May 18, 2022 - Day 1 To DC - Ontario, CA to Williams, AZ
It was a great day, sunny, warm weather and no rain. Ron and Jamie head out to the staging area. It is about 61.
All the routes meet in the Convention center parking lot. This is truly an organized chaos. The people holding the numbers are the stagers...this is how it gets organized. REALLY. It will happen for all the stops. We get pretty good by day 10. First person we see is Steve. He is head of the staging team. It is 6:00 AM but he has been there since 5:30 to set up. He says to me “Boy you really have to love mornings to do this ...and I hate mornings”. What a great way to start the day. You will see lots more of these.
Next I see the brain trust of the route: Route Coordinator, Tom, Asst. Route Coordinator, Paul and Leadership support, Jenny.
Boilermaker , aka Dan, is our quartermaster. He gets all the hats, banners, the windshields names….. and the list goes on. He is one of the behind the scene guys that keeps this train organized.
Aiman was last year's route coordinator, and he is from Australia. He also served in Vietnam.
There is breakfast for us. Can you imagine feeding 1200+ people using Coleman stoves? They do and there are several of them.
Patio makes sure Gunny eats. She said he may forget since he is always so busy. He really loved the burrito because last I saw he was getting a second one. hahaha
Gunny gave me a new road name several years ago, “Soccer Mom”. LOVE IT.
Jean, Aiman, Larry, Ken, Jenny. Ken is the road guard captain this year.
Check out this bike.
We then have morning prayer and presentation of the colors.
Singing of the Star Spangled banner by a gold star mother. It was beautiful. The lady to the right, signed it.
Gunny is then brought up to say a few words. He talked about 1989, no cell phones, no GPS, pay phones and look how far we have come. But we still have a mission to bring everyone home.
Parking lot is huge and it is full of bikes and riders.
As the meeting ended, we hear Papa Smurf call out:
HOW FAR ARE WE GOING?
and you hear 1200+ shout:
ALL THE WAY!!!!
Ok let's saddle. Horn goes off and you have 5 minutes to get ready or you get left behind.
Here is Ron and Jamie
And Platoon #5 leader , Todd, and his son, Steven. All these names… quiz at the end of the day. LOL
All ready. Check out all the bikes. Also there are bikes with carts. They have their own platoon.
This gentleman saw us off. Amazing the respect this Run has.
Little hairy getting out of Ontario:
Our first overpass with well wishers. There will be more of these all the way across the country. Love the support.
Gas stops are organized chaos to say the least. 6-12 pumps open for use only and try to get everyone fueled up as soon as possible. We can normally fill 300-400 bikes in 20 minutes. Remember they are only putting in 2-4 gallons and we do not shut off the pump. Some stops are paid for. Those that are not, you have to pay BUT you only pay in full dollars and you get no change. So if you give $20 and your gas was only $8, you just helped pay for the gas in the chase trucks. Thank you very much.
Look at the pumps. There are 2 bikes per pump. Once one is done, the next bike moves up and the hose goes over to the bike next to him.
Deano ( wrote the song I put in yesterday in the blog) really loved this. And he is good at getting the bikes into the available pump quickly so we can get thru.
Cops are always a part of the Run. And they love to do it. They wanted a pic with some of the riders.
Here is what the parking lot looks like before the bike comes in.
This is road guard “Boots”. We have something in common. His road name is the same as my street name. He is a rookie road guard and so far loving every minute of it.
This gentleman reached out to me. He wanted to show me his bike. His brother-in-law died in Vietnam. He will ride for him. Many of the riders will be riding for someone. Larry and I have rode for a brother, and several uncles. It really brings home the loss that families suffer and the sacrifice Americans have made for this country. We do not want to let people forget this.
On the road again. Not sure if you can see all the bikes behind us. We are up in the front fourth of the pack.
This is up on a hill in the middle of nowhere. They want to show their respect. If you look close you will see the gentleman in the middle saluting.
Walrus is one of our road guards. Most of the time you will see him at an exit ramp. You never know what you will see. Here he has a Yellow umbrella. Probably a great idea since it was over 100 and he will stand there until the full platoon is off the highway. Down the road, Rich Boy has one as well. Smart guys.
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Coming into Needles CA for lunch.
Gas stop number 2. OMG… a sea of helmets.
Staging crew is now setting up on a street to park for lunch.
It was 105 outside so many of the riders tried to get cooled off inside. Felt SOOO good.
Kids made these and they were on the tables. It was so interesting to read them
This one says: Thank you for your service and saving lives when you need too,
Lunch is over and back on the road. Still 105..
Here is Dadbo starting the platoons. After every stop, he signals the platoons to go. Got to love him.
Heading over the Colorado River into Arizona. Starting to cool a little… 95
Few of the road guards: Diesel and Boots. Thanks for keeping us safe. They are amazing.
Riding from Needles to William was some pretty rough road. We were all getting bounced around. Some more than others. Gomez had to tap out because a light came loose and one of his bungee cord came loose so needed to stop and get all fixed.
Omelet has camping gear. He travels all over the country with this stuff so he really knows how to fasten everything down…. Well the bump/rutts were so bad he lost his gear and his phone. More upset about the phone than the gear…go figure. The chase vehicle stopped and helped retrieve the camping gear but no sign of the phone. He said there is probably an elk somewhere wondering what the heck it is.
Now heading out of the desert and into Williams. You can smell the pine trees as you roll into town.
Now Walrus has big white gloves on…. you just never know.
Lunch provided by the American Legion. We will not have to pay for a meal all the way to DC. AMAZING the generosity.
Here is another one of our road guards, he is a Vietnam vet, with his son. It is amazing how many families participate.
This was one of the longest riding days and in the heat made it seem that much longer. Everyone ready for tomorrow. Pray for safe travels and no rain. (or snow).
Destination: Williams AZ
Temps: 55-105(in the desert)-77
Route: I-15E , I-40E
Miles: 402
Quote for the day:
Freedom is not free
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