Photos Courtesy of Dan Eckstein, Official Photographer – Central Route.
(Click on post title above to see photos, if needed)
This album can also be viewed at:
RFTW Google Photo Site
Official Run for the Wall Facebook Page
Photos Courtesy of Dan Eckstein, Official Photographer – Central Route.
(Click on post title above to see photos, if needed)
This album can also be viewed at:
RFTW Google Photo Site
Official Run for the Wall Facebook Page
Photos Courtesy of Dan Eckstein, Official Photographer – Central Route.
(Click on post title above to see photos, if needed)
This album can also be viewed at:
RFTW Google Photo site
Official Run for the Wall Facebook Page
I had the privilege of joining this run for the first time this year in 2016. The idea was planted in my mind in 2015 from a few gentlemen I had met during Rolling Thunder. They had me traveling across the country with no idea what exactly I was about to get myself into. Only the promise that it was an adventure that would open my eyes to ,many things, especially the treatment of our military service people.
I had a basic concept as I watched it and read about it numerous times, but this was entirely different and was worth the time I spent getting to know this group. Tough, rigid, well organized, and yet kind, caring, and complete awareness of why this Run means so much to so many. While on this trip, I had a rider ask me… why are you here? You aren’t even military. I wondered the same thing at first. But after several days and numerous conversations with others… it came down to this: I may not be military, but I believe that everyone who has made the commitment to protect and serve this country takes tremendous courage, and shows tremendous bravery and sacrifice, on so many levels. Because of that… I am in awe and believe that these same individuals deserve my utmost respect and gratitude. It’s up to me to show it, and this event is a perfect way to do that.
I wondered why I was doing this, as I sat on my bike that morning in Ontario, CA. The answer: We ride for those who can’t. 2017 is fast approaching and I already feel the anticipation building. Looking forward to meeting more wonderful people and being part of something that makes a difference with all who have sacrificed.
I’m an in-country Vietnam Veteran. I’ve owned motorcycles most of my life. Currently I own two. The 1989 Honda Goldwing I bought new in 1990 (last years model). Twenty-six years later and 90 some thousand miles later, I bought a 2011 Harley Electra Glide Classic with 21K on the clock.
I hope to make this ride in 2017 with my son and grandson. They will ride the ‘wing. They’ll fly down from their residence in Oregon and we’ll ride out on the Southern Route. After the event in D.C., we hope to ride back with some of the group that ran the Central Route back to Kansas City, KS where we’ll split off and head towards Oregon. After getting them home, I’ll give the ‘wing to my son and ride home to Southern California.
My name is Harold DePuy road name “Grumpy”. I am a retired Army Sergeant First Class and VietNam veteran. It was a dream of mine to do Run For The Wall some day. Funds were always short and Patriot Guard missions were a priority. In 2013 I was told to get off the Harley due to health problems. So I sold the Harley and prepared to spend my time at home doing not much of anything.
I was talking to some friends one day, and they suggested I get a trike. Well I knew I could never afford a Harley trike, and didn’t really see myself on a Can-Am. So I figured I would look around for parts and build a VW trike. I thought it would take about two-years to build. One day I drug a transaxle into my garage, and the build was on. Eight months later the trike was finished and registered. Over the next couple years changes were made to upgrade the trike including a new 1776cc engine.
The 2016 RFTW was coming into Las Cruces, NM, and I went to Barnett Harley Davidson to greet them as I had always done for several years before. But that day I told myself I had to go with them, no matter what. The trike was ready, and I felt I definitely was, too. So that evening I packed with the help of my wife and son. At 4:00AM I was headed back to Las Cruces, NM. I registered and was welcomed as never before by several riders, and was assigned to the 9th platoon. Eventually I ended up at the back of the pack because the performance cam and big carburator put out a high amount of exhaust fumes. I didn’t care, I was doing the Run For The Wall!
I was actually living my dream. I had no rooms reserved, and saw the Southern Route itinerary booklet for the first time that morning. I was as fresh as an FNG, as you could get. I learned real quick what I needed to do, with Road Guards encouraging me along the way. The tail gunners were tolerating the gas fumes. My wife downloaded the itinerary from the RFTW website, so she was booking rooms for me the whole way.
We made it to Monroe, LA to the City Hall Wreath Laying. When it was time to leave, the trike would not start. The ignition and starter burned up. Bill from the Shriners came to my rescue. We had the trike back on the road by 6:00PM. Thinking that I was good to go for the rest of the mission was only the beginning of many challenges that lay ahead of me. Coming into Chattanooga, TN the number 3 spark plug blew out of the engine. And forgetting to put the trike in gear caused it to get away from me and roll down the steep bank. I had to dune buggy the thing back up the embankment with three cylinders. The support truck hauled the trike to Thunder Creek Harley Davidson where the service manager called for help, since they didn’t work on VWs. Stateline Wagons came to the rescue. They hauled the trike to their shop and had me on the road again the next day.
Coming into Roanoke, VA, just short of the D-Day Memorial, I broke an exhaust valve spring. After making the repair, I missed the D-Day Memorial. I pressed on to Lynchburg, VA. By this time several riders were commenting on how determined I was to make it to DC. Well we rolled into Arlington, VA on schedule. I stayed in DC for three days before heading back home.
