Motor-Icicle Run begins Saturday in Orland

Roaring hogs and other motorcycles will hit the streets of Orland on Saturday for the sixth annual Motor-Icicle Run.

They will line up on Fifth Street outside the Orland Fire Station for the family-friendly ride that should take about four hours.

Registration begins at 8 a.m. with kickstands up at 10 a.m.

A pancake breakfast is at 7 a.m. at the fire house to be followed by a chili feed after the ride.

The breakfast is open to the public at $6 per person and includes pancakes, sausage and eggs prepared by the Orland Eagles Lodge. The chili feed is sponsored by Orland Pride and is open to the riders and passengers, organizer Bob Pasero said.

Orland Pride President Tracey Quarne said the chili they are going to serve has been described as "world class."

"There is good, really good and this," he said, adding he cannot really describe it but was speechless after trying it the first time.

Quarne added he would show up and enter even if he did not have a motorcycle just to have a bowl of the chili.

Ride entry is $20 per rider and $5 per passenger.

The route for the 100-mile ride will run from Orland on Old Highway 99 to County Road 203 on to Hamilton City, Pasero said. From there, it will take Highway 45 south to Highway 162 and head west to Willows.

Once in Willows, riders will stop by the Willows Fire Department on South Butte Street and take a break then go on Highway 162 up the hill to Elk Creek.

It leaves Elk Creek on County Road 306 and goes to Road 200 to Eagle Pass at Black Butte Lake, he said. It ends around 2 p.m. back at the Orland Fire Station.

This event is to benefit Orland Pride's efforts to build a memorial to Orland's Fallen Heroes for placement outside the Orland Memorial Hall on Third Street.

A bronze statue of a riderless horse led by a military handler is being designed by local sculptor Ulises Meza.

It is expected to cost $45,000 to $50,000 to complete, Pasero added, and his group has raised about 25 percent of the money.

The statue is to honor all of the city's military veterans from current and past conflicts, he said.

Some of the funds raised by the ride also will go toward landscaping around the historic Orland arch on Old Highway 99 once it is re-lighted, he said.

"I am anticipating a good turnout," Pasero said.

There was no advance registration this year, but he thinks 150 to 200 riders could come out since the weather is expected to be good.

For more information, call 1-888-814-2354 or email him at bpasero@sbcglobal.net.