Cavaliers Forage on Fine Festival Food

Congratulations to Poncho, Doug, and Mike D., who braved the chilly but sunny weather on Sunday, December 7 to have a great ride to Fort Jackson and the Plaquemines Parish Fair and Orange Festival. Michael and David joined them, but followed on four wheels. The Gold Wing's battery was still in shock from our recent cold snap, and it didn't want to get out of bed that morning.

We followed the lovely and slightly twisty river road down the east bank, taking the turn-off that led to the even more twisty road to the Point a la Hache ferry. The ferry came to meet us soon after we arrived, but we then had about a half hour wait on board before we made the brief river crossing.

We stopped here and there on the way down to Buras, then arrived at Fort Jackson and the fair. It was surprisingly crowded inside the fort, with lots of people having a good time. Many people probably waited for Sunday since Saturday was so cold and overcast.

We chowed down on the great festival food. Michael and David put away a couple of wonderful funnel cakes, hot, sweet and oh so cripsy! There was also gumbo, jambalaya, shrimp pasta, boudin, poboys, fried duck strips, cracklin, onion mums, and all the other delicacies that make festival food in Louisiana so delicious.

They had a good band playing. We got to see three middle-aged women dance on stage to "All That Jazz" (drag queens would have been an improvement). We saw the shrimp peelin' contest, but missed the shrimp poppin', oyster shuckin' and catfish skinnin'. We toured the booths and saw all kinds of great stuff, like the "Santa Crabs" (Santa Clause faces painted on crab shells).

Wandered through the exhibits in the catacombs of the old fort, including elaborate displays created by area school children showing the cultural bounty to be discovered in Plaquemines Parish (lots of oranges and fishing boats). We walked up on the ramparts of the fort for a look at the river. And all in all had a good time. The day had warmed up nicely and the hot food and all the festivities made for a nice time.

We headed back to the city about 2:30. Poncho, Doug and Mike were in a pretty big hurry to get back before it started getting cold again. Michael and David rescued a pair of gloves that flew out of Mike's saddle bag onto the side of the highway, but otherwise it was a relatively quick and uneventful ride. Official Cavaliers mileage was 155 miles (with an asterisk by David's name, of course).

Cavaliers take tour of Thibodauxville

The Cavaliers wandered on foot through the Thibodauxville Fall Festival in downtown Thibodaux, after meandering on two wheels through the back roads of the bayou country on a warm fall day in November.

The group included Michael D. and Doug, Doc, George, David and Michael W. The November 8 ride began with a brisk sprint down US 90, before turning off on wonderfully twisty Hwy 308 through Kraemer. A short ride later and the group was in downtown Thibodaux, where the festival spread out over several city blocks.

Our group wandered in search of food and drink, making our way through the crowds, past several music stages. People were having a good time. Our meanderings led us to one block that had a display by a classic car club, and we spent a while admiring the four-wheeled trophy cars.

"Is that banjo music I hear?"

The Cavaliers had a beautiful ride on Sunday, Nov. 2 to the town of Fort Adams, Miss. After meeting the challenge of three miles of dusty gravel road, six bikes plus two passengers arrived in the small town in the extreme southwestern corner of Mississippi. We found the grocery store in the front half of a mobile home. When we asked to use the restroom, we were directed toward the rear, past the kitchen where they were busy making meatloaf for Sunday supper, past the two recliners and ma's walker, but just before the master bedroom. How unusual.

Outside I wandered over to take a picture of a sign, and met a gentleman sitting in his recliner in his outdoor "skinnin' shed," complete with another sign that read "No cussin', no fightin', no liquor, and no dope." The shed is where they bring the animals after they've been hunting, and can hang the skins up to tan, and put the meat in a walk-in cooler. How very unusual.

But don't get me wrong. It was an amazing ride, all 320 miles of it in perfect Indian Summer weather, through wonderfully beautiful scenery in rural Louisiana and Mississippi. We all enjoyed it thoroughly.

Thanks to Jeff for organizing and leading the ride. He was joined by his friend Terry from Abita Springs. Deb and BJ rode down from Jackson and met us in Baton Rouge. And Poncho and I were joined by Eric (a friend of Alan's) on his first ride with the Cavaliers. At our rest stop in McComb, BJ remarked how blessed we are to have such good friends to ride with. And then at our stop in Ponchatoula, Eric said it was the best ride he'd been on in 10 years. I guess it's safe to say everyone enjoyed it.

Cavaliers take a "new road" to False River

The Cavaliers took a day ride to the town of New Roads on the beautiful False River, just northwest of Baton Rouge, on Sunday, October 12, 2003.

Cavaliers Show They're "Proud To Be"!

The Cavaliers Motorcycle Club was presented with a first place award for the riding group category by the grand marshalls of the New Orleans Gay Pride Parade on Sunday, October 6.

The award was presented just before the evening parade rolled, recognizing excellence in the "Carriage, Car or Truck" category (and, presumably, "Motorcycle.") Cavaliers founding members Michael Ducote and Doug Minich created the club's winning parade decorations and accepted the award on behalf of the club.

Parade organizers also gave the Cavaliers the proud honor of leading this year's pride parade through the streets of the French Quarter. The Cavaliers especially thank Larry Bagneris for all of his assistance.

This was the club's second appearance in the annual New Orleans Gay Pride Parade. This year the group presented 18 members and friends on a dozen bikes, mirroring the diversity in our community and its supporters. The variety of participants included 12 gay men, two lesbians, one drag queen, a leather titleholder, and a supportive straight couple from Mississippi. The motorcycles were just as diverse as the riders on them, including touring bikes, cruisers, and sport bikes from Harley, Honda, Suzuki, and Yamaha.

The honor of leading the Cavaliers in the parade was given to Rider of the Year Poncho LaPerle and Cavalier of the Year Doug Minich. Six of the bikes were decorated individually in the six colors of the rainbow. Three more bikes were decorated in all of the colors of the rainbow. Two of the bikes wore black and silver, the official colors of the Cavaliers. And Cavaliers founder David Lester and his partner Michael Wheeler brought up the rear with a fantasia of rainbow colors, gay pride and leather pride flags, streamers, pinwheels and the banner of the Cavaliers Motorcycle Club festooning the back of their Honda Gold Wing. The Cavaliers were proud to have Mr. Louisana Leather 2004 Timm Lott riding immediately behind the group in the club's official support Jeep.

The dozen bikes led the way for the parade, immediately behind the lead police car, roaring their engines and blaring their horns to announce that the festive pride procession had arrived. Locals and tourists came out of bars, shops, restaurants, and hotels and stood cheering on the sidewalk as the club roared past. The group was followed by a traditional New Orleans brass marching band and dozens of proud contingents on foot, carriages, cars, and floats through the streets of the French Quarter, celebrating this year's theme, "Proud To Be."

Cavaliers Celebrate Year One!

The Cavaliers celebrated our first anniversary with a full weekend of events September 26-28. We kicked off the weekend with a special anniversary beer bust on the patio of the Phoenix on Friday night. Saturday night saw an anniversary awards banquet at Bywater BBQ where Doug Minich was named Cavalier of the Year, Poncho LaPerle was named Rider of the Year, and Michael Wheeler was named Associate of the Year. Sunday was our Anniversary Ride to Taste of Bavaria Restaurant in Ponchatoula, followed by our bike christening at Lafitte's on Sunday evening.

Dinner Ride September

The Cavaliers made their monthly dinner ride to Casa Garcia Restaurant in Metairie on Wednesday, September 17, 2003.

Cavaliers take a ride on the wild side!

Herds of tiny deer came running over the grassy hillside toward us. Furry camels stuck their enormous heads in our laps. A zebra mare guarded her young foal. Llamas nibbled at our fingers with their soft lips. Bison opened their cavernous maws and stuck out their obscenely long, pointy tongues. Emus strutted along like oversized hens. A baby giraffe hid cautiously in a stand of pine trees. Eland tiptoed along displaying their intricately beautiful spirally twisted horns.

The Cavaliers took a ride on the wild side with an amazing safari adventure tour of the Global Wildlife Center in Folsom on Sunday, September 14.

-Doug led the ride on his 1998 Honda Shadow 750
-Michael D. rode his 1999 Honda Shadow 750
-Poncho rode his 1996 Harley-Davidson Electra Glide Classic
-Jeff from Baton Rouge rode with the Cavaliers for the first time on his 1993 BMW R100GS
-David and Michael W. rode David's 1996 Honda Gold Wing SE

With the heat of summer beginning to mellow, the riders met at the Phoenix on a sunny, mild morning. Introductions went around as we welcomed Jeff on his first ride with the Cavaliers.

We soon mounted up and Doug led us to the Interstate, where we headed west toward La Place. A thick layer of fog hovered just above the spillway, obscuring the sun and making for a surprisingly chilly September ride. Fortunately the moisture did not obscure the roadway and we made our way safely to our exit at Hwy 51.

We headed up the old highway as the sun returned to warm us up again, and after a short ride through the swamps between Lake Ponchartrain and Lake Maurepas, we stopped for lunch at Middendorf's seafood restaurant on Pass Manchac. The restaurant was as busy as always, with a crowd of Mississippi football fans returning home after a game against Tulane. Middendorf's is known for their incredible catfish, sliced extremely thin, coated with a light batter, and deep fried to a moist and crispy texture. Heavenly.

