06 CENTRAL MIDWEST HOG CHAPTER VETERANS DAY RIDE

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When a fellow veteran in my HOG group said he wanted to do something for Veterans Day I was excited. Gary Palmer asked all the Vets to meet in the back of the room after the regular meeting was over. That was the start of something great. It soon worked into an event that would start at our local dealer then proceed to Ft. Leavenworth, KS. Yes the one known for the military prison. While in Ft. Leavenworth we would join the local VFW group riders for the big Veterans Day Parade downtown, tour the National Cemetery and eat at a Mexican restaurant before coming home.

Veterans Day morning was COLD. When the Saturday morning news said it was 32 degrees outside, I found it hard to get out of bed and think about riding in a parade. BUT I knew that Gary Palmer would tease me if I wussed out so I was going to show up. I had to get up really early because I had not quite worked out how I was going to secure the big Marine Corp flag on my bike. So I would need to work with the flag, pole and bike to get something that would hold the flag when the bike was moving without getting in my way or line of sight and not be a hazard to others.

By the time I got the flag fixed up then bike gassed up and got to the dealership there was quite a crowd of bikes. I was really surprised about the turn out for it being so cold. Not only was there quite a few HOG members there but we were also joined by a great group of bikers from a local Patriot Guard Post who knew how to fly the big flags.

Its 24 miles from the dealership to Ft. Leavenworth and when we arrived at the VFW post in Leavenworth, some of our expedition were popsicles. Although their gear was stylist or appropriate for the event, it was lacking in the thermal properties needed to keep them warm. I had on my hand-me-down winter coat covered by full rain gear to break the wind those along with my heated hand grips and muffs (kind of like HIPPO HANDS) to keep my hands warm, I was comfortable, even though I didn’t even have a glove on my left hand. I need a glove on my right hand because there is enough of a breeze that goes through that muff to make my thumb cold.

After stopping at the VFW post to check in we proceeded to the staging area for the parade. There was a wait here and some of the group walked off to find breakfast while others of us stood around and chatted. While we were here the VFW post bikers showed up and took the lead of the line. We were indeed a sizable group now, but I don’t know what the count was.

The parade was not long, but definitely slow. I could feel the heat rising from Effie as we were in this stop and creep traffic. I got off at one point and turned the oil cooler on. Not a lot of air flow to help the cooler but maybe it will help some. The crowd was great and American flags were everywhere. At a designated time everyone dismounted the bikes during the parade as a missing man formation flew by.

After the parade the ride leader sped off for the next destination. As I followed the bikes in front of me, different clusters of riders were pealing off in different directions, I followed one group for awhile, the further they got from the parade route the faster they got, soon we were speeding through town, unsure if I was even following the right group and not willing to get a ticket even if I was, I pulled over to roll the flag up. I needed to roll it up and secure it so the pole would not break from the stress of wind while moving at these higher speeds. Bikes passed me by, but as I said I was not sure at this point where my group was and none of these bikes stopped, so the sweep must have taken a different route than I did. I forgot about the ride to the National Cemetery and headed straight for the Mexican restaurant I thought we were going to eat at. No bikes were there so I figured I had the wrong restaurant and headed on home. I was not that disappointed, I had stuff to do at home. A few days later when I was talking to Gary, who was not the ride leader and he is a Marine which means he would never have left a member behind. I told him about the post parade ordeal I had, he reminded me that the cemetery was actually the next stop, not the restaurant. Oh well, I didn’t know how to get to the cemetery anyway. I just hope the guy that borrowed my vest extensions remembers to return them.

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Photos

HOG Group and Patriot Guard Bikes
We are in the staging area, milling around waiting for the parade to start up.

HOG Group and Patriot Guard Bikes
Effie is the one with the Marine Corp flag. I learned from one of the Patriot Guard guys a much better way to mount the flag on the bike.

The Parade
Here is the bikes in front of me.

The Parade
Here is the bikes behind me.