From 8:30 in the morning until 4:30 in the afternoon I participated in the 8th annual Tyler Ride, a yearly gathering of hundreds and hundreds of motorcyclists to benefit Tyler Ricard, a 13 year old boy who has Muscular Dystrophy. There's something really cool about being a small part of a huge gathering of people all doing a singular thing. It make me stop and think about the communal human spirt, and our innate care for others less fortunate than ourselves. I'm a relatively healthy nearing-40-years-old guy, have a beautiful wife and three healthy, smart, well-fed kids. Probably less than 1% of the fathers in the world can say that they own their own home, vote, have access to clean water, own a motorcycle, health care, and cable television.
I am truly a lucky, lucky guy, and I appreciate it.
Tyler's a really nice kid. I've had the pleasure of eating lunch with him and shooting the breeze. Perhaps obviously, he loves motorcycles. In 2005 the Make-A-Wish Foundation even arranged for him to meet the crew from Orange County Choppers.
This was my second Tyler Ride. Based on unscientific observations, it was a smashing improvement from last year. I clearly recall four rows of two bikes in 2006. This year, the parking lot of the Westford VFW was so full that they had to begin cueing bikes up facing the wrong way because there was no more room to turn them around to face the road.
Aside from the incredible 100-mile ride throughout central Massachusetts and southern New Hampshire, with police blocking off every intersection for us, crowds lining the streets and cheering wildly as we roared through their towns, I enjoyed perusing an unprecedented gathering of every motorcycle known to man. 95% of the bikes were of course Harley Davidsons, the popular choice of American riders. But there were also a host of custom choppers, along with Victory, Honda, Kawasaki, Yamaha, and even Triumph bikes. I'm proud to say that there was another Valkyrie Dragon present too! Naturally, Val was jealous that I was staring at the other gorgeous 6-cylinder beauty.
A picture of my most prized possession, Val:
A picture of the only other Valkyrie at the ride:
Here's a small selection of pictures from the event:
Nice chopper.
Another nice custom job.
Old school Harley.
I have huge respect for the owner of this humble bike -- he (she?) rides a motorcycle, regardless of how "flashy" or not it is, plus the owner rode for Tyler. 
My sister's boyfriend Ken on his Harley, with the often admired custom paint. 
One of seven towns' motorcycle escorts.
A sweet Triumph. I want to ride it.
Two stunning Victory motorcycles, heavily customized.
To cap it off, I rode to New Ipswitch NH to see a fireworks display unlike any I've ever seen. I was invited by my buddies Jeff (who helped wire up the pyrotechnics) and Jimmy. Forgive me for being a bit sketchy on the details, but apparently this is an annual display put on by a guy from my home town. He spends tens of thousands of dollars, and it shows. Imagine the five-minute finale of the fireworks in your hometown ... dozens upon dozens of simultaneous explosions ... and then extend it for an hour. That's what it was like. 
What a great day. I'll likely add to this post when time allows.
Posts
2 comments:
yo that old honda is mine im tyler's brother. I took the calls like a week before to be apart of the ride and i chose to ride that old iron. so hope to see you this year
Like I said in my original post, I have huge respect for you. I don't care what anybody rides, we're all on bikes and there for Tyler.
See you again soon!
Post a Comment