Hey everybody it’s been awhile since anything has been put on here so I am going to share with you a ride that I have registered for this year (2019).

It is called the Tour Of Honor check it out here, https://www.tourofhonor.com

I have been meaning to do this since I read an article in American Motorcyclist magazine in 2015 but do to other obligations and life I didn’t have the time for this ride. The ride is for Veteran and First Responder Charities and anyone who knows me knows that we can not do enough for the people that put their lives on the line for our Freedom and Safety. Tour Of Honor is raising money for three different charities and when you register part of your registration fee goes to one of the charities that you pick, the great news is after they pay for trophies and awards and everything else involved the money goes equally to all three charities, no one makes money on this, everyone volunteers their time, and to me that is what raising money for charity is all about.

It is an American Motorcyclist Association sanctioned ride, you do not need to be a AMA member to register for this ride although I do recommend becoming a member if you ride a motorcycle. http://www.americanmotorcyclist.com

Hopefully you checked out the Tour Of Honor website so I will not go into too much detail, I will just post some pictures of the Memorials that I make it to and some notes on the ride. I am rider 459 by the way.

 

April 5, 2019 – My first Memorial was at the Woodstock Harley Davidson dealership in Woodstock Illinois. The information for the Memorial site said that it is in front of the dealership, well it is not. I rode right past it when I pulled in and when I circled the parking lot not once but twice. I have to say that out of the over thirty years I have been riding this is the first year that I am riding with a helmet, so I blame the helmet not my dumb ass. So I parked up by the dealership to look up the Memorial info on my phone and looking at the picture I noticed a big ass flag pole in the middle of the Memorial and as soon as I looked up there it was, a big American Flag flying on the other side of the parking lot. I got on my bike and laughed at myself for not noticing it before.

While I was at the Memorial and taking pictures a guy rode up and I thought he was another Tour Of Honor rider so I asked him if he needs me to move my bike so he can get his pictures, he told me no he’s just loading it up to a trailer. We stood there for a while talking about rides we do  and I found out he is a Vietnam Veteran so I thanked him for his service and it pisses me off that I forgot his name. After awhile of bullshitting I went riding. I have to say that Woodstock Harley Davidson does a lot to support our Veterans, if you have never been there go inside and check it out. Here are pictures of the Memorial at Woodstock. Illinois. Tour Of Honor number IL7

April 6, 2019 – This was going to be a good day for a ride. It was supposed to get up to the mid 60’s so I planned for a good ride. My buddy Sean Winkler wanted to ride with as he is a Tour Of Honor rider also. Sean is known for being a long distance rider, last year he did a ride called the Hoka Hey Motorcycle Challenge where you ride 10,000 miles in ten days while sleeping next to your motorcycle the whole time. It is all for charity. Check it out http://www.hokaheychallenge.com/

Lori decided to stay home since Jenn (Sean’s ol lady) could not make it and she probably had a feeling it was going to be a high mileage day. I headed out at 7am and it was around 45 degrees to go meet Sean at his house, he lives about 40 miles south and it takes about an hour to get there. I left my house and the sun was shinning looking good not a cloud in  sky and 15 miles later I am riding in some fog and it was getting worse the more south I got. This was around the half way point.

I finally made to Sean’s it took a little longer since I could only ride 30-35 miles per hour, after hanging out and planning the route Sean put our stops in Google maps and away we go.

Our first Memorial for the day is an optional ride for the Tour Of Honor which means that on top of the Tour Of Honor Memorials they have additional sites for you to ride to. Optional rides include Huey Helicopters, War Dog Memorials, Dough Boy Memorials, and Gold Star Family Memorials. The goal is to visit at least seven Tour Of Honor Memorials and at least ten of each of the optional rides.

First one is a Huey in Mark, Illinois. It was still early so besides kids having baseball practice there was nothing going on in this quiet little town.

Second one is also a Huey in Washburn, Illinois. It is in front of the American Legion Post 661. It was right next to a gas station so it was a good time to fill up.

We kept heading south to the town of Washington, Illinois. To get to this Memorial you have to ride through a neighborhood no gunning the pipes and it is right next to a baseball field and it looked like a game was about to start soon.

