2008 Rally
2008 Rally -- A ROARIN' SUCCESS!!
The thunderous roar of engines was a welcome sound in Olean Sunday as thousands and thousands of people - and their bikes - filled Bradner Stadium for the sixth annual Rally in the Valley. The Rally in the Valley welcomed more than 863 dice run participants (up from 682 in 2007) for Sunday’s event. The three-day event, hosted by JAYBRAKE, Greater Olean Area Chamber of Commerce, and the area Motorcycle Enthusiast,s is a motorcycle rally with the proceeds from the event benefiting a host of community charities.
Co-Chairs of the Rally, Dan Jordan, Dennis Jones, Randy Langdon, and Larry Penman all agreed, “The Sixth Annual Rally in the Valley was record breaking all around, from the number of dice run participants, number of tickets sold for the bike, crowd over the weekend, to the games entrants, to beer and food sales, and to our vendor sales. We appreciate all the help received from the many volunteers, sponsors, and the City of Olean to make this happen especially when two other major events were held - Gus Macker and YMCA Corn Fest.” They added, “The stadium is the ideal place for this event - we hope that the future holds the opportunity to host this event at the stadium. The participants, the spectators all had a great time and helped out many local charities with the proceeds. The festival attracted motorcycle lovers and novices alike to engage in one of Olean's finest summertime offerings: bikes, beers and some of the best free music around.”
The winners of the 120-mile Dice Run were: Chris Parrish (scored 165 out of a possible 210 points), Audra Stevens (153), Larry Penman and Kimberly Wells, (149) Kenneth Dabolt won the award special dice roll of 132, and scoring lowest was Bob Talbett with 92 points. The winner of the Harley-Davidson Candy Red Glo FXDF Dyna Fat Bob with Vance & Hines radius performance pipes was Libby Stanton of Allegany, NY.
Saturday of the Rally event was Games and Fun Day. For the bike games, the winners included: SLOW RIDE - Guy St. Cyr from Quebec (second year in row he has ridden down to Olean’s event from Quebec); TIRE TOSS - Roger Ball; HOT DOG - Larry and Jill Selph; BALL TUBE SHOT - Tim Putt. For the bike judging, the winners included: FARTHEST TRAVELED - Camille Cash who drove 1,242 miles from New Port Richey, Florida to the Olean Rally; BEST PAINT JOB -- John Hoopes; BEST of SHOW -- Jim Holsinger; BEST TRIKE - Ron Nolder; TOURING --Jim Holsinger; CRUISER -- Steve Geary; SPORT -- Travis Geyer; CUSTOM --Stephen Brzinski; RADICAL CUSTOM -- Rick Schwab; VINTAGE --Tammy Bell; and SPECIAL INTEREST -- Mike Polasik. The three new contests were great additions to the Rally: winner of the Frozen Tee Contest (participants had to try and ‘unravel’ a frozen tee shirt and wear it) was Treva Dibble; winner of the GREAT ESCAPE (racing competition) was Dale Cook; and lastly the winner of the Big Wheel Adult Race beating out the Mayor of Olean, Police Chief of Olean and others was GOACC’s very own, Meme Yanetsko!
The local charities that will benefit from the Rally include: Allegany Youth Baseball; Bradner Stadium Renovation Project; Cattaraugus County Council on Alcoholism and Substance Abuse, Inc.; DARE Program; HomeCare & Hospice; Olean Airport Support Group; Olean Fireworks; and the So. Tier Military Support. Sponsors for the Rally include Jaybrake, WPIG-FM, Certo Brothers, Advanced Monolythic Ceramics, Granny’s Verona, WKZK, WQRS, and WMXO. For more information on the Annual Rally in the Valley, call Greater Olean Area Chamber of Commerce at 716-372-4433 or email tourism@oleanny.com.