Ride Report posted for Clifford Otto (ottoman)

 

I was contacted by a young lady named Edna Avitia a couple of weeks ago and asked about a welcome home escort for her brother. After explaining our mission she asked how much this would cost. I told her it was free to her and her family and they had already paid with their Patriotism.

This being my first RC made it very special for me and I will admit I was a bit nervous! What made this WH great was the support from all my fellow riders. What made it greater was, we not only escorted Francisco but, his two brothers and girlfriend who are also soldiers and were also given a welcome home and escort.

We had about 13 bikes and numerous cages, plus four cages with family members. The LEOs were as excited as we were and were taking their own pictures of the ride. Another amazing thing was the weather! We have had nothing but rain and cold overcast conditions up to the day of the ride.

The soldiers ran late and meanwhile the skies cleared and the clouds disappeared. This allowed us to ride into the sunset on the bikes and forget the cages! OOPS!!! Okay first RC and we had to stop later and wait for the rest of the escort. After that it was pretty smooth sailing, lesson learned.

In closing I want to thank everyone: Carpentersville Police and Fire departments, the Family and friends, my fellow riders for all your help and support. Most of all I want to thank a family of heroes, Francisco, Jaime, Hosei, and Melanie. What a GREAT show of Patriotism and it was an honor to meet all of you. Thank you for protecting our NATION.