Motorcycle rodeo

A C-130 silhouette peeks through the fog as 7th Bomb Wing Command Chief Master Sgt. Paul Wheeler and 317th Airlift Group Command Chief Master Sgt. Debra Huntley lead a pack of bikers on a parade around the base during the Team Dyess Motorcycle Rodeo May 11. This is part of a motorcycle safety and training program held annually to promote esprit de corps. (U.S Airforce photo by Staff Sgt. Araceli Alarcon)

Motorcycle rodeo

7th Bomb Wing Command Chief Master Sgt. Paul Wheeler and 317th Airlift Group Command Chief Master Sgt. Debra Huntley lead a pack of bikers during the Team Dyess motorcycle rodeo May 11. This is part of a motorcycle safety and training program held every year at Dyess before the 101 Critical Days of Summer (U.S Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Araceli Alarcon)

Team Dyess hosts Motorcycle Rodeo to promote esprit de corps, safety

Published May 14, 2007
By Airman 1st Class Carolyn Viss
7th Bomb Wing Public Affairs

DYESS AIR FORCE BASE, Texas -- Team Dyess motorcycle riders rallied near the flightline May 11 for a base-wide parade and competitions highlighting riders' skill and motorcycle safety.

Last year's Motorcycle Rodeo was held by the 317th Airlift Group only, mirroring Air Mobility Command's annual rodeo, but this year the 317th AG safety representative, Maj. Bryan Miller, extended the invitation to the entire base.

"We're one team," he said. "We wanted to allow the 7th Bomb Wing to reap the same benefits we do from this event."

The rodeo, which began near the flightline in the early-morning fog, included a parade around the base led by 7th BW and 317th AG Command Chief Master Sgts. Paul Wheeler and Debra Huntley and ended with lunch and an award ceremony following the competitive events.

"We had a number of events for riders to compete in," Major Miller said. "We had a flow ride that included point-to-point riding, backing up, and making sharp turns around a slalom of cones; a PPE (personal protective equipment) competition in which riders had to gear up, ride around, take off their gear, and then run to a finish line; and awards for the dirtiest bike, the bike with the baldest tires, and the bike with the highest mileage."

The rodeo was supported not only by commanders but also by the local community and the Army and Air Force Exchange Service, which donated money and gift certificates for prizes, he said.

The double-purpose event was held mainly to highlight safety precautions riders should use but also allowed riders to get together and show off a little bit. It also enabled supervisors and commanders to get to know and interact with all the riders in their units, he said.

"The safety program on base is usually highlighted by program managers, but this event really allowed commanders to get involved as well as give riders important information about safety," Major Miller said.

"It was "awesome" to be one of the two senior enlisted leaders at Dyess leading the group on the back of Chief Wheeler's Harley-Davidson," Chief Huntley said. "We have an awesome host-tenant relationship. It's the best I've seen in my 29 years in the Air Force."