The following statement may have diehard poker-runners running for their torches and pitchforks, for surely it will come as blasphemy to their wind-chapped ears. But here goes.
The 120-mile poker run is not the best part of the annual Boyne Thunder Poker Run, which is set for July 10-12 in Boyne City, Mich. In fact, it’s not even close.
At least for me, an essential point.
Because while poker runs themselves have their unforgettable moments, it is everything curricular around them that piques my interest. The Boyne Thunder affair is no exception. But when it comes to its four extra-curriculars, the event is exceptional.
What follows—in chronological order—are the four elements of the Boyne Thunder Poker Run that make it truly extraordinary.
• Bay Harbor Lunch Run—Sponsored by Unriehl Performance, the late-Thursday-morning trek from Boyne City to Bay Harbor is a fine way get to get an easily digestible dose of the Lake Charlevoix, Round Lake and Lake Michigan. If memory serves, last year’s Bay City lunch run attracted 60-plus entries, meaning more than half of the registered fleet. The lunch fare is solid and Bay Harbor is one of those communities that will make you wish you studied harder in school.
• Thursday Night Welcome Party—A poker-run party is a poker-run party, unless it happens to be an extended family reunion such as the Boyne Thunder happening backed by American Custom Marine and Nor-Tech High-Performance Boats. But what bonds the group of revelers isn’t the food or the drink or the pretty indoor/outdoor setting at Boyne Mountain Resort. It is the communal post-traumatic stress syndrome shared by participants who actually made the registration cut.
• Friday Free Day—For good reason, poker-run formats don’t lend themselves to willy-nilly exploration by water. I mean, how would you handle organizing things such as card stops if everyone went his or her way all day? But thanks its gob-smacking natural beauty, Lake Michigan and its shoreline demand exploration. Want to stay close to home? Head to Bay Harbor, even if you did the day before. Want an adventure? Organize a group run to Sleeping Bear Dunes and prepare to be blown away.
• Friday Night Street Party—Some street parties are too small, their towns too limited for anything but a brief exploratory visit. Others are so large and overcrowded that they elicit the identical response. The Boyne Thunder Poker Run Street is the definition of just right with live music played at a volume that still allows for conversation, amazing cars and boats to ogle on Main Street and plenty of places to eat, drink and be oh-so-merry.