Third year now since 2019 doing this ride. I have a love / hate relationship with it. First of all, it's awesome to be in the mix with 300-500 other bikes / folks that are supporters of this great event. A mix of Vets, LEOs, Patriots. Then the ride to Gainesville, you see hundreds if not thousands of flag waving , Proud folks along the highway .. parking lots .. overpassess waving the Amercian Flag, waving at the participants..... saluting. Very humble experience.
Washed up Krome for the ride, packed up rain gear, seat, etc.... and ready to roll. Not five minutes down the road when I realize I've got a problem. ABS light is on, speedometer isn't working, and no cruise control, check engine light is on. Make a decision to swap bikes over to Krush so head home. Pull up to to the building and think.. wait.. let me try something. Turn the bike on / off, all appears good .... is .. so .. head out. Zero issues during the day. Additionally, nothing but sunshine and warm temps! Thought it'd be a rain day but we lucked out.
To participate we head to south of DFW which .. from Greenville, well... sucks. Through the Concrete Jungle. Then, we arrive well before 2pm (closer to 1pm) because they 'close the gates' by 2pm for all. Then, it's basically 2.5 hours waiting on the black asphalt. Now, the upside is that's about 3+ hours of visiting with folks you know and making new friends. CMA provides waters and hot dogs. Lil shade over in the treeline that most don't utilize. Several porta potties over on the side. But basically .... Hurry up and Wait. Then, when the Medal of Honor Recipients are rolling in on busses , we join in behind them with a police escort right down the interstate.
Anytime you put 100+ bikes in a line , parading down a road .. you get a slinky effect. Then compound that with a small percentage of folks are just shitty riders. Then compound that with a few cages that just don't get out of the way. All they have to do is park it for 10 minutes and we're gone, but they rarely do that... they just cause more issues. Happens every damned time I'm in a large ride and yesterday was no exception.
That all being said, I had a blast. Friggn' loved it. Several CVMA chapters rolled in as always. Saw a few local friends out there. Lot of VFW and American Legion Rider folks. Patriot Guard is running the show. CMA folks fully supporting it with their time and money. Full LEO support with cops everywhere in SUVs and on bikes. Yep ... in the big picture, it's awesome and I love it. By next year, I'll have forgotten about that long wait in the sun and be ready to do it again.....
On a positive note, this year I had a big lunch prior. Brought a small chair to relax on. Cooler full of iced down waters. Snacks. Was prepared and made a huge difference.
Until Next year....
God Bless our Medal of Honor Recipients for everything they went through in their miliary lives putting themselves out there to save their fellow men and their Bravery.
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| Cleaned up , prepped and ready |
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| Met up with Dutch and Vikingr/Trouble at QT |
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| Rolled in to meet up with other CVMA members at Whataburger |
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| Few folks |
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| Line 'em up! |
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| Getting ready to roll out |
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| Got smart this year.. packed a chair |
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| CVMA Present and Accounted for |
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| CMA was out blessing bikes. Amen |
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| Myself, Dutch and Vikingr |
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| Final stop at One Eyed Jacks on the way home |
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