ALR/PGR San Jose 2009 Vets Parade

Pics are from top to bottom, click on a pic for a larger pic, text for a pic is under the pic.

San Jose Veterans Day Parade! Folks come down to see a parade, .. so why not go???!! I think they enjoy the scoots, and we honk and make noise! Guess we like it too!

And I got to see many friends, the best of the best!

So we staged at our lurking place on 1 st, I get there at 1000 and KSU was 1015... folks are firing off!! Headed down town! Didn't even get a pause for the cause!!

So we were pretty nice but the intersections were ours... once we own it, we take it so our line doesn't get broken up... not seen any folks not observe or respect it.

Nice and safe trip and that counts!



The guy on the left is Jim, he was walking around later and said, you don't have an American flag pin! And handed me one, and by golly, now I do! Thank you my friend!!!!



I'm trying to get the scoots in a pic and I can't, there had to be over 60 scoots there...


I like these scoots! They'll get you around town and I'll bet they're a lot of fun!


Hyster got to escort this young lady on a ride!


Now here is another young lady in front of a real nice ride! I won't guess as to the service.


Earl wanted to get into the pic.. Good on Ya! Thank you both for your service!


This is Jake's trailer with 11 flags, it looks great in a parade!


You like cleaning chrome? The entire bike is chrome!




Off we went!! OK, starting and stopping,..... part of the mission...


Tried a blind shot over the helmet, deleted the first one of my helmet, sigh....


When we stopped I tried to take a pic or two...


Notice we are not moving... lot of that, 'course I wouldn't be taking a pic. otherwise.... but it gave us time.. under the overpass... to rack pipes and honk horns!!! Did I say I HAVE A 139 DB AIR HORN!!!!! I make NOISE!!!!!!! GBG


I love the fire trucks and their flag hanging.... I've gone thru a few, normally headed to a cemetery....... sigh May those serving NEVER have to pass under... God Bless ALL that served!!! Happy Vets Day!!!!!!!!!


Manny, one of our Dist 13 ALR Riders, he was down for a while, glad to see him riding again!


Just taking shots when I can....


We're getting into the meat of the parade and more folks.... this is where they do Christmas in the Park.


We're around the park area headed towards the grand stand...


Lots of folks, great to see them enjoying the day, and the weather was great!


Scoots and folks!


This had to be a school group... hope they had a great time, I did!!!



It's an honor to ride and remember our Vets! God Bless them and family and friends, past - present - future!

Thank ALL that rode today! God Bless - ride safe, rubber side down!

There were many groups today, many clubs, Thanks! I'd like to mention one... The Cross Ministries....... ride on Keith....

ALR PGR - Menlo Park VA Run

Pics are from top to bottom, click on a pic for a larger pic, text for a pic is under the pic.

Audie works at the Menlo Park VA and arranged for ALR / PGR, and basically anyone riding a scoot to attend the annual car and scoot show. It was a great day all around!



We staged at 564 at the ungodly hour of something before 0800! GBG We had 8 scoots, and Mike and Suzy Ammons arrived in their 64 Ford Falcon pu hauling a couple scooters, pics later. We had two 2-ups for a total of 12, real nice showing for the Vets! Thank you all that attended.

Reese, George, Manny, Audie, Cheryl, Jake and I and I missed one and think it was Matt.



Waiting to take off... "someone" was LATE!!!! GBG

Well, look who finally woke up!!! GBG Jake coming in with a roar! He DID call tho....



So we arrive at our staging place, scouted rest rooms and watched all the great looking cars coming in.


Mike and Suzy's scoots, they were a hoot! Nice in town run abouts!


Cheryl was passing out sweet treats, I managed to resist, no place to store that kinda stuff!


The POW/MIA 'vet showed up! It is VERY WELL decorated!


Mike and Suzy had to go stage their scoots and rode them back. Guess they will run around 40 mph or so, great little run about for in town.... I'd think they make a good local commute scoot also.


A close up.....


Another group of scoots came in and joined up. Rolling Thunder from San Jose, I don't think I've seen them before, I'll keep my eye out for them in the future.


Well, as Audie works there, he knows all the folks and layout. He arranged for 4 scoots to go inside the lock down where folks are receiving meds and need a bit of isolation.

I never drove inside before! GBG We went thru a double set of doors and a corridor to a patio.


Audie, Jake, Reese and I went inside and I have to tell you, it was a fantastic visit! They really enjoyed our being there and they loved the scoots!

Jake in front of his scoot, and the young lady that was our escort, IIRC, her name was Amanda.


Audie's scoot, Cheryl taking some pics....



Reese and his scoot behind him..... BTW, getting our scoots staged inside and getting around was just a tad bit dicey! We got 'er done tho.....


And of course, the star of the show!!! GBG Hey, it's MY blog! Ruby!!!!!

