Mewsings from Lowecat (aka Indianacat)

My rants, ravings, and overall 'mewsings' on life, the universe, and everything.

Saturday, August 20, 2011

Another event ride


Today was another event ride, the annual 'Russ Dellen' Memorial Loop for Life ride. This involved thousands of us bikers ridin' the entire I-465 loop around Indianapolis. Fifty five miles of ridin', with the state and metro police blockin' off the exit and entrance ramps so we wouldn't get run over. This year, four local charities benefitted from the proceeds of the ride.
Tig, the bike, and I were one of those thousands of bikes. We did a good job of keepin' up. Fact is, I was behind a Harley Davidson Trike that reminded me a lot of Piney's bike in Sons of Anarchy. We had one operator and passenger wipe out at the start of the ride, I hope they're OK.
We had great weather, a little cool to start out with, but it got sunny real quick. So right now, I'm a little red faced! The guy I met from the 6 August ride, Ron, was there, and I got to meet other riders as well. If you're a Facebook friend, you can check outo the pics on my page.
We didn't get a lot of media coverage for this, only one station gave us a mention. The others didn't bother to cover us. Oh, well. Their loss. We started at the Marion County Fairgrounds, a boon for me 'cause we live close to that. Other riders came in from the South and North side sattelite points.
Yes, I checked out the vendors and am happy to report no bootleg SOA DVDs were on sale! Heh - heh. There were other SOA fans, decked out in the their Tshirts. No one was dumb enough to wear anything resembling a three piece rocker. There were a few clubs there who might not have taken kindly to that.
I've never been to Sturgis, or Daytona for their bike events, but can imagine this might be what that's like. The camaradie of a whole horde of bikers getting together for a common reason. Good weather, lots of room for us, good food (bagels for breakfast for me with coffee, donuts for those that wanted sugar). There were two bands to entertain us, one before the ride and another after. An honor guard from the police and fire departments presented the US and State flags, and a minister gave a blessing of the bikes and riders.
Besides raising money, and getting together with fellow bikers for a good cause, this ride gave me an opportunity to do something that I missed in April because of Tig's rusty gas tank; to ride with two of the beams from Twin Towers. Those beams led the ride, ferries by a 44 foot semi. After the ride, we got to see and touch the beams up close and personal. The beams will be turned into a monument downtown. You can find out more about this at the following link:
Just like the last ride, hearing all the motorcycle engines start up makes a body's heart and blood race. Being a part of something like that makes you feel special. People lined the street leading to the interstate (Southeastern Ave) to cheer us on.
Course, we probably pissed off a few drivers when the cops shut down the ramps for a brief period. . .but that's another story for another day.
I'd hoped maybe Uncle Mike and Aunt Sandy, who live near the loop on the west side of town might get a chance to watch us pass, but I didn't get a chance to see if they were there. I'd also hoped the DH would get to watch us, get away from work just for a few minutes, but again, didn't see him (he later reported, no, he didn't get away).
But the people who did line the overpasses to cheer us on more than made up for that opportunity. As we came around the SouthEast side of town, near the Lawrence exits, I got chills at seeing two fire trucks parked on the overpass, their ladders extended, flying the American flag between them. That's the first time I'd ever passed underneath that symbol. I damn near cried.
This was the longest ride Tig and I have taken since I bought him. He rose to the job magnificiently. Mine wasn't the only vintage Yamaha, there were two others, thought I never met the riders.
After our return to the fairgrounds, besides getting fed and wandering the vendors, I got a closer look at the beams. What can one say about them? That's me with the beams. Yes, we were allowed to touch. It was like touching hallowed ground. You couldn't help but feel completely insignificant next to those steel beams. See them made my heart hurt for the lives lost.
In just a few weeks, the 10th anniversary of that awful day will be upon us. There will be people who will piss and groan, bitch and moan about the fact that nothing has replaced the area in NYC where the towers fell. Something will eventually be built there to remember those who died. And those who lived.
May we never forget that day, and may we never become so complacent again.

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