Conversation during lunch covered the spectrum, from bikes, to rides, to plans for our club's upcoming anniversary weekend. We learned that Jeff works as a librarian and has lived in Baton Rouge all his life. He's been an avid motorcyclist for decades, and still owns a beautiful, classic 1974 BMW R90/6 that he bought new nearly 30 years ago! Jeff said the 1993 BMW R100GS that he recently bought used in New Mexico was his leap into the future.

Bellies full with seafood delights, we mounted up again and headed toward Ponchatoula, where we turned east on LA 22 toward the Global Wildlife Center near Folsom. As we rode onto the grounds, we began to see clusters of deer and other wildlife scattered around the grounds. We made our way to the visitors' center, where we bought our tickets at the gift shop for the safari wagon tour. We also chipped in together and bought a $20 bucket of food for the animals.

Before we knew it we were standing in line to board one of the four custom-built covered wagons the center uses to transport visitors through the park. We held back and chose a wagon that had a minimum of small children. Our guide made the rounds and set us up with our bucket of animal feed and a stack of big plastic cups. All settled in, the tractor started up and the wagons lurched forward as our guide began to tell us about the 900-acre center and the more than 3,000 exotic, threatened, and endangered animals that call it home.

Almost immediately as our safari wagons set out, the animals began racing over the grassy hills to meet us. We began sprinkling feed on the ground as dozens and dozens of small deer and other animals picked it up off the ground. As the wagons slowly rolled past, the creatures followed along nibbling the feed. Looking back down the trail, the safari wagons left a wake of scores of animals grazing on the scattered feed.

We soon made our first stop of the 90-minute tour, where we were greeted by several enormous, friendly camels, who delighted in sticking their enormous heads into the wagons in search of feed. The kids on the tour squealed in delight at the sight of these enormous creatures. It was really incredible to be able to pet these beasts and feel their soft fur. No wonder camel hair is such a prized fabric.

After the camels made the rounds of the wagons, we lurched forward again and passed a stand of trees, where we saw the center's baby giraffe hiding cautiously in a stand of pine trees. Our guide said he was leading a tour with 150 kindergarten children when the giraffe was born at the center in April. The baby popped out of mama and made a six-foot drop to the ground, before getting up almost immediately and beginning to learn to walk on his not-yet-graceful legs. The kindergarteners were screaming with excitement at the birth of the baby giraffe, shouting, "Make it do it again!"

We slowly toured the grounds, stopping now and then for clusters of some of the larger animals. Michael W. particularly liked feeding the zebras, because he loves horses so much. There were also herds of tiny donkeys. Another favorite were the gentle llamas, because it was so much fun to have them nibble the feed with their soft lips directly out of your hand.

But the biggest reaction was the last cluster of animals we stopped for. Several enormous horned bison surrounded our wagon and opened their giant mouths for feed, exposing their obscenely long, pointy tongues, giving those of us with dirty minds a good laugh. We emptied out the last of our feed down their insatiable throats, before our wagons lurched forward again and headed back to the visitors' center.

We had a few skeptics in our bunch before the ride who weren't sure they really wanted to spend part of the day at the center. But everyone had a really great time! It was an absolute hoot! Thanks to Doug for hitting a home run on his suggestion to visit the center.

We said our goodbyes to Jeff, who rode off home toward Baton Rouge, then made our own way through the piney woods of the northshore along Hwy 40 and Hwy 25 back to Covington. We stopped for a break in Mandeville before heading back over the Lake Pontchartrain Causeway to the city in time for Sunday evening's Trash Disco at Lafitte's.

Southern Decadence Hangover Ride a Success

Our first annual Southern Decadence Hangover Ride was a great success with seven bikes on hand to take a beautiful summer day ride to Bay St. Louis. Poncho, Mike D., George, Mark, Guy, joined David and Michael W. on the ride. Thanks also to Guy's friend Pavel for joining us for the first time on his new Triumph Speed Triple. We enjoyed having a token straight boy along with us!

We took old US Hwy 90 out through the Chef Menteur pass, and spotted a big scooter club parked at one of the fishing camps along the way. They must have had 15 or 20 scooters in their pack. We waved as we went by and headed east. Poncho stopped us at Fort Pike for a brief leg stretch, and while we were stretching our legs, the scooter crowd scooted by. Everyone honked and waved and we waved back.

The temperatures were in the low 90s, and we welcomed the clouds and a light sprinkle of raindrops spun off of Tropical Storm Grace in the Gulf of Mexico. But soon after we crossed into Mississippi, we encountered some real rain. Thankfully, it was a very brief shower, which we rode on through. When we came out on the other side we passed the scooter folks again parked by the side of the road, and we waved and tooted as we passed them. The rain was cool and refreshing on such a hot day and we were grateful that it ended quickly and we were all dry before we arrived at lunch.

We decided we'd take the back road through Port Bienville and Waveland that Alan had shown us last fall, including a short detour down a dead-end road that was very, very pretty indeed. We made it to the beach road in Waveland and puttered along at the silly 25 mph posted limit. It's a nice road following along the waterfront, but it's a bit slow-going. Soon enough, though, we arrived in Bay St. Louis and stopped in Old Town.

The restaurant we hoped to lunch at was closed (it being Labor Day Monday), so we headed across the street to the Fire Dog Saloon and had a great meal. Mike and Mark started us off with fried artichoke hearts and an onion mum for appetizers, both of which were very tasty. The burgers were even better, with a nice barbecued flavor to the meat, and nice crispy french fries to go along with it.

After lunch we posed for the obligatory group photo. Pavel was in a hurry and headed back to the city on his own. The rest of us stopped for gas on Hwy 90, then headed back to town along the old road. We made it back to town in time to catch the last gasp of Decadence crowd at Lafitte's. It felt really great to stretch our legs on a moderate ride after a long weekend of festivities. After a full weekend of steamy events at Southern Decadence, even the brief rain shower felt like a cleansing.

Beer Bust August 2003

The Cavaliers hosted their monthly fourth Friday beer bust on the patio of the Phoenix a week before Southern Decadence on Friday, August 22.

August Dinner Ride

The Cavaliers held their first monthly dinner ride at the Mandarin Chinese Restaurant in Harvey on Wednesday, August 20, 2003.

Cavaliers Visit Mobile for Bear Contest

What a great weekend! Mike and Doug and David and Michael had a terrific ride to Mobile and back for the Mr. Gulf Coast Bear contest on August 16. On the way there we dawdled along the Mississippi Gulf Coast on US Hwy 90, and stopped for lunch at Annie's in Pass Christian. The restaurant has a beautiful stone exterior and interior, with a fascinating bar. After lunch we headed on along the beach road. We had a brief rain delay in Gautier, then continued on I-10 with a few sprinkles.

After a short rest at the hotel, we rode around downtown Mobile in search of dinner, and stumbled across Charlene's. The food was good, but the architecture was even better. The restaurant is housed in a magnificent old Beaux Arts building built around 1900 that originally housed a pharmacy. The prescription counter is still intact and serves at the restaurant's bar. Along with three massive chandeliers and beautiful crown detailing, it was quite impressive.

The contest at B-Bob's was a real hoot! Five contestants were put through several ridiculous competitions in a fast-paced and hilarious event. It was absolutely the best contest I've ever been to. Their two emcees are professional radio personalities, and they were hysterical. We had a great time!After a short rest at the hotel, we rode around downtown Mobile in search of dinner, and stumbled across Charlene's. The food was good, but the architecture was even better. The restaurant is housed in a magnificent old Beaux Arts building built around 1900 that originally housed a pharmacy. The prescription counter is still intact and serves at the restaurant's bar. Along with three massive chandeliers and beautiful crown detailing, it was quite impressive.

The contest at B-Bob's was a real hoot! Five contestants were put through several ridiculous competitions in a fast-paced and hilarious event. It was absolutely the best contest I've ever been to. Their two emcees are professional radio personalities, and they were hysterical. We had a great time!

At the contest we saw lots of people from New Orleans, including our good friends Mike M. and Adam. Adam gave us a great suggestion for Sunday brunch. We ate at the charming Spot of Tea on Cathedral Square. Terrific food in a charming atmosphere with a restaurant overlooking the square. Definitely a must if you're ever in Mobile for breakfast or lunch.

Mike and Doug high-tailed it home on the Interstate, while Michael and I took a detour down to Dauphin Island. It was a pretty ride, especially once we got to the causeway leading to the island. We rode around the island on the beautifully landscaped main boulevard, then stopped at the Estuarium. This Dauphin Island attraction is a nice small aquarium, showcasing the exotic underwater life of the Mobile Bay ecosystem. Very entertaining.

Cavaliers Stay Cool on a Hot August Night

The Cavaliers beat the August heat by taking an evening ride to the Mississippi Gulf Coast on Saturday, August 9. It couldn't have been a nicer evening for a sunset ride, with sunny skies and warm temperatures as we headed to the coast, and a beautiful nearly full moon reflecting on the waters of the Gulf of Mexico as we returned home.

The Cavaliers are ready to ride to the coast. From left: Doug, David, Mike D., Mark, and Collin.

