a serious impact on charitable poker runs across Texas.

"You have poker runs every weekend," said Alvarez, a lieutenant in the Galveston Police Department. "They're all for cancer organizations, charitable organizations."

He said they are especially useful in raising money for injured police or firefighters.

"Where in a matter of three hours can you raise $5,000?" Alvarez said.


'We can get around it'

While Abbott's ruling specifically addressed the Blue Knights' poker run, Sistrunk said he reads it to outlaw all such fund-raising activities by nonprofit groups.

"They're going to have to come up with a different way of collecting money," Sistrunk said.

One of the biggest poker runs in the Houston area is sponsored by Competition Motorcycles of Pearland.

Owner Jesse McCulley said his run is meant to promote motorcycling, with all the money being paid out in prizes. He said he understands that makes it legal because no one benefits but the riders who participate.

McCulley said Abbott's ruling will negatively affect charity events if there are no cash prizes for poker runs.

"Some people are going to come out of the kindness of their heart," he said. "But let's face it, if you cut out that little piece of cheese at the end of the trail, participation is going to decline."

Sputnik, chairman of the Texas Motorcycle Rights Association, who does not use a last name, said he does not believe Abbott's ruling marks the end of poker runs.

Rink of fire: Motorcycle racer feels the burn on sheet of ice

SUMMERFIELD -- For motorcycle racer Mark Yonjof, an oval track set in the tight confines of an ice hockey arena is ideal for an indoor racing venue.

Sound crazy?

Don't cast that stone just yet. The Wisconsin native may be a junkie of some sort, but he's not crazy.

"I'm an adrenaline junkie," said Yonjof, who has raced motorcycles cross country and on ice for 28 years. "I just really enjoy it."

On Saturday, Yonjof is looking to put that energy to the test at the 30th Annual World Championship ICE Racing Series at the Greensboro Coliseum.

Recovering from a broken hand, Yonjof is hoping he'll be able to ride in Saturday's event, which features motorcycle, Quad/ATV and speedway kart ice races.

Riders will compete for individual titles and earn points towards 2006 ice racing world championship titles.

Yonjof -- a contender in cross country events sponsored by the N.C. Hare Scramble Association and the Virginia Cross Country Series -- was invited to join the ice series several months ago.

He began racing motorcycles at age 18 in competitions across the country.

"In Wisconsin, we didn't know what else to do, so we tried ice racing," he said. "It was something to do in the winter."

Yonjof and his family relocated to Summerfield from Wisconsin in 1996.

In an area that nearly shuts down at the threat of icy weather, Yonjof gets plenty of questions when he talks about ice racing.

"The only ice people see in North Carolina is in their ice cube tray," Yonjof joked. "Everybody I know in Greensboro will be there just to know what it's all about."

The most common questions involve safety, he said.

"One misconception is that the ice is slippery," he said. "Actually it's more like riding on pavement. It's more consistent than a dirt surface."

Riding low to the icy ground also gives riders more control. Rather than fall hard, he said, you just slide.

The key to winning a race comes before the bikes make it onto the ice, Yonjof said.

"Really, any one of the racers out there can win," he said. "So much of it is about the set-up."

For weeks Yonjof worked to ready his bike for the competition -- a 30-hour process that includes building his own tires that have nearly 1,500 studs placed in various directions and angles to encourage traction on the ice.

Aided by the studs and the consistency of the surface, ice racing isn't as dangerous as many people think, he said. Speeds stay close to 40 mph, Yonjof said, as opposed to outdoor races than can see speeds as high as 120 mph.

A contender in the AA Class, the level right below the pro division, Yonjof continues to travel for competitions, including an annual winter event in Wisconsin.

With his 15-year-old son Alex showing interest in the sport, Yonjof, 46, has no plans to slow down anytime soon.

A rider since age 4, Alex isn't ready to see his dad retire just yet.

"He still kicks my butt," Alex said. "He keeps me and my friends on our toes."

Contact Tarah Holland at 373-7080 ortholland@news-record.com

Motorcycle club gathers

This year’s 10th annual Polar Bear Run was much more than a motorcycle ride.