Now here is something extra special, Amanda took pics of those that wanted to sit on our scoots and we lined up behind them, I think every of of the patients got their pic taken.... I heard that Amanda is going to do a slide show and send it out, and I want those pics!

We were told not to take pics of the patients, but it was OK for the VA, so we'll have to wait for Amanda's pics....

The looks on their faces as they sit on the scoots was precious!! One, called Professor, wanted my helmet on, as he sat on Ruby, helmet face down and up, He said he's going to get a scoot when he gets better. I told him to be sure and take the MSC!


After the lock down visit, we made a bunch of noise and went to our final staging point. Cheryl and I scouted out the rest rooms... walked thru a gym and that table was all the gifts that were to be given to the Vets.

Everyone was given tickets when we arrived, we were to talk to the Vets and get their name and bldg number, write it on one half and give the other half to the vet so they could win something during the drawing. It also gave us a great reason to talk to them and get them to talk to us.


We staged here, note the sidewalk and curb.... getting out of there was a challenge! But all made it, we didn't leave any skeletons! GBG


Another set of scoots......


...more....


Wheel chair accessible with hand controls... real nice!


Well looky here!!! A young man with a vest!!! First thing he said to Reese and I was "I'm Sgtmaj's grandson!!!" Reese was gonna tease him and ask what was a sgtmaj?? But he was so bubbly, he didn't....


I've always dreamed of owning this car, GTO, 65 IIRC, and it was gorgeous!


Did I say gorgeous??? Wow!


I had to take this for my wife, we go to an old time theme restaurant, they have a profile of this car on the wall, same colors.


Waiting for hamburgers, and they were good! Quite a spread! I think the drivers and riders out numbered the Vets! Way to go! Thanks to all that attended!


Interesting Vet, notice the side door pointing up.....


This old early 60s Thunderbird was just sparkling!



A Navy PT Cruiser well done!!!!







Look at all the decorations in the back, and the trailer was nice too!

The whole day was great, and I'm still super pleased for the time that Audie, Jake, Reese and I were able to visit with our special Vets! It was a great interaction!

Thanks again Audie for making arrangements to get ALR District 13 into this event!

I have to post this... I spent a lot of time with two gents, for those there, remember the guy that I put my helmet on and he had some pics sitting on Ruby? He wrote his info out and gave it to me, I just got around to reading it:

Prof, Dr ........, MD, PHD, MBA, and runs the ........ School of Music. Pretty darn impressive! And the coincidence is that he lives two miles from my house!

The event broke up after lunch, so Reese and I dug ourselves out of the gravel pit and headed out. I got home in time to crank 16 miles and work off some of that lunch!

This was my second day in a row of big lunches, and needed the cranking!

ALR - Car show to help the Vets 07 12 09

Pics are from top to bottom, click on a pic for a larger pic, what little text is under the pic...

Audie knew about these folks trying to help the Vets and posted a message.. a couple of us decided to ride with him up to and just over the hill on 17 and do a visit. This is in connection with his new job at the VA Hospital, and it turns out I know the guy that put on the event, Hi or Smoky his 'nic.

He is the brother in law of the guy in Los Gatos with dementia that was lost and found in a creek, you might have read about it in the paper. He was passing out flayers trying to find him while he was lost!

Audie will put out a note later about a ride up to the VA Hospital in November. They'd like us to take some bikes up and entertain the folks, sounds like a great ride for ALR!

We met at 564, Audie, Cheryl, Slick John and I... I let them ogle my new sweet Ruby!!! GBG Notice that Cheryl is in the drivers seat! OK, she was sitting back but I like the drivers license holder... it says SHHHHH, He thinks it's his! I like that!



We get to the place and the timing was perfect! 17 was just starting to clog as we turned off!

I want you all to know, you missed a gem! This place is just great! The restaurant just reopened, I think, and the folks are fantastic! Very gracious service! And when I heard that the BBQ was done... OK, I errored... I did NOT take my PB+J sandwich that I normally carry...

The burger I got was very large, and all the toppings and potato salad for 5 bucks! And it was just great!

This is for my wife! NO I did NOT leave the potato salad alone!!!! GBG




Caught a pic of Audie by a vintage car.


My new to me sweet Ruby II, Hench to be known as Ruby!


This is Smokey's wife, Audie, Smoky, Cheryl and Slick John.


Later I went out back..... they have a patio to drool over!


A nice waterfall spraying!


Lots of outside seating... I know I took a pic over by the edge of the patio out over the hills, but I guess I didn't hit the shutter button... A very nice place! The weather was gorgeous, this would be a GREAT place to come when the weather is good!


This car won my vote, as I loved the Duke's of Hazard! GBG



Real nice and the speedo went to 150 and I'll bet it would do it!