Four bikes met at the Phoenix for a 5 pm rendezvous, two with passengers.
-Mark and Collin rode Mark's 1998 Honda Shadow 750
-Doug rode his 1998 Honda Shadow 750
-Michael D. rode his 1999 Honda Shadow 750
-David and Michael W. rode David's 1996 Honda Gold Wing SE

After a short hop on Interstate 10, we headed out the Chef Menteur Hwy through eastern New Orleans, passing the Bayou Sauvage wildlife refuge and the funky community of fishing camps along the waters of Lake St. Catherine. It felt great to be on the bikes with the wind of the open road to cool things off.

We crossed into Mississippi on US Hwy 90 and headed for charming little Bay St. Louis, a waterfront town of antique stores, gift shops, and great restaurants. The town holds its monthly Artwalk every second Saturday, and attracts large numbers of shoppers eager to prowl the boutiques for the perfect find.

The Cavaliers really got into the swing of things in the old town, strolling around for blocks and wandering through several of the stores. After making the rounds, several in our group were enthusiastic about the fun they had, and eager to return to try some of the many tempting-looking restaurants. The town seemed to be very biker friendly as well, with many bikes parked around town.

After we had our fill of browsing, we hopped back on the bikes and headed across the bay and along the beach. The sunset ride along the water was really beautiful and really cool and refreshing.

We headed for the town of Long Beach to meet George, the Cavaliers secretary, who had recommended we eat at Lil Ray's. George was particularly eager to have us try their fried pickle chips. We were intrigued.

Lil Ray's is in downtown Long Beach on Jeff Davis Avenue. The place doesn't look like much from the outside, or from the inside either, for that matter. We seated ourselves on the benches at a big picnic-style table and George immediately ordered us some onion rings and two orders of fried pickle chips. The onion rings were great, and the fried pickle chips were addictive. Imagine pickle slices you'd use for sandwiches, that are battered and deep fried. Yes, they have too much fat and too much sodium, but damn they're delicious!

We all ordered an assortment of fried seafood and other dishes. My fried catfish was absolutely wonderful, with a crispy outer crust and tender and moist inside. George had his favorite grilled tuna poboy. The only complaint I heard was that Mike D.'s cheeseburger poboy was a bit too well done. Otherwise everyone seemed to really enjoy their meal, and we left absolutely stuffed.

After a quick stop for gas, we headed back along the beach road toward home, with the full moon hovering over the waters of the gulf. It made for a lovely ride, with temperatures falling into the low 80s. We followed Hwy 90 home, and the road was blissfully free of traffic. I cranked up my highway lights, aimed my high beam well up the road, and we roared through the marshes of eastern Orleans Parish. It got cool enough that a few times near the water it seemed almost chilly.

At I-510 Mark and Collin headed Uptown, while Mike, Doug, David, and Michael W. headed through Chalmette towards the French Quarter. We hung out for a while at Lafitte's, where bar manager Joey generously bought us a round. We then headed for the Phoenix, where we saw many of our good friends, including Tommy from the Lords, Mike M. from the bears, and Mr. Louisiana Leather Mark.

The evening ride was a wonderful way to beat the August heat. We can't wait to do it again sometime.

Doug scores as Marigny Leather tallymaster

For those of you who missed it, Wally Sherwood's annual Mr. and Ms. Marigny Leather contest was a real hoot! Those of you who were there know what a great time we had!

The Cavaliers' own founding member Doug represented our club well as tallymaster. Mr. Louisiana Leather Mark Colley (a former Mr. Marigny Leather) was head judge.

Cavaliers Get Familiar with Bayou des Familles

The Cavaliers hold a ride planning meeting twice a year, and in July it was time to get together and plan a ride calendar for the fall and winter. True to form, the Cavaliers would rather ride than hold a stuffy meeting, so we took a little trip to Crown Point on July 27 and held our meeting over lunch at beautiful Restaurant des Familles, named for the scenic bayou it overlooks.

The group met at the Phoenix for the short afternoon ride across the river.

-Lance rode his 2001 Suzuki Marauder 800
-Mark and Collin rode Mark's 1998 Honda Shadow 750
-Doug rode his 1998 Honda Shadow 750
-George rode his 2003 Honda Shadow ACE
-Guy rode his 2001 Harley-Davidson Road King
-Michael D. rode his 1999 Honda Shadow 750
-David and Michael W. rode David's 1996 Honda Gold Wing SE

We were particularly pleased to have Collin along for his first official buddy ride with the Cavaliers.

Our route took us over the Crescent City Connection to Barataria Boulevard. We followed Hwy 45 south to the town of Estelle, where the main Lafitte-Larose Highway turns off. Rather than take the fast road, we stayed on Hwy 45 and followed the slow road where dozens of home sites are being carved out of the swampland. The road winds through Jean Lafitte Park, before curving back to the main highway right at our destination.

We stopped at Restaurant des Familles for lunch. The restaurant has a quaint country cottage appearance in the Creole style from the highway. But upon entering the restaurant, you're transported into this beautiful modern space, with soaring cathedral ceilings, stained glass, and a wall of windows facing picturesque Bayou des Familles. We sat at lunch admiring the postcard-perfect scenery and the wildlife that is part of the bayou's ecosystem.

The restaurant has a great menu of creole and contemporary favorites. We all ate ourselves silly with appetizers, gumbos, entrees and the most delicious desserts. The food and service were excellent.

After ordering, we discussed some ride ideas for our fall and winter ride calendar. Doug suggested riding to the Global Wildlife Center in Folsom. Mark suggested a ride to the casino in Marksville. George suggested the Flint Creek Campground near Wiggins, MS, where his VW club has been in the past. Guy said he enjoyed the Grand Isle ride and wanted to go again. Mike suggested a day ride to Natchez, MS. Collin suggested an overnight ride to Pensacola, FL. And Mark said he wanted to return to the Taste of Bavaria restaurant near Ponchatoula.

We also looked at a long list of festivals and other events from September through December. Popular choices included the Biloxi Seafood Festival, the Baton Rouge State Fair, the Ponchatoula Oktoberfest, and the Bonfire Festival in Lutcher.

Some of these events will make our monthly ride calendar, some will become lagniappe rides, and others will be saved for the spring. We'll be posting our fall and winter ride calendar soon. Check our Events page for details.

After lunch, most of the group headed back to New Orleans, while Mark and Collin rode along with David and Michael W. to follow the highway down to the end of the road at Lafitte. The mixture of old fishing camps and spectacular new homes makes Lafitte an interesting ride. We turned around at the fishing pier at the end of the road and retraced our path home.

July beer bust sizzles with fiesta fun

Our July 25 beer bust was a blast, with lots of new and old faces enjoying our party on the patio of the Phoenix.

Michael W. really outdid himself, turning the patio into a fiesta-themed delight, complete with inflatable peppers and cactus, a sombrero full of chips and salsa, and a crock pot full of fajitas to stuff the tall stack of tortillas. It made the beer bust a lot of fun, and got compliments from everyone. The patio never looked more festive.

Doc literally let her hair down at our July beer bust. She also used the occasion to submit her application for membership in the Cavaliers. Welcome, Doc! Photos this page by David.

Mike D. spent the evening behind the bar, pouring beer and socializing with our many customers. His partner Doug made his usual rounds selling tickets for our 50/50 raffle, which fattened the club treasury.

Cavaliers founding members Mike D. (left) and Doug played host at the Cavaliers July beer bust.

We were thrilled to have Doc join us for the first time at a beer bust. She really let her hair down and gained quite a reputation! She even got her boots shined by the Phoenix's new boot black Simian. And she used the occasion to submit her application for membership in the Cavaliers. We couldn't be more thrilled to have Doc join us as a full member!

Our friend Alan from NOBLE joined us for our July beer bust.

We had lots of new faces on the patio, including Don, Dave, and Jeff who just moved to the Northshore from California. Don rides a Honda and was eager to get more info about our rides and our club.

Thanks to our friends in the Lords of Leather who lent us their cold tap box for this summertime beer bust, and thanks also to Phoenix bartender Marty who helped us hook it up.

Thanks also to our many friends from other clubs who showed up to help support our beer bust, including Alan from NOBLE, and Mike M. from the New Orleans Bears.

Cavaliers take a grand ride to Grand Isle

After a long, wet spring with thunderstorms nearly every day, the Cavaliers were itching to get out and ride. The forecast for our Grand Isle ride on Sunday, July 13 was looking bleak, but it had been almost six weeks since our last group ride, and we had canceled or postponed far too many rides already. So the call was made to ride even with a 50 percent chance of rain.

It turned out we made the right choice. The sun was out in full glory for the 9 am rendezvous at the Pheonix, where nine bikes showed up for what would become a really grand ride.

-Doc rode her Honda Rebel 250 on her first ride with the Cavaliers
-Lance rode his 2001 Suzuki Marauder 800 for on his first ride as a rider with the Cavaliers
-Alan rode his 1996 Honda ST1100
-Mark rode his 1998 Honda Shadow 750
-Doug rode his 1998 Honda Shadow 750
-Guy rode his 2001 Harley-Davidson Road King
-Poncho rode his 1996 Harley-Davidson Electra Glide Classic
-Michael D. rode his 1999 Honda Shadow 750
-David and Michael W. rode David's 1996 Honda Gold Wing SE

The sky was blue and the morning sun shone brightly as we headed over the bridge and out US 90 toward Raceland, with David in the lead. About 40 miles out, Mark separated from the group and signaled that he was turning back and heading home for some much-needed sleep after working all night. We're sorry he missed most of the ride, but glad he made a prudent choice. He called to let us know he got home safely.

