I arrived at the Chick Fil-A at about 8:45. Not a bad sized group this year... I would say 20-30 bikes at the time I pulled in along with several first responder vehicles and may 10 motormen from various law enforcement agencies. Unfortunately Ally had just closed up registration so I wasn't able to exchange my card for a wristband... it would have to wait for Gettysburg.
My steed for this years trip is my CVO Street Glide (named the Bug Slayer)... oil guzzler that it is :). Just seems appropriate to be riding the Harley as we remember the events of 9/11/01. Note my freeloader on the back... he'll earn his pumper patch this year.
If there are other pictures during this ride, you'll note a change in flags. The flag mount holding the American flag came loose and I had to remove it. So I mounted both flags on one pole.
We had a riders meeting at about 9:05 and at that time were told that we would be kickstands up at 9:30. We also found out that the state of Maryland and Pennsylvania had not been very cooperative and that our police escort would be a "quiet" escort since the states had not authorized the use of their local LE for traffic control. By 9:30 we were in excess of 40 bikes ( I would estimate ) include some trikes and a Polaris Slingshot.
The ride to Gettysburg was fairly uneventful - straight up US 15. Several groups had already arrived and the Leesburg group lined up behind them. I got registered and then had bbq and chips - this was provided for all riders by the Gettysburg HD - they always take good care of us. I also took an opportunity to pick up a quart of oil as my engine had been feeling pretty warm on the ride up.
Foundation board member Roger Flick after presenting a plaque to Gettysburg HD for their support of the ride.
At 12 noon we were kickstands up from Gettysburg HD. This year we took a different route and did not go through the town of Gettysburg due to road construction in and around town that already had traffic tied up. At this time I think we were at 150+ bikes plus motormen, first responder and chase vehicles. Our route took us through some nice two lane roads and was a very picturesque ride. The motormen did a fantastic job providing road guards along the way and we were able to ride to Breezewood, PA without incident. Breezewood is the normal gas stop for this leg - remember, this is an unofficial ride at this point... the actual ride doesn't begin until Friday morning. There are several gas stations that folks pull into to fuel up, then on the opposite end of town is an old rundown abandoned motel that the Ride uses for regrouping.
I had decided not to get gas in Breezewood and instead push to Somerset... it was a push as my remaining miles when we pulled into the hotel said "Lo" and had been for some time. After going to the wrong hotel and trying to check in, (it was the normal host hotel which had changed this year) I finally got to the Host hotel and checked in.. there was plenty of time before the 8PM Pumper Team meeting. I gassed up the bike, put in a quart of oil :(, hit a market for some fruit, snacks and water and hit up some fast food. After that it was off to the Harley dealer to load up another quart of oil - so now I have enough oil to make it home... thank goodness I've been able to add 3 more years of warranty on my 2010 CVO Street Glide as I think I'm now exceeding Harley's spec of 1 quart per 1000 miles - if you can believe that crap!
The Pumper Team is a group of volunteers who run ahead of the ride to designated gas stations. When the ride arrives, the pumper team is manning the pumps, two members per pump. One member handles the pump and assists the rider (who isn't allowed to get off their bike) and the other member tracks how much fuel is dispensed and takes care of the cash. This is a very organized and efficient process that is able to refuel hundreds of bikes in very short order. In 2016 I was on Dr. Don's team and am so again this year (the team is split into two teams to man two different gas stations). In 2016 we had blue shirts, this year we have bright yellow shirts. While doing this work is a good service to the foundation and provides a way to raise more donations, the personal reward is that the Pumper team is at the head of the pack when arriving in DC and NYC - making hotel check-in a bit easier.
Sorry, no pictures in Somerset. We have been hit by a couple of nasty storm cells since arriving... tomorrow morning the Pumper Team departs at 6:10AM, 20 mins ahead of the main ride... the Pumper Team, being a very small group, is also much faster than the main ride so we'll arrive much earlier to provide time for us to set up and have a short break before servicing the main ride.
More tomorrow ... Never Forget!
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