18 May '05

FREEDOM ISN'T FREE

emailto: hun@bikerenews.com

Two weekends ago (7 May), I met up with Gary at the local Hardees, to ride to Wakefield for the "Freedom Isn't Free" run. This is in honor of Sgt Jayton Patterson, killed in Iraq on 15 January 2005. The ride was to begin at "Tidewater Motorcycles Inc" (TMI) and end up just past the Virginia Diner on route 460. The weather was actually very good, just cool enough to make all that leather comfortable, and no rain in sight.

Gary and I took a leisurely trip through the tunnel, then over to the starting point by way of highway ten. We managed to arrive at the same time as our fearless webmaster. Just sheer luck really. We did not try to coordinate it, but we rolled into the parking lot as Phil was getting off his trusty "Beast".

As you can see from the pictures, there was quite a turnout already, and more rolling in every minute. We strolled around the lot and admired the assembled group of bikes. I kind of like the paint job on the Valkyrie, the Dragon coming out of the metal panels in the paint looks quite nice. (The Dragon is a very appropriate creature to associate with this bike).

Phil, Gary and I talked for awhile, drank some of the excellent coffee that "TMI" provided, and chatted with several members of the assemblage. I kind of like the real live "Betty Boop", she is a very happy person, and allot of fun to be around. I decided to continue on with the entire ride; Gary and Phil opted for other things. The assembly area was an abandoned "Lowes" a couple of miles back up the road. Good location, we had plenty of room to form up, and to walk around and talk to the other folks.

We rolled out under full police escort. The lead bike was ridden by Chris Williams and Stephanie Patterson. Chris had served in Iraq with Jayton, and Stephanie is his widow. The ride to Wakefield was uneventful, just an easy cruise up the highway.

We arrived at the event after an hour or so, and proceeded to park along the roadside. I was happy to see the large number of bikes that made the run. All the proceeds are going to a trust fund for his daughter Claire, and that is a real good cause. There were several vendors and food concessions set up around the edge of the field.

The guys from "Five Star Leathers" (formerly known as the "Leather Lady") were on hand with a nice supply of leather goods. They also had some folding chairs that are really neat. The "Blue Max" folds up into a case that is not much over 18 inches long, but results in a chair large enough to hold me comfortably.

I grabbed a quick lunch, and listened to a couple of the guest speakers. I had to cut it short due to prior commitments elsewhere. I did stop to take a picture of an old "Pan Head" Harley on the way out. This one is similar to what Peter Fonda rode in "Easy Rider". This is the model that some people claim as the last "real" Harley, made before American Machine and Foundry (AMF) took the company over and started to outsource items to other manufacturers.

Anyway, I hopped on the bike and made a quick return to good old Va Bch where I got to tangle with weeds and wild grasses that were growing up around my house. Well enough about that. .. .

Til next time.

Rich . . .

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