Texas Honor Ride 9/24/2011
Saturday morning, 9/24/2011 found me and 342 of my closest friends on our bikes participating in the 6th Annual Texas Honor Ride Fund Raiser for the Wounded Warrior and Family Center located at Brooke Army Medical Center at Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio, Texas. Each rider donated $25.00 USD and each passenger kicked in $10.00 USD to take part in the ride and the meal that followed. Those not riding paid $5.00 USD for the after ride meal.
One of my normal partners in crime decided he was going to join me on the ride and we both made comments we were not too thrilled with riding with the expected 150 to200 bikes but we wouldn’t miss the chance to ride for the Wounded Warriors.
Tim and I met about a half mile down the road from the host site, West Conroe Baptist Church. As Tim was filling up his Electra Glide a Texas State Trooper pulled up to the gas pump behind the Harley and this young kid got out of the Crown Vic Police Interceptor. I know I’m getting a little long in the tooth but this Trooper looked like a teenager. As he was getting ready to fill the tank of his car he asked if we were taking part in the ride. I wasn’t sure if this was a good sign or not, Conroe has a history of LEO’s not looking very favorably on organized rides. We answered that we were and I asked him if he was one of our escorts to which he said “Yes, I’ve been given the honor to be a part of the ride, but only if I can find the gas card to fill up with.†We joked around about having to push his car if he ran out of gas but he said there wouldn’t be any need in that, he would just get Tim to tow him back to a gas station.
Well we pulled into the church parking lot and saw about 200 bikes already there and we guessed there was about a 100 that followed us in. We would find out later there was 331 bikes on the ride plus 12 Blue Knight (Police Bike Organization) bikes doing traffic control and escorting the ride. Along with the 12 bikes there were 30 patrol cars escorting and blocking traffic at major intersections. All traffic on the roads was stopped and moved to the shoulder until after the riders passed. I’ve never seen so many cameras and phones in cages taking pictures and videos of the bikes as we passed by them. Several of the news websites in the area was busy answering questions about what was going on, they had never seen so many LEO’s with lights and sirens activated and escorting a line of bikes some said was 3 to 5 miles long. I was real impressed with the lane and spacing discipline of the riders and the fact that we didn’t get all strung out like I would have suspected. But I’m getting ahead of myself.
One surprising aspect of the ride was it actually started on time! The opening ceremony actually kicked off about 5 minutes early. I wish I had thought to video the opening ceremony and the introduction of the Wounded Warriors and their family members that were in attendance, but I didn’t and so much information was passed to us that I would mess it up if I tried to repeat it all. I will say each one of the Wounded Warriors were true heroes. Here is a little of what I remember… One of the Warriors was escorting/driving Iraqi officials when his vehicle was hit in the cab by an Anti-Armor RPG and he lost a leg in the action but never lost control of the vehicle even thou one side was lifted off the ground and he was driving on two wheels. He was able to get the vehicle out of the ambush site and deliver the injured to medics. Another was hit by 6, yes 6 IED’s and evacuated to medical facilities. After recovering he asked for and received training as a combat medic. Redeployed after training and was shot while attending to an injured soldier and once again evacuated for his injuries. Another was celebrating the birth of his daughter a few months ago, I not sure how long ago he was injured, but I know it was a couple years ago at least. He had actually just returned to the US from a visit with his wife and newborn daughter and they are in the process of getting all the immigration papers in line so his family can join him here from Columbia.
There are two things common among the 6 Wounded Warriors; they each had a smile and a spirit that was contagious. If there was any one in the crowd that had a right to feel down, it was these brave young men. One with burns to a major portion of his body, another with a missing leg and injuries to the other leg. One was shot thru the right side of his head, rear to front which caused traumatic brain injury, paralysis of his left side and a shattered jaw and another lost both legs and yet another that is just now getting to where he can walk with out a cane for the first time in a couple or three years but they were all smiles and just had a way of making everyone they talked to feel like…I’m sorry I’m at a loss of words for what I felt and what others talked about. Let me just say, I left the ride with something very special. I’ve got to take a break; my monitor is getting all blurry.
Let’s get on with the pictures and ride report.
Shane Parsons ready to ride…
Javier Rivera born to ride…
Jason March, won’t let an injury keep him from riding…
Cody Chandler at the opening ceremony…
Andy Toppin and daughter Addison at opening ceremony…
Some of the crowd at the opening ceremony…
Life Flight arrives during opening ceremony…
Inside the auction hall…
More to follow...
