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Fans line Sixth Street in front of the Hotel Colorado to get autographs from Herschel Walker, center, and Kyle Petty, right, Sunday afternoon in Glenwood Springs. Petty and his Charity Ride made a stop in the Roaring Fork Valley.
Kyle Mills / Post Independent -
Riders with the Kyle Petty Charity Ride pull in front of the Hotel Colorado Sunday afternoon in Glenwood Springs. 150 motorcycles are making the 3,700 miles journey from Seattle, Wash., to Key Largo, Fla., to raise money for Victory Junction.
Kyle Mills / Post Independent -
Former NASCAR driver Kyle Petty directs riders for a commemorative photo in front of Hotel Colorado Sunday afternoon. The Charity Ride bought out the hotel for the night as it travels across the country raising money for Victory Junction.
Kyle Mills / Post Independent -
Former NFL great and Heisman Trophy winner Herschel Walker meets fans during the Kyle Petty Charity Rides stop in Glenwood Springs Sunday.
Kyle Mills / Post Independent
The thunder of over 100 V-twin motorcycle engines echoed through the lower Roaring Fork Valley as the Kyle Petty Charity Ride roared into Glenwood Springs Sunday afternoon.
“This is fantastic, to be able to have 250 riders coming through Glenwood on a beautiful Sunday afternoon — its wonderful for the town and raises money for the Victory Junction,” Glenwood Mayor Jonathan Godes said.
“Any time you can have this kind of activity in town to raise money for a good cause — it’s a massive win for everybody.”
More than 100 fans lined Sixth Street in front of the historic Hotel Colorado to see and meet Kyle Petty, Herschel Walker, Max Papis, Krista Voda, Rick Allen and more.
Former NFL great and Heisman Trophy winner Herschel Walker said it was the second time he’s been in Glenwood Springs in less than a week.
“We rode up last week to Seattle to meet and stayed here Tuesday of last week,” Walker said.
“It was a great ride, beautiful country. That’s one thing I told someone, I never appreciated the United States until I got on a motorcycle.”
While in Glenwood Walker said he was looking forward to healing up the toe he recently hurt.
“I love riding. We have a lot of fun. A lot of people on the ride are almost like family now,” Walker added.
Christian Henny, general manager of the Hotel Colorado, said, “It’s amazing to have a group come in and buy out the whole hotel, giving revenue to the hotel and all the restaurants and bars in town. Everybody is going to have a great night tonight.”
Local law enforcement including the Glenwood Springs Police Department and Garfield County Sheriff helped escort the 150 motorcycles and support vehicles into the valley.
The city of Glenwood pitched in and closed down Sixth Street in front of Hotel Colorado for a commemorative photo and motorcycle parking.
For Kyle Petty the best part about coming into Glenwood Springs is the scenery.
“We live back east, man. You don’t have this scenery. Rolling in here to see all these fans is pretty cool,” Petty said.
Petty and his wife, Morgan, who has family that lives in Aspen that met them in Glenwood Sunday, planned on going out for dinner while in Glenwood for the night.
“Will probably end up back in the lobby,” Petty added.
The ride will depart Glenwood at 8:15 a.m. Monday, for day four of the nine-day ride from Seattle, Washington, to Key Largo, Florida.
Colorado stops along the way will include Buena Vista and Alamosa, before heading into New Mexico.
For fans the Glenwood stop was a big hit, with autograph seekers lining Sixth Street for the chance to meet the celebrities during their visit.
“You have legends like Kyle Petty and Herschel Walker — that’s kind of cool,” Mayor Godes added.