Meet the Marco Riders

The Marco Riders have been religiously meeting on Sunday mornings for over 20 years.  Age, style, color or size, every bike and everyone is accepted. The Marco Riders isn’t so much of a club, but a loosely organized group of motorcycle enthusiasts, explains Carmen Dasti.

“We meet at CVS on Sundays at around 8:45 AM and we decide where we want to go to breakfast. We usually have anywhere from 10 to 40 people.” The Marco Riders roster, however, boasts over 100 names.

“Thank God they all don’t come at once,” jokes Dasti who is the current “leader” of the “club.” His duties involve leading the quickly decided breakfast location discussion and calling ahead to let the chosen restaurant know how many bikers to expect.

On the morning of April 7th, Dasti made the call to Island Cafe in Everglades City.

What, did you think they would just drive

two blocks to go somewhere close by? These are riders we’re talking about! Often, they’ll head as far as Fort Myers for an omelette and some O.J.

In all seriousness, the Marco Riders, while not necessarily considering themselves a club, do have a mission. Every year, they take part in The Joy of Giving, raising close to $10,000 last year by way of a Poker Run.

Last year, they started at Porky’s, drove about 100 miles between destinations and ended up back at Porky’s where they also raised money through an auction.

And next year the 100 plus members will do it all over again. But until then, they’ll stick to Sunday morning meetings at CVS.

Whether riding for fun or to raise funds, the Marco Riders are all about enjoying time on their bikes and with their fellow bike enthusiasts and friends.

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