June 8th 2008 The first I heard of this cool idea was at the Bi-State Motorcycle Awareness Ride on May 3rd in East Moline, Illinois.  Some pretty cute volunteers were handing out information about an exhibit at the Putnam Museum in Davenport, Iowa.  Locals here in the QC area know about the Putnam Museum.  It's home to a very old mummy.  So, what an interesting idea Putnam Curator of history and Anthropology Christina Kastell and Lori Arguello, Putnam's Marketing Director put  together.                                                                                                                                                                        "Rare Rides: Americans' Love Affair With Motorcycles".  The exhibit took two years to pull together.  With the generosity of many local enthusiasts, 35 motorcycles dating back to 1912, countless photographs and memorabilia traced the history of the American Rider and their machines.              To draw  attention and  kick-start  the exhibit the  Putnam  staff planned a Ride on its opening day led by area  "Biking Legends" Pearl Smith, "Smitty Smith and Bill Tuman.                                                                                                    Pre-registered riders gathered at the  I-80  Iowa Welcome Center  in Le Claire, Iowa  at 10AM.    Stuffed  with  free  coffee and  donuts  the group listened to  Christina  and  Pam Fisher  give Ride instructions  while their Bikes received a free  wash, courtesy  of  Mother Nature.    The Ride was  Police  escorted  though Le Claire,  then we were on our own.    The  pace  was  slow enough that even when part of the group was caught by a traffic light it was easy to re-group.                                                                                                                                                                        After arriving at the Putnam Museum we were all treated to lunch, entertainment and entry to the exhibit.    The exhibit was fantastic!    I  won't say more, you'll  have to check it out yourself.    But don't wait to long, it will only be there till September 7th.  The cost is only going to put you back  six bucks for an Adult,  5 for senior citizens and 4 for children  3-12 years old.                                                                                                                                                            The Putnam Museum   1717 West 12th Street  Davenport, Iowa   563-324-1933   www.putnam.org/exhibits.html        www.putnam.org/  Thanks Christina Kastell, Lori Arguello, Leigh Raftery, Pam Fisher and everyone who helped organize this great event!         What's next?