I'm sharing this thread from a "Best Ride" thread that I started a while ago. It touched me, and I thought it was worth sharing separately for those that might have missed it. It's a little long, but very worth reading. It's from Rick, and hope he doesn't mind me re-posting his comments:
Originally Posted by Ricks Ride View Post
I bought my bike just before I deployed to Iraq in late '07. I hadn't owned a street bike in over a decade and was sick of watching all of my friends enjoy thier lives and their bikes. My wife and I needed something for us to enjoy together. I had a particularly sh*tty deployment and me and a some of my guys spent alot of time talking about our bikes and the rides that we wanted to do when we got home. We often spoke of how the little rides sometimes were more meaningful than the big excursions. We often talked about our bikes because it kept the topic of discussion lite and off of our families that we missed so much. After a while the thought of just relaxing on your bike without having to wear all of that gear and worrying about being blown-up, shot at, or having to shoot at someone else is enough, the destination matters not. Not all of the guys that I talked bikes with got to come home, others did but will never ride or walk again. Soon after coming home I bought heated riding gear and went for a ride one day. I was just going to go out and give the heated gear a test run. I wound up riding for a few hours with no real destination thinking about those long conversations, and those men, and what my freedom means to me. I am usually not a guy with alot of emotional baggage but I have to admit that the time I spent on my bike that day did more for my overall well being than any other single thing that I have done to "readjust" to being home. Not more signifigant than being reunited with my wife and two boys, but in a different way. I am sure that when the weather gets better and Momma and I am able to enjoy the bike together that I will have more "fun" on the bike, but I don't know if I will ever have a more fulfilling ride in my life.

Hey Rick,
Thanks for sharing with us. Very inspirational. We do tend to take our freedom for granted. Thanks for your dedicated, and selfless service to our country. We all owe you, and those that served with you and before you a debt of gratitude. God Bless

 

Unfortunatley I'm not intelligent or articulate enough to post a meaningful reply to that.I do know though, that we've probably all had rides like that one,and that they have helped us to get the little things,the big things,the family things,work,finances and life in general into the correct perspective.
Someone on this Forum has the sig. "you never see a motorcycle outside a shrinks"
He could just be right.
Ride Safe.

 

Thanks for posting this.

And Rick, I can't thank you enough. You're the kind of human being we should all strive to be.

 

Having spent time in the Air Force and being deployed, I understand why that ride was so special. The friends you make while serving are lifelong. Great story

 

It'd be a good thing if Harley or some rich guy could see this and donate Harleys to any vet that wants one! After all, look what it did for so many vets in WWII!
Maybe George Soros (multi billionaire), instead of giving $150 million to Obama for the innauguration, could throw a few bucks in the direction of those most deserving?!!!
I don't want to hijack this thread, and make it political, I'm just saying...he's got lots of millions, and Obama claims he wants change.....

 

Put a lump in my throad and brought back some painful memories. I never served, but my cousin Tim served in Vietnam. During a patrol they were ambushed and Tim killed his best friend in a friendly fire incident. He came home safe, but he was never the same. After marrying and having three kids, he eventually took his own life. I guess he left Vietnam, but Vietnam never left him. My thanks to all of you that have fought to make us safe. I salute you.

 

I'm not even going to try and add to that.. all I'll say is thank you for sharing.. to the op, thank you for your service.. and thank you for putting into words.. one of the most important things riding a bike can be..

my best to you always

mavrick

 

Thanks, Rick, for your service.

One of my riding buddies is between deployments now. I'm successful in my career, self-confident, and quite a bit older than him, but every weekend I'm around this young man (early 30's), I'm awed by his maturity & character. I truly hope that he & his colleagues are the "leaders" of our country's future.

As to the therapeutic rides, I've just sent off to have new plates for my RK: THERPY
Nothing beats the wind and the roar of a big V Twin!

 

After serving 6 years in the AF Reserves during Viet Nam, I gained a new appreciation for what "service" really means. I lost dear friends in that war, and my son-in-law has served in Turkey, Germany, Bosnia, Iraq twice, and has really had some difficulty keeping his family together. Our warriors never get enough credit. I felt it was important to share Rick's post so we could all gain a better feel for the "REAL HERO'S" of this country. Instead of the artificial ones the media hypes to us every day....

 

First of I want to say thank you for your service and for this thread. Having been in aviation during my Naval career (22 years) the sound of Jet noise means freedom to me and reminds me of my tour during the Gulf comflict. Now that we are still there and how our service members are sacrificing much more (in my eyes) I really take the time to appreciate the previledge we have for being an American. +1 on those rides when you can reach deep inside and reflect just how lucky we are and how so many take it for granted.