4th Annual Memorial Day Ride To Remember

CHARLOTTE, NC

On Monday May 29, 2023, despite the dreary weather and chance of rain, 126 bikes and over 200 participants packed into Thompson Park in downtown Charlotte, NC for the 4th Annual Memorial Day Ride to Remember.

This has become the ride to be at on Memorial Day and continues to truly honor the men and women that sacrificed their lives for our country, which is the TRUE meaning of Memorial Day.

With dreary skies and wet roads, registration began at 7 am, but many were already there setting up, and staging already, ready for the ride ahead. Registration continued until 815 am, when a drivers safety meeting went over the upcoming 130-mile police escorted route to come. Once everyone was clear on the route and expectations. The first of many ceremonies began. The founders and many of the riders walked through the Vietnam Wall there at the park, led by bag pipes to lay a wreath and start their day off remembering the names etched there on the wall.

Bikes, Can-Ams, and Trikes all started their engines to a roar that could be heard for miles. As the entire procession was led by Mecklenburg County Sheriff Garry McFadden and the founders of the ride, Crystal Ashe, and Dennis Koch they continued into downtown Charlotte, with the help of Mecklenburg County Sheriff’s officers, where everyone was encouraged to rev their engines and be loud and proud of the reason, they were there that day. The reverb off the tall buildings made everyone stop in their tracks and watch as the entire group went by.

The group continued down Hwy 49 with an escort by NC State Highway Patrol E3 division, into Richfield and stopped at Richfield Misenheimer VFD for a quick rest stop. As they continued onward up Hwy 52 to The Salisbury National Cemetery with an escort from Stanly and Rowan County Sheriff’s Offices.

Story and Photos:

Once in the cemetery, they were met by many family members visiting gravesites. Many of them stopped to wave, or to salute as the procession passed by and up the hill. Once all the riders were in the cemetery, they stopped their engines for a moment of silence, while the bag piper played across the cemetery to honor the men and women laid to rest there. With rain and winds picking up, they once again started their engines to move on to the next stop. With many of the public there waving, saluting, videoing, or taking pictures, or yelling thank you to all the riders, they continued their journey.

They arrived at The Thomasville Vietnam Memorial Wall off Interstate 85 South, with an escort from Davidson County Sheriff, and with a much-needed break in the weather just in time to be led in by the bag piper in and around the wall to lay a wreath and have a moment of silence before taking their infamous group picture in front of the wall. Many took the time to stand and stare at the names etched there and have their own moment of silence, while others visited with non-riders that were there visiting as well, and talked about our ride and what we do every year.

For one last time, they started their engines to ride up to Carolina Field of Honor in Kernersville with an escort by Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office, to have one last ceremony and wreath laying, led by their wonderful bagpiper Melanye Brennan. They laid the last wreath and had one last moment of silence before dismissing to allow the riders time to explore the amazing grounds there with all the monuments and mementos of all the wars.

Afterwards the riders were all served a BBQ lunch and several auction and raffle items were given away with all proceeds going to the yearly choice of a military charity, which happened to be Purple Heart Homes. Many riders were recognized for their continued support of the ride year after year. Before everyone started making their way back to their homes.

This ride continues to grow each year and truly celebrates the true meaning of Memorial Day. For information on next years ride on May 27, 2024, you can look their group up on Facebook found here: https://www.facebook.com/ groups/305757144422383/ or go to their event page on Facebook that can be found here: https://www.facebook.com/events/ 611916024242758/.