Doc joined us for her first ride with the Cavaliers, and led us through her old stomping grounds in Lafourche Parish.

We made our first rest stop in Raceland, then David turned the lead over to Doc, who is a native of Lafource Parish. Doc was something to see on her Honda Rebel 250 leading seven big, burly guys on their even bigger machines. She did an awesome job!

Doc led us across the little bridge over Bayou Lafourche at Mathews so that we could ride down the east bank along Hwy 308. The ride couldn't have been more scenic, passing sugarcane fields and historic homes on one side of the road with the calm waters of the wide old bayou on the other. The area's deep roots in fishing and shrimping were apparent, with dozens of charming boats lining the banks of the bayou.

Lance joined us for his first ride with his new Suzuki Marauder.

As we headed south, we crossed the bayou again at Galliano, and made another rest stop there. Doc said she grew up only a few blocks away from where we stopped. We headed off again soon after, and rode very, very, slowly and carefully through the town of Golden Meadow, notorious as a local speed trap with a vigilant constabluary.

We hadn't gone far when the clouds began looking ominous. A look at the radar before we left showed rain bands heading our way from Tropical Storm Claudette out in the Gulf of Mexico. The dark gray sky ahead of us showed that they had arrived. We had planned to eat when we arrived in Grand Isle, but Doc wisely pulled over at a restaurant she knew in Golden Meadow and suggested we sit out the rain over lunch. The timing couldn't have been better; we parked the bikes and went inside just before the rain began falling.

Alan showed off his blue fingernails. He did drag for the first time the night before with the Lords of Leather.

It's great when you have a local showing you around, because Randolph's Restaurant turned out to be really wonderful. Our group of eight pushed some tables together in the back, and yakked our heads off. Doc told us about how her parents followed a local tradition by making "little meat" gumbo for the kids when she was growing up, chopping up chunks of luncheon meat and tossing it in with the gumbo. Doc said she still makes it that way herself as an adult.

Our lunch at Randolph's was a wonderful combination of local delicacies, including great some seafood. My fried catfish was light, flaky, and oh, so good. When the waitress brought Alan his big bowl of gumbo, Doc pointed and shouted, "You've got 'little meat'!"

Mike D. quipped what the rest of us were thinking, "Doc, you should never point at a man and say he's got 'little meat.'"

We tasted Alan's "little meat" gumbo and it had that wonderful country homemade taste that you can only get in a small town restaurant.

By the time we finished lunch, the rain had just stopped. By the time we all got on the road again, we only had wet pavement to contend with. The wind and thick overcast following the passing storm made it deliciously cool, making the rest of our ride very pleasant indeed.

We followed Hwy 1 south from Golden Meadow heading towards Grand Isle. South of Golden Meadow the landscape changes dramatically to the broad, flat expanse of coastal marshes that make up most of south Louisiana. The highway becomes only a narrow strip of pavement with water on both sides, with almost no development, and plenty of wildlife, espcially waterfowl like pelicans and egrets.

Camps raised up on stilts are the primary housing on Grand Isle.

Leeville is not much more than a cluster of buildings with a really big bridge, but Port Fouchon surprises you with huge developments of massive new houses sitting 20 feet up in the air on stilts. The road turns here and heads for Grand Isle, crossing a small bridge before entering the funky community.

Grand Isle is Louisiana's only inhabited barrier island, with the Gulf of Mexico on one side and Barataria Bay on the other. It's been populated for centuries, starting with native Americans, who were followed by Jean Lafitte's band of pirates known as the Baratarians. During the last century, Grand Isle became a fishing resort and summer vacation spot. The island is mostly developed with "camps," older wood frame houses up on stilts to protect them from the frequent storm surges off the gulf. Many are available for vacation rentals. As we rode along the island, we saw where crews were hastily making repairs to the levee that had been breached when Tropical Storm Bill made its way inland along the southeast Lousiana coast at the beginning of July.

Doc led us all the way across the island, to the very end of Hwy 1, stopping at a marina where we got a good leg stretch. We also got to watch dolphins splashing in the bay and pelicans swooping low over the water in search of lunch. Doc said this marina was her childhood playground in summer when she visited her grandparents who lived close by on the island.

After a good rest, we turned around, gassed up at the local Conoco, then retraced our route north as far as Golden Meadow, this time with Lance in the lead. Lance was planning to split off with Guy to go and see an old family friend. Poncho followed them as well. The rest of us got on the "back road," the fast four-lane Hwy 3235 which cuts through just west of the communities along Hwy 1. Alan sprinted ahead to get home quickly, leaving only four, until David and Doc lost Mike and Doug when the latter two stopped again for gas. Doc led David back to Hwy 308 on the east side of the bayou, and the two headed home along US 90, as clearing skies broke through to full sun again.

Even though the group split up on the way home, most of us found our way back to Lafitte's. David and Michael got there first, followed soon after by Lance, Guy, and Poncho. Mike and Doug followed a little later. We had good reason to celebrate after our first group ride in six weeks. David checked the GPS and the official mileage was 230 miles. It was truly a grand ride.

Rain doesn't dampen fun at June beer bust

We've had the second-wettest June in history, but the rain stopped in time for the Cavaliers to hold the first beer bust of the summer on June 27. In spite of wet weather, we drew a bigger than expected crowd to the patio of the Phoenix. And because of the all-day rain, temperatures on the patio were very pleasant indeed.

Our friend Mike M. from the bear club showed up to hawk T-shirts and tickets to the upcoming LazFest, the annual July 4 fundraiser for Lazarus House.

Most of the Cavaliers were on hand, too, including Poncho, William, Mike D., Doug, George, Mark, Collin, David, and Michael W. We were also happy to have our friend Michael G. come down from Jackson to join us.

Our friend Adam was just back from a week in Tuscany, and showed us lots of pictures of his travels on his Palm.

We were particularly pleased to meet plenty of folks who've just moved here to New Orleans, including one couple from California, and another from Texas. The Texas boys have a Gold Wing and were interested to find out more about our club. We'll be eager to have them join us on a ride soon.

Mark made the rounds with our famous 50/50 raffle. The winner and the club each took home an extra $91, our fattest pot yet. David brought his famous jambalaya, and Michael W. was behind the bar. William, Mike D., and Doug took their turns behind the bar too.

Cavaliers conquer Red Bluff Road

The ride was postponed twice, once because of Mothers' Day, once because of weather. Once it got underway, we missed an important turn and took a 15-mile detour. Then we missed a rendezvous with another rider by only minutes. Then we had a breakdown which delayed us over an hour. Then we missed another turn and had to double-back. But the Cavaliers Motorcycle Club prevailed, and we conquered all 30 twisty miles of Mississippi's infamous Red Bluff Road. And we had a blast!

The ride took place on Sunday, June 1 on day that was overcast in the morning and sunny in the afternoon. We had eight bikes, two with passengers, including:

-Alan rode his 1996 Honda ST1100
-George rode his 2003 Honda Shadow ACE
-Mark rode his 1998 Honda Shadow ACE
-Doug rode his 1998 Honda Shadow 750
-Guy and Darryl rode Guy's 2001 Harley-Davidson Road King
-Poncho rode his 1996 Harley-Davidson Electra Glide Classic
-Michael D. rode Mike's 1999 Honda Shadow 750
-David and Michael W. rode David's 1996 Honda Gold Wing SE

The weather forecast was not looking good during the week before the ride, and we thought we were going to have a third cancellation. But on Friday the forecast shifted, and Sunday dawned overcast, but with only a slight chance of rain. We were off.

Our first mishap came early in the ride. We were headed for our first rest stop in Picayune, but as David approached the I-10/59 split, he took the wrong turn. This surprised everyone behind him, who knew which way to go, and caused a bit of chaos at the interchange. What's more, there wasn't another exit to turn around until we crossed into Mississippi more than seven miles farther. We regrouped at the exit, considered our options, and decided it was best just to retrace our steps on I-10 to I-59. This made for our first 15-mile detour.

Once we made it into Picayune, everyone took turns giving David an appropriate amount of grief over the goof. "We'll never let you live this one down," was heard frequently. Who knew that by the end of the day this would seem to be small potatoes.

After posing for an irreverent photo in front of the "Jesus is Lord over Picayune" sign, we headed off on Hwy 43 to Columbia, and got our first taste of the twisties. This road, which follows the Pearl River, goes through some beautiful Mississippi countryside and is really fun to ride. It's full of broad, sweeping curves, with many parts of the roadway covered by big, shady trees. We all took it at our own pace, with Alan up front going at warp speed on his ST1100, and Mark staying right up with him on his Shadow. David, Poncho and Guy made up a middle group who kept up a brisk pace, with George, Mike, and Doug taking a more relaxed ride. We all met up within minutes of each other at the north end of Hwy 43, not far from Columbia.

We rode into that town as a group, and stopped at the McDonalds where we were suppossed to meet BJ from Jackson. David had planned on our group arriving between 11:30 and noon, but because of our unfortunate detour on the way into Picayune, we arrived a little late, but only a couple of minutes after 12, and BJ wasn't around. She had ridden down from Jackson to meet us, but when we didn't show by noon, she rode home. We probably missed each other by only a few minutes.

