It was with equal parts trepidation and excitement that I entered the last number of my credit card and hit the order button.

What was I doing I thought. The second guessing started, the what ifs...

After a 28 year hiatus from riding I had purchased an 06 Heritage Softail from my nephew in November of 09. The biggest bike I'd ridden previously was a 750 Yamaha.

Here I was just 6 months into riding my new bike (mostly solo) that I was going to mount up and go on my first organized ride, with my lovely wife on the back.

Now we're not talking about an ordinary ride here. I'd seen countless groups before cruising down the highway but never in numbers like this. This was West Coast Thunder 2010.

We arrived at the staging area at about 8:00 a.m. The ride was to start promptly at 9:11 a.m. We walked the 1/2 block to Skip Fordyce Harley-Davidson in Riverside to get some coffee and mingle. Even from a 1/2 block away we could hear the bikes continue to roll in and line up.

The city had blocked off Indiana Avenue to all traffic. Pre-registerd riders to the left, todays registering riders to the right. As we made our way back to my bike we stood in awe of the sight before us. For almost 2 city blocks there were 10 to 12 bikes lined up across the street as far as the eye could see. Harleys (by far the most), imports from across both ponds, customs, choppers, trikes; you name it, it was represented.

At 9:11 a.m. after the opening ceremonies, mounting of colors to the Color Guards and tear jerking rendition of God Bless America by a 5 year old (yes 5) the signal was given to start the bikes.

Like a summer storm rolling through the sound rolled from the start of the pack over us and off into the distance as 10,000+ bikes fired up.

The Color Guard set out, following the lead of Riverside Police, and followed closely behind by the 10,000 riders and their mounts. 

The first stretch of the ride was a short 11 miles to Riverside National Cemetery but oh, what a ride.

The police had closed off the intersections to opposing traffic, making our transition to the Cemetery a full on parade. The street sides are lined with people waving flags and holding signs while flashing peace signs and cheering us on loudly. As I rode past the Marine Corps flags I'd yell out loudly, "Semper Fi".

At the Cemetery the group split. Some riders headed in for the Memorial Day ceremonies and the rest rode on another 32 miles to Soboba Casino in San Jacinto. It too was a closed route with CHP,  local police, and sheriffs' agencies shutting down on ramps and even Interstate 215 and State Route 60. Even along the freeway and onramps and sidestreets people had lined up to cheer us on.

At the casino they had set up a secure area for the bikes, a venue for vendors of foods and motorcycle paraphenalia and a concert area where we were entertained by James Otto and Danny Gokey.

Over $300,000 from West Coast Thunder rides since 1999 have been donated to Riverside National Cemetery and was instrumental in the building of the POW/MIA Memorial and continues to donate for the planned Vietnam War Memorial.

Semper Fi