I was going to post this in the Patriot rider section, but it doesn't get near the exposure this forum does...

Marine Skip Wells was laid to rest yesterday in the Georgia National Cemetery.

My wife and I spent 3 hours on the side of a very hot and muggy highway to pay our respects to him and his family as they passed by. I had never experienced the PR group leading a funeral procession until yesterday.

Having said that.... what a disappointment.

Some suggestions for those of you that do...

Why not ride "tighter?" I realize that safe distance needs to be maintained between bikes... but WTH? 50-100 YARDS between some groups? I mean... you've got the entire interstate shut down, and police blocking all entrances/side streets. If "novice riders" is the answer... THEY DON'T BELONG! The lead bike shares much of this responsibility... were no instructions given to the group?! Perhaps the gaps were from some who would hold back, then BLAST THEIR SHIDDY LOUD PIPES trying to impress those of us on the route... if so, DON'T BOTHER! Save that crap for your poser buddies at bike night.

Ratty azz Harley shirts? REALLY?!!! You don't have something non-faded and CLEAN to ride in? If not.... don't participate, park your bike on the side of the road and hold a flag!

Lastly... NOBODY along your route (or in the funeral procession) thinks your $4000 stereo is "cool," cranking out Merl Haggard or AC/DC! Turn the DAMN THING OFF! At the very least, at a very low level (if you MUST ride with tunes.)

Keep in mind that not ALL riders exhibited this behavior, but ENOUGH of them that it looked PATHETIC!

Do I sound unimpressed and pissed?! You'd be correct!

It's NOT about YOU... its about RESPECT for the fallen victims of our great nation.

These men and women of our armed forces place their lives on the line every day to protect the freedoms and liberties we hold dear. Some pay the ultimate sacrifice...

If you participate in a PG ride, do so with respect and reverence for that member. If you can't... please DO NOT participate.

If this doesn't apply to you, look around to those it does... and address those riders. Otherwise, it makes you part of the problem...

Just passin' it along,

Beav

 

Who told you that you could decide who was qualified to participate? Tell you what - I suggest you take your comments to your local State Captain. I can get you some contact info pretty quickly, if you like. . .

 

Go ahead and give him the contact information.

Sounds like he is speaking from the heart.

I'd be interested in seeing the reply from the PGR.

 

The club im in does have a formal event/funeral escort dress uniform (just a nice white button up l/s shirt and dark pants w/ boots.


But not every organization has those rules...they are just glad to have the escort riders.

Your post does have some merit. Ratty t-shirts...not good

 

I do agree on the ratty t-shirts. Not good. But, the "novice riders" thing. . . I disagree.

 

I was at the funeral procession myself yesterday as a bystander.

Aside from all the criticisms by the OP, I was standing there with my bike parked off to the side and saw what had to be a thousand bikes go by. It was very moving.

Right then and there, I signed up for the PGR.

I was six inches from the hearse as it went by and saw the soldier's mother in the car immediately behind it, look at the the thousands of people lined up along the road as the car turned to open the view. The look in her eyes said it all. It was very much appreciated.

That being said, I am sure every rider has very good intentions but I will agree that some of the things I saw in the bikes whizzing by was in poor taste--especially the radios playing. When you get THAT many people together, there are always going to be a few who are not fully with the program. Leave it at that.

 

I've been on several escorts locally and one for my brother in Florida. Most road captains give pre-ride briefs reminding all this is funeral procession not a parade. Staggered riding with 1 sec. intervals. A lot are too busy too listen to some instructions, some are there just to be there. +1 on contacting your State PG rep.

As a side note one escort took us past an older woman displaying her "Two Gold Star Flag" in honor of her loss and the parents of the lost soldier. That one pulled at the heart strings.

 

I rode down to Chattanooga on Friday, for the funeral of U.S. Marine Staff Sgt. David Wyatt. There were way more motorcycles than I could count and most of them were from the PGR. There also must have been at least 10,000 people lining the streets where we rode.
On the following day we rode back down to visit the memorial at the recruiting offices where the shooting started along with about 120 bikes from all the state chapters of the CVMA (Combat Vets Motorcycle Association). Along the way we picked up riders that had no association with us at all but they were following the herd mentality. There was a kid beside me that didn't know how to ride in a group and worried me for about an hour.
I don't care who you are, unless you're invited to ride with a group, do not try to join as you may cause bodily harm to some other riders.
Rant Over...As you were.

 

As mentioned above, on a ride that big there are always other groups or individuals that dont go along with the program. Cant blame the PGR for that. Good post, constructive criticism, but theres only so much the ride captains can do.

 

Due to my location I've been honored enough to ride a few missions, almost all of them at Arlington National Cemetary. My first mission I told the ride captain that this would be my first group ride. He gave great info, perhaps because there are so many funerals with PGR there never seemed to be more than 10-20 riders but it has always been an incredibly humbling experience. I couldn't imagine blaring stereos but then again they probably wouldn't allow it anyway!

I'm going to miss those missions most of all, perhaps there will also be a PGR group in Palm Desert CA