Thursday, May 27, 2010: We began our adventure at 8:00 a.m. today. We are riding from Toledo to Washington D.C. to visit the Vietnam Veterans Memorial and participate in "Rolling Thunder". It is also known as the "First Amendment Demonstration Run". According to the Rolling Thunder web site, "The major function of Rolling Thunder®, Inc. is to publicize POW-MIA issues: To educate the public that many American prisoners of war were left behind after all previous wars and to help correct the past and to protect future veterans from being left behind should they become prisoners of war-missing in action." For me, the purpose of going to DC for the Rolling Thunder event was to reflect upon a week I spent in DC in 2002, hosted by the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund, learning about the Vietnam war and the memorial. The event was entitled the "Teach Vietnam Teacher's Network". During that amazing week, I came to understand the bitter divide our nation experienced during the Vietnam War. That divide affected the veterans who returned home and the families of those who did not return home. I came to remember those who gave so much and to say thank you and welcome home to those who gave and returned.
Rolling Thunder has grown into a major annual event. It first began in 1987 with a few riders wanting to bring their concerns over the POW issues to the attention of lawmakers in Washington D.C. These individuals with a few of their friends rode into D.C. on Memorial Weekend. Each year the number of riders increased. In 1995 Rolling Thunder incorporated and the event of formalized.
We began the trip with a short ride to a meeting point where we were joined by two other bikes and three people. We jumped on the Ohio turnpike and headed east toward Pen
nsylvania. The weather was hot for May. It was a great day to ride. We spent the day making good time through Ohio and Pennsylvania. Our stops included gas and a lunch stop on the turnpike. We were focused on getting to our Fredrick, Maryland destination so we could make the most of our DC visit beginning on Friday. As riders, we have rode through the Blue Ridge Parkway a coup
le of summers ago. That time together helped us know how each other rides and made it easy to follow each other. Trust and confidence in your lead rider is so important. You have to have a little bit of familiarity with each other's riding style for those times when the three-way light turns yellow at an inopportune time. If you are following the leader, you can't be wondering if the person is going through the light or not because once you are committed to going forward or stopping there is not much of a SAFE opportunity to change your mind.
The traffic on Thursday seemed "normal". We saw a number of motorcycles heading east like us. Rolling Thunder pulls riders from all across the United States. I wasn't sure if the traffic would be heavy or not this Memorial Day. This Thursday it was not heavy. There is little to talk about on our ride to Fredrick, Md. The only real laugh we all had was our astonishment at the high tolls on the Pennsylvania turnpike. There were also a number of stretches along the PA Pike under construction - so it was hard to imagine that we PAID to ride on that road. Then again, they pr
obably needed the money to pay for the road work.
We arrived in Frederick, Md. and checked into our Days Inn. After 425 miles on the road a hot shower, a good meal and a great night sleep is much needed. We found each in Frederick. After dinner at the "Waffle
House" we hung outside our rooms and shared stories of our past year. Our jobs keep us busy and we often do not get a chance to visit during the winter months, so this trip is a great way to renew our friendships. As the stories slowed, we turned
to talking about the day ahead. We were all looking forward to our short (45 mile) journey into Waldorf, Md. tomorrow and then our first visit to the Mall and the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
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