Words and photos by Panhead Jim

Back again this year is the best one-day chopper event on the East Coast, the War Run. The day will start with a chopper run that leaves from Carolina Coast Harley-Davidson of Wilmington, NC, at 10:30 AM. From there, we'll ride out to Jacksonville, NC, to visit the Beirut Memorial, which was built to honor the 241 American peacekeepers killed in the Beirut barracks bombing in 1983. After leaving the memorial, we'll cruise down to Surf City, NC, to hit the beach before rolling down the coast to the Skate Barn in Hampstead, NC, for the main event.

We'll reach the Skate Barn around 1:00, and there will be Carolina BBQ waiting for us on the grill when we pull in. Don't worry, if you don't like slow-cooked pork BBQ, there is a McDonalds and a pizza joint just around the corner so no one should go hungry. The Skate Barn has some killer ramps too, so don't forget to bring your board. At 2:00 PM, the mini-bike track will open for a one-hour practice session to give everyone a chance to do some laps on the new track. This year's track is dirt, but some sandpits might trip you up if you don't have the right tires....

The races will start promptly at 3:00 and will continue all afternoon. The event will begin with five bike heats, each of which will be five laps long. The top two bikes in each heat will move forward. The main event will be a ten lap race with cash prizes awarded to the top three finishers. Participants must be riding a mini-bike powered by a 4-stroke motor with a pull start. The entry fee is $10 per bike, and all the entry fees will go towards the cash prizes for the winners.

Free tent camping is available on the grounds of the Skate Barn on Saturday night, which means you can spend the night reliving all your victories on the track with your fellow racers.

You don't have long to get your mini-bike prepped, so run down to Harbor Freight and grab a new Predator motor so you'll be race-ready by the 18th! Follow @war_run4 on Instagram to keep up with all the latest news on the event.

See you there,
Panhead Jim