Not knowing she had left already, we waited half an hour in Columbia to see if she might show up, and tried calling her on her cell phone. Then we reluctantly took off at 12:30 without her, and headed for the nearby turnoff to Red Bluff Road.

We had only gone a short distance down US 98, with Alan in the lead, when we made the turn off the highway. We hadn't gone far at all when we realized our group had gotten separated at the turn. Alan, David, and Guy stopped and waited a few minutes to see if they showed up, then Alan went back to find them. He came back to report that one of the bikes had broken down. We dropped off Guy, Darryl, and Michael W. at a gas station we'd passed, and Alan led David back to the breakdown. Mike had gotten a flat on his rear tire and was off the side of US 98, with Doug, Poncho, and George. The good news was that he wasn't hurt.

We wrestled with the tire for over an hour, and received some very generous assistance by two local motorists, a friendly fellow on a big trike, and a local mechanic. Afterr a lot of effort, they finally got the tire inflated enough to ride it off the highway to the mechanic's nearby shop. The decision was made to leave the disabled bike overnight with the mechanic, and Poncho would return on Monday with Mike and Doug's truck and trailer to retrieve the bike.

By this time Alan and George had returned to the gas station to wait with the others, and David, Poncho, Mike, and Doug showed up soon after. After a much needed break to cool off, we finally headed off to Red Bluff Road, with Alan in the lead, and our new friend on the trike tagging along. Mike took Doug's bike, and Doug rode buddy for the rest of the ride.

But there was more adventure awaiting us. Alan was leading us to Red Bluff Road because he knew the route best, but he missed a turn and headed us down the wrong road for a short distance. This time, though, none of us knew there was a mixup, until Alan made a turn and led a parade of gay bikers through a rural church parking lot. As Alan later put it, it was a little bit of Vacation Bible School for us as well as for them. David said he felt vindicated for his earlier wrong turn. We turned around and got headed in the right direction, and that's when the fun really began.

Red Bluff Road is one of the twistiest roads in our region, climbing up and down the bluffs along the Pearl River between Foxworth and Monticello, MS. The road is full of sharp, technical turns, broad sweepers, plenty of curves hidden over the crest of hills, and a few decreasing radius turns thrown in for fun. The southern half of the road is great pavement, but the northern half was resurfaced with a material that leaves a lot of loose gravel on the surface. Otherwise, it's 30 miles of great motorcycling road through beautiful countryside.

Soon after we got on Red Bluff Road, we stopped at the overlook that gives the road its name. There's a spectacular geological feature of large, deeply eroded bluffs made of vibrant red, pink, and orange soil. The road goes along the top of these bluffs, and there's a safe, paved place to pull off and take a look. Looking off into the far distance over the forest-covered countryside of rural Mississippi, the view is pretty spectacular. Hard to believe that anything like this exists less than 150 miles from New Orleans.

We stood and marveled at the view for quite a while, and took the requisite photos of the bluffs and of our group. Everyone said that our twice-postponed, twice-detoured, and breakdown-delayed ride was worth it just for a look at this view.

We soon saddled up and Alan rocketed forth with instructions to meet him at the Pizza Inn in Monticello. The rest of us took the tricky road at our own pace, but enjoyed every twist and turn. We soon arrived in Monticello, hungry, hot, and tired, but feeling great about the ride. The salad and pizza buffet made a perfect lunch as we sat around and recounted the day and talked about many future rides to come.

After lunch, Alan made plans to reverse the route and enjoy the twisties again, but the rest of our group chose to high-tail it back to civilization on the superslab. David and Michael found an appropriate stretch of the Interstate to take action shots of all the riders. We ride to Brookhaven, picked up I-55, stopped for gas at Kentwood, and again at Ponchatoula, before heading back into the city. With our little detours and all, we put 320 miles on the road on this trip, making it our longest distance ride so far. Some of us gathered at Lafitte's on Bourbon Street after the ride to celebrate. After the day we'd had, that first cold beer tasted mighty good.

And at the end of it all, after two postponements, after two missed, turns, even after a breakdown, everyone — even Mike, who had endured the breakdown — said that they had an absolutely wonderful time conquering Red Bluff Road.

All clubs unite for indoor B.L.O.C.K. party

The Bears, the Lords, the Outlaws, the Cavaliers and the Knights joined forces for the first time ever for indoor B.L.O.C.K. party on the patio of the Phoenix on the fifth Friday in May.

It was a great opportunity for the five clubs to get together in the spirit of fellowship, do a little fundraising and have a good time together.

When word got around during the event that popular Phoenix bar manager Chuck Lance had died that day, the five clubs immediately united to donate the entire $350 proceeds from the event to an AIDS charity in his memory. It was a fitting honor for a man who always encouraged the various clubs to work together.

This All Club Beer Bust was suggested by Kent, vice president of the Knights d'Orleans, who said he was inspired by attending a similar event in Memphis where all the local clubs got together for a joint party. He contacted our local clubs and suggested that on the occasional months where there are five Fridays our clubs could get together for a common event, do some fundraising, have some fun, and socialize with each other.

Kent deftly negotiated some of the inevitable issues that came up when you try to get different groups together, but all the while remained focused on the goal: to have fun and spend some time getting to know each other better.

The event was a big success, with many officers and members from each of the five clubs in attendance. Each club brought a number of items to raffle off, including baskets of goodies, bottles of liquor, stuffed animals, and gift certificates. The raffle went on for a while until all the prizes were given away.

An event this successful at having fun, raising money, and bringing people together deserves to be repeated. Look for more of these fifth Friday events in the future.

It's official! Cavaliers meet to formalize club

The seven most active riders in our group met to formally organize the Cavaliers Motorcycle Club at a founders' meeting on May 29.

David, Poncho, Doug, Mike D., Mark, George, and Guy became founding members of the organization by enacting a set of bylaws with their vote and their signatures.

The group elected three provisional officers, including David as president, George as secretary, and Poncho as treasurer. Their terms end in December, when annual elections will be held for a full one-year term.

We have a lot of work to do to complete what we started yesterday, particularly enabling others who are interested to apply to be members of the club. We'll have more details on that process soon. We're eager to open our official membership to as many gay and lesbian motorcyclists as we can.

We also will be submitting articles of incorporation to the state, registering our trade name and logo with the state, getting ourselves an IRS number, and opening a club checking account — all the housekeeping chores necessary to make ourselves "official."

But as a group we pledged not to get too "official." We all want riding to remain our primary purpose as a club, and not get needlessly bogged down in administration or politics or fundraising. Our focus is still on friends and fun. We want to take care of business as simply as we can, and get on with the riding!

Our thanks to George who hosted our meeting last night at his fabulous Uptown home, and to Poncho who barbecued us some delicious steaks. We had a poolside feast and a great time hanging out together in celebration of our accomplishment.

Cavaliers pass 10,000 mile mark at Jambalaya Fest

The Cavaliers Motorcycle Club passed a major milestone on their ride to the Jambalaya Festival in Gonzales on May 25.

In only nine months of riding as a group, the Cavaliers have clocked more than 10,000 miles collectively by 11 riders on more than a dozen riding events.

The Jambalaya Festival ride was our biggest group yet, with nine riders, four buddy riders, and one support truck joining in the fun.

-George rode his 2003 Honda Shadow ACE
-Mark rode his 1998 Honda Shadow ACE
-Doug and Michael J. rode Doug's 1998 Honda Shadow 750
-Guy rode his 2001 Harley-Davidson Road King
-Poncho and William rode Poncho's 1996 Harley-Davidson Electra Glide Classic
-Michael D. and Matt rode Mike's 1999 Honda Shadow 750
-Tedd rode his 2002 Honda Reflex, while his partner Tom followed in the support truck
-Michael came down from Jackson, MS, on his 1984 Honda Gold Wing Aspencade GL1200
-David and Michael W. rode David's 1996 Honda Gold Wing SE

We were surprised at the big turnout for a lagniappe ride that was thrown together only days before. Our regular May ride had been rescheduled twice, and obviously we were itching for a ride. Even the holiday weekend didn't seem to keep people away. All of our regulars joined us, as well as a few extras.

Our group rendezvoused at the Phoenix at 10, with the usual greetings all around. We were especially pleased that our friend Michael from Jackson was able to join us on a ride for the first time. After posing for the obligatory pre-ride photos, our group headed west on I-10 to LaPlace, where we slipped off the highway onto the old US 51.

Rather than head directly to Gonzales for the festival, we decided to take good advantage of the sunny and warm spring day and take the scenic route. Old US Hwy 51, which parallels I-55, is a pleasant ride on the narrow neck of swampland between Lake Ponchartrain and Lake Maurepas. The old road gives you a good view of the swamps and the narrow canals dredged through them, and a great view of the two big lakes on the high bridge over Pass Manchac. The old road brought back many memories to me as my family used to make frequent trips to Manchac to go crabbing and fishing when I was a boy, long before the Interstate highway was built.

Our group stopped for a break at Ponchatoula, before tackling the most scenic part of our ride. Hwy 22 runs between Ponchatoula and Gonzales, and it's 30 miles of the most wonderfully twisty and picturesque highway in southeast Louisiana. Before leaving the rest stop in Ponchatoula, David encouraged everyone to ride their own ride, even if the group separated a bit. Faster riders moved to the front, and slower riders hung back. Both were able to enjoy the great road and the lovely scenery, especially in the stretch along the Amite River near the towns of Maurepas and Catfish Landing. There was a little too much traffic and a few too many police patrolling the highway to take the road at as brisk a pace as some of us would have liked, but we had a great ride nevertheless. We were especially impressed that Tedd, who rides an automatic transmission Honda Helix, rode aggressively and more than kept up with the big dogs in the pack.

