BIKERS FOR BABIES

What Marlon Brando did for the image of bikers in "The Wild One" largely has been undone these days by motorcycle clubs that are part of communities instead of tearing them apart.

Members of six motorcycle clubs from Arkansas, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee and Missouri will participate in the March of Dimes' first annual Bikers for Babies ride Aug. 21.

Police vehicles will escort the more than 500 motorcyclists expected to ride the 60-mile route from Cape Girardeau to Perryville and back to Arena Park. The riders will raise money for the March of Dimes by gathering sponsorships.

Mike (Big Mo) Moyers, a member of both the Harley Owners Group and the Freedom of the Road Riders, says the opportunity to help kids always brings bikers out.

"If you ask everybody out there, if kids are involved they will show up no matter if it's raining or cold," he says.

Matt Hopkins, executive director of the local March of Dimes chapter, said bikers as a group are very concerned about their communities. "They are one of the hardest working groups I have known," he says.

"It's a hobby to them but more than a hobby. It's a lifestyle."

Bikers for Babies is part of a national March of Dimes Ride held in locations across the country. Erik Estrada, star of the old "CHiPS" TV show, is the national honorary chairman of the campaign.

The March of Dimes has researched biker demographics. The average age of a member of a motorcycle club is 38, and more than half of club members are married. More than half have household incomes of $50,000, and 60 percent have children.

Some of the bikers who will participate in the ride toured the Neo-natal Intensive Care Unit at Southeast Missouri Hospital Tuesday afternoon. They talked to parents of babies born with birth defects and saw the children.

A Lonestar employee, Moyers said all motorcycle clubs raise money for charity and many donate money anonymously.

Chapters of the following motorcycle organizations are scheduled to participate: American Bikers Active Towards Education, Gold Wing Riders Association, American Motorcycle Association, Harley Owners Group, Christian Motorcycle Association and Freedom of the Road Riders.

Drury Lodge will host a party and registration beginning at 7 p.m. Aug. 20. Breakfast and a bike lineup will begin at 9:30 a.m., with the ride to begin at 11 a.m. Aug. 21.

Lunch, a bike show and a celebration party awaits the bikers on their return.

The event is sponsored by KGMO, B98, Mix 104.7, WZZL, C7G Feed, Bluff City Beer, Easyriders and the Drury Lodge.

For more information about Bikers for Babies, phone (573) 651-6033.