Tiny-car drivers and motorcyclists from throughout the Great Lakes region and even Canada came to the Kings Island parking lot Friday to compete is a series of drills using their motorcycles or mini-cars as part of the annual meeting of the Great Lake Shriners Association. Competition included an inspection of each car, drill routines and a timed race through an obstacle course.
Dooley described the Flying Carpet’s routine as “organized chaos.”
“A lot of our practice for this competition is run in the parades,” Dooley said. “When you’re on a mystical carpet it doesn’t necessary have to go in a straight line.”
The Cleveland based Al Koran chapter all drove orange “Korvettes.”
“The secret is to just have fun and drive like someone else is going to have to fix it,” said Korvette Director Dan Davis.
Each driver was responsible for the care and maintenance of his car, Davis said. The car was specially fitted to each driver’s dimension so that even though some drivers may be taller than others, each could fit in his own car.
“The greatest feeling is when someone comes up to you on the street and says they were a patient at a Shriner Hospital,” said William Duncan, director of the motorcycle unit of the mid-Michigan based Al Basner shrine chapter. “Then you walk on water for the rest of the day.”
Motorcycles performed drill routines and also competed individually to see who could most successfully navigate an obstacle course.
On Saturday, the 21 chapters will participate in a parade at 11 a.m. in downtown Lebanon featuring the cars, motorcycles and Shriner clowns.
Shriners International comprises more than 400,000 members across the United States. The group, which is a philanthropic arm of the Masonic Temple, operates 22 children’s hospitals in North America, including a burn hospital in Cincinnati. The hospitals spend $1.5 million caring for children every day at no cost to the families of the children.
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