Hill climb was hot & dusty before Mother Nature puts an end to the fun

MOUNT MORRIS – The dust was thick Sunday at the annual Rock River Riders Motorcycle Club’s Father’s Day Hillclimb – until Mother Nature showed up and put an end to all the fun.

Riders from across the region took their best shots at climbing “the hill” on their motorcycles with a variety of class divisions. Footage and the time spent to make it all the way to the top determined the winners of each division.

During intermission before the rain, spectators got a chance to climb the hill, which stands more than 100 feet tall.

Cyrus Locklund, 7, of Rockford, was one of the kids who made it to the top without having to use one of the ropes strung on each side of the hill.

“I went up and down the hill twice without a rope,” beamed Locklund as he stood with his family under their canopy after intermission. “But it was clunky dirt.”

The mechanized machines were back on the hill for about 20 minutes before clouds rolled in and the rain began.

Five riders took on the hill in the rain before the mud became too slick and the event was called off.

The RRRMC was founded in 1935 and is located across from the main entrance to White Pines State Park, 6719 West Pines Road, between Oregon and Polo.

The club is known for its hill climb event, held just to the west of what once was the Pines Drive-In Theater. When the theater closed, the club purchased the land.

For information on the Rock River Riders Motorcycle Club and the upcoming event, visit www.rrrmc.org.