Back in May was when I first heard about Ride with the 40. Someone who was involved in planning the ride contacted me and told me what it was all about, which I found inspiring and promptly wrote about.
http://www.ridewiththe40.org
Over the weekend I was wondering how that ride turned out. I was excited today when I found this article from the San Diego Source:
Fight 93 victims remembered in San Francisco
By JASON DEAREN, The Associated Press
Friday, September 11, 2009SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — About a dozen Harley-Davidson motorcycles ridden by relatives and friends of United Flight 93 passengers and crew members roared into San Francisco International Airport on Friday, ending an eight-day journey that mirrored the doomed plane’s intended path.
The 40 people on Flight 93 died on Sept. 11, 2001, after the aircraft crashed in a western Pennsylvania field after being commandeered by terrorists. They were hailed as heroes in tributes for their bravery in confronting the hijackers.
The motorcyclists, led by Ken and Dale Nacke, whose brother Louis “Joey” Nacke was on the plane, left Newark Liberty International Airport on Sept. 3. They pulled into San Francisco just after 11 a.m. Friday, the same time the plane was supposed to have arrived eight years ago.
Jack Grandcolas watched quietly as the motorcycles rumbled in. His three-months pregnant wife, Lauren Catuzzi-Grandcolas, was on Flight 93.She had called him from the plane after the hijackers took control, leaving a message on his answering machine that there was a problem. It was the last time he heard her voice.
“This is an inspiration to me,” he said, his voice quivering. “The symbolism of this, it finishes the trip Louis and my wife Lauren never got to finish.”
The gruff-looking bikers dismounted their “hogs” and immediately hugged, tearing up as the engines were turned off.
“We made it,” said Ken Nacke, wearing a black leather vest and a doo-rag. “The flight of 40 are home.”
The motorcycles were tailed by a U-Haul truck carrying a replica of the makeshift memorial that sprung up near the crash site in Shanksville, Pa. The memorial was a plain, wooden fence adorned with signed T-shirts, hardhats, plaques and written notes.
The ride also raised money for construction of the Flight 93 National Memorial near Shanksville. The $58 million memorial is scheduled to open on the 10th anniversary of 9/11.
Linda White, Louis Nacke’s cousin, stood near the mini-memorial with tears in her eyes, her head covered in an “Easyriders” doo-rag.
White rode on the back of her husband David White’s motorcycle on the last leg of the trip, and was overwhelmed with emotion as they pulled into their final stop.
“I was overcome with the feeling of the 40 people as we came in. They were giving us a big thumbs up for this and a thank you for finishing the journey,” she said.
I actually teared up while reading this article and I’m glad they saw support from others during the ride. The Ride with the 40 website also posted this update:
The ride concluded when the core riders, accompanied by a group of local riders, reached the Western Terminus of the Lincoln Hiway in San Fransisco, CA. The total distance from Newark International Airport to the Western Terminus of the Lincoln Hiway is 3,250.7 miles. Special thanks to all those who showed their support throughout the Journey.
Stay tuned for more updates including pictures, videos, and information on T-Shirts.
I shall do that. Again, if you’re interested in making a donation to the memorial you can do so on the website.