13 JUN 05: STREET PEDALERS

Sunday morning dawned with a large number of tents pitched in the south part of Columbus. The people inside the tents were from all age groups, and several wore colorful shirts. About the only thing missing was Roy Bourgeois, to lead a march on Fort Benning....

But this "tent city" was different. It was on the lawn between the Columbus Civic Center and Golden Park, and the people inside were bicycle riders ready to begin a statewide tour. C'mon now - did you REALLY think these people were camping out to buy Catfish baseball tickets?

Sunday was the opening day of BRAG: the Bike Ride Across Georgia. In response, much of Columbus did what I call (ahem) BOAST: "Barely Off their A**es to See Them."

A special Saturday night welcome concert and party was staged for the BRAG-gers on Broadway. Yet I saw some cyclists eating dinner inside Golden Park, under the grandstand. Does that mean hot dog pushcarts were banned from downtown?

The Columbus Sports Council hyped BRAG as a big event, after the city was dropped from this year's Tour de Georgia. OK, it brings in hundreds of thousands of dollars -- but c'mon now. This is like trading a NASCAR race for a road rally of antique cars.

This year's seven-day BRAG ride goes from Columbus to Jekyll Island. But instead of going directly down Highway 520, the route takes a "scenic route" through places such as Thomaston and Vidalia. Is there a hidden message here - such as avoiding Albany because police might look for handouts?

One of the BRAG-gers this year is former Muscogee County School Board member Owen Ditchfield. He's making the ride at age 66 -- so don't be surprised if a car trails his bike, advertising Depends or Geritol.

Owen Ditchfield claims when he was in college, he couldn't afford a car - so he rode a bicycle "even in the snow." I wonder if his children or grandchildren pay any attention to that, as they sit on couches playing X-Box games.

While bicycle riders gathered in South Commons over the weekend, the Columbus Trade Center hosted its first-ever "Georgia R.V. Show." It was quite a contrast - one mode of transportation for people who can afford two-dollar gasoline, the other for people who can't.

Let's pitch our tent right here, and catch up on other items from the weekend:

+ The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported AFLAC's pension plan is underfunded by more than 140 million dollars. This may explain why AFLAC employees build those Habitat for Humanity homes - they might need to live in them someday.

+ Tropical Storm Arlene came ashore in south Alabama, and brought occasional heavy rain to Columbus. This didn't stop one of my neighbors at the apartment complex -- who simply put on a bright orange shirt, and kept shooting BB's at birds in the courtyard.

+ Which K-92.7 FM announcer declared, "Starting Monday, we're going to hook up your Dad"? Isn't the African-American community trying to break bad stereotypes such as this?!

+ The "Morning of Praise" telecast on WRBL revealed Fourth Street Baptist Church is starting a small group ministry. But a section of the sermon Pastor J.H. Flakes openly asked to be edited from the videotape was left in - so I guess we know a few people who don't plan to participate....

+ Colorado beat Georgia in the Arena Bowl on a field goal at the final buzzer. Former Columbus Wardog Troy Bergeron had only three catches for 25 yards - so I'm still not sure if he'll make the cut, to appear at Rod Hood's football camp this week.

(The Arena Bowl champion Colorado Crush is owned by John Elway. So like the 1999 Super Bowl, he sticks it to Atlanta football fans again -- but at least nobody's mom is around to sell Chunky Soup.)

BURKARD'S BEST BETS: Gas for $1.97 a gallon at two Spectrums on Manchester Expressway.... six donuts for $1.20 at the Wal-Mart SuperCenter discount rack in the back.... and we still don't know how "really big" that cold drink is at Mugg's....

COMING SOON: The Blog is told to shut up.... and then we turn southwest....

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