Rolling Thunder XVIII

We just got home from Rolling Thunder XVIII in Washington, DC. and thought I'd pass this along.

The weather was the best I've seen in years for RT. Warm temps, mostly sunny, a slight breeze and only three drops of rain.

The turnout was huge. 23rd Street and Constitution Ave were packed with bikes and bikers waiting for the parade to start. Thunder Alley was no place for anybody in a hurry. Most of the vendors seemed to be smiling from ear to ear.

The parade from the Pentagon started exactly at 12:00 noon. Most of the time they rode two by two. Sometimes four across. Bikes were still coming across the Memorial Bridge from the Pentagon parking lot at 3:45 PM. As usual, most of the bikes in the parade were Harleys. (All you Harley stock owners can shouldn't have to worry about your stock going down. The new V-Star club was also well represented. Of course there were other bikes of all makes in the parade as well.

One very impressive sight was a lone Marine in full service dress. He stood in the middle of 23rd street, just before the right turn on to Constitution Ave. as the bikes passed on either side of him. During the entire parade (4+ hours) he stood still, rendering a salute. This guy never moved except to take a swig from a bottle of water that folks would bring out to him periodically. Really amazing....

The speeches started on the stage in front of the reflecting pool at the Lincoln Memorial at around 1:30PM with the usuall entrance of the color guard and the cage.

The lines for the food, water and ice cream vendors was really long. We waited at least 45 minutes for a bottle of water and an overpriced hot dog.


We met up with some old friends from Tucson, Albuquerque and other places that we don't get to see except during Rolling Thunder weekend.

Ride Safe
Stu

Too cool. One of these days I'll get away to make that ride. Always wanted to. The new V-Star club isn't actually new. It's actually STAR (Star Touring & Riding), and they were selected as the lead group out of the Pentagon this year, and maybe subsequent years too. The organizers are impressed with STAR's recognition of veterans within their organizition (called STAR Vets, which I'm a member of). I thought it was quite an honor when Alan Cease (STAR president) told me about the selection last year. Some day I'll have the time to ride cross-country to see it in person. Glad you could make it out there.