Ride Report posted for Spike

I’ve had the pleasure of escorting Adam once before, in 2008 at a 9/11 event.  This made the mission a little bit on the personal side.  Also, his mom is a member of Operation S.A.M., ome of our Patriotic partners in the Tri-Valley area.  We staged at the Harley shop in Oakland – where we ALWAYS stage for Oakland Airport pick-ups.  We staged with 13 bikes, the POW/MIA Corvette – driven by Ray & his wife.  One of our riders decided to bring his black Corvette as well – Bill Bergen.  Also, Fred & Gail were having bike trouble so they rode in a cage, bringing coffee in a thermos.  Melissa (mom) showed up with the family and we headed to the airport to wait for Adam. 

This is not new for Adam so once he saw the flags, he knew what was about to happen.  We grabbed him and took a group shot inside the terminal, with lot’s of mugs & hugs.  We left Adam there because he didn’t know we were going to escort him home, although his mom, Melissa knew.  We got on our bikes & headed to our 2nd staging area on the side of the road just past the main parking area.  Once Adam arrived, we staged him up in front behind two flag bikes.  We had two extra cages join into the procession.  I got on the phone and called Josh (FD Captain) and informed him of our departure time.  Since this was a Sunday evening, there was no traffic.  It took us a very short amount of time to get to our destination.  Our exit off the freeway wraps around and heads on an overpass, over the freeway north towards his house.  As we crossed over the bridge and came upon a stop light, there was a fire engine waiting for us.  As the light turned green, the engine took lead with lights flashing and sirens blaring and we were only about 7 blocks from the house.  As we approached the house, there were roughly 50 people waiting, waving flags and holding signs along both sides of the street.  Our typical Welcome Home ceremonies began with the presentation of certificates, flags, beer (go 6-pack), coins and well-wishes for Adam.  What a great night and a wonderful turnout!  Welcome Home Adam – welcome home!