We grouped up again at the end of Hwy 22 and headed toward Gonzales on US 61, expecting to find a big sign pointing toward the Jambalaya Festival. Unfortunately it took a bit of wandering around to find the festival grounds, but after asking a local for directions we finally found our way. We parked and walked around the festival grounds, exploring the amusement rides, the food booths, the music stage, and the crafts and T-shirt booths. We even stopped in briefly at the kiddie country karaoke going on inside the auditorium, where the air conditioning was a welcome break from the heat and sun.

Mark, who had overslept and missed our rendezvous, surprised us by meeting us at the Jambalaya Festival. Seems he woke up about 11:30 and high-tailed it up I-10 to meet up with us. Mark's a dedicated rider who tries to

Unfortunately the biggest disappointment at the Jambalaya Festival was the jambalaya. Several of us bought a plate, and found it to be dry and flavorless, with unappetizing pieces of tough, greasy chicken. But much of the other festival food was really good, including the wonderfully spicy chicken-on-a-stick and the blooming onions. We had some really delicious and thirst-quenching lemonade, and several of us sampled the ice cream treats from the Blue Bell booth.

While at the festival we ran across Ms. Teen Gonzales with her spectacular tiara. We couldn't pass up the photo opportunity. But no sooner had we done snapping the souvenir photo, than we spotted Guy wearing his own tiara. Guess he was just jealous and wanted to be a beauty queen, too.

The heat of the day started to wear on us, and after a while we decided it was time to head back, this time with Poncho in the lead. We stopped for gas before leaving Gonzales, then headed to the River Road for the ride back to New Orleans.

This part of the trip was particularly nice, to just cruise along with the levee on one side and several beautiful plantation homes on the other. We saw the burned remains of Tezcuco Plantation, where sadly only the chimneys remain surrounded by the outbuildings following a May 2002 fire. We also saw the charmingly beautiful San Francisco Plantation, which is sadly squeezed into a tiny plot of land surrounded by chain link fences and a petroleum plant. The bright spot along this stretch of River Road is the Manresa Retreat House in Convent, which was built in the 1830s as Jefferson College, a private school for the sons of plantation owners.

Our only surprise along our route home was when we got to LaPlace and discovered the road across the Bonnet Carre Spillway was closed. We made a detour to US 61, and followed the old Airline Hwy into Kenner, where we returned to the River Road and followed it and Jefferson Hwy through Harahan and River Ridge as we made our way back to the city. People started splitting off from our group as they neared home.

Our official mileage for the ride was 175 miles, with nine bikes participating, putting us over the 10,000 mile mark on our group rides.

When we made it back to the city, several of us met up again a bit later at Lafitte's on Bourbon Street in the French Quarter. This has become a post-ride tradition, allowing us time to hang out and tell each other what a great ride we had. If you see a row of bikes parked across the street in front of the Clover Grill, be sure to stop at Lafitte's and meet the Cavaliers. You'll find we're a really friendly bunch.

Memorial weekend beer bust draws big crowd

The Cavaliers kicked off Memorial Day weekend with a great beer bust that was crowded with plenty of locals and visitors.

The May 23 event was a huge success for the club. We had a big crowd with tons of people out enjoying the start of the three-day holiday weekend on a beautiful, mild spring night.

Locals and visitors had a great time at our Memorial weekend beer bust, including Joe from the Knights d'Orleans, and Rich from Northern California. Most photos this page by David.

Lots of locals came out including many of our friends from the Knights d'Orleans and the New Orleans Bears. We're always grateful for the generous support of our friends from our brother clubs.

We also had lots of guests from out of town, including our good friend Michael from Jackson, who rode down on his Gold Wing.

Rich from California wasted no time making himself comfortable in the warm spring weather at our beer bust.

Most of the Cavaliers were on hand, too, including Poncho, William, Mike D., Doug, George, Mark, Collin, David, and Michael W. It all made for one great big party!

And we made out like bandits, especially due to the efforts of Doug and Mark pushing those 50/50 raffle tickets, which was won by a good friend from Washington, DC, who very generously donated back the entire proceeds to the club! Thanks, Linwood!

Cavaliers Founder David congratulates Linwood on winning $84 in the 50/50 raffle. Linwood generously donated his winnings back to our club. Photo by Michael W.

All the while Poncho was taking orders for his wonderful Cavaliers T-shirts. They were extremely popular, with Doug and Mike, and Poncho and I all modeling them for the crowd. We found that one benefit of the embroidery is that people keep rubbing your chest.

Michael's famous Internal Combustion chili was a big hit, and he and I just kept on pouring beer for the thirsty throng. Amazingly the keg held out longer than we did, and we stayed open well past our usual closing time of midnight.

We also took the opportunity to celebrate upcoming birthdays for Doug and Guy. We regretted that Guy wasn't able to join us.

Word continues to spread about the Cavaliers, and the beer busts are a great promotional tool for our club. When Mark and Doug were selling 50/50 raffle tickets, they talked to John Taylor, Mr. Louisiana Leather 1995, who's getting a Honda Shadow ACE 750 in a few weeks. He emailed us after the beer bust now we're looking forward to having him join us on a ride soon.

Cavaliers prowl the Dome at Louisiana Bike Expo

While Mike and Doug were off at the AIDA run in Tennessee, those of us who stayed behind had an opportunity to attend the fantastic display of custom bikes at the Louisiana Bike Expo in the Superdome on Sunday, May 4.

We started off the morning with a rendezvous for brunch at Bywater Barbecue. Ten of us met there including Guy, Mark, Collin, Tedd, Tom, David and Michael. We also were pleased to have Doc and BJ join us for the first time. BJ even rode down from Jackson to be with us for the event. This marks the first time women have attended a Cavaliers event, and we did our best to welcome them.

We unfortunately had a very, very ... VERY long wait for our food at the restaurant, but the owner graciously acknowledged the poor service by comping all 10 of us our meals.

Six of us then headed off for the Louisana Superdome and the Bike Expo, including Mark, Collin, Doc, BJ, David, and Michael. There was lots and lots to see on the floor of the Dome.

The stars of the show were Paul Teutul Sr. and Jr. from the Discovery Channel's "American Chopper" TV show. The Teutuls were on hand, signing autographs for a long line of fans. The weren't fighting the way they do on their TV show, but as this was the third day of the expo and who knows how many nights on Bourbon Street, they were probably too exhausted.

They brought their wonderful collection of fabulous custom motorcycles, which sell for upwards of $150,000. They had the Black Widow, the NY Fire Department, and the Jet Bike on display along with other dazzling examples of rolling art. The show was worth it just to see these incredible machines in person.

But these weren't the only bikes on display. Most of the floor was filled with dozens and dozens of local show bikes, from outrageous cruisers, to trikes, to fantastic sportbikes, to classic Harleys. It was a dazzling array of bikes, each showing the owner's individuality.

There was also the Team Extreme Trials Showcase, with an array of motorcycle stunt riders, and the Ball of Steel Stunts Show, with three teenage daredevils riding around the inside of a large steel ball cage at very high speeds. It was amazing to watch, but got even more amazing when the announcer got a volunteer from the audience to go and stand on the inside of the cage as the three bikes raced around her. (The whole time this was going on, Michael W. was shouting, "Me! Me! I wanna do it! That is SO COOL!!!")

There was plenty of shopping to be done at vendor booths throughout the Dome, and of course lots of hot biker dudes and biker babes wandering around in the crowd. All in all it was a really fun show and a great way to kill a Sunday afternoon.

Cavaliers pay homage to Elvis on road to AIDA

Mike and Doug made a pilgrimage to Graceland on their way to the Tsarus leather club's annual run, AIDA, May 2-4.

The weekend run has been held for 26 years in the hills of Tennessee about 100 miles east of Memphis. Mike and Doug described the countryside as beautiful.

The guys left Wednesday and stayed overnight in Jackson with our friend Michael from the Central Mississippi Gay Bikers group. Then Thursday they rode up to Memphis, especially to pay a visit to America's premiere house of kitsch. They said it was every bit as tacky as they'd hoped. Doug even sneaked past a security guard to get a souvenir photo of Elvis's motorcycle, in an area where flash photography was restricted.

Our boys then rode from Memphis to the run site near Jackson, TN. Because of the distance, the guys trailered their bikes most of the trip, but Doug rode his Honda Shadow from Memphis to the run site. After arriving at the run site, the guys set up camp, then hopped on their bikes and rode around the rural roads in the area. They said they had a blast riding all the hills and the curves.

Mike and Doug weren't the only New Orleanians present at AIDA. Phoenix bar owner Jamie, and AIDA veteran, was also in attendance, as was Phoenix bartender Erick. Jamie hosted a *bleep*tail party during the run, and Mike and Doug donated 25 Cavaliers cups for the occasion to help get the word out about our group.

The guys spent part of Saturday doing the motorcycle events, which primarily consisted of a slow race, the winner being the person who covers the distance in the greatest amount of time without stopping.

