Ride for the Fallen

This weekend Brian and I had the awesome opportunity to participate in the Ride for the Fallen. The Ride for the Fallen is a huge motorcycle ride dedicated to Fallen Utahan Soldiers that were killed in the line of duty. Every year they dedicate a ride to a soldier. This year the ride was dedicated to LCPL Michael Allred. You may remember hearing about him in the news. He was from Hyde Park, which is very close to Logan, and was killed September 6, 2004 in Iraq. Brian worked with Mike back in Logan and knew him pretty well. It was really hard when he was killed. Before the ride started they did a presentation for the soldiers. I could not believe how many names they read off. It was very heart breaking to hear how many families lost loved ones. This is SGT Nathan Barnes. He went to school with me. He passed away in 2007.
This is one of my husband's best friends from Iraq, SGT Ronald Wood. He was killed in 2005. It was very hard on Brian because Ron was killed when they were serving in Iraq together. Everything that I have heard about him has been amazing. I wish I would have had the opportunity to meet a guy that everyone looked up to.
Here is one of the displays that they had. This setup is a common one when a soldier is lost.
The turn out for the ride was so amazing. There were 278 bikes! It was insane! The pictures I have do not do it justice. Lets just say that if you were in Logan on Saturday you would have definitely seen us coming. The span of bikes went on for miles. It was so fun to be a part of something so special. Here is the parking lot of bikes before the ride.This is a short clip of when everyone started up their bikes. It was insane!

Here are some pictures of the ride, but I would first like to say this was the first and only time we have ever rode without our helmets. We always wear them, but since it was going to be such a long ride and we were going to be in such a big group we didn't wear them. At least that was our justification. Here is a picture of us before we set out for the 6 hour ride-or however long it took us. I honestly can't say how long it was, but my butt told me it was LONG.Can you see how far ahead the bikes go? We were some where in the middle so it gives you an idea of how many bikes there were.
This is the only time I have seen a men's restroom line longer than a women's.
This was such a neat experience for us. I plan on making this a tradition. They dedicate each ride to one soldier that was killed, so unfortunately, this is a tradition that will be going for many years to come. I am so grateful for the soldiers that have served and sacrificed for our country. Without them, our country would not be the wonderful safe place that we call home. God Bless those that serve!