Rolling Thunder XXX

I had never been able to ride in Rolling Thunder® but wanted to. My late wife Jane cornered a forum member, Spanky, at the 2004 BuRP Forum rally. He's a former Marine pilot who had been part of Rolling Thunder® for a few years. He invited us to come on down and be part of Rolling Thunder® XVIII.

Jane and I both rode our motorcycle trikes in Washington D.C. on Memorial Day, 2005 with Rolling Thunder, along with several members of the Motorcycle Views forum. Here's that story. I'm sure that Rolling Thunder® XXX will not be too different from my story of 12 years ago except there may be more security.

Rolling Thunder Motorcycle Rally XXVII

Jane and I both rode our motorcycle trikes in Washington D.C. on Memorial Day, 2005 with Rolling Thunder, along with several members of the Motorcycle Views forum. Here's that story.

Rolling Thunder XXVI and Other Events in Washington, D.C.

My wife and I attended Rolling Thunder® in Washington, D.C. a few years ago and I wrote an article about our experiences. There is a current article about the events this weekend for Rolling Thunder® XXVI by Susan L Ruth of communities.washingtontimes.com. Here's an excerpt:

"The Rolling Thunder run, a slow motorcycle ride through blocked-off Washington D.C. streets, brings more than 250,000 riders to Washington D.C. each year to raise awareness of United States veterans and soldiers missing in action or held as prisoners of war." -- Susan L Ruth, communities.washingtontimes.com

Read more.

Run for the Wall Meets Rolling Thunder

Rolling Thunder® was started in 1987 by two Vietnam vets, Artie Muller and Ray Manzo, who wanted a way to draw attention to the plight of our country's Prisoners of War/Missing in Action (POW/MIA). They decided that a gathering of motorcycle riders would have the biggest impact.

In 1988, the first Rolling Thunder® "Ride for Freedom" was held in Washington, D.C. over the Memorial Day weekend with 2500 motorcycles and 5000 marchers. The marching portion of the event was dropped after the first few events but the number of motorcycles steadily increased over the years with recent numbers around 250,000.

My Rolling Thunder article gives all the details of a Rolling Thunder ride my wife and I made a few years ago.

There are many groups of riders who head to Washington each year in conjunction with the Rolling Thunder ride. The most famous of these is the Run for the Wall. This cross-country journey starts in Rancho Cucamonga, CA and ends in Washington, D.C.

Jon Mark Beilue has a detailed article about this ride in amarillo.com. Here's an excerpt:

"Gary Burd has been riding motorcycles for 48 years. He's driven 430,000 miles since he began logging them in 1999. The senior pastor at Christian Heritage Church averages close to 35,000 miles yearly, and none mean more than the 2,700-plus miles on a special trip every May.

Burd is a senior chaplain riding a 2009 Harley-Davidson Street Glide from Rancho Cucamonga, Calif., to Washington. For the ninth year, he’s among approximately 2,000 bikers to make the cross-country trip for Run for the Wall." -- Jon Mark Beilue, amarillo.com

Read more of Beilue's article and be sure to watch the video at the top of his article.

Rolling Thunder XXV on Memorial Day Weekend

I just realized that Memorial Day is coming and that there will be another Rolling Thunder in Washington, D.C. on May 27, 2012. This is Rolling Thunder XXV [1] and [2]. I remembered the feeling I had at Rolling Thunder XVIII in 2005. In fact, I wrote an article about it with pictures. Take a look.

I also noticed that a great video about Rolling Thunder is also available on YouTube.

Rolling Thunder XXIII on Memorial Day Weekend

I just realized that Memorial Day is coming and that there will be another Rolling Thunder in Washington, D.C. on May 30, 2010. This is Rolling Thunder XXIII [1] and [2]. I remembered the feeling I had at Rolling Thunder XVIII in 2005. In fact, I wrote an article about it with pictures. Take a look.

I also noticed that a great video about Rolling Thunder is also available on YouTube.

Rolling Thunder® XXI

Today on Memorial Day weekend 2008, I awoke to watch on TV the sights of motorcycles arriving in Washington, D.C. All part of Rolling Thunder XXI [1] and [2]. I remembered the feeling I had at Rolling Thunder XVIII in 2005. Here's an account of that rally including pictures:

I had the good fortune to attend Rolling Thunder over Memorial Day weekend in 2005. In fact, I wrote an article about it with pictures. Take a look.

I also noticed that a great video about Rolling Thunder is also available on YouTube. The year of this video is not mentioned but it's either 2005 or 2006. It looks pretty much like the sights that we saw in 2005. Here's the video.

Rolling Thunder Motorcycle Rally

I had the good fortune to attend Rolling Thunder over Memorial Day weekend in 2005. In fact, I wrote an article about it with pictures. Take a look.

I also noticed that a great video about Rolling Thunder is also available on YouTube. The year of this video is not mentioned but it's either 2005 or 2006. It looks pretty much like the sights that we saw in 2005. Here's the video.