Day 8 – Wednesday May 25, 2022 Southern Route
Flying with the Fuel Team
We left Chattanooga Tennessee with the destination of Wytheville Virginia. We were able to avoid rain, or should I say the rain avoided us. We staged and had breakfast at the White Lightening Harley Davidson dealer. We traveled to Bristol where we had lunch and then on to Wytheville, VA. I’ll speak to the Wytheville in a little bit but first wanted to speak to the bigger part of my day. I wanted to ride with the fuel crew to see what their days are like. There are many unsung hero’s on this mission doing work in the background and they range from the folks doing registration, staging crew, fuel crew, nursing, Ambassadors, honor guard coordinator, Photographer, hydration team, leadership support, Road Guards, merchandise team, and of course the State Coordinators. It takes a lot of people to pull this off in such an organized manner and being the first year as a Sit-Rep, I realized I need to see some of this and learn more about how they perform their roles, what they go through. So, I decided to spend most of the day with the fuel crew. The fuel crew is a tight group as they need to be to pull off the job they have. They leave early to be at the next fuel stop way ahead of the pack. After they get to a fuel stop, they start making arrangements to take over the pumps that will be needed to efficiently refuel everyone. Of course, the gas station is aware of the big group of motorcycles coming. Payment for the fuel has been arranged for and then they wait a few minutes for the first group to come in. Usually, the Staging Crew will roll in, then the Ambassadors and then we wait another few minutes until the main pack comes rolling in. So, the pumps are on and the bikes line up two abreast on each side of the pump with a fueler on each side of the pump. The fueler hands the pump handle to each rider and they pump away until the pumps clicks off and that should be enough since most fuel stops average 100 miles. The inside bike is now fueled, the outside bike is handed the pump handle, they start fueling while the inside bike moves forward and another bike moves up to the inside position to wait for their turn. If it’s a pay stop, there’s a person that is collecting the cash to pay for the fuel, usually a $5 or $10 dollar charge. This is going on each side of the pump for 4 to 6 pumps. It’s a very efficient process and 400 bikes can be fueled in 20 minutes this way at a large station with enough pumps. After the bikes are fueled, the pumps are turned off, the account is settled, and the fuel guys take off for the next fuel stop to get it all set up again. What this also means is that they often miss out on many of the lunches that we enjoy or some of the memorials that we go to. They will make some of the stops but they also miss some. They have their own 4 wheeler (cage) that carries hydration and goodies to keep them going since they move fast and early. What I found pretty cool about the time spent with them is that they work hard and have a lot of fun doing it. They give each other a hard time in fun and everyone enjoys the play. This team is an attestation of “no attitude”. One of the rules we all live by on this run is not having an attitude and these guys display this very well. I would probably see a similar way of acting in the other support teams but it was real enjoyable to be part of this team and enjoy the fun of their acceptance. The importance of doing everything correctly like clockwork can make it all go very smoothly or have a mistake add a lot of time to a fuel stop which reduces the amount of time the riders can go hydrate or take a bathroom break. An example is doing a very natural thing to hang up a fuel pump handle after fueling a bike. Well, that means the pump must be restarted and that can add a fair amount of time to that line of bikes waiting. Of course, the offender is teased and as punishment for doing something wrong like that, there is a piece of jewelry the offender must wear for a day or so, depending on the infraction. As a new guy for the day, I was told to wear the jewelry for part of the day and it added to the experience for me as part of my initiation onto the fuel crew. Picture attached.
One of the ongoing traveling memorials we have on this ride is carrying a tri-folded flag from Ontario to Washington DC. This flag is being carried by FNG’s only and handed off at each stop. It’s bringing the concept of honoring the flag and it’s meaning closer to all of us. Below are some pictures of one of the FNG’s going through the hand off procedure. This flag is not commemorative for a particular warrior but in memory for all MIA’s and KIA’s as our American Flag and country that we defend. They are not forgotten. Pictures below.
Later in the day of Day 8, we rolled into Wytheville Virginia. Wytheville is a unique town. We see many small or medium towns that really come out in force to welcome us and greet us. Wytheville does this with a force that cannot be beat. The family’s greet us on the streets for a very long way as our procession comes into town. Then we roll into Withers Park and circle the park on what is normally a round foot path wide enough to park two motorcycles. The people of Wytheville converge with us, greet us, give us big hugs and make us feel very welcome and very special. There were some great speeches, awards, patriotic events and a special Thank You to select people that make this event come together in Wytheville along the State Police that escorted us across the state. One of the beautiful parts of the State Police escorting RFTW is that one of Wytheville’s own was part of that force. A young man that grew up with RFTW coming into the park and the school, participating in the run as a young man and now escorting us as a motor police. This town has really adopted us into their hearts. It appears they look at the arrival of RFTW as an event as big as Christmas! If Christmas is bigger, I think I want to be here next Christmas! After the arrival ceremonies, we went off the hotels to check in and then went to the Moose Lodge for dinner. Again, the food, a fabulous steak and/or chicken barbecued to perfection with a great salad and side dishes. I know meat is expensive these days but the steak quality was very high. Then raffles and auctions, some more honors and time to get some rest.
Thank You Wytheville.