When we got to the Pentagon and had a police escort to the front row (nice) we knew it was going to be a great ride. The Pennsylvania Chapter showed up with about 11 more riders. It was fantastic to finally meet some of the other members; it was like a family reunion... great bunch of bikers. We started out from the Pentagon at noon; it was awesome to be some of the first bikes out. Don Foley drew a lot of attention with his side car and those that rode next to him were filled with pride. For those of us who know Don, it also gave us a sense of humility to ride along side our friend, a Vietnam vet, knowing he was going see his friends on the wall.

The spectators all along the parade roads were incredible. When we were turning onto Constitution Ave. there was a lone soldier who stood at attention, saluting all the bikes as they passed him. What a sense of honor he brought to the event. All along Constitution Ave were thousands of people cheering us on, what an incredible experience.

As we were leaving DC we walked by that saluting soldier, still standing at attention, saluting all the bikes. He had been doing this for about 2 hours and bikes were still rolling out of the Pentagon. A few of us headed home back to Virginia. But of course we couldn't go the whole day without getting caught in the rain. It wasn't bad, just enough to mess up the bike, oh well, just have to clean her up again.

It was a great ride.

We had a blast and next year will be even better!

- Steve Rowland