By Al Muskewitz

Tim Chelette’s Big G Motorcycle Ride has been growing at a record pace since its inception five years ago, but the introduction of a major player this year gives it the potential to reach unprecedented heights going forward.

For this sixth year on the road and the foreseeable future, the Ride has partnered with the Tennessee Trucking Foundation.

“I’m more excited this year than I have been in all the years, just because of the fact I know the passion I’ve put in it the last five years and how much more this is going to be able help the children and families (the ride benefits),” Chelette said from the cab of his Big G Express truck while waiting out an interstate backup outside Louisville, Ky.

This year’s Big G St. Jude Ride is scheduled for June 5. As usual, it’s a 110-mile trip that starts from the Big G Express lot in Mt. Juliet, Tenn., and winds through the scenic backroads of Tennessee to Jim Oliver’s Smoke House off I-24 in Monteagle. Registration is open from 7:30 to 8:45 a.m. with kickstands up at 9.

Registration fee is $20 per bike.

Last year’s ride drew 148 bikes, many of them ridden by fellow truckers. This raised $25,000 for St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital – both records and about five times as large as the inaugural run. It raised $56,000 over its first five years.

By including the Tennessee Trucking Foundation, the charity arm of the Tennessee Trucking Association, the ride looks to take advantage of the reach and resources of the state’s flagship association for truckers. He already has received calls from riders as far away as Indianapolis interested in participating. 

“It’s getting ready to get really big,” he said.

The former Tennessee Trucking Association Road Team captain and Driver of the Year has been working for several months to bring the TTA and TTF aboard. It fits right in line with the foundation’s charitable portfolio that includes programs such as Big Rigs for Little Kids, Ronald McDonald House, Make-A-Wish Foundation and St. Jude.

“When Tim approached us, I’m like, 'This would be a perfect fit.' We’re all about helping our children in Tennessee,” said Donna England, the Tennessee Trucking Association’s Vice President of Safety and Member Services. “We think this is a great cause. 

“Ever since he’s done this ride we’ve been involved with helping promote it. We know the folks there at Big G; super people. Tim, being the super person he is, when he approached us with it, it was one of those things like ‘Hey, do we do this? … Yes.’”

In time, the ride’s name is likely to transition to the Tennessee Trucking Foundation St. Jude Ride sponsored by Big G Express. It’s important to Chelette that the ride keeps Big G Express a prominent presence in the name.

“I said on the video we just made that even though we’ve partnered with the Tennessee Trucking Foundation, Big G’s always been the No. 1 donor,” he said. “I’ll always have Big G. Big G is the one who’s allowed me to do this.”

Among the new elements this year, organizers will hold a contest among school students to design the event’s T-shirt. The winner of the drawing will be announced in May, which is Teen Driving Awareness Month and Motorcycle Awareness Month. Tennessee State Troopers will escort the riders from start to finish.

Chelette will begin actively seeking donations from various businesses for door prizes and silent auctions in a few weeks. Among the items expected to be offered this year are a drone, challenge coins, several St. Jude backpacks and a hand-crafted quilt.

To learn more about the ride, contact Chelette at 615-308-7502 or timchelette@yahoo.com.

“We’re already talking about next year,” he said. 

Al Muskewitz is the Editor of Wright Media. He can be reached at musky@wrightmediacorp.com