Many other motorcyclists were on hand at the run, primarily our Texas friends in the Battalion Motorcycle Corps. Mike and Doug used the occasion to talk up our club, and the guys in Battalion seem to be very eager to plan some joint events with our group. That could really be a lot of fun.

The boys said that after nightfall things got particularly frisky, what with all those hot men around with all that time on their hands. They said that things got very kinky, but you'll have to get the details from them. Just ask about all the shocking sounds.

Our guys packed up and headed home early Sunday morning, missing the severe weather that hit the area later that day. Tornados raced through Jackson and much of Tennessee, Kansas and Missouri, causing substantial damage. Erick said that when the storms came through they caused minor damager at the AIDA run site, destroying the shower area and sucking everything out of Jamie's pop-up camper except his TV set. We were relieved to hear that none of the AIDA participants were injured. Erick said the tornado damage in Jackson was so severe the town was closed off and they had to take back roads to get around it and get home.

Our guys made it home in time for Sunday Trash Disco at Lafitte's as usual, where we plied them for tales of their adventures.

Beer bust brings out Bears, Lords, Knights

The Cavaliers' April beer bust was a resounding success, especially because we were honored to have representatives from so many other clubs in attendance.

We were particularly honored to have Mike M., the new president of the New Orleans Bears, join us. Mike is also a motorcyclist, and we're hoping to get him to join us on a ride soon! Mike also invited us to make a trip up to his place in Mississippi for a barbecue or a picnic, and I'm sure we'll take him up on that soon.

We also had the pleasure of having Lord King XX Tommy from the Lords of Leather pay us a call. Tommy is a good friend and a very sweet man.

In addition to our distinguished guests from the Bears and the Lords, we also had several members of the Knights d'Orleans grace us with their presence, including their president, Bill, secretary/treasurer, Joe, and road captain, Stephanie.

Most of the Cavaliers were on hand, too, including Poncho, Mike D., Doug, George, David and Michael W.

As usual Phoenix bootblack DB was on hand to put a shine on customer's footwear.

Doug made the rounds with the 50/50 raffle, collecting a whopping $133! The winning ticket was pulled and the prize went to Cavaliers founder David, who promptly donated it back to the club.

Doug also brought a pot of delicious ham and beans to feed the beer bust patrons. David also brought a pot of crawfish Monica in honor of the first weekend of Jazz Fest. One thing's for sure, we always eat well at our beer busts!

Cavaliers lead the Gay Easter Parade

The Cavaliers Motorcycle Club had a blast leading the New Orleans Gay Easter Parade through the streets of the French Quarter on April 20. Crowds cheered as our eight bikes roared and honked our way through the Quarter, letting everyone know the parade had arrived. Most of the bikes were decorated and most of the riders were wearing festive Easter bonnets. Trust me, you haven't lived until you've seen a group of big ol' bears roaring down Royal Street on their Harleys and Hondas wearing enormous flowery Easter bonnets! Mike and Doug were especially festive in bonnets decorated with 120 yellow marshmallow Peeps! Poncho and Guy wore huge, hysterical floral creations on their heads and hopped off their bikes to second line in the street whenever we stopped for the parade to catch up with us. Check out our Easter Parade photo gallery.

Avery Island adds spice to Cavaliers' ride

It was our longest day ride yet, deep into the bayou country of south Louisiana. And we had the most spectacularly beautiful spring day to enjoy it. The Cavaliers drew their biggest group ever on April 13 for our 295-mile spring ride to the Jungle Gardens on Avery Island, home of world-famous Tabasco sauce.

The early morning rendezvous at the Phoenix brought together six bikes, four with passengers.

-George rode his 2003 Honda Shadow ACE
-Doug and Michael J. rode Doug's 1998 Honda Shadow 750
-Guy and Lance rode Guy's 2001 Harley-Davidson Road King
-Poncho rode his 1996 Harley-Davidson Electra Glide Classic
-Michael D. and Matt rode Mike's 1999 Honda Shadow 750
-David and Michael W. rode David's 1996 Honda Gold Wing SE

Three of the passengers were new to our day rides, so everyone was introduced. Michael D. and Doug brought their friends Michael J. and Matt, while Guy brought his friend Lance.

Before the ride, David spent a little time talking about a few of the finer points of group riding techniques, encouraging the riders to maintain a tight formation and to wait for the tail bike to secure the new lane when the lead bike signals for a lane change. The group practiced these techniques on the road and did beautifully!

Our group of 10 enjoyed a fabulous lunch of Cajun delicacies at Charlie's of New Iberia. Clockwise from left: George, Lance, Guy, Poncho, Doug, Michael D., Michael J., Matt, and Michael W. Photo by David.

After a quick hop over the Crescent City Connection, the group headed west on US 90, with David in the lead and Poncho riding tail. The first stop was at Raceland, where we hung out for a while enjoying a few cold drinks. The first layers began to get peeled off as the slight morning chill gave way to warm spring sunshine.

The next part of the ride, from Raceland to Morgan City, was really pretty. The elevated portion of Hwy 90 crossing the Atchafalaya Basin passes some of the most beautiful swampland in south Louisiana. Stands of cypress trees, the light filtering through their boughs and reflecting on the water below, show how this pristine land must have looked in the days when the Cajuns first settled in this region in the mid-18th century. Traffic was light enough on this portion of the road for us to sit back and enjoy this ideal Louisiana landscape.

We stopped again at Morgan City. David got the group only a little lost by first stopping at a gas station that was closed, and then by taking some uncertain side streets to another station. It all turned out just fine, and we had a nice break.

We made the decision to leave Hwy 90 after Morgan City and follow Hwy 182 along Bayou Teche. David missed the first turn for Hwy 182, but corrected it only a few miles down the road. The ride along 182 was especially nice, with many beautiful old plantation homes and lovely small towns. Franklin, the home town of Gov. Mike Foster, was particularly nice, as was Jeanerette.

We arrived in New Iberia hungry for lunch. When we got into town we put Michael D. in the lead. He knew a great local restaurant named Charlie's that was on the Hwy 90 service road. After a few false turns trying to locate the right service road, including one stretch of service road that deteriorated into a nasty patch of gravel, we finally found the spot.

Boy, was it worth it! The 10 of us settled in for what turned out to be a wonderful feast of assorted Cajun delicacies. The gumbo was delicious. The seafood platters were enormous. George and Michael W. got adventurous and ordered a fried alligator appetizer which was terrific. Poncho sampled the Sunday special barbecue. Guy had an absolutely huge shrimp po-boy. David had a fabulous seafood pasta with crawfish, shrimp and crabmeat. And the next time you see Lance, be sure to ask him about his weenie.

We ate and ate and ate until we couldn't eat any more, and most of us still had tons of delicious food we regretfully left behind.

Avery Island was only a short ride from the restaurant. As we approached it on the road, this big, beautiful, pastoral hillside suddenly appeared ahead of us. Avery Island is the largest of five salt domes, jutting up out of the otherwise very flat south Louisiana landscape, after a huge ancient saltwater ocean evaporated and sediment pushed the salt upwards. Avery Island is the highest of these domes at 163 feet.

The McIlhenny family began producing Tabasco sauce on Avery Island shortly after the Civil War. Their success brought fortune, and allowed one of their sons to develop the 200 acre Jungle Gardens and Bird City on the island. Today these are open to visitors.

The ride through the Jungle Gardens turned out to be a four-mile gravel trail. Our little off-road excursion on the way to Charlies had prepared us for this. We bought out tickets at the gift shop, saddled up, and rode on through. Fortunately most of the road was well-packed gravel. Only a few areas were rutted and tough to negotiate. But the ride was absolutely lovely.

The Jungle Gardens are filled with huge old oak trees, laced with Spanish moss. Many areas are planted with azaleas and other flowering plants. We saw lots of wild Louisiana iris in bloom, and stopped for a while at the Cleveland Oak before traveling under the wisteria arch and past the bamboo forest. We stopped again at the enormous Buddha, a 900-year-old statue situated inside a glass temple at the edge of a beautiful lake. Our final stop was at Bird City, a huge rookery for snowy egrets. We stood for a while and watched thousands of the beautiful white birds roost.

After a last brief stop at the gift shop, we headed back to Hwy 90, stopping briefly for gas halfway to Morgan City. Once safely on the elevated portion of the road over the basin, and with little traffic around, David and Michael W. snapped action photos of each bike on the ride.

We stopped again in Raceland on the way home for sodas and popsicles, before making the final dash home along Hwy 90. George waved goodbye at the Huey P. Long bridge as he headed home Uptown, while the rest of us continued through the Crescent City Connection to the French Quarter in time to catch Trash Disco at Lafitte's. After 10 hours on the road and 295 miles, a cold beverage tasted mighty good. Poncho, Guy, Michael D., Doug, David, Michael W., Lance, Michael J., and Matt hung out on Bourbon Street in front of the Clover Grill for a long time, soaking in the beautiful spring music, saying hello to friends, and listening to the great Trash Disco music pouring out of Lafitte's. It was a perfect end to a perfect day.

Poncho wins big at birthday beer bust bash

The Cavaliers held our first 50/50 raffle at our March 28 beer bust, and the big winner was our own beloved Poncho!

It couldn't have been more appropriate, since Poncho was also celebrating his birthday the same night. The 50/50 raffle made both Poncho and our club $51 richer. Special thanks to Doug who not only suggested we start adding the raffle to our monthly beer bust, but also shook down the patrons of the Phoenix for all that cash.