Third Memorial is also a Huey.

From her we started riding west into Peoria and then North to Chilicothe for a Tour Of Honor site, I was not looking forward to the traffic in Peoria but it was not as bad as I thought.

Fourth Memorial is in Chilicothe, Illinois and also surrounded by houses so being respectful is the way. This one is a Tour Of Honor Memorial stop, we spent some time here, there is a lot to look at and it is kept really clean. One of the benches was donated by PEO-TAZ A.B.A.T.E nice job.

Next stop is back south in downtown Peoria. Neither one of us did any research on which Memorial we are trying to find in Peoria and when we got to the site our phones for some reason could not bring it up so we kind of took pictures of everything. One thing I noticed is how clean Peoria was, I don’t know if it is like that all the time but on this Saturday it was pretty clean.

For the record our fifth Memorial for the day is a War Dog Memorial.

Time to get out of the city and head west quick and the fastest way is the interstate, I’m not a fan of riding on the interstate but it made sense today. Heading west on 74 wasn’t too bad, we were able to keep a good pace after the construction zone. Gimme a two lane with no lines away from everywhere and I’m happy.

We finally got off the highway and worked our way to our sixth Memorial in Monmouth, Illinois. This Memorial was in front of the county courthouse in what seemed the old downtown area. I got the vibe that this town is a very busy and happening town and I’ll call it more of a small city.

Sixth Memorial in Monmouth, Illinois. This is a Tour Of Honor site.

After gassing up we rode north on 67 to our next site in Davenport, Iowa. Again I found myself on a highway but this had to have been better than riding through the city.

Seventh Memorial was a Huey at the Iowa National Guard by the airport and the gate was closed and locked so we had to get our pictures from the road. We were waiting to get surrounded and get brought in for questioning on what we were doing, never happened.

Our next Memorial is just north in Le Claire, Iowa. The sites for the Tour Of Honor Memorials in Iowa this year are big rocks that are called Freedom Rocks that have been painted by an artist named Ray “Bubba” Sorenson II.

Eighth Memorial in Le Claire, Iowa.

As you can tell the river was a little high, we couldn’t get close without getting wet and it was going to get dark soon and the temperature will drop fast so not a good idea. While we were in Le Claire you guessed it we had to stop at a very popular place and no they were not there.

After looking around for way too long and talking to a group of riders from Chicago that are staying in Savanna, Illinois for the weekend it was time to start east. Instead of riding north up the river we got back on the highway to make up some time. We got off 88 onto Rt 92 and worked our way to Sterling, Illinois where we got on Rt 2 and stayed on that until we got to our next site at Memorial Park in Dixon. If you are ever in Dixon this is a must stop.

Our Memorial site is the Huey.

Our ninth and final Memorial for the day is also a Huey in Dixon up the road at the V.F.W Post 540 on Rt 38

While we were taking pictures a guy came out and asked if we would like him to take pictures of us and we said sure. He invited us in even though that was our plan. When we went in he bought us a round and we thanked him, everybody in there was really friendly. While we were talking to people in there we found out that this Post is responsible for taking care of the Memorial Park that we visited before we came here and they do an excellent job. Before we left more people were showing up it seemed like a good place to hang out, I’ll definitely stop in there again.

This is where Sean and I split up, with him going southeast and me going northeast. When I got home it was almost 10pm and I rode 450.2 miles not a bad day.

April 26, 2019– We had some time to kill today and the temp is close to 70 so riding it is. When it’s just the two of us going out for a joy ride I usually just make it up as we go and today is no exception. The only difference is I made the plan to make a Memorial Site stop. Today’s Memorial is a Huey at the LZ Peace Memorial in Rockford, Illinois. This site is not right at the road, after you park you will have to walk to get to it but it is worth it. Once you get up by the Huey a recording starts and it might scare the hell out of you if you are not aware of it.

After this we rode to Woodstock so Lori could see the Memorial there and we just rode back home all nice back roads, 91 miles, not bad for a joy ride to kill some time.