Miracle Ride for Riley Children's Hospital

 

  Staying with my latest trend of not writing a safety related article, I would like to let you know about a charity ride I participated in recently for Riley Children’s Hospital in Indianapolis.  Although this was the 10th annual ride, I had never heard of it until just less than two weeks before.  The part that initially excited me about the ride was the opportunity to ride on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.  Also, my sister went to Riley Hospital when she was younger.

 

  For those that don’t know about Riley’s, it is a hospital that treats children, usually under the age of 18.  They provide some of the finest medical treatments available there, and it is all done at little or no cost to the families.  Not only that, but the hospital will also provide housing for the family if necessary.

 

  The ride started for me at approximately 8:30 am on Saturday, May the 31st.  Although rain was not forecasted, the sky looked as if it was a definite possibility.  We started out from Haysville in a group of seven; six of those were Harley-Davidsons and myself, the lone Kawasaki rider.  Before we made it to Loogootee, one of the bikes had broke down.  Several stayed with them, as four of us pressed on toward Bloomington.

 

  As we neared Bloomington, we rode on several wet roads.  However, the only rain we hit was more of a mist and only for a mile or so before we arrived at the first stop of the poker run, Bloomington Harley-Davidson.  While there, we registered and turned in our money.  We also were treated to some hot dogs and soft drinks, not to mention the added bonus of a restroom break.

 

  We made our way to the next four stops, the second also in Bloomington, then to Little Nashville, followed by Martinsville, and finally Indianapolis.  With all five stops on our cards complete, we went to the speedway to get registered for the ride and relax a bit.

 

  That evening, while we were eating in the hotel restaurant, we noticed some people who appeared to be the Kentucky Headhunters eating at a table near us.  When they stood up to leave, the suspensions were confirmed and they said a few words to us as they left.  After we finished eating, we went to the stage area and enjoyed their show.  Later, as we were sitting in the hotel lobby talking, one of the Headhunters came out of the bar and talked to us for a few minutes.  He then shook all of our hands and went out to the tour bus.

 

  Sunday morning started fairly early, seeing as I had very little sleep.  We got ready and left for the staging area near the hospital.  I was really surprised to see so many motorcycles.  Although I was not the only person riding a crotch rocket, the majority of the bikes were Harleys.  Even though I was one of only a few, I still was welcome and received no more than a slight ribbing.  Once we arrived at the staging area, we waited over an hour after the first bikes left until we finally started to roll.

 

  Upon leaving the parking lot, we rode around the backside of the hospital.  I saw some of the nurses standing out on the sidewalk waving to us.  I thought that it was really nice.  However, when we turned the corner, I was really touched.  On the sidewalk in front of the hospital, some of the children were out watching the bikes and waving.  I don’t remember any of them having hair, and the one was lying in a small bed with oxygen and an IV, it was really touching.  I didn’t cry, but it did choke me up.

 

  From there, we proceeded through Indy toward the speedway.  Along the way, motorcycle police had every intersection blocked off for us.  That alone was something to see.  All through town, people were standing outside of their houses waving to us.

 

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