The rest of the cars are in the pics below... one of the motor was a 427 in Cobra.. That thing will do 0-60 in 3.3 sec.. that will sit you back in your seat!

I wanted to show all the cars, they were all great! I liked the old 53 Merc! That was Slick John's fave, he used to cruse in one!

Thank you Audie for a great day! It was a real treat! I ate one of them burgers and got back in time to finish off my weekly 100 miles with a 16 mile crank! It was a very nice day!

Folks, you missed a great short ride! Cranky













One of the two Delorians (sp possibly)


#2








This is the 427 in the Cobra

ALR - Reid Hillview AP Day

Pics are from top to bottom, click on a pic for a larger pic, text for a pic is under the pic.

Dave Edwards is a new member in ALR and told us about Reid Hillview Day and we decided to put up a display. Blue Star Moms, POW/MIA, PGR and American Legion / American Legion Riders decided to attend.

It was a hot event! Over 100 deg, but the event was hot too! So I rushed over first thing in the morning and got there about noon, my day is a bit slower than most folks! GBG


We had our own area to park the scoots and show flags on the "strip".


A pic of Nancy E taking a pic of Tom E and Slick John.


A bunch of old cars were there, we'll be back later...


They had a toy airplane and the kids loved it!


Gary and Sandy R.


BigJake showed up in his placid T shirt.


This is the "infamous" flying lawn mower.... warming up with some grass... The darn thing flew! And it did a great job! Amazing!!


Pic of some models...


The helicopter put on a nice show earlier...


Some of the models....


Apparently this one had a gazillion leds in it....


Back to the cars....





And of course, some scoot is splitting lanes... GBG



This model was amazing, it had enough power that it could stand on it's prop! It did amazing flips and tricks! It put out a smoke trail for effect.


Dave in the middle that got us to Reid Hillview also brought..... ahem.... the Oakland Raider one and only, Raiderettes! A beautiful addition to the day! GBG


Boats got a gift! It looks a bit small... it's for his young'un! A PGR T shirt!


Stars of the day!


OK, we have to do pics of the Raiderettes! Ol' Cranky dude on the left gettin' a squeeze! Yeah there were others there too! GBG Lets see, there was the Cranky dude.. gorgeous, I know this guy but the name slips my mind - someone remind me and I'll update the blog, gorgeous, Panak, Don N, Dave in front, gorgeous, Rich M, in the back, Sgtmaj, Gary in front, Slick John, Steve and gorgeous... There was a theme to my naming! GBG


Sgtmaj got a group hug.


Reece C taking off, his 12 year old boy flew a blue jet, forget the kind, but it was a great job! Tell your boy he really flew his stuff! Nancy E talking......


One of the old cars taking off...




So the grand prize was a flight in an airplane. This is a zippy one! Nancy E said I'll go!!! Then she got to thinking about it, of course some help was offered by her "friends"... flips, rolls, here take this plastic bag... GBG


She bravely said, I'm going to do this!



Here we are checking the oil... I told the pilot, they call her the screamer! GBG We had a lot of fun with 'er! The pilot was not sure about something so I didn't stick around for the panic takeoff, and headed out... it was over 100 on the flight line..... Hot day! Thanks! Dave! Great time!

ALR Dist 13 - Oak Hill Memorial Day 09

Pics are from top to bottom, text for a pic is under the pic, click on a pic for a larger pic..

American Legion Post 564 had the honor to put up flags at Oak Hill and the Vet service was at 1100. I rode in and the place was packed! Cars everywhere. Of course flying a PGR banner and a 3x5 flag, I got preference! GBG

Didn't know what was going on so stopped at the entrance and asked if any scoots came in, looking for a group... not much comment, on the way back to my ride Slick John pulled in behind me.

We broke all the rules and rode in to a good parking spot.



I was just shooting shots... flags everywhere.


Flags everywhere you looked!


Got a shot of the honor guard before their work.


Many groups were lined up for the event, caught a bit of John on the right.


Another group....


The main path to the podium.


I tried to get the pipers one their way... in the middle;..


This is the event path to the podium.


I took this pic for all the Gold Star Moms. That it is their wreath.


I decided to scoot before it became difficult... so I took a pic of Slick John! Thanks for being there!


Shot some pics on the way out...


The pipers on stand by...

There was a flag line with no folks.. leading to the back of the podium... looked like a good shot! Great event! We had 2 Dist 13 ALR patches at the event!

And I really want to thank all that put in the time to put up the flags! God Bless you! I don't do anything at 0600...er other than the potty thing.. us old folks 'ya know! GBG

AL Post 564 Did a great job! Jake said there were a lot of folks to help putting up the flags and it went smooth. Thank every one of you for helping out and making this a very nicely decorated event!

ALR - Livermore VA Hospitgal BBQ 05 09

Pics are from top to bottom, click on a pic for a larger pic, text for a pic is under the pic..

