Patriot Guard Riders

Mac & I started out at 4:30 this morning heading to North Stafford to meet R.D. 40 degree weather will not stop us from making it to an important objective.

We make it to Dale City and meet up with Don, Andy, & Benny with about 45 other members to escort the funeral procession of Gunnery Sgt. Justine R. Martone.

We join the procession to Quantico USMC base and the Memorial Chapel.

PGR mission #1

A local marine was killed in Iraq and I am going on my first ride mission with the Patriot Guard Riders.

I guess I can consider myself lucky. I never enlisted. After Viet Nam it wasn't a smart carrer move to join and by the time I became too old to be of any help America never really had any military challenges.

But in the last 15 years so many of our young nation have died in the middle east. I have known several of them.

I do remember watching the T.V. the day the helicopters lifted off the roof of the U.S. Embassy in Saigon. I wonder if 50,000 will end up dying before the mess out there is under control.

All I can do is show my respect for those brave enough to volunteer to go in to harms way and pay that terrible price.

Patriot Guard Riders

Lunch @ Clifton

The first warm weekend of the year came through for R.D., Andy & myself and we took full advantage of it.

A full day of riding through the back roads of Manassas & Clifton brought us on some great twisites.

By the time I got home 200+ miles for the day.

Some ridin' - some history...

After riding around town yesterday I wanted to actually go somewhere. So I get up this morning and head up Rt. 1. It was a little chilly but after a while I get used to it. My destination is D.C. & seeing the new stuff at the Smithsonian American History Museum.

It was a great easy going pace, I get close to the city and the cool old archetecture and brownstones are nice to look at on the way in to the city. When I get to the Mall & Washington Monument a parking space opened up for me. Right across the way from the building I want to visit.(a family was leaving right as I arrived, perfect timing)

I checked out the new military exhibits in the American History museum. They had a treestump from the Spotsylvania battlefield (near the Spotsy courthouse) that had been chewed up by hundreds of bullets. You never know what your going to see there, that stump was just a few miles from where I live.

The first Mac (about 1984) was there as well as the Genisis rock, the piece of anthrocite found by Scott & Warden on Apollo 15.

The ride home was just as easy going and I had a great day.

Sometimes you can't win....

The weather broke warm this morning so I decided to bring out the Sporty and ride to work. I leave early to take the long way and stop somewhere for lunch. While I'm having lunch the clouds come and starts to rain a little.

So I go back to the house, I get a little ridin' in today. Put the bike back up. I can handle the rain, I just can't handle getting rained on and riding in 20 degree weather on the midnight ride home.

As I head out to work the sun has come back out and it's even warmer than it was before.

At least I got a nice ride in today.

I have decided that my goal for the year is to ride at least one day every month this year.

January & February are done...