Somerset, PA - Where We Come Together

There are three things that really take place on Thursday, the day the Ride officially begins. The first is that this is the day riders arrive from all over. One would assume that everyone involved would just be from the local areas, and I would say that the majority may well be. But there are people who ride down every year from Canada, each year I've seen plates from Florida, Georgia and New Hampshire, and there was a man from Australia. Also, this year as well as last there were escort officers from the El Paso Police Department, and it was the department in Louisiana that won this year's police motorcycle giveaway. I cannot begin to list every department or state that is represented year after year, but I can tell you that it amazes me every time.

Some travel in their own personal small groups, some alone, some schedule a meeting place for all traveling from their state, and others travel with the police escorts from their areas and arrive as a large group as well. But however they do it, they come in-mass to Somerset, arriving all day and into the evening. The police bikes all park together in front of the Quality Inn and it is amazing to walk around and see all the agencies and states they are from. Of course, like any motorcyclist will tell you, it is also fun to look at all the personal bikes.

The second thing that occurs is that there are three escorted rides out to the United 93 Memorial near Shanksville. Construction had just begun on the Memorial last year and is not yet complete but the American flag still marks the point of impact, there is a small building with mementos and information, and a Park Ranger is available to answer questions and maintain the sanctity of the site.

And the third thing that happens is you begin to meet the other riders. You may meet them in line when you are checking in at registration, or purchasing Foundation merchandise, outside while looking at the bikes, roaming inside the Harley shop, filling your tank at the gas station, hanging in the hotel lobby, or later that night in the Quality Inn bar. You learn that the majority of riders are First Responders themselves, which is why they come. They may have known a co-worker who perished on September 11, 2001, responded themselves to assist another agency, worked overtime at their own department when so much was uncertain, or they just come to honor their fellow brothers and sisters in uniform.

But you meet them, you bond with them, and somehow you run into them a few more times during the trip. And more amazing is when you return the next year and run into them again. We may not always recall each other's names but faces are recognized and good times remembered. They are all amazing people and dedicated Americans.