Bikers roll out to honor Henrico officer

Sep 28, 2008 (Richmond Times-Dispatch - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- HOG | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating -- When Greg Hodge, a volunteer with the Bill Edwards Care Bear Ride Poker Run, woke up yesterday morning, he was dismayed to see overcast skies.

"We're lucky if we get 40 bikers," he said he thought.

But 68 bikers showed up for the 11th annual event in honor of Henrico County officer William Herman Edwards III, who was killed in a motorcycle crash in 1998.

The event raises money to buy stuffed animals for police and fire and rescue personnel to give to children in times of crisis and to support the Bill Edwards Scholarship Fund.

There were fewer bikers than last year's approximately 100, but, "We don't let a little rain stop us," Hodge said. "It slows people down, but it doesn't stop us."

Bikers bought a poker hand for $15 and began the 57-mile run about 9:30 a.m. from the Harley-Davidson dealership on U.S. 1 in Henrico. They zigzagged for several stops along a predetermined route to collect cards in a competition to end up with the best hand.

One of those stops was to pay respects to Edwards, whose name is inscribed at the base of a statue honoring fallen officers at the Henrico government complex on Parham Road.

They ended their journey in the afternoon at the Texas Roadhouse at Virginia Center Commons with a live band and prizes.

"It's a wonderful thing they do," said Jane O'Connell, Edwards' sister, who came with her parents.

A wreath and a large framed picture of Edwards were placed in front of a tent providing shelter to the band. He was a member of Richmond Harley Owners Group.

"He used to run it [the Care Bear Ride] every single year," O'Connell said. After his death, the ride was named in his honor.

Hodge, a history teacher in Petersburg, said the riders collected a little more than $1,000. They raise money throughout the year, he said.

Cash prizes went to the best and worst poker hands.

"Bikers enjoy raising money for a good cause and have fun doing it," Hodge said.

Contact Juan Antonio Lizama at (804) 649-6513 or jlizama@timesdispatch.com.

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