Third Time's a Charm

By Sarah Bass with contributions by Ms. Tracy of Texas Custom Choppers

Photos by Ms. Jodi Nippert and Tejas

In early November, most of the country is preparing for winter, but in the heart of the Texas hill country, it's just coming into the Fall season.The colors are vibrant red, orange, and yellow.The days are mild in the mid to upper 70's and the nights are perfect to warm by a campfire.The kids are back in school and just before the holiday season kicks off, there is time for one more get-away on the bike.Where to go, what to do?

No fear, Three Sisters to the rescue.Who are the Three Sisters, you ask? The answer might surprise you.

In 2006, while hosting a Thursday Bike Night, one biker suggested I â 'put a run togetherâ.What a great idea!I knew where I wanted to go.Just north of Uvalde, south of Junction, and west of Kerrville/Bandera, lies the small town of Leakey (pronounced Lay-key).It has a population of 387, no bars, and 8 churches.Call me crazy, but this was the place.All I could see was possibilities.The roads, the views, and yes, the nightlife were all amazing!After many meetings with the sheriff, chamber of commerce, the local paper, and EVERYONE else in town, it was settled.So now the when question had to be answered.And let's not forget 'why'.Why have another motorcycle event with all the same ole stuff?

I decided this one needed to have a purpose. The answers seemed to fall in my lap.Veteran's Day!Do most of us even know when it is? Do we know how it came to be?Or even that it always falls on the same day every year?We remember Memorial Day and Labor Day, but what about Veteran's Day?This is THE day to honor those that have served, sacrificed, and given their all to preserve our way of life, our freedom, and our rights.This became the purpose that gave me the 'Why' and the 'When'.

After months of planning the run had become a rally.We had vendors, bands, and fun runs.All the same ole stuff of any other rally.However, we had something special.Something we could call our own and yet give it away.We gave the Veterans a rally to call their own; a rally that would be built around honoring them.As a result the crowning moment of the rally became the Veterans Ceremony held on Saturday morning.

The Veterans Ceremony has evolved over the past 3 years by keeping the core elements and adding another special touch each year.This year we fed over 150 people a HOTbreakfast.The San Antonio Patriot Guard Riders led an Honor Ride of 109 bikes to the National Cemetery in Kerrville.We had a flag line and my son, Paul Sadler, (a new veteran) laid a wreath at the monument. A full-dress Marine detail offered a rifle volley. A former Aggie bugler gave us the most beautiful rendition of Taps and the Star Spangled Banner and we closed with a 4-plane flyover from the Commemorative Air Force.

Needless to say, there wasn't a dry eye in the place.It truly is the crowning moment of the rally.

The name of the rally has always perplexed people.Who are the Three Sisters?Where are they from?Actually, the Three Sisters aren't people at all.They are three roads that are nestled in the heart of the majestic Texas Hill Country and wrap around the Nueces, Frio, and Sabinal rivers.They are challenging, tricky, and a little twisted so you'll have to ride all three to find out which one is your favorite. The Three Sisters or "Twisted Sisters" keep bikers coming back almost every week of the year.As much as we told that story people still thought there were 3 girls. So this year we gave them 3 "Sisters".

As the original promoters of the rally, Jodi and I went in search of a third.We didn't have to look far.My daughter, Jey, quickly and thoroughly answered the call.She has been a tireless worker, supporter, and manager of the rally since its beginning.She is a natural beauty and hence a natural choice.So now we have 3 "Sisters".This year we did a photo shoot of the 3 girls, some awesome leathers, and one wicked chopper - all supplied by Texas Custom Choppers who sponsored the shoot.We featured the picture on our website, weekly email newsletter, magazine advertising, and our rally t-shirts.We have many more photo plans for these girls so stay tuned for what we might do next.

In our third year Koyote Ranch in Medina, TX hosted the event.Koyote has 31 cabins, 50 RV sites, and unlimited tent camping available on 20 of the most gorgeous acres in a valley 15 miles south of Kerrville.We boasted a 10-fold increase in attendance this year and expect it to double next year.Other areas of the rally have grown as well.We had 5 spectacular bands this year.Each had its own style and each brought their A-game!We kicked off Friday night with Lyndsay Wells, a beautiful young lady with a stellar voice singing country and pop.Ma Ferguson closed out the evening...or should I say brought the f-ing house down!Their rockin' sounds set the party mood for the rest of the weekend.We will definitely have them back again.Saturday was no different.Still Sic opened up followed by SlickFist, and the night closed with a 'Thun-dâ-rous performance by Big Balls, an AC/DC tribute band.Big Balls enjoyed a lot of female participation from the audience and let's just say the performance was quite large.

Three Sisters also included the best vendors, biker games, a 'ride-what-you-brung' Bike Contest, raffle prizes galore, and a Twisted Sister Contest that this year brought down the house with Tequila Twister.Three 3 lucky girls were chosen as Honorary Twisted Sisters and took home some badass prizes worth more than $500 each.Fun and games, live music, and rides filled the weekend.

Now most rallies are traditionally Friday, Saturday, and everyone goes home on Sunday. However, we don't consider ourselves to be traditional. We found that with the days shorter that time of year, we needed more time to play. So this year we added an extra day to the rally activities. Thursday night became "Pot Luck" night. Everyone: vendors, bands, and rally attendees were invited to Koyote Ranch's big house to brind something to eat and listen to some local music. We were graced with some real cowboy music by Walking Jon of Bandera, TX. The Tequila was flowing, the hot tub was hot, and it was a perfectly laid back way to start the rally. Once again we added another 'twist' to the Three Sisters. t rallies are traditionally Friday, Saturday, and everyone goes home on Sunday.However, we don’t consider oursels to be traditional.We found that with the days shorter that me of year, we needed more time to play.So this year we added an era day to the rallyactivities.Thursday night beca Luck� night.Everyone: vendors, bands, and rally attendees were invited to Koyote Ranch’s big house to bng something to eat and listen to some local music.We were graced with some reacowboy music by Waking Jon of Bandera, TX. The tequila was flowing, the hot tub was hot, and it was a perfectly laid back way to start the rally.Once again we added another ‘twist’ to the Three Sisters.

Everyone had a great time and plans are already in the making for next year's rally.The Three Sisters Rally just keeps getting better and better every year.We were so successful this year, we plan to add a Spring event next year.Details of that event will be surfacing soon.Stay tuned!

We want to thank Texas Custom Choppers, Koyote Ranch, San Antonio PRG, Coors Lite, and all the many volunteers that helped make this possible.Our commitment is in keeping this rally for the Vets...did I say rally?I meant party.Don't miss next year November 5-8, 2009.

Editors Note: Having attended the Three Sisters Rally and having served my country honorably I can attest to the success of this rally, the importance, and desire to help make it one of the best in the country. Let's work on it! Frank T., Editor-in-Chief