Heartland Police Motorcycle Challenge

After a 15-minute ride I arrived at one of the east parking lots at the center. There were a few awnings set up at one side and a long line of police motorcycles in front of them. The parking lot was a sea of orange cones set up in an intricate pattern to mark a course that would challenge even the most expert rider. An officer had just finished making some announcements over the public address system, and I assumed that he would be the man I would need to talk to in order to arrange for our event coverage. He was Motorcycle Officer Larry Petree of the Independence Police Department, and he was very helpful in providing the information and access that I needed. An Independence Power & Light truck with a lift was parked in the center of the lot to provide an overhead view for photographers.

As I observed and shot photos, I was amazed by the skill demonstrated by the competitors. The number of cones touched was surprisingly low even though the course was so tight that footboards scraped the pavement all the way through many of the circular maneuvers. Tires often smoked when rapid deceleration was called for. Throughout the competition, I recall only three bikes being laid down. That’s going to happen when you ride that close to the edge, and in a field like this you have to push the envelope to be competitive.

During the first of two intermissions, Officer Petree took the time to discuss the event with me:

CC: Please describe this event.
Larry: It’s the Heartland Police Motorcycle Challenge. It’s a charity event for Hillcrest Ministries, and the competition is open to police officers only.

CC: Is this an annual event?
Larry: We are hoping it will be. This is the first one we have tried, and it looks like we’ll be doing it again next year.

CC: Who organized the event?
Larry: The Independence Police Department Motorcycle Unit got it started and handled it this year. We may in the future try to move it from location to location. We’ll see how things go.

CC: How many riders are entered and what police departments are represented?
Larry: We have 22 competitors today. We have Kansas City, Olathe, and Mission from Kansas and St. Joe, Raytown, and Independence from Missouri.

CC: Please describe how the scoring works.
Larry: It’s a timed event. You run through the course and penalty seconds are added for hitting or knocking down cones or for running out of the course.

CC: It looks like a really tough course with figure eights, sharp turns, and tight weaves. How about talking us through it?
Larry: It starts with the slow cone weave Then you enter the “box eight” which is a figure eight in an 18- by 36-foot rectangle. There’s a “180 decel” where you go in fast and have to decelerate to negotiate a couple of tight turns and then a u turn to get out. From that you go into the “big r” which is a 32-foot circle, and you do another figure eight inside that. From there, you enter “the intersection” this is a series of right turns, left turns and u-turns in a complicated combination that’s something like a cloverleaf. Next is the “eye of the tiger” which is a 360-degree turn in an 18-foot area followed by another “box eight.” Then there is another series of sharp turns and an “offset cone weave.” We finish up with what we call the “key hole” which is an 18-foot circle with a 5-foot wide entry gate.

CC: Wow, that’s complex! Do the riders have an opportunity to practice on the course?
Larry: Yes. We had practice all day yesterday and for a couple of hours this morning before the competition started.

CC: Even with practice, I’d probably get lost.
Well, we start by walking all of the riders through the course first. It gives them a chance to see the layout of it. It can get a bit confusing if you get in too big a hurry.

CC: How many rounds of competition will there be today?
Each officer will ride three rounds, and the best two scores will be averaged for the final result.

CC: Who are the judges? They are either retired motorcycle officers or motorcycle officers that have changed assignments within their departments. We have Brien Heinen from Olathe P.D., Don DeBoard and Wayne Hartley from Independence P.D., Fred Kimsey and Dean Harding retired from I.P.D., and Rusty James retired from the Lenexa P.D..

CC: Was it difficult to arrange for this big space in the Independence Center parking lot?
The Center was extremely helpful and supportive. They were very generous to donate this big an area of their parking lot on a weekend.

CC: I noticed that the officers received a few door prizes at the beginning. What sponsors helped out?
Larry: We have lots of great sponsors including the Independence Chamber of Commerce, Harley-Davidson Police Motorcycles, Specialty Products Company, E. Jean Lehman, Champion Chrysler-Jeep, Tim's Pizza, Impact Tow, Klinginsmith Body Shop, Hooters, Joslin Jewelers, Speaks Family Legacy, Big Bisquit, Strategos International LLC, Raytown Police Officers Association, Jim Blau's American Family Insurance, Dynamark Security Centers, Blue Springs Harley-Davidson, The Wm. Ragsdale, Company, Bank 10, Smokehouse BBQ, Donnell's Motorcycles and New Signs.

CC: You mentioned that this is a charity event. Since there is no admission charge for spectators, do the officers pay an entry fee?
Larry: The sponsors provide a donation, an the officers do pay an entry fee that goes to the charity. We have a really low operating budget, so at least 85 to 90 percent of what we take in will go to the charity.

After all of the officers had completed all three runs through the course, there was a bit of an intermission during which they decided to have a little fun. Several of the officers rode into “the intersection” to see who could stay in the longest without putting a foot down or passing another bike. Then, the KCK officers placed two of their bikes in the center of the keyhole, and four others rode around them. It’s quite a feat to get six big Harleys inside such a small circle. The award presentation concluded just in time for me to rendezvous with Mike and ride downtown to watch the Blue Angels' performance from the 12th Street Vaiduct.

Congratulations to the winners!

Division I HD w/o fairing
1st Steve McVay Indep MO PD
2nd Robert Talmadge Olathe, KS PD
3rd Scott Vanover St. JO, MO PD

Division II HD with fairing
1st Jason Allen KCKS PD
2nd Shane Carpenter KCKS PD
3rd Tommy Lee KCKS PD

Divison III All other
1st Tim Warner Raytown, MO PD
2nd Brian Porch Rayotwn, MO PD

Overall
Jason Allen, KCKS PD

Story by Stripe

Photos by Stripe and Mike Schweder