Saturday morning, 9/24/2011 found me and 342 of my closest friends on our bikes participating in the 6th Annual Texas Honor Ride Fund Raiser for the Wounded Warrior and Family Center located at Brooke Army Medical Center at Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio, Texas. Each rider donated $25.00 USD and each passenger kicked in $10.00 USD to take part in the ride and the meal that followed. Those not riding paid $5.00 USD for the after ride meal.
One of my normal partners in crime decided he was going to join me on the ride and we both made comments we were not too thrilled with riding with the expected 150 to200 bikes but we wouldn’t miss the chance to ride for the Wounded Warriors.
Tim and I met about a half mile down the road from the host site, West Conroe Baptist Church. As Tim was filling up his Electra Glide a Texas State Trooper pulled up to the gas pump behind the Harley and this young kid got out of the Crown Vic Police Interceptor. I know I’m getting a little long in the tooth but this Trooper looked like a teenager. As he was getting ready to fill the tank of his car he asked if we were taking part in the ride. I wasn’t sure if this was a good sign or not, Conroe has a history of LEO’s not looking very favorably on organized rides. We answered that we were and I asked him if he was one of our escorts to which he said “Yes, I’ve been given the honor to be a part of the ride, but only if I can find the gas card to fill up with.†We joked around about having to push his car if he ran out of gas but he said there wouldn’t be any need in that, he would just get Tim to tow him back to a gas station.
Well we pulled into the church parking lot and saw about 200 bikes already there and we guessed there was about a 100 that followed us in. We would find out later there was 331 bikes on the ride plus 12 Blue Knight (Police Bike Organization) bikes doing traffic control and escorting the ride. Along with the 12 bikes there were 30 patrol cars escorting and blocking traffic at major intersections. All traffic on the roads was stopped and moved to the shoulder until after the riders passed. I’ve never seen so many cameras and phones in cages taking pictures and videos of the bikes as we passed by them. Several of the news websites in the area was busy answering questions about what was going on, they had never seen so many LEO’s with lights and sirens activated and escorting a line of bikes some said was 3 to 5 miles long. I was real impressed with the lane and spacing discipline of the riders and the fact that we didn’t get all strung out like I would have suspected. But I’m getting ahead of myself.
One surprising aspect of the ride was it actually started on time! The opening ceremony actually kicked off about 5 minutes early. I wish I had thought to video the opening ceremony and the introduction of the Wounded Warriors and their family members that were in attendance, but I didn’t and so much information was passed to us that I would mess it up if I tried to repeat it all. I will say each one of the Wounded Warriors were true heroes. Here is a little of what I remember… One of the Warriors was escorting/driving Iraqi officials when his vehicle was hit in the cab by an Anti-Armor RPG and he lost a leg in the action but never lost control of the vehicle even thou one side was lifted off the ground and he was driving on two wheels. He was able to get the vehicle out of the ambush site and deliver the injured to medics. Another was hit by 6, yes 6 IED’s and evacuated to medical facilities. After recovering he asked for and received training as a combat medic. Redeployed after training and was shot while attending to an injured soldier and once again evacuated for his injuries. Another was celebrating the birth of his daughter a few months ago, I not sure how long ago he was injured, but I know it was a couple years ago at least. He had actually just returned to the US from a visit with his wife and newborn daughter and they are in the process of getting all the immigration papers in line so his family can join him here from Columbia.
There are two things common among the 6 Wounded Warriors; they each had a smile and a spirit that was contagious. If there was any one in the crowd that had a right to feel down, it was these brave young men. One with burns to a major portion of his body, another with a missing leg and injuries to the other leg. One was shot thru the right side of his head, rear to front which caused traumatic brain injury, paralysis of his left side and a shattered jaw and another lost both legs and yet another that is just now getting to where he can walk with out a cane for the first time in a couple or three years but they were all smiles and just had a way of making everyone they talked to feel like…I’m sorry I’m at a loss of words for what I felt and what others talked about. Let me just say, I left the ride with something very special. I’ve got to take a break; my monitor is getting all blurry.
Let’s get on with the pictures and ride report.
Shane Parsons ready to ride…
Javier Rivera born to ride…
Jason March, won’t let an injury keep him from riding…
Cody Chandler at the opening ceremony…
Andy Toppin and daughter Addison at opening ceremony…
Some of the crowd at the opening ceremony…
Life Flight arrives during opening ceremony…
Inside the auction hall…
More to follow...
