Downtown Van Buren invaded Saturday with bikers carrying water balloons and stuffed animals.

 

story and photos by Joel Rafkin
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Let the games begin! No, we’re not talking about the FIFA World Cup soccer but the motorcycle games at the 9th Annual Old Town Bike Show in downtown Van Buren on Saturday.

Contestants competed in four events — the tennis ball grab, critter grab, balloon toss and slow race. They all involved precision motorcycle driving skills but the critter grab was the most humorous. In that event, five stuffed animals affectionately known as road kill were placed between a series of cones and the passenger scooped each up with a net while riding on the back of a slow moving motorcycle. Jeff Boggs of Alma and his passenger Rebecca Victory (appropriately named!) won the event on their first pass with perfect grab of five out of five.

In the ball grab event, the passenger had to retrieve tennis balls from atop traffic cones on the first pass and then replace them on the return run, The balloon toss was a motorcycle limbo of sorts. A water balloon was heaved over an elevated bar by the passenger as the driver proceeded under the bar where hopefully the balloon was caught on the other side. The bar was raised after a successful round by all contestants. A losing run was not all that bad as an exploding water balloon provided relief from the heat. Finally, the slow race pitted two riders head to head to see who could maintain control and cross the finish line last without touching a foot to the ground.

On a more serious note, the event raised money for Bikers Against Child Abuse. Several hundred dollars were raised from the morning poker run. Angie Cox of Cassville, Mo. won $100 for first place in the poker run and returned her portion of the prize money back to BACA.

Plaques were distributed to winners in the various categories of the bike show and vendors were on selling apparel and food.

The annual event was sponsored by the Old Town Merchant’s Association.