BECCA MARTIN-BROWN
bmartin@nwaonline.com
If your stereotypical “biker” looks like an extra from “Sons of Anarchy,” two of the local riders excited about Bikes, Blues & BBQ couldn’t be a bigger surprise. Kevin Lancaster of Rogers is a senior analyst in IT development, and Beth DeVerre, also of Rogers, is a stained glass artist. And both of them have been on stage recently at Arkansas Public Theatre, DeVerre in the jukebox musical “Disaster” and Lancaster in both “Disaster” and “The Music Man,” which concludes today.
“I ride for both pleasure and transportation,” says Lancaster. “In fact, I put more miles on my motorcycles — I have two — than I put on my car! If the weather is good, and my definition of ‘good’ is pretty wide, you can pretty much count on the fact that I’ll be riding.”
“I love it when I can ride to work, but it is mostly for pleasure,” says DeVerre. “It is a form of therapy for me to get out on a curvy rode, become one with the bike and see the amazing countryside we get to live and enjoy in the Ozarks.”
DeVerre fell in love with motorcycles riding behind her dad when she was a little girl.
“I loved the feel of the openness of riding, the ability to accelerate and feel the power of the engine in response,” she remembers.
She took the motorcycle safety class when she was 24 or 25 but didn’t start riding until several years later.
“I stopped at Heartland Honda in Springdale a few years ago just to ‘see’ how much bikes cost [and] what was available,” she remembers. “They had a gorgeous pearlized caramel root beer colored 750 Honda Shadow, and it fit me like a glove. I was hooked. I signed up for a refresher course … in Fort Smith and started riding at age 47.
“I upgraded my bike to an Indian Scout Sixty the following spring after a demo ride on an Indian Scout. The handling, ride height and aerodynamics are superior to the Shadow or anything else I had experienced. I named her Abundance, and I believe she is the most beautiful bike ever!”
“As a youngster and shortly after college, I was heavily into bicycling, even regularly commuting to work on my bike,” Lancaster explains. “I gradually became more interested in motorcycles and finally ‘bit the bullet’ in the late ’90s. I took a few years off after a bad bike wreck, but started up again in 2017 and haven’t looked back since.”
Lancaster too rides an Indian, based on performance, handling and the quality of the machine, but “I definitely don’t fit what most people think of as a ‘biker.’”
“Most people I talk to are surprised that I ride,” he admits. “I’m not sure what you would call a ‘typical’ rider today, however. I meet a wide variety of folks whose main thing they have in common is riding motorcycles. Our Indian Motorcycle Riders Group is just that — a diverse group of people who enjoy riding and hanging out with other people who enjoy riding.”
Lancaster will lead the Indian Owners Ride on the Thursday morning of Bikes, Blues & BBQ, and will be on hand at the Indian dealership in Rogers to answer questions and help with demo rides, as will DeVerre, who is activities director for the group.
The decision to move the Bikes, Blues & BBQ motorcycle rally to Rogers this year was based on a couple of factors, says Tommy Sisemore, the event’s executive director.
“We knew that sooner or later, we were going to be displaced in Fayetteville by the arts corridor and the new parking deck,” he says. “We had already been doing Bikes on the Bricks in Rogers, and we felt like that was something to build on.” And, he adds, Rogers already has the perfect centerpiece for the event, the Railyard Live stage where all of this year’s concerts will take place.
Sisemore says he’s calling this the 21st Bikes, Blues & BBQ, subtracting two years from the event’s total history due to covid-19. And he admits that motorcycle rallies aren’t as popular as they once were, so he’s hoping to make the Rogers event “something everybody can come out and enjoy” so the organization can continue to raise money for the nonprofits it supports — a total of $3 million since 2000.
“We’ve always said we may not be everybody’s couple of tea, but we will continue to be family friendly and have something for everybody,” he says.
“The [Rogers-Lowell Area Chamber of Commerce] was the facilitator with the Bikes, Blues & BBQ Board, the city and other partners to determine if it was realistic to host in Rogers,” says Raymond Burns, the chamber’s CEO. “This is a very complex event that spreads all over Northwest Arkansas … a lot of moving parts. We are just trying to keep the information flowing, knowing that as a first-time event we will not get it perfect but will find lots of opportunity to make the next one better.”
“One of my favorite things, though, is that a biker is usually always willing to talk to another biker, there is a ‘brotherhood/sisterhood’ that is automatic, a form of respect, if you will, of those that are willing to risk their lives riding on 2/3 wheels,” says DeVerre. “I’ve met all kinds of people from all over and that has enriched my life!”
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FAQ
Bikes, Blues & BBQ
WHEN — Oct. 6-8
WHERE — Downtown Rogers & Pinnacle Hills Promenade
COST — All events are free except the barbecue competition tasting, which is $15; purchase by Oct. 7 at friscoinferno.com
INFO — bikesbluesandbbq.org
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FYI
Bikes, Blues & BBQ Schedule
Oct. 6
4 p.m. — Live music at Railyard Live — Gary Hutchison (blues)
6 p.m. — The Swade Diablos (rockabilly/rock)
7:30 p.m. — Chris Cameron Band (blues)
9 p.m. — 90LB Wrench (rock/metal)
Oct. 7
9 a.m. — Poker run to Siloam Springs starting at the AMP
3 p.m. — Live music at Railyard Live — Jon Dooly (rock/singer-songwriter)
5 p.m. — Green Acres (rock/psychedelic/jam)
7 p.m. — The Juice (cover/variety)
9 p.m. — Josh Hoyer & Soul Colossal (soul/funk)
Oct. 8
9 a.m. — Poker run to Huntsville starting at the AMP
10 a.m.-4:30 p.m. — Car show at Pinnacle Hills Promenade
Noon-2 p.m. — Frisco Inferno BBQ Competition, downtown Rogers; hosted by Rotary of Downtown with beer garden, live music and up to 25 amateur barbecue teams
2 p.m. — Live music at Railyard Live — Jon Dooly
4:30 p.m. — Earl and Them (soul, rock, R&B)
6:30 p.m. — The Shotgunbillys (rock/country)
9 p.m. — Dead Metal Society (epic arena rock)