On my return trip back home to El Paso, TX. I burned a hole in the number 3 piston. I was dead in the water. I called the guys at State Line, and Nick said to get a room and that he would send a truck to get me and the trike. The next day the truck showed up, and we went to Chattanooga, TN where they pulled the engine out and replaced it with a brand new engine. I wanted to cry. How could these guys be so kind to someone they barely met? What true Americans! They kicked me out without charging me a dime.
The rest of the trip home was great. No problems. I missed a lot of stops due to all of the break downs, but the bottom line is, I made it!!!
Plans are in place to make The Run again in 2017… This time on a Harley Street Glide. I plan to see the guys at State Line again, and Thank them. And next year I will start the run in Ontario, CA. The trike will have to sit this one out. Is it May yet?
I had heard about Run For The Wall from my fellow Legion Riders, but for nearly three years after leaving the Navy I could barely walk, much less ride any significant distance. In 2014, I followed my brother John “Opie” Picray, Paul “Bugle Boy” Hobbs and David “Duke” Bentley west, in my sedan with my civilian sister in the passenger seat, as we all headed for California. We promptly became the group baggage wagon.
We joined the Run in Rancho Cucamonga, CA and I proudly pinned my FNG button on my vest. The next ten days were emotionally turbulent, to say the least. I left every Run stop either ahead of the pack (preferably), or way behind it so as not to get fouled in the following traffic. Consequently, I missed a lot of the experience of the Run that year. I swore I would never “cage it” again. Two crucial parts of my experience were great, however. We camped nearly the entire trip, and I made several friends! And Rick “Dragger” Behymer proudly carried me into Arlington on his passenger seat.
After physical therapy, I realized riding my motorcycle worked out the same muscles, and I embarked on a personal mission to avoid having to do those nasty exercises again. As a result, I was able to ride further than ever before. I made plans to redo my FNG experience on two wheels in 2015 with a Navy sister, who would be going for her FNG Run. We were so excited! We rolled out half a day behind schedule, headed for Ontario, CA. That last day of travel was brutal! We rolled for nearly 18 hours, from Gallup to Ontario. Finally, we arrived just in time for a few hours’ sleep Tuesday morning.
My friend was on a trike, so she was in a different platoon than I was. Electing for a staggered platoon, Eamon “Boomer” Tansey put me in Platoon 7 under Brush’s capable leadership. I would learn later that all my friends from 2014 were in Platoon 8. Day Six from Wentzville, MO to Corydon, IN, I tapped out because I was too sleepy to safely ride with others. Leaving the ramp in Evansville, IN, I was trailing the pack when we rolled past a trike flipped into the median. Don’t Stop! Keep rolling, get out of the way! I spent the next 82 miles praying it wasn’t my friend, and that whoever it was would be ok.
When I got to Corydon, IN, I had a voicemail from my friend’s husband that it had been her, and that she was in the hospital and he was on his way there. The chaplains mobbed me the second I got off the phone, and my camping friends (especially “Bounce”) took it from there. I put on my best military bearing, ate my dinner as quickly as I could, and set up camp. The next morning, it hit me hard. I was a basket case. Everybody says they have problems with “darned allergies” on the Run; not me. I was crying my eyes out inside my helmet at 65mph. Again, not safe for others to ride with, so I trailed the Pack again.
When Platoon 7 (consisting mostly of HD’s) went 2 up, and decided to become a side-by-side platoon, my little Honda Shadow 750 couldn’t quite manage it due to the difference in gearing, so I transferred to Platoon 8, the “Crazy 8’s” with my camping friends. What a difference! 7 was good to me, but 8 was like family! Thanks to Brush’s daily instruction, I had no problems at all keeping my intervals in a group of mostly metric bikes. We rode proudly into DC at a 2 foot interval, shifting like mad several times per minute! I learned the hard way not to ever again buy gloves that had a seam across the thumb pad.
When we got to the host hotel, one of the bartenders kindly let me bury my left hand in an ice pan.
I’m glad I went in the sedan in 2014, since it taught me what to expect, but I probably won’t cage it again, if I can help it. I much prefer being part of the Pack! By the end of the 2015 Run I was living on 5 hour energy shots and Black Black caffeine gum, but it was glorious agony. I came home and slept for a week. It took another week to get most of the feeling back in my hands!
My brother has described the Run as a pilgrimage, and that’s exactly what it is: it is sacrificing the comfort of normal life, enduring sometimes harsh weather, and jumping out into The Unknown. It is also a Mission: learning to trust yourself and your machine, covering the flank of the rider next to you against traffic, and trusting the riders around you to do the same.
When it all comes together, seeing your platoon stretching out in front of you, sweeping through curves in that one gloriously perfect moment of synchronized harmony. It is a sight that will imprint itself directly on your heart. It will also put the biggest grin on your face to remember it when you get home, show up in sweatpants around other motorcyclists, and get asked, “Do you ride?”
I don’t just ride anymore, I Run!
~ Ducky