Weakened Warrior: West Coast Thunder 2011

Well, it's been a few days since West Coast Thunder and I'm finally getting to posting some information on it. I know it's been almost a week, but I've been quite busy with work and life in general.

West Coast Thunder happened on Memorial Day. It was a great ride that left Skip Fordyce Harley-Davidson in Riverside, Ca.

The ride departed from the dealership at 9:11 a.m. to recognize the tragic date the U.S. was attacked by terrorists. Attendees rode out to Soboba Casino, passing the Riverside National Cemetery, where many riders would stop to pay respect to the dead. A concert and vendors would be waiting for the riders.

The ride was just as cool as last year. I still got a bit choked up seeing all of the people lining the streets saluting, waving, and forming peace signs with their fingers. Some showing respect to the former members of the armed forces taking part in the parade. While others were there to see some cool bikes.

The only drawback to this year was the lack of overhead flybys performed by the local military institutions and the freeways not being held at bay by law enforcement. Last year there were several aircraft making their way overhead, including a Bell helicopter, Huey, and a C130. The freeway was also reserved for just motorcycles, forcing automobiles to wait at the on ramps for the end of the convoy of bikes.

I can understand not having the freeways blocked this year. I'm sure it costs a pretty penny to have the law enforcement agencies to block access for other motorists. Poor publicity may also be a concern. But it sure was cool to have all four lanes to ourselves last year.

There were many cool bikes in attendance. I don't know what the final numbers were, but they were expecting more than the 7500 accounted for in the previous year.

I managed to take over 300 pictures. Here are a few of them.