Late June of this summer brought the 4th annual "Ride for the Troops" here in Bemidji,MN. The ride was created four years ago by a tough looking biker with a big heart. The biker's father had served in the war and so he started the fundraiser in memory of his father.

This year the rider/biker turnout was amazing! There were approximately 200 motorcycles, and 275 riders and passengers along for the "big cruise." We all started the morning together by eating pancakes, and sausage, which was cooked up so nicely by the local Boy Scout Troop. After breakfast we visited amongst each other, checked out each other’s rides, and started to "suit up" and get ready for the ride. "Everyone stand near your cycles and get ready for the National Anthem," the announcer said. You could feel a huge sense of pride throughout the large group of people hands on our hearts as we listened to the anthem and watched the National Guard proudly displaying their flags.

With a very loud voice the announcer said "Everyone Start Your Engines!!!" That may have been the most exciting part of the day for me. When all 200 of the motorcycle engines were humming, and purring, and grunting, it was pure happiness. What a noise that was. "And we're off." We started our slow journey out of town down the given path. What a sight it was to see so many bikes going down the same road, side-by-side in pairs. We traveled all over the surrounding area, people waving and honking, even waving flags as we cruised by. I had a lot of fun waving back at everyone on the roadsides, I felt proud.

We headed back into town late in the day. We were getting pretty tired, quite chilly, and our stomachs were growling. No worries though, there was a fabulous hot roast beef sandwich dinner waiting for us as we returned to the starting point. We enjoyed more conversation with dinner, and listened for the announcer to call off the winner numbers of the raffle drawing. There were at least 10 great items up for winning, I was excited, and I had put a few tickets in the raffle. Wouldn't you believe it? I won a really nice MN Vikings jersey (my husband loves it!)

As my dad and I rolled on out of the event I felt very satisfied. We had learned that the even raised thousands and thousands of dollars this year. All the money made was to go to local troops and their families. What a great summer event, great cause, great day!