Taking advantage of clear skies and dry roads Wednesday, about 10 members of the Penn State Motorcycle Club dusted off their bikes, revved up their engines and sped off into the distance.

"For me, it's like being on a roller coaster ride when you're a kid and you have a smile from ear to ear," club member Dan Loncher (senior-electric mechanical engineering) said.

"It's something that never gets old," he added.

The pack of bikes attracted a bit of attention while driving State College, with some people waving and shouting out requests for wheelies.

"The last time we went out, we had little Amish boys asking us to do wheelies," club treasurer Aaron Lake (senior-commercial recreation and tourism management) said.

Community enthusiasm is just one fun aspect of group rides, which are much more enjoyable than riding solo, members say.

"After a while, it gets kinda boring riding by yourself," club member Jesse Hoover (senior-crime, law and justice) said. "Riding with a bunch of guys is a lot of fun."

While for the most part the group is all laughs, there are certain times when the danger of the sport catches up with them.

What started out as a great riding trip Wednesday was soon interrupted by one biker's spill in Black Moshannon State Park.

"There was just some gravel up there, and it kinda got squirrely on him," Loncher said.

Although just a minor accident that time, the possibility of something worse happening is just another aspect of the sport, Hoover said.

"You have to drive defensively," he said. "I've had 11 or 12 close calls of people pulling out in front of me -- cars who don't see you."

Despite the dangers involved, Hoover said the thrill of riding is worth the risk.

"It is dangerous, but it is a lot of fun, so the fun kinda outweighs the danger," he said. "It's almost boring driving a car after you've ridden a motorcycle, because you have a little engine strapped between your legs and that's it."

Last year, members rode to the Grand Canyon of Pennsylvania and to The Tail of the Dragon, an 11-mile stretch of road on the border of North Carolina and Tennessee, which they plan to visit again this semester after finals week.

"There's 318 curves in 11 miles," club President Eric King (sophomore-agricultural engineering) said. "Everybody comes back a better rider."

This year, the group traveled to a motorcycle show in Ohio and also plans to drive their bikes into the HUB-Robeson Center during Late Night Penn State April 16.

"It's just to let people see the bikes and ask questions," King said. "There's a lot of people up here with bikes that don't know we exist."

The group also stays active, especially through the winter, with meetings about once a month. While there are 160 people on the club's e-mail list, attendance at the meetings has been around 40, King said.

To fund their activities, the group currently hasn't used any University Park Allocation Committee money or collected any dues; instead, they raise money for the club by renting parking spaces in a garage to members, who say it's difficult to find indoor parking otherwise.

Inside it sits bikes of all kinds -- Kawasaki Ninja and Triumph sports bikes, Harley-Davidson cruisers, Honda touring bikes, a dirtbike and even an antique BMW.

However, King said a bike isn't necessary to join the group. The members all have different skill levels and no one gets left behind, he said.

"There's people who just bought bikes, who've never ridden with anyone before, and then there's people who've ridden all their lives," he said. "It's kinda nice to ride with more experience riders so [inexperienced members] see how you should ride."