It was a time to remember Ron Forney, of Dalmatia, a longtime member of the Christian Motorcyclist Association. Mr. Forney died last year at 62.

The annual gathering was held Monday morning at the Country Cupboard near Lewisburg, with more than 50 people attending. They came from Lewisburg, Selingrove and Milton, but also from as far as Williamsport, Tunkhannock and Hanover, to have breakfast and socialize, and to remember Mr. Forney.

In deference to the weather Monday, only eight people came aboard their motorcycles, and after breakfast, some of those folks did take the traditional short hop to Dunkin Donuts, a short distance down Route 15, so they could claim bragging rights to a real polar bear ride.

Stanley Moscariello, of Milton, was one of the hardy bikers.

"I have jeans on under my leathers," he said. "It’s not too bad. You get used to it."

Mr. Moscariello rides a Harley Davidson Utraclassic, which has a windshield.

"The windshield really helps," he said. "I’ve ridden in weather a lot worse than this."

In 2000, he said, he and a friend left the breakfast at Country Cupboard and headed south to Daytona Beach, Fla.

"It was 17 degrees when we left here, and it didn’t get above freezing until we got down to Roanoke, Va.," he recalled.

Bill Renno of Milton, who organized the breakfast, said it’s more of a social event than anything.

"Folks come in and renew old acquaintances," he explained. "It’s a good thing to do at the beginning of the new year."

He read about a similar event in a motorcycle magazine a number of years ago and suggested it to the club.

"Everyone liked the idea, and this is our 10th year," he said.

A large contingent from Mr. Forney’s family, including his wife, Peggy, and son, Chris, came to the event.

"He started riding about 1971," said Mrs. Forney. "It was his therapy."

Her husband was a truck driver, she said.

"We made a lot of trips together," she remembered.

She had brought along the leather vest her husband wore while riding, and on the vest was a map of the United States, with all the northeastern states, down to Tennessee and Kentucky, colored in.

"We visited every one of them," she said. "We probably rode close to 100,000 miles."

Asked about her favorite trip, she mentioned several.

"I enjoyed Monticello," she said. "It was lovely. I’d like to go back there."

Monticello, near Charlottesville, Va., was the home of Thomas Jefferson, third president of the United States and author of the Declaration of Independence.

"When we went to Nova Scotia, we saw whales while we were on the ferry," she said.

"There were seven of us who would travel together, and we always had such a good time together."

She described another time, when they were caught in a heavy rainstorm on the Skyline Drive in Virginia.

"We went to a motel, and I’m surprised they let us in. We were all soaking wet," she said with a laugh. "The water was running out of our helmets and boots."

Chris Forney, Ron Forney’s son, recalled another time when the group was caught in a rainstorm.

"We were on our way to Massachusetts, and when we got to the motel, he said we should have a contest to see who had the most water in their boots," he said. "We poured the water into a glass to see who won."

Don Orndorf, of Millersburg, was a close friend of Mr. Forney.

"We were riding buddies for a long time," he said. "He was one of the most interesting, funny people you could ever meet."

Mr. Orndorf said he and Mr. Forney both enjoyed the classic movie comedians Laurel and Hardy.

"One time he came to my house to watch some Laurel and Hardy videos, and when I answered the door, he was dressed up like Ollie Hardy, with a little mustache, an umbrella, and he was waving his tie, just like Ollie did," he remembered.

Following the breakfast, Lenora Springfield, of Selinsgrove, president of the club, distributed red wrist bands honoring the memory of Ron Forney. In addition, chapter members could purchase memorial patches for their vests.

Several people offered fond memories of Mr. Forney, including Mr. Orndorf, Mr. Forney’s son Chris, and others.

Those attending the ride brought canned goods, as has been the tradition, for donation to charity, and a number made cash donations, which were to be given to the building fund of Emmanuel Wesleyan Church in Gratz, of which Mr. Forney was a long-time member.

"He loved motorcycles and he loved his church," said Chris Forney, "and the Christian Motorcycle Club was important to him."