The balmy spring night brought out lots of people. George and Michael W. presided behind the bar, leaving David to roam around and shoot some pictures for the web site. William, Guy, and Michael D. also joined the party.

We also had an opportunity to meet two of our friends from Mississippi, both of whom showed up on their bikes. Michael showed up from Jackson on his classic Honda Gold Wing, and Keith showed up from Natchez on his stylish Kawasaki Vulcan Drifter.

The warm weather brought out lots of bikes in front of the Phoenix. In addition to Mike's and Keith's, Guy rode his Harley Road King, Mike and Doug brought their Honda Shadow 750s, and David cruised over on his Honda Gold Wing.

Cavaliers linger on the lakefront

A group of Cavaliers took a short in-town ride on March 23 and wound up hanging out on Lakeshore Drive.

Cavaliers party at LUEY Weekend in Houston

The Cavaliers made their first weekend road trip to LUEY Weekend for Houston's biggest annual leather event.

The 30th annual Let Us Entertain You Weekend fell as it always does on the weekend after Mardi Gras. LUEY was founded by some Texans who just didn't want the party to end after visiting Mardi Gras in New Orleans. This year's event drew more than 1000 registered participants, and hundreds more who just showed up for all the great LUEY parties.

Mike and Doug rendezvoused at David and Michael's house Uptown early on Friday, March 7 to prepare for the ride. The plan was for David and Michael to ride David's Gold Wing, and for Doug and Mike to take turns riding Mike's Honda Shadow 750, with Doug's Shadow riding along in their support truck. This allowed the group to carry extra gear for the weekend.

An overnight rain cleared out in time to present a mild and sunny day for the start of the ride. It was really perfect riding weather, with temperatures near 70 as we headed out Interstate 10 across the Bonnet Carre Spillway. Approaching Baton Rouge, David heard on the radio that an overturned truck had traffic backed up for miles in the state capital, so the group exited I-10 at Highland Road and followed Airline Hwy. and Florida Blvd. as a detour around the mess.

Before long the group made a stop in Lafayette for a quick tour of Lafayette Honda and inquired with the dealership staff about a nearby place for lunch. They sent us to Rich's Seafood and Grill, which was a real trip. Part restaurant, part seafood shop, part convenience store, the Cavaliers dined in high Cajun style. The seafood shop had the most intruguing menus, including "goo," which the proprietor gladly showed was a large fish from the nearby Atchafalaya Basin.

After checking the clocks on the wall, (set to show the time in Lafayette, Carencro, Scott, and Cankton), the Cavaliers finished up their meal and headed for the Texas border, arriving in Houston just as rush hour began, leaving time to check into the hotel and rest a bit before heading out for the first LUEY party of the weekend. On the way there we made a stop at Walgreens for some cold remedies for the two Michaels, both of whom were suffering the effects of the bug that's been going around.

The Friday night crowd at Mary's Naturally on Westheimer was enormous. The small front bar and both patios were jammed with LUEY attendees. We picked up our registration packets and run pins, grabbed a couple of cold drinks, and wandered around to check out the crowd. Michael D. soon commented that after a long weekend of crowds at Mardi Gras in New Orleans, he was just a bit burned out on being around this many people, and we all agreed. But we enjoyed a few of the free cocktails being passed around the patio by members of the host clubs.

LUEY is presented by the Houston Council of Clubs, an umbrella organization for many of the city's leather, bear, and social clubs. They have thrown this party for 30 years, always on the weekend after Mardi Gras, and it just keeps growing. In 2002 LUEY had nearly 800 registered participants from 29 states and four foreign countries. And the most amazing part is that registration is entirely free for visitors from outside Houston. That includes all the *bleep*tail parties and all the food. It doesn't get better than that!

We hung around Mary's for a while Friday night before retiring to Houston's biggest leather bar, the Ripcord. We found bike parking a bit more of a challenge than usual because of muddy puddles where the Ripcord's motorcycle parking usually is, but after circling around a bit we found a spot nearby. Inside the bar we were surprised at all the recent changes. The outside bar has become an inside bar, and part of the back patio has been extended. The Ripcord was busy, but thankfully not as jammed as Mary's.

We had originally planned a day ride on Saturday to Galveston led by Seth from the Battalion Motorcycle Corps. But since Mike and Doug had never been to LUEY before, we decided to leave the day open for LUEY events. As it turned out, Mike's flu bug worsened on Saturday, and he spent most of the day in bed. David and Michael took the afternoon to head to suburban Pasadena to visit Pasadena Honda and drop in on Michael's mom. Susan was an avid motorcyclist in her younger years, piloting her own Honda Rebel. She was thrilled to get a chance to ride on the back of David's Gold Wing when they went out to lunch. We all heard that the Saturday afternoon LUEY party at the Ripcord was a smashing success.

Saturday night brought everyone to the Brazos River Bottom for dinner and dancing. The BRB is Houston's biggest gay country/western dance bar, and they served up some delicious Mexican fajitas, along with rice and beans. The BRB never looked more like a leather bar with the hundreds of LUEY participants in attendance. Unfortunately, Mike's worsening flu bug caused Mike and Doug to leave the BRB only minutes after they arrived and head back to their hotel.

At 10 pm, the BRB staff cleared the dance floor of the banquet tables, and cranked up the country music. David, an experienced c/w dancer and dance instructor, led Michael around the dance floor for a couple of two-steps and a country waltz. David ran into his friend Cliff, who was recently named Mr. BRB 2003, and his new boyfriend, also named David. After a few dances, Michael and David headed again to the Ripcord, where the bar unveiled yet another new section of the patio to handle the overflow LUEY crowd.

After a good night's sleep, the four of us had a hearty breakfast Sunday morning at the IHOP across from the hotel, then headed east to New Orleans for the return trip. The entire weekend was graced with perfect, sunny, mild weather, just right for a long-distance trip and a quick weekend away from home.

Upon returning the New Orleans, the four vowed to make the a return to LUEY next year, for an even bigger and better post-Mardi Gras party.

Cavaliers celebrate Mardi Gras in high style

The Cavaliers celebrated Mardi Gras 2003 with one party after another during the last five days of Carnival. Galleries from all the events are posted at the links below.

Night of the Black Mask
The weekend started with the annual Night of the Black Mask party, hosted by the Knights d'Orleans at the Phoenix on Friday, February 28. The annual street party is always a great place to see and be seen as you kick off the holiday weekend. Mike, Doug, Poncho, William, George, Guy, Michael and David had a great time promoting the Cavaliers.

Founder's Thoth Parade Party
David Lester and Michael Wheeler hosted the third annual Thoth parade party on Sunday, March 2. Mark, George, Poncho, William, Mike, Doug, and more than 30 other guests (including a surprise appearance by our friend Seth from Houston) ate, drank, and caught beads as the colorful Thoth parade rolled right past David and Michael's home.

Lords of Leather Bal Masque XX
The Cavaliers were honored to be seated at a royal table at the Lords of Leather Bal Masque XX on the evening Sunday, March 2, courtesy of Lord King XX Todd Cole. Seated at the Cavaliers' table were Poncho, William, George, Mark, Michael, David, and their guests. Also in attendance at the ball were Alan, Mike and Doug, while Todd, Guy, and Adam all participated in the ball's tableau.

Mardi Gras in the French Quarter
The Cavaliers converged on the French Quarter for Fat Tuesday, March 4, 2003. George, Mark, Poncho, William, Mike, Doug, David and Michael spent most of the day on the streets of the Quarter despite a persistent mist, enjoying the costumes and the crowds Check out their adventures in the Cavaliers' exclusive Mardi Gras gallery.

Cavaliers celebrate Carnival with beer bust

Tornado watches were issued and Carnival parades throughout the New Orleans area were canceled, but the Cavaliers held their most successful beer bust ever on Feb. 21 despite the threatening weather.

The club greeted a big crowd of locals and visitors in town for the first weekend of Carnival parades.

Cavaliers present for the festivities included George, Poncho, William, Doug, and Michael D. Hosting the evening were David and Michael W., who cooked up a delicious batch of chili.

The Cavaliers handed out special Mardi Gras beads adorned with motorcycles (with spinning wheels!) to the first dozen or so beer bust customers. The beads were very popular. Thanks to Mark for the suggestion.

George told us that he really needed the beer bust because his classes at UNO have been very stressful. It looked like he had a good time and the beer bust served its purpose well.

This beer bust was held on the third Friday of February because the Cavaliers swapped weeks with the Knights d'Orleans so they could host their annual Night of the Black Mask party the following week. Because the third Friday is normally a Knights' beer bust, we were pleased to welcome a large number of their club members to our beer bust. We were honored to have so many favorable compliments from them about our event.

T.J., our visitor from Maine, told us how impressed he was with how friendly everyone was. The Cavaliers are known to be a friendly bunch, T.J., but it's really just a New Orleans thing, and one of the main reasons why many of us choose to live in this attitude-free zone.

We also got to meet Karl from Pennsylvania, who had contacted us before his visit for suggestions on renting a motorcycle in New Orleans. He had a great time renting a Harley and riding up to Natchez, Jackson, and Hattiesburg, MS, for a few days, even though he got caught in the severe weather on the way back. He still had a big smile on his face from the great time he had on his ride.