Two thin wheels caressing the landscape under 750 horses of power, the wind gently pushing back against the forward momentum, the surrounding world fading away around mountain curves – these are things I will never experience again since my wife won’t let me buy a motorcycle.
However, that reality has not deterred me from dreaming about riding. And several Cherokee County residents are about to live a riding dream of their own, and for a good cause. Sherry Pegnetter and her husband, Gene, moved to Murphy just two years ago this month. They’ve been riding street motorcycles for about five years, and before that Gene raced dirt bikes.
Last year, a friend of Sherry’s purchased a new Road King in Florida, then decided to ride it home to Vancouver Island, British Columbia, in Canada. Because her family and friends were concerned about her riding cross-country alone, she found help from many friends she made in an online forum known as Women Who Ride, which provided an escort across America. This year, Sherry, her friend and other riders from both countries are about to embark on a more important ride.
They have set their sights on raising $10,000 for breast cancer research, and they’re off to a good start with about $6,000 already in the bank from donations. With Cherokee County’s Relay for Life set for 6 p.m. Friday, May 29, at Konehete Park, Sherry’s local group of riders – the aptly named Smokey Mountain Chrome Divas – is joining the fun. Director Cindy Daves will lead the group from Murphy to New Haven, Ky., leaving at 9 a.m. Thursday, May 14, from Lakeside Plaza.
Joining them will be another two dozen or so participating in the Women Who Ride Conga II Breast Cancer Ride, which starts Saturday in Hudson, Fla. The conga line comes to Murphy on Tuesday, with the group Slaying the Dragon (otherwise known as cruising along the ultra-curvy U.S. 129 through Robbinsville toward Maryville, Tenn.) on Wednesday, May 13, before departing the next morning.
The ride ends Monday, June 1, in the Great White North. For details or to contribute to the cause, check out the Web site
www.firstgiving.com/wwrconga. For Sherry, the event will be emotional as well as fun. “I’m riding in memory of my mother and a close friend we lost at the end of March,” she said. “Everyone has their own personal story of someone who is battling the disease or lost. “As women, we wanted to do something, and it snowballed into this.”Let’s welcome the riders to Murphy in our typical “hometown” fashion, as Sherry put it, and show these ladies we appreciate their efforts. They’ll also be hosting a casual dinner to support the riders; e-mail her at whiskers@cabletvonline.net to get involved.
And to everyone out there fighting the good fight, keep on dreaming. One day a cure for cancer will be found, and everyone who has ever raised a dollar for research will be able to share in that joy. David Brown is publisher of the Cherokee Scout. You can reach him by phone, 837-5122; fax, 837-5832; or e-mail, dbrown@cherokeescout.com. printable version e-mail this story
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