Rolling Thunder
WASHINGTON TWP — The rain held off Saturday morning, but the distinct sound of rolling thunder could be heard at 11 a.m.
The 13th annual Saeler-Solkovy Memorial Ride blasted off from the Beer Garden on Oneida Valley Road under a cloudy but rainless sky.
Dan Saeler, who founded the event to memorialize his late brother, Steven, said 176 bikes participated in the popular summertime charity event, which raises money for individuals or charities.
Bikers paid $20 per driver and $10 per rider, and cruised to four stops in Mercer, Crawford and Venango counties before returning to the Beer Garden for dinner and an after-party following the 120-mile ride.While the memorial motorcycle run has donated thousands in the last 13 years, the 2020 recipient of the proceeds will be the Society of St. Vincent de Paul food bank on South Monroe Street in Butler.Shari Saeler-Vinroe said $3,000 and 3,000 pounds of food already has been raised for the food bank through the Saeler-Solkovy Bike Nights at the Crossbow Lounge every other week.Last year, the ride raised $13,000 for the Butler County Humane Society.Saeler-Vinroe said planning the 100 silent auction baskets, 50/50 raffle, stops along the way, T-shirt sales and food with her brother is a huge task each year.“But when we hand out the money, I'm like 'OK, this is why we do this,'” she said.Saeler, who rode his 1993 Harley-Davidson Ultra Classic Saturday, said the work is worth it to honor bikers who have passed, like his brother, Steven, and John Solkovy, for whom the ride is named.Many other late supporters of the ride and those who have received the funds are pictured on a table in the Beer Garden's pavilion.Saeler gazed at them Saturday morning as motorcyclists rumbled in to sign up for the ride.“That's who this ride is for,” he said.He said Solkovy, his late brother, and Steven's late son, Stevie Saeler, go on their memorial ride, as the men's ashes are placed in a family member's bike before hitting the road.“It's their ride,” Saeler said.Saeler was proud to ferry his 84-year-old mother, Beverly Saeler Charpentier, on the back of his full dresser motorcycle Saturday.Charpentier wore a T-shirt honoring her late son, Steven, who died in 2006, as well as his leather vest.“Steven would be amazed,” Charpentier said of the huge motorcycle ride organized each year in his memory by his brother and sister. “It's so nice that they're honoring the memories of these people.”She said the ride is also good for the community, as much-needed funding has been handed over to the families of children with disabilities or those with an ill family member, as well as much-deserving charitable agencies.“Organizations need help now more than ever, with everything going on,” Charpentier said.She said she always enjoys the rides and the loving treatment she receives from so many tough-looking men and women in black Harley-Davidson shirts.“This is a good bunch of people,” Charpentier said. “I'm just so proud of them.”One of those bikers is Rick Matz of Harmony, who rode his 1998 Harley-Davidson Heritage Softail Classic.“It's just a good time for a good cause,” Matz said as he waited for the announcement of “kickstands up” at 11 a.m.He said bikers have had a bad reputation for too long.“We're all good people and always willing to help out,” Matz said.Wayne Caldwell of Center Township has been participating in the Saeler-Solkovy run for eight years on his 2012 Can-Am Spider.“The people are nice,” he said. “It's a great ride.”
Caldwell looked forward to the long ride through the scenery of rural northwestern Pennsylvania.“It's being out on the road and the wind blowing in your face,” he said.Bridget Keefer of Butler Township elected to ride with a friend Saturday instead of bringing her 2009 Harley-Davidson Rocker C.She enjoys the freedom of cruising along on a motorcycle in the summer.“I've ridden on the back of a bike since I was 14, and I've had my own for 14 years,” she said. “You don't answer to anybody. You get on and ride and clear your mind.”She said quite a sisterhood of motorcycle enthusiasts is forming today.“Women want to do it more and more,” she said. “Men either like (women bikers) or hate it. There's no in between.”Keefer is also a member of K-Dogz, a mission motorcycle group whose motto is “a voice for innocent children.”The group picks up children from school who have been bullied and rides them home on their motorcycles, visits autistic children, and performs any motorcycle-related task that would lift the spirit of an abused or neglected child.“We're all a family,” Keefer said.One non-Harley biker to take on the scenic ride was Eric Amos of Butler, who rode his Yamaha YZF-R1. The model is commonly known as a “crotch rocket.”Amos, 29, said he is not bothered by the fact that the ride includes mostly Harley-Davidsons.“I bother them,” he said with a good-natured laugh.He looked forward to zooming, not rumbling, on the 120-mile ride.“I'm here to support the (Saeler) family and put some miles on the bike,” Amos said. “They're good people who are here for a good reason.”Rick Beck, a volunteer with the Society of St. Vincent De Paul, brought a box truck to the Beer Garden to cart the donated nonperishable food back to Butler.He said the society is thrilled to be chosen as the benefactor of the 2020 Saeler-Solkovy Memorial Ride.“It's very nice that they thought of us,” Beck said.He said the community at large was very generous during the coronavirus pandemic lockdown, even donating their stimulus checks.”“They'd say, 'Here, I don't need it,” Beck said.He said 40 to 50 people would line up for a distribution at the food bank when the pandemic first hit.Dan Saeler summed up the thoughts of all those who participated in the Saeler-Solkovy Memorial Ride Saturday.“Bikers are very giving,” he said. “They support many causes.”
