SPYDER RIDERS: Riders declare Tahlequah the best

Sep. 28—Motorcycle riders from around Oklahoma and Kansas converged on Tahlequah for the annual Green Country Spyder Jamboree, hosted by the Tourism Department of the Tahlequah Area Chamber of Commerce.

Gena McPhail, director of tourism, is the organizer of the event and rides with the group every year. The riders are already in town, and will be here through Northeastern State University's Homecoming.

"Every year we love to see them come back. They are literally like family to us," McPhail said.

Dan Scott, founder of the chapter, kept busy during the registering of attendees applying designs to T-shirts with his portable heat press.

"I started the Green Country Spyder Jamboree in 2016, and in 2018 we had our first jamboree in Broken Arrow," Scott said. "As far as the chapter itself, we are mostly self-supporting, with a few sponsors."

Spyder bikes are three-wheel touring machines and built for comfort. One participant, Pam Nash, a member of the Beechcraft Drifters club out of Wichita, Kansas, rides a Harley Trike. She and her husband, who passed away in April on his birthday, were married 46 years.

"As part of [Beechcraft Drifters], we had all kinds of bikes. As folks got older, they transitioned to Spyders and my husband and I stayed with the Harley," Nash said. "We both rode and when he passed away in April, the club [invited me to join them at this event]."

To keep bugs from getting in her mouth, Nash said she has to resist singing, "which is hard to do."

Nash's friend Rolanda Walker's bike seat is outfitted with a "furry pet," an animal skin that keeps her cool and comfortable and many of the bikes sported the furs.

"We walked into a hotel one time, and the lady wanted to charge us a pet fee, and I said, 'It ain't alive,'" Walker said.

Walker's bike is a Can-am Spyder R/T for touring, as are many of the bikes in the group.

"I love the two wheels on the front because it doesn't flip, your feet are up and you don't have to put them down to balance, and it has a reverse, so you can back up," Walker said.

Walker and Darin Walker, her husband, trailered their bike, but others made the trip on their motorcycles.

The president of the Beechcraft Drifters, Sandy Rigby, lost her husband the month before Nash's husband passed.

"2021 was the first time I came here — this is my third Jamboree. A bunch of us have joined [from the Beechcraft Drifters]," Rigby said. "We've been in Broken Arrow, Grove and now Tahlequah."

Rigby showed a letter from Scott that declared Tahlequah treats the club better than any of the towns that hosted them in past years.

"They've pulled out the red carpet for this group," Rigby said.

Switching lanes and passing through intersections can be tricky with a group of bikers riding together. A "tail gunner" secures the lanes and makes sure cars don't get between the riders. Jim Little serves as a tail gunner. Little communicates with the leader of the ride through special intercom gear.

"At a stop light, once all the bikes are through, I'll tell the lead that all is clear," Little said. "I was 75 when I bought this [bike] and I'm 84 now. I'd never ridden before and my neighbor's brother had it for 4 years and he sold it to me for half of what he paid for it."

All of the riders have "Cardo" systems, blue tooth intercoms, on their helmets, allowing everyone to talk to one another.

A couple, Sharon Sauheaver, and husband Gary Sauheaver, drove a car to the event because their bike is still in the shop from an accident a few months back. Even though they weren't riding with the pack, they wanted to be part of the activities.

"It just slid off the highway [on some gravel]. If we'd been on two wheels we would have gone down hard on the left side. We've been riding Spyders for three years, and before that I was a Kawasaki guy," Gary said. "It could be up to six months before the bike is repaired," Gary said.

Stephanie Brandes and her husband Delmar Brandes, are from southwest Iowa. They rode in Sept. 27 and toured the pig trail in Arkansas. The appeal of the gatherings to the couple is the like-minded people and the camaraderie.

Stephanie loves the pig trail because there are a lot of curves but not as steep and sharp as other famous highways favored for riding She also loves the three-wheel bikes versus two-wheel because she can ride comfortably.

"We put on 9,200 miles last year; 19 states and 35 days," Delmar said. "We hit every state west of the Mississippi on that trip.

Dean Aldrich, a Vietnam veteran, brings his dog Cooper along in a special carrier. Cooper, who is five, has about 6,000 miles "under his collar," said Aldrich.

"His first trip was down to Big Bend and then up to Sturgis," Aldrich said.

The club is riding in the Northeastern State University parade on Sept. 30.