I'm proud to have been part of our group taking part in the Ride to the Wall - a "mini" Rolling Thunder ride to visit the traveling Viet Nam wall while it was in Caro. We had an excellent contingent of riders - 20 bikes in all.
Our group met at the McDonald's just west of Chesaning on the morning of Saturday,
August 14th. At 11:00 AM, due to the large number of bikes, we formed
2 groups, the first being the bikes, and the second contingent being trikes and
bikes with sidecars. The large group of bikes headed off towards Chesaning, with
the second contingent a short distance back, due to the fairly heavy traffic at
the time of day. We stayed on MI-57 through Chesaning and east to the
intersection of MI-57 and M-13, where we turned south to the Shiawasee Motor
Works site to group up with the other riders. When we pulled in at that site, we
were greeting with a mass of people and bikes. Dennis had made arrangements with
the organizers to make sure they knew we were coming, and we were directed into
a line that had been reserved for us ... in the midst of a huge group of bikes
that seemed to be mostly Harleys. When we formed our line and dismounted, we
could see how big this group really was .... there were already more than 500
bikes sitting, with people milling around everywhere. I saw every conceivable
style of Harley, as well as several custom choppers, a good representation of
Wings and most other types of motorcycle as well. The bikes tended towards the
larger sizes, although there was a scattering of crotch rockets.
We were scheduled to leave the Shiawasee Harley shop at 12:00 noon, and the organizers were right on the ball. Shortly before 12, a ladder and a small group of folks appeared at the front of the lined up bikes, and we were welcomed. It was pointed out that we were going to have a large group and requested to ensure we watched out for our safety as well as that of our fellow riders. A short prayer for our safety and of remembrance for our POW/MIA comrades followed. The local police had several cruisers ready to escort us, and at 12:00 noon they blocked off M-13 so that we could get started. The rows of bikes started up, two-by-two, until our row was next, at which point we were allowed to form as a group keeping all the Wings of Chapter V together. We thought that was very nice of the organizers ... as the "rolling thunder" was thunder indeed. I'm not sure that "loud pipes save lives" as many Harley and cruiser riders claim, but they sure seemed loud enough to wake the dead. Being in the midst of the Harleys instead of interspersed with them meant that we could still hear our fellow riders on our CB's.
The police cruisers blocked off the major crossroads for us as we continued north on M-13; it was a new experience, being able to ignore red lights and stop signs. Normally we need to watch out for ourselves as well as every driver on the road, but this time we had the "right-of-way", no matter what. We continued north on M-13 until we reached the Birch Run cutoff, and turned towards Birch Run. We could see bikes all the way forward ... and as far back as we could see in the mirrors, and - of course - the rumble of the big thumpers before and behind us. We saw quite a few drivers coming towards us that pulled off onto the shoulder and waited as we rode by - making us feel good for the show of respect for those soldiers that had lost their lives so long ago.
As we rode through Birch Run, we saw a lot of vehicles pulled over for us, and then - as we turned into the road to the exhibition center, we saw an amazing sight .... the road was lined (2 deep) with bikes waiting for us to join them for the final Run to the Wall ... the road was packed and the parking lot was PACKED! As we looked on in amazement, trying to get some sort of count, we rode to our spot in the parking lot and saw the seemingly endless stream of bikes that were behind us pulling in to park. It looked like we picked up a fair number of bikes along our run from Shiawasee! Our estimates ran from 1500 bikes to well over 2000!
We sat in the sun, and waited, and waited as the bikes continued to roll in. Finally, the police that were stopping the traffic started letting some of the cars exit the exhibition area, and we bagan to get ready for the next leg. Alas, it seemed we we still in for a pretty long wait for our turn to leave the parking lot ... we seemed to be about 3/4's of the way back in the pack. Finally! We mounted up and started our engines - sound completely lost in the rumble and growl of the thumpers. I pointed out, over the CB, to Dennis that several of the Harleys were idling so roughly that I was waiting for parts to start falling off ... the vibration appeared worse than any of the standard Harley jokes allowed for. However, I do have to admit we saw no parts lying on the road the entire trip, so obviously they smooth out once they're running.
Back into formation and out of the parking lot we rode, and turned back into Birch Run. They had me mystified as to the route, but I was enjoying the ride. We turned into the residential area and then headed northeast across I-75 to Dixie Highway - where another contingent of police cars were stopping traffic for us. There were an awful lot of police out on our route that day and we were grateful for the effort they made to keep the parade together and safe! North along Dixie Highway, and we were starting to become used to the Harley group in front of us. It was very amusing to see that every time there was a crowd on the side of the road, the same guys would pull the clutch and rev the engines to let the "thunder roll." As well, we were kept amused by the hack rider directly in front of Dennis (who led our group), the co-rider was extremely good at hand signals. Obviously they were used to being road captains - and did a good job too ... I just wasn't used to seeing hand signals ... since it seems like most of the Chapter V bikes have CB's (and signal lights).
We rode north on Dixie until we reached the back road into Frankenmuth, turned east, and then turned north again on the main street through Frankenmuth. It was, again, heartening to see the respectful silence from the large crowds that watched us ride through town, with even the occasional spattering of applause. We saw a lot of people standing at the end of their driveways, as we rode through the countryside, and an impressive percentage of them had US flags ... one elderly lady was holding one in each hand, and one elderly gentleman - obviously a vet - held his salute for the entire time the riders passed by. It was certainly gratifying to see that the attitude of some, when the Viet Nam vets returned to the USA in the '70's, was replaced with respect! Reaching Caro, we
rode through town and then turned into the soccer grounds where the wall had
been set up. The parking lot had been cordoned off for the motorcycles, and
there was row upon row upon row already parked. We started a new row with the
Chapter V bikes, and then got together to plan our visit. Most of us spent some
time visiting the wall and contemplating the 58,000 names on it. The black
monoliths with the white engraved names is touching, awe-inspiring and moving -
whether you had know anyone of those soldiers or not. It is something we should
all have the chance to experience sometime - to reflect on the cost of war, and
the cost of freedom!We managed to get everyone together for a group picture
and then agreed to meet at the bikes at 3:30 PM. Many of us had
decided that the day was great for another ride, albeit with a smaller group,
and we decided that Caseville would be a great place to go and have a
cheeseburger (Caseville was having it's annual "Cheeseburger Days"). We met at a
gas station and took turns fighting for a gas pump ... it appeared as though the
population of Caro had quadrupled and everyone needed gas. Finally, we all were
topped up and ready to go, and we split into the bike and trike groups again,
and headed back through Caro and out the east side. Dennis led us up to
Caseville on a great road - unlike so many of the bumpy, dumpy, lumpy roads
we're so used to ... and we gathered in the IGA parking lot at the start of the
Caseville downtown area. Most of us were pretty hungry, so everyone except Bob &
Yvonne stopped at the very first Cheeseburger stand we found (Bob and Yvonne
decided to find an air-conditioned restaurant to get their burgers at) and we
enjoyed our "picnic" under a beautiful blue sky with great food and great
company!After the cheeseburgers, and a quick stroll through town, we broke up, and some bikes headed south on M-25 while other folks wandered through town to enjoy the crowds and listen to Marty Viers. I "refueled" with a quick ice cream break, instead, and then headed south to see if I could catch the folks who'd headed south ahead of me. All in all, a wonderful day. It's great to be part of a show of respect like the Ride to the Wall; good to show unity with other bikers, and with our vets! If you get a chance some day, join one of these rides as the Moving Wall travels the country, it does one's heart a great deal of good!
