Bikers to ride for Red Cross

Motorcycle riders will hold a fundraiser in Johnston County to aid a helping agency

Motorcyclists are revving up to crisscross Johnston County in a Ride for the Red -- a fundraiser Saturday for the Red Cross.

Since July, the Triangle-area chapter of the American Red Cross has helped 406 families in Wake, Johnston, Franklin and Warren counties who have lost homes to fires. That's a 43 percent increase over the same period the previous year.

More apartment complex fires contributed to the increase in need, said Angela Georgallis of the Triangle's Red Cross. In Raleigh, for example, a fire at Brentwood Apartments in August displaced about 85 families. And in Smithfield, a January fire displaced about nine residents in Austin Manor, a retirement home.

Fires also have struck more rural areas with multiple families living in one house and displaced renters lacking insurance, said Donna Whitman, the nonprofit agency's community coordinator in Johnston County.

"Once they lose their home, if they don't have insurance," Whitman said, "they're starting at ground zero."

The Johnston County unit of the Triangle's Red Cross is about 86 percent over budget for this fiscal year, which ends this month. Donations have declined in the tightening economy.

Ride for the Red is a last-ditch effort to offset some of Johnston County's expenses this year, Whitman said. But organizers also hope it will become an annual fundraiser.

The event is called a "poker run." Riders will draw cards at the end of the route. Those with the best and worst hands win prizes.

The Red Cross has enlisted the help of a number of biker clubs across the Triangle for the event, including some that have never done poker runs before.

"Typically, when you think of traditional poker runs, you think of the Harley-Davidsons -- the Cruisers and the Hawgs," said Nicole "Icey" Williams, 35, president of Xtreme Street Riders, an urban sport bike club based in Wake County. Urban sport bikes are popular among young riders, she said.

"We want to bring more of the younger generation into the poker runs," said Williams, who is CEO of Shifin Gearz Mag, an onine publication catering to sport bikers.

The event also will be a first for the Hinnant Family Vineyards in Pine Level, the final destination on the ride. The vineyard frequently hosts weddings, baby showers and family reunions, but never before a poker run, said Wesley Dills, the vineyard's events coordinator.

Nevertheless, Dills said he's looking forward to having hundreds of bikers on the grounds, where they will be surrounded by grapevines heavy with baby muscadines.