Southport Magazine

What: 9/11 Memorial Bike Run
When: Saturday, September 13th
Registration: 9:30 to 10:30 a.m.
Where: Boiling Spring Lakes Community Center, 1 Leeds Rd.
Cost: $20 per player, $10 per passenger, includes BBQ lunch
Info: (910) 367-9015

The Boiling Spring Lakes Special Events Committee, with the help of volunteers, is holding its annual 9/11 Memorial Bike Run on Saturday, September 13th. The tragic events of September 11th, 2001, impacted the world. Across the nation, as people tuned into the morning news, the tragedy of American Airlines Flight 11 crashing into the North Tower of the World Trade Center was reported. As news reports were broadcasting the unfolding events, capturing the mayhem of sirens and smoke, debris and destruction, the public was witness, suspended in disbelief and in horror, as the second plane, United Airlines Flight 175, crashed into the South Tower.

News broke of American Airlines Flight 77 crashing into the Pentagon.  United Airlines Flight 93, heading for Washington, D.C., crashed in Shanksville, Pennsylvania. This wasn’t an accident. Four high-jacked airplanes—four plotted and executed terrorist attacks.

Firemen and firewomen, Ppolice officers and emergency crews, and many on- and off-duty volunteer personnel were on the scene, bringing help to the wounded, order to the chaos, and risking their lives to help others.  The world watched through technology’s eye as the towers collapsed within minutes of each other: Ground Zero, bringing the death toll close to 3,000 people. Their lives and stories became our own: lost husband, missing wife, daughter last seen in second tower, son went to work on the 32nd floor. A dark, vast magnitude of stories of loved ones: father, mother, family, friend, neighbor, co-worker; we mourned the loss as a nation.

The 9/11 Memorial Bike Run is an event to remember those who lost their lives, and to pay tribute to those who lost their lives in the line of duty. “The police and the firemen and women who risk their lives to help us—that’s why all the proceeds [of the Bike Run] go to the Boiling Spring Lakes Police and Fire Departments,” Michelle Hennessy, the Boiling Spring Lakes Special Events Committee Chair, says.

Riders may register that morning at the Boiling Spring Lakes Community Center, located at 1 Leeds Road, from 9:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. The cost is $20 a rider and $10 a passenger. Last year there were about 100 riders, and the BSL Special Events Committee anticipates even more this year. Members from the Blue Knights and the Red Knights, motorcycle clubs for police and fire departments have ridden in the past. A trophy will be presented to the group with the most riders. There is a $400 first place award, and there is also something for the slower riders: a $100 award for last place. There will be door prizes, a raffle and a 50/50.

After the Remembrance Commencement, the ride will begin at 11 a.m. The Brunswick County Sherriff Department will have a police car escort, and deputies will be stationed for route blocking. The route will leave from the BSL Community Center and make way to Beach House Harley Davidson on Highway 17. Bikers will then ride back to the  BSL Community Center.

Don’t forget to come back hungry! This ride includes lunch. At 2 p.m. there will be a BBQ lunch at the Community Center, prepared by volunteers Josh Trivitte and Charlie Johnson, whose wives Marina Trivette and Karen Johnson, along with Hennessy and Elizabeth Snyder, comprise the four-person Special Events Committee. This is a community effort.

The 9/11 memorial event pays tribute to the loss of life on that day and recognizes the heroes in our communities, while riding along with a friend or neighbor on an ebbing summer Saturday in September. For more information, call Michelle Hennessy at (910) 367-9015.

The BSL Special Events Committee, with the help of volunteers, puts on other functions throughout the year; check them out on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/pages/Boiling-Spring-Lakes-Special-Events/151007054976160.