We’ve developed relationships and now call each other sister, brother, and family.
LEOS FORTUNE ALL COGS HOW TO
Riders not comfortable with riding side-by-side in close proximity to the bike in front of them are now the experts who will teach next year’s FNGs how to be comfortable doing so. We rode through a brief sandstorm, planned around wildfires, and then again planned around a snowstorm. Some of our days saw temperatures range from the forties up to the low one-hundreds.
The mission, to date, has been rigorous and challenging in many ways. There isn’t too much else to write about today except the joy we all felt at arriving in DC. This run from Ontario to DC was for you and all of those who cannot ride. The parade across our great nation and our visit tomorrow to remember their brother’s sacrifices will change that. The Wall is a powerful, imposing memorial to a band of brothers who far too often were shown disrespect instead of the honor they deserved for answering the call of service to their country. Tonight is a night to relax and prepare mentally for what is to come. We picked up an LEO escort at our Toms Brook fuel stop, who ushered us safely to Arlington and left us a few blocks from the Holiday Inn host hotel. Marshall’s family a plaque in remembrance. Our Route Coordinator, Tom, gave Lt Col Troy D. Gas was donated at all the stops today and lunch was provided at the New Market Civil War Battlefield by Honor Bound where we also honored a friend of the RFTW who no longer is with us. We rode for the first few hours in the rain through the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains. The day started under black, rain-laden skies. I have done it for those who could not be with us, and in remembrance of all who have gone before us. It has been an honor to bring you this SitRep each day. Instead, everything that transpires at the Wall is witnessed through the lens of sacrifice. I think it is fitting that one can not perfectly see their reflection in the Wall. All of these activities took place as dim reflections against the polished granite with the etched names of the fallen. Some took rubbings of the names of those they rode for, others left mementos, while still others remembered their own family members who laid down their lives for their country. Each rider had his or her own personal experience with the wall. FNGs sought out someone they rode with to have their FNG pin turned upside down to bear witness that they completed the mission. What conversation that did exist was conducted in hushed tones or in whispers in solemn honor of the more than 58,000 who gave their lives in Vietnam. Casual conversation and typical rider banter transitioned into a heavy silence as the weight of the moment settled upon each of us as we descended toward the apex. The Central, Midway, and Southern Route riders gathered together for a photo on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial and then walked the short distance to the Wall (Vietnam Veterans Memorial). The RFTW as a whole completed the first three of four routes to ride for those who can’t. Today was the culmination of each rider’s efforts to plan, begin, endure, and complete the mission.
0 kommentar(er)
