IT was midday on Easter Sunday. Their bikes could be heard in the distance, humming along the dusty North Rupununi roadway.Then, they rode into the compound of the Oasis Restaurant at Annai, several men on their big bikes, donning what one resident termed

“robot” apparel; protective gear is usually seen in the movies.

They are members of the Sonic Hunters Motorcycle Club, a group which has been in existence almost a decade to date. At Oasis, while some ate and rested, others within the 20-member contingent were busy attending to their motorcycles, off-road machines of which each were fitted with 600cc engines or larger in size.

Coordinator of the group, John Bennet, told the Guyana Chronicle that the bikers have been undertaking on and off- road riding as a group for years.

He said that the group rode from the coastland to the Hinterland as part of the annual Pakaraima Mountain Safari earlier in April. The days-long riding culminated onward to the Lethem rodeo. “Each year our main drive is to Orinduik,“ he said, noting that the group would assemble at the mining town of Linden, where they would offload before heading into the mountainous areas in Region Eight.

This year the group’s reputation grew as off-road specialists on bikes, since motorcycle movie stuntman from MotoCross America, Clint Esposito contacted and joined the group on their recent trip.

“It takes about five days into the mountains and down back”, Bennet said, noting the bikers rode for eight days onward to Lethem.

But the club is not only about riding. In recent years, the Sonic Hunters decided to explore its humanitarian side. “Annually we do this ride but we also do an outreach to homes,” Bennet said, noting that members of the club would visit homes of the less fortunate or depressed communities and assist those in need with hampers and gifts.

On its Easter trip, Bennet said the club donated mainly school supplies to families in several hinterland villages.

He said several sponsors, mainly from corporate Guyana assisted the group on its most recent assignment. “It’s an outreach we [have] now started and we have one main sponsor “, he said, noting the group has one support vehicle which carries supplies such as food and fuel for the contingent.

Currently there are 35 members in the club and the group’s future plans include other regional assignments, as well as taking their bikes across international boundaries. As such, the group plans to ride to French Guiana via Lethem and through Brazil.

How can one join the Sonic Hunters?
Bennet said with a chuckle, that one has to own a bike which has an engine that is above 600cc. And while there are not many women who ride the big bikes, he said the females are also encouraged to join the Sonic Hunters and partake in their plans of “not only riding but also assisting those in need”.