2004 CWB / Tampa Bay BMW Foodbank and Veteran's Ride Report

 

 

For the Christmas 2005 Veteran's Home Visit Clearwaterbiker had a respectable presence.

What the group lacked in size it clearly made up for both in enthusiasm and contributions.

The CWB group took a few twisty roads before stopping at the next meeting point - BMW of Tampa Bay (Gunn Hwy). There we met with the BMW Riders of Tampa Bay, milled around briefly, ate some pancakes and prepared to leave.

 

The Clearwaterbiker riders left first with a few of the sportiest riders from the BMW club. The group took the more circuitous route and met up with the BMW Riders first at the local foodbank and then again at the Veteran's Home.    

All total, there were around 30 motorcycles at the Veteran's Home of a variety of brands and style of riding. A few veterans came out to view the motorcycles and a few pictures were allowed to be taken with some of the vets, but others were not allowed for legal or privacy reasons.

All riders went inside to visit with the veterans and wish them Happy Holidays. Vega arranged for a Bagpipe Player, and the main area was filled with Vets listening to Bagpipe music. The Vets were noticeably moved, both by the music and by the attendance of the riders themselves. While the music played, different riders made their way through the crowd shaking hands, wishing people a Merry Christmas. More than one resident was choking back tears. The stack of new DVD movies for the Vets to watch impressive - probably over 20 titles, and all new movies too! We also handed out a bunch of slipper socks to warm some cold feet this winter!

The vets and the caretakers thanked us over and over again. When it was time to leave some followed us out, shook our hands and thanked us all again and again. The thanks were not just for the movies and the slippers, but for stopping by and letting our Veterans know that we still care.

To those who made it out: god bless you, it was a terrible day for it, cold and wet. To those who didn't: This wasn't a one time opportunity, we'll be looking for you next time around. This was a ride, but it was about so much more than that. It was about saying "thank you," it was about letting people know we still care and they still matter. Most of the time for motorcyclists it is about the journey and not the destination - today, the destination was far more important than the ride getting there.

Merry Christmas Everyone