Mother Nature can't stop Gyro Days, Lead Creek Derby
Photo by CHANSE WATSON Wallace Gyro member Rod Plank carefully balances on a tree over the Coeur d’Alene River as he works to free the Gyro ball during the Lead Creek Derby on Saturday.
Photo by CHANSE WATSON The Gyro ball cruises under a bridge in Mullan as it makes its way downstream to Wallace.
Photo courtesy of LAURIE HURD Delena (front) and Destiny Hurd enjoy the carnival rides in Wallace during Gyro Days.
WALLACE — On a list of unique events, the annual Lead Creek Derby could probably be put near the top.
Where else can a large group of people hop on bikes, follow a giant beach ball down a river for almost 10 miles, then enjoy a street carnival?
Well, that’s exactly what happened on Saturday, June 16 for the 77th year in a row as part of the larger and longer Wallace Gyro Days celebration.
It all began at Last Chance Bridge in Mullan, where participants gathered to see the Gyro ball dropped into the chilly waters of the South Fork of the Coeur d’Alene River. This year, the honor of dropping the ball in at noon went to longtime Wallace residents Jim and Skippy Striker.
With a loud thud similar to the sound of someone doing a belly flop in a pool, the derby was on! Spectators took to their bikes and vehicles to begin the more than three-hour journey west down the Trail of the Coeur d’Alenes.
In addition to some intermittent rain, Mother Nature threw some other curve balls at the Gyros this year by placing some formidable obstacles in the ball’s path for it to get snagged on. This was no reason to stress though, as the ball getting stuck is always part of the fun.
Leading the parade of bicyclists and followers from a Humvee driven flat-bed trailer was a collection of Wallace Gyro Club members. These members (or “runners”) were tasked with knocking the ball loose whenever the need arose.
Wallace Gyro member and runner Rod Plank was the first to dismount the trailer and tug at the ball when it got stuck on a felled tree when leaving Mullan.
“For the ‘runners,’ dislodging the ball from obstacles along the creek is always interesting because some spots are pretty difficult to get to and at times you may need to perform some gymnastics to get the ball moving again,” Plank said. “You need to be prepared to get wet, but it’s all for a good cause.”
Exactly 3 hours, 11 minutes and 41 seconds from the first drop, the Gyro ball passed below its traditional finish line of the Sixth Street Bridge in Wallace to a chorus of cheers. As with every year, the finishing of the derby also signaled the convergence of those that have been following the ball with the many that have been waiting in Wallace.
This year’s time beat last year’s by 11 minutes and 11 seconds, making it the fastest since 2012 — when the ball finished just three minutes over the three-hour mark.
In 2015, the ball took a record slow 5 hours, 36 minutes and 54 seconds.
Plank said that he was pleased with this year’s derby participation.
“Despite the weather, we had a pretty good turnout from folks wanting to follow the ball this year.”
Fellow Gyro member Dean Cooper echoed Plank’s opinion, but also added that this year’s crowd had a lot more bicyclists in it compared to last year.
The Lead Creek Derby is just one part of the larger event that is Gyro Days.
From Thursday afternoon to Sunday morning, carnival rides and games were set up along Sixth and Cedar streets in Wallace for attendees young and old to partake in. Although a significant thunderstorm and sporadic rain showers hampered things a bit on Friday and Saturday, there was still fun to be had by all. The Wallace Elks Drum and Bugle Choir — including new female members — were on hand to bring the excitement up Friday night after the random thunderstorm. Mother Nature was even nice enough to give festival goers a pleasant Saturday afternoon following the derby.
It is estimated that several hundred people partook in the carnival over the four days of operation.
All in all, Wallace Gyro president Chris Pfahl sees this year’s event as a big success.
“Good time and good turn out, despite the weather,” he said. “Everybody was happy and everybody had a good time.”
“Overall the results of the weekend will allow for the Wallace Gyro Club to continue to support the types of youth activities and other events that have benefited for 77 years from the Lead Creek Derby,” Gyro member Mike Dexter added.
With this year’s Lead Creek Derby finishing time set in stone, the Gyros have released the names of the derby’s winners.
Winners are chosen by the final time corresponding with whoever holds the ticket with the closest time. The tickets, purchased through the Gyros, each have a precise finishing time associated with them that is chosen randomly by a computer program. The sale of tickets funds Gyro scholarships and various other youth activities every year, as well as provides financial support for the carnival.
This year’s winners are as follows:
1. Scott Shelley — $1,000 in silver rounds
2. Tom Arnold — $100
3. Phil Workman — $100
4. Max and Shiela — $100
5. Steve James — $100
6. Phil Baker — $100
7. Jarod Brush — $50
8. Don Mellon — $50
9. Siobhan Curet — $50
10. Katie Bolgna — $50
11. Bruce Flohr — $50
12. Krista Kinsey — $25
13. Zeke Dexter — $25
14. Michelle Bisconer
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Missed this year’s Lead Creek Derby? Check out our videos of the event in our “Photos and Video Galleries” tab at www.shoshonenewspress.com.