Posted by Mike Hartman on May 30, 2000 at 18:11:27:
I was invited by a friend to participate in this year's Run For The Wall & Rolling Thunder Memorial Day parade in D.C. This was a first-time event, and turned out to be a profound happening.
The Run For The Wall motorcycle run originates in California. It started as an idea back in the '80s. This year about 250+ riders, most of whom are veterans, and all are supporters left May 17th bound for Washington D.C. In the (paraphrased) words of the leader of the run -"Iron Mike" This is not a recreational ride, it is a mission that we don't forget those who served and lost their lives. Especially remembered are the Viet Nam KIAs, POWs & MIAs. The ride follows a prescribed route across the middle of the U.S. with scheduled stops at about 300-400 mile intervals. At many of these stops ceremonies are held at vet memorials and visits conducted to vet hospitals. Along the way, tributaries of rider groups feed into the main run where by the time the W.Va. Town of Rainelle is reached on the 25th, the riders number about 400+. The Run sort of has "adopted" the town of Rainelle, an economically depressed beautiful little town which welcomes the rides as "our biggest annual event". Many of the riders have a "pen-pal" kid that they write to throughout the year. On the day the riders come into town, schools close and the whole town turns out to greet them as they roar in. Poignant is the only word in the english language that comes close to describing the scene when the column of riders rumbles down main street on that day.
I intercepted the Run at Rainelle that evening, meeting up with an old college buddy that I had not seen in 36 years. He was on a new monstrous full-dressed Yamaha Venture, I was on my '99 Suzi Savage. There were lots of bikes there - a varied mixture of Japanese bikes, a couple of BMW's, a slew of Harleys. One thing was evident though......No (other) singles!!!, and few if any bikes under 800cc (Gulp!!).
Friday morning, most of the riders assembled in Lewisburg - about 30 miles east of Rainelle and pulled out for D.C. at 8:00 am. I fed into the column for what began some of the most intense riding I have ever experienced. After we got out on I-64 we were rallied into side-by-side, 2-second interval columns. The Suzi Savage was thumping along just fine and it was a grand feeling. Weather was fantastic, W.Va. countryside beautiful I was with a really great bunch of experienced riders - no attitudes at all!! Then as the day grew warmer,the column settled up to cruising speed: 65 to 70 mph with 80+ bursts as the column snaked and pulsed along in accordian fashion. I was delighted that the Suzi Savage was comfortable at these suatained speeds, she did let me know that while the corrective higher speed bursts were necessary try to make them short & sweet. At the first fuel stop I received several genuine compliments on the Suzi.
The close-quartered formation at those speeds however required such concentration (for me) that there was opportunity for little else to think about, much less to wallow in the luxury of getting scared. By the end of the ride my jaw muscles were cramped from 300 miles of clench.
Late Friday afternoon we were approaching the D.C. outskirts just about the same time the Friday-before-a-three-day-vacation commuter cagers were getting on the road. Not all of them appreciated the riders, now numbering over 600 and there was a lot of competition for road space but no accidents. We eventually did pick up a police escort for the last several miles into D.C. and for them we were very thankful. The column went directly to the Iwo Jima monument, then to the Lincoln Memorial for pictures finally culminating at the Viet Nam Wall. It was at this point that the mission of the Run became clear as many rider veterans visited lost comrades.
Saturday was spent first with an organized visit to the tomb of the unknown solider, after which most of the riders cleaned & polished their bikes to join with Rolling Thunder for the big parade on Sunday. Last year there were an estimated 200,000 riders in the parade, this year was supposed to be larger, but the threat of severe weather was a concern.
Unfortunately, I had to be back in NC for work on Monday morning and I was not able to take the Suzi Savage in the parade. I found out later that the parade was about as large as last year and the rain was only a light drizzle at the start.
I was glad for the experience, I would recommend it to any biker who supports the mission. I gained new insights, met a lot of really great people, and the Suzuki Savage proved its mettle running strong with the "big dogs". I think though next year I might make the run to D.C, solo, or with a smaller group that believes in staggered formations!
Mike