When Easyriders received a couple of invitations to attend Redwood Run 2000 - the Run's 23rd annual event back in June - one of our photogs grabbed the invites, a handful of magazines, our trusty party dyno and bolted out the door drooling and mumbling something about Humboldt hospitality.

Northern California's Redwood Run has earned the official Easyriders stamp of approval as one of America's best and most exclusive biker bashes. Why, you ask? Because the Kiwanis and the MMA have been dialing in this party for years. They want the Redwood Run to achieve a hard-pulling, broad pleasure curve that intersects with an equally impressive entertainment line at maximum BPM (beers per minute). Peak BPMs at most rallies usually occurs during the semi-finals of the wet T-shirt contest, then peters out. Not at the Redwood Run, though; peak BPMs were sustained all the way through to the headlining band Saturday night.

So what makes this party so exclusive? The biggest reason is that the number of attendees is limited to 5,000 people. Four thousand eight hundred tickets are sold in advance between the first of February and the end of May. That leaves only 200 measly tickets at the gate for the poor planning bastards who just show up. It's a cozy party, just you and a few thousand friends. Same time, same place every year, and the party just keeps getting better and better.

Most of us have been to rallies that have too damn many people attending for the facilities and preparations. Other rallies leave you waiting in ridiculously long lines for everything from beer and food to the pisser and showers. I don't know about you , but after riding from L.A. to Garberville in one shot, the last thing I wanna do is stand in lines all weekend.

Don't get me wrong, there are lines, but they are well organized and move quickly. Doug and Sciandra, two of the event's organizers have been striving to make it more fun and comfortable every year. Some of the comforts that have become better each year are: more, bigger, and better hot showers; hand and face washing stations near the food and rest rooms, so you don't feel grungy all weekend; and this year there were more his and hers porta-potties that were (thank you Jesus) cleaned regularly around the clock.

Some people balk at the $70 ticket price, but if you break it down, you get a hell of a bang for your buck. You get two nights of camping with hot showers and a steak dinner with all the trimmin's. The entertainment line-up for the weekend was all inclusive and top notch. Friday, you got Brian Howe (former lead singer for Bad Company), Pat Travers, John Mayall and the Bluesbreakers, and the Jeff Jolly Band. Saturday, you got Spudgun ( a local favorite with the nicest billet potato cannon I've ever seen), Delta Wires, Lydia Pense and Cold Blood, The Fryed Brothers, Elvin Bishop and .38 Special.

Saturday you also got a wet T-shirt contest that's the best on the West Coast, a slew of silly-assed biker field games and for the gals a wet shorts contest that was hysterical. If you needed anything, there were plenty of food, drink, and merchandise vendors to choose from all weekend long.

The Redwood Run is known for its tradition of freedom and its atmosphere of tolerance. The run is on private property away from the prying eyes of Smoky the nosy bear, and everyone who attends is made to feel like family, even first timers. Make no mistake, though, this is no family run. Sorry kiddies, this run is one of the last of a dying-breed; runs for adults 21 and over. This is a party where mom, dad and their friends can literally let it all hang out and party like it was gonna be outlawed tomorrow.

If you want to get in on the most exclusive blowout on the West Coast, which measured off the scale just before our party-dyno had a heart attack, you'd better get your tickets early. Hope to see you next year.

The organizations that the Redwood Run supports is too long to list, as is the complete list of people to thank for helping out. Thank you to Kiwanis, the MMA, the CMA, all the clubs, organizations, and individuals who give it their all and make the Redwood Run a big success. Mostly, thanks to all the attendees for keepin' a fine tradition of freedom alive and thriving in the Redwoods. You can rest assured that the money raised goes to causes, many of them for children.