I skipped church for this ride. I wasn't sure how good it would be or where we were going...if anywhere...but I just felt like I wanted to do something in memory of those who lost their lives at the World Trade Center, Pentagon and in Pennsylvania.
I arrived at the local Harley dealership around 9am and was pleasantly surprised to see the parking lot filling up nicely. Although the ride wasn't due to leave until 9:30, there was still a nice crowd gathering. Perhaps it was the coffee and donuts that pulled folks in. No, seriously, I think it was because it was a weekend and because everyone there wanted to remember what happened back on 9/11/01.
When I pulled into the parking lot I was met by a couple of guys from the local H.O.G. (that's Harley Owner's Group) chapter who directed me to a parking location. As it turned out, I was relatively close to the front of the pack so that was good. I parked my bike and wandered around looking at the other motorcycles...see pictures...and speaking to the few folks there I knew. I grabbed a donut...not too good...and settled in for a short wait.
Shortly before 9:30, the organizer from the dealership got on a bullhorn and made a couple of announcements before the Road Captain for the day gave everyone instructions. We were being escorted by officers from the Sheriff's office and the Constable's office...5 cars in all. Plus, there were about 8-9 riders from the H.O.G. chapter providing road guard duties...now, that's an interesting job!
Road Guards do exactly what it sounds like...they guard, or block, entry onto the road that the group is riding on. In this case, the larger intersections were protected by the patrol cars and the smaller ones protected by the road guards. They wore bright orange vests but other than the standard safety equipment ...helmet, long pants, gloves...they didn't have any other protection. The exciting part of being a road guard has to be the fact that once they are finished guarding the road, they get to zoom past the procession to get to the front again. The patrol cars do likewise, but they use lights and sirens. If you're not paying attention, those guys can give you quite a start. Since being startled once before, I now keep one eye on my rearview mirror.
There were just under 200 motorcycles in the group on Sunday...not huge but not bad either. As far as I know there were no incidents or problems. We were led on a route that went around the west side of town, through Bryan on Hwy 21 and half way to Madisonville before turning back toward College Station and eventually entering Veteran's Park. All told, it was about an hour of riding and about 45 miles.
Once everyone parked and made their way over to the 9/11 memorial area, the ceremony started with the raising of the flag by the local VFW, a 21-gun salute (actually only 16-17 as on the last volley not all of the guns went off), the signing of the National Anthem and a short service by Pastor Sam...a biker dude from the Tribe of Judah (a Christian motorcycle club I think). It was a good little ride and a nice ceremony.
I left after the ceremony and headed home...and slept pretty much the rest of the day. Big, bad bike dude myself, huh.
Join me again this coming Saturday for a ride around the Houston area visiting the area's Harley dealerships. I've got plans to visit 7 of them and get them to stamp my passport...a little game Harley is having right now. There's 41 dealerships in the State of Texas participating. After it's all over there will be a drawing for a new motorcycle, trips to Milwaukee or $200 gift certificates. The more places you visit, the more chances you have to win. There's no cost to enter...other than the price of a T-shirt from each location if so desired. My chest of drawers is overflowing right now with new T-shirts.
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