Chapter Meeting/Toccoa Wall Ride - 29 March 2008.
The itinerary was set and the
meeting place for the Brothers
from the South and Atlanta
area met up at a convenience
store near Interstate 75 just
below Atlanta. Biskit was the
first on the scene and then
others started trickling in.
When Shadow arrived, everyone
was anxious to get on the road.
Shadow led the way with his
trusty map on his tank bag.
The second stop was North on
I85. We met up with Flameout
in his cage and Rhino. After a
short break, we were back on
the road at record speeds. When
Shadow takes the lead, you
better be ready to roll.
The weather was great on the
way up. I remember topping a
hill up north and it looked foggy
ahead. Two minutes later, it was
dark enough to see your lights
shining on the road. Doc rode out to meet us on the way in. I saw him fly by a cop in the opposite lane heading south. He made a turn-around and caught the group to take the lead into
Clarksville. The rain started
and intensified very quickly.
Lightening streaked and thunder
boomed. I couldn’t see brake lights in front of me. The rain was so hard that Doc stopped us at a convenience store to get under the awning to weather the storm.
We commandeered the whole
right side of the station. We
were only a couple of miles
from Doc’s house, but couldn't leave due to the weather. The rain didn’t stop, but slowed
down long enough to put on
rain gear and ease back onto
the road. Finally we arrived at
Doc’s. We tracked mud and
water in and Doc offered up his
dryer to dry our clothes. Almost
everyone took him up on his
offer. Warm clothes out of the
dryer never felt so good. Some great snacks and an informative meeting commenced. Doc and Creeper were cooking outside in the rain while everyone else stayed dry and got to know each other a little better. Doc decided that if he had to cook in the rain, we could eat in the rain. The food was great - conversations were even better.
We decided 
to take the ride to
Taccoa to the visit the Traveling
Wall. On the way we stopped at
a War Memorial for the 506th Infantry that was really great. The series on HBO, Band of Brothers, was based on them. Then we were on to Toccoa. When we arrived at the Wall, we were greeted with thanks and praise. The traveling wall is very emotional to be around, and read - seems there’s an endless list of names that gave all for our freedom. Even in the rain, there were several people visiting and remembering friends and loved ones.
When we left the wall, we stopped at a station to top off. We were escorted out by Doc and then led by Shadow for the ride home. Even though we were riding at break-neck speeds, you still had time to reminisce about the days events and the sacrifice that all of the Heroes gave so we could ride as a unit and where we fit in the whole picture.
Slowly riders peeled off on their exits until Cool Breeze and I rode further south. Cool Breeze exited and I finished the last hour and a half on my own. We had a great time, even in the rain …. Brothers to the end!
Biskit
State QM