The ride down was great – very hot on the roadways, but the traffic wasn’t bad at all. The time seemed to fly…right up until we hit DC/VA, that is. It must have been at this time that the traffic gods had had enough of us whizzing through everything, for they set their greatest tools of congestion upon us. Miles and miles of stoplights, and rush hour traffic. (Shannon had peeled off shortly before we hit downtown Arlington, fortunately for her.)
We finally reached the intersection where Steve and Jan peeled off, and that left me with a mere ~7 miles to K’s house. But that ~7 miles took me almost 45 minutes! I was so happy to pull into her driveway and shut the bike down.
After cleaning up, K brought me out to a multi-floored establishment in downtown Arlington on Friday night. The top floor was a roof-top bar – nice! Well, until the SOLID BLACK clouds started moving in! That was pretty cool to watch as they were rolling over the tops of the skyscrapers, with the bolts of lightning leading the way! Yeah, glad I’m not on the bike right now! We settled our tab and headed to the first floor, where we could catch the BRUINS victory in Game 7!! Woo-Hoo!!
Saturday was a few things around the house to help prep for the cookout on the following day, then it was off to Fort Washington (Maryland) Harley for a bit of a rally they host annually. A band, some vendors, free food, and lots of bikes. Not a bad thing at all, to check out in the afternoon (we tried to catch Steve/Jan/Shan, but they’d left before we arrived). Also, this is where I found one of my flagpoles had broken. Luckily, the brace holding the two poles from shacking into each other when I’m riding, kept the broken pole from falling off the bike. I removed the flag, and K’s friend Rob tossed the broken pole into his truck, and we were off to the rally.
From there, it was back to get cleaned up and head into town again. We grabbed something to eat, as well as some Cap’n & Gingers at an outside eatery, then it was off to pick up James (K’s roommate), and then we were off to another roof-top bar to while the evening away.
Sunday! Run day! We got the last few things ready for the cookout, then jumped onto the bike and headed into town. We found an available spot not too far away from the route, pulled in and shut down. We headed off to see the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall, then strolled up to see if we could find the WWII vet that K had befriended last year. He wasn’t in his usual spot, so we’re not sure if he’s still with us or not (we hope he is, and that we simply missed him). From there, a quick walk back up to the corner to see SSGT Tim Chambers and to catch up with Steve/Jan/Shan. (We got to meet their son, John, too.)
SSGT Tim Chambers stands on the corner of 23rd and Constitution Ave, every year, in full dress uniform.
Prior to the first motorcycle’s approach, he shakes hands and hugs and tears and laughter with the throngs of people that come to say thank you, and to share the Rolling Thunder experience with him. Once the first bike approaches, he assumes his post on the corner and stands at attention, saluting each and every bike that rolls by. After the last motorcycle has passed, he again returns to the crowd to share the same love and support of country with those around him. The heat and humidity this year were tremendous, and yet he stands at this post for hours and hours. Additionally, he was dealing with some medical problems this year, but despite the immense pain he appeared to be in, he never left that corner. (If the hundreds of thousands of motorcycles isn’t inspirational, just watching this Marine, sure is.) For those that haven’t yet made this trip, you really need to put it into your calendars. It’s a day that you will never forget.
Ok, back to the weekend. With a cookout approaching, we had to take our leave before the end of the run, so we beat feet back to the bike, picked up ice, and shot back to K’s house. And just in time – no sooner had we started getting things laid out, than folks began arriving.
The crowd was a decent turnout, with plenty of merriment mixed in. The smell of burgers and dogs on the grille made a great backdrop to the laughter and stories that permeated the back yard. When our bellies were full and the daylight had begun to wane, we moved the remaining revelers up to the porch and settled in for more fun.
With a long day on the road ahead of me, I said my goodnight’s around 9 and made my way inside. A nice shower, then sleep-time for this weary traveler. (In looking back through prior years, I see that I am indeed getting old. In year’s past, I’ve stayed up until midnight before hopping on the road a few hours later. Not this year! I wanted some sleep! Call me old if you want, but I unless this is Steve, Jan or Shan reading this, I didn’t see you making this trip! :-))
The ride home was great once again. On the road nice and early, we beat most of the traffic. We encountered just a bit of rain in CT, but stopping for a quick lunch gave the skies time enough to clear off, and we were soon back to hammering the roadways.
10.5 hours down, 10.5 hours back. But the rides were great. Traveling with Steve this year, I went a different route than in past years, and I have to say I liked it much better. Usually I just hammer 95 all the way down and back, but there are many stretches of that route that are just plain ugly. Steve’s route was much more scenic and enjoyable.
One thing that was a bit disappointing; we all noticed, both on the ride down, and over the course of the weekend, that there were a lot fewer bikes than usual this year. (The economy seems like the most likely culprit, as we know many folks are really being hit hard.) Hopefully things will be better all-around next year, and we can be back up to 500,000 bikes again. Actually, next year’s will be the 25th annual – I imagine that will be something not to miss! So start planning for it now!
And that’s Rolling Thunder XXIV. A great ride down, a great weekend, and a great ride back up. I could get used to more of this kind of thing.
Ride Hard, Take Chances
