BULVERDE, Texas – Before the floods swept through Saturday, Tejas Rodeo was the host of a scene that might have created a different sort of worried to the uninformed passersby.
Just one week after the shootout at a Waco restaurant a big group of bikers gathered together. Instead of provoking fear over gunfire however, this group is all about smoke.
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The bikers came from all over Texas to Tejas Rodeo to enjoy a little music and a lot of cigars.
Carlos Markham is the guy in charge and wants to change the perception the public may have about bikers like him.
"We are not outlaws, we are good guys," Markham said. "We smoke cigars, drink some beers and hang out."
Markham is president of the Cigar Riders biker club. They like big bikes, good cigars and judging from their many YouTube videos, they like do both at the same time.
Markham said the Waco shootout puts their innocent good times in a bad light, however.
"Motorcyclists get a bad reputation," Markham said. "In reality, 99 percent of us are God-fearing, law-abiding citizens enjoying a couple beers and a good cigar, minding our own business and not hurting anybody, and we wish the general population would remember that."
The event offered the cigar-smoking biker a good selection of smokes and a chance to rub elbows with non-bikers, who share their love of that special tobacco. Perhaps at worst, a guilty pleasure.
After Saturday afternoon's event, things did take a turn for the worse weather-wise. With rising floodwaters from the Cibolo River, about 60 rodeo fans and contestants spent a rough night there.
Rodeo contestants, however, ended up saving an elderly couple who got trapped in their car in the water, roping them and bringing them to safety.