ALR cooked up a great BBQ for the Livermore VA Hospital Vets and it was a great thing and great day! We had District 9, 10, 13 and 28 did a great job, good on Ya!

The weather was a tad on the warmish side.. but worked out fine... Dist 13 staged at 564 and took off about 1000 and a good showing. We had 7 bikes, and two 2-ups... we did have a "non-rider.. ahem", Jake and his boy! I have the feeling Jake will be back on his scoot soon! He looks like he has that "I want to ride" glint in his eye!



As we take off.... I noticed Ed had cleaned his scoot, looking good!


Heading out to he bikes... Audie and Cheryl and Mike "Noisy Kid" in the back...


We arrived and well we parked where we could... lots of bikes...


More...


... duh... GBG


Here's that Noisy Kid again.. pic taken by Cranky! Guess we get along! GBG


Here's Spike saying "Go Army!!!!!" GBSEG


Nice display of flags...


Just some pics... ALR folks talking to and serving the Vets....


Rich coming over to say HI!!!!!!!!


Another happy Vet! Smile on his face! That's what it's all about! God Bless 'um!


The police were even there to celebrate! ....er was that to make sure we stayed in line... GBG



Now here is our hard charging leader!!! GBSEG!!!! Scoping out his plan of action! Sorry Jake I couldn't resist!!!! Hey, you carry the camera, you tell the story!!!!



This is where the root beer floats were being made and folks were carrying them to the Vets. I helped one of them and he wanted real root beer... well, it was all diet, think they were worried about the patients, and too much sugar.. I told him so so he took second best.. Well the ice cream went fast and he said "can I have more????!!!" Heck Ya!! Got him 2 more scoops... He was one happy camper! He thought about seconds..... but he said... I don't think I should..


The serving staff and I think "someone" was making sure the food was still good!!! GBG They did an outstanding job! God Bless 'um for the work they did!


Here's the Root Beer Float Team again!! That lady in the middle had a wicked right hook! She was slapping ice cream a mile a minute!!! Good on Ya!!!!


So I went into the hall were the bingo was going on and Rich's boy was helping out...

I got to help out a Vet for a few games, think he enjoyed it, unfortunately,.... my luck did rub off on him.. but there were a few smiles!


They have a great set up there...


Well, the pics were being taken... why not! GBG

It was a great day and I hope all the Vets enjoyed it as much as I did! God Bless 'um all and may they live well and comfortable. They most certainly deserve it!

I want to personally thank District 28 for all their support! Thank YOU for this great event!

ALR - Dos Palos, Ca Easter Charity run

Pics are from top to bottom, click on a pic for a larger pic, text for a pic is under the pic...

I received a message from my friend and ALR member, Bill (Bunker) Roller that there was a mission out in Dos Palos, Ca (Translation: two sticks, per my wife) and ALR was to stand in for a group that couldn't make a commitment to deliver Easter Baskets to the police dept.

Now that sounded to me like something that was worth a ride! And I've never been there before and that is always a plus, I love new places! And the weather was fair, except the early am... bit on the chili side!

This was a one day notice and that made it even more important, ALR was to show up and look good!

ALR did a great job! 27 bikes showed up!! Fantastic!!! I thank all that rode!



I like to take pics of bikes, as I ride PGR missions and not allowed to take those pics, so bikes and folks that attend are my focus I do it to thank them and show respect for what they do.


The other side of the bikes.


The Dos Palos Police Dept escorted us into town, yeah, we broke all the laws and then we staged at this parking lot.

When we left the parking lot, we ran all the stop signs and thru town with the police leading us with flashers on!

They took us around the "target area" twice, circling the blocks and we were.... well... making noise! A lot of folks knew we were there! The second trip was to make sure! I like their style!


We finally parked our bikes and the unloading began... there were tables of candy... Bunker's wife is on the left, she had a hard time warming up after the cool ride here...


Tables of Easter baskets, what you see is a small portion... the entire floor in front of the desks, all the desk counter and the area behind the desks were full...


A little better shot...


The police blocked off the entire street... and they even let us park in the red zone! GBG


Goldie flying 'er flag...


This pic is precious! The little girl was frightened of the Easter bunny and the package and wanted no part of it!


She finally warmed up.. ( they all do... GBG)


The line was long and they still had more to give out,.


Here's Easter bunny giving out a package. They actually had to get folks to come in to get the rest, there was so much! It was heart warming to see children receiving the gifts.

Remember when you were a kid? The hunt, the sugar high? One day a year, and it looked like fun!

And then the reward for good work! The police dept opened up the "lunch room"!!! Roast, potato salad, mac salad, chili, pizza, drinks... they did GOOD!

I think I speak for all ALR that rode, thank you Dos Palos for the invite and welcome! It was a pleasure and an honor! God Bless!