NATCHEZ &045; Aaron Tiffee has 20 years of heartfelt memories of his cousin Michael Boykin, but ones that stick out was when Boykin was around children.

Fittingly, Tiffee and the Natchez Bicycle Club have decided to honor Boykin, who was killed in a car accident in mid-June, with a ride Saturday, with the proceeds headed toward the Natchez Children’s Home.

&uot;Michael and kids went together perfectly,&uot; said Tiffee, who owns the Natchez Bicycle Center. &uot;He had a magnetic attraction for them, and we thought this would be something special for his name.&uot;

Registration for the Michael T. Boykin Great Mississippi Bicycle Rally is available online (www.natchezbicyclecenter.com), by calling Tiffee’s shop at (601) 446-7794 or at Main Street Marketplace Cafe at 6 a.m. Saturday.

The century or 100-mile ride will leave first from Marketplace at 7 a.m., with a 50-mile ride following at 8:30 a.m. and 18- and 25-mile rides leaving at 10 a.m.

&uot;Aaron and the members of the Natchez Bicycle Club saw an opportunity to have an event in the memory of Michael that would bring attention to him being missed, and also as bicycling as a fun recreational activity &045; the roads we have are wonderful to bike,&uot; club member Don Blankenstein said. &uot;Plus, we have an excellent home-based charity that can receive in the benefit.&uot;

Director of Development Joe Mitchell said the Children’s Home is always looking to get involved with individuals that are concerned with local issues, as Boykin was.

&uot;We’ve been in business for almost two centuries here,&uot; Mitchell said. &uot;We take a lot of pride in that, and the fact that we’ve never received any federal funding. Not many people realize the cost involved. This creates a greater awareness of the services we provide, and when people find out, many will support us with gifts.&uot;

Every ride will tour the Children’s Home at its completion, and then meet back up at Main Street Marketplace Cafe for lunch, a live auction and live entertainment provided by Black Bayou.

There will be three support-and-gear (SAGs) stops on each course that will offer energy-replenishing refreshments, such as water, Gatordae, bananas and sandwiches.

&uot;Everybody is encouraged to bring their own rations, but we should have enough supplies,&uot; said Blankenstein, who then offered a reassuring, &uot;we’ll have plenty.&uot;

The rally falls on the same day as the PhatWater Kayak Challenge, which will begin at dawn at the Grand Gulf Port of the Mississippi River and finish up at the Under the Hill Saloon in Natchez.

Organizers for Boykin’s event said there should not be any problems with the two events corresponding with one another.

&uot;I don’t think there’s necessarily going to be a conflict being on the same day as the kayak race,&uot; Blankenstein said. &uot;Maybe a conflict as far as publicity goes, but people that kayak are not always the same people that bike generally.&uot;

Tiffee, who was already busy preparing for next year’s Mississippi Grand Prix Tuesday, said Boykin’s father, mother, stepbrother and stepsister will all ride Saturday.

&uot;After I went off to college, we got out of touch, like you always do,&uot; Tiffee said. &uot;Then, one day (Boykin) just showed up at the shop (Bicycle Center). I asked him right out if he was looking for something to do. We started riding again and camping out.&uot;

He said Boykin, 20, was preparing to enlist in the Coast Guard before his untimely death that also claimed the life of Sara Bunch and left Jessica Barnett hospitalized for weeks.

Tiffee said the pain of his cousin’s death has subsided somewhat, but there are moments on the road where he sees Boykin’s face.

&uot;It’s not bad like emotional strain or anything like that,&uot; Tiffee said. &uot;I don’t get bothered by it too much any more unless I’m out riding by myself.&uot;