Somehow, it always manages to be sunny, dry and hot for the Macon/Andersonville Memorial Day Event and the 4th year would prove to be not much different. The ride down on Friday afternoon was very pleasant. We arrived in Macon mid afternoon to warm but not hot temperatures, clear skies and no smoke. A few registrants were already at the Holiday Inn when we arrived and more began arriving shortly thereafter.  As we do each year, we set up in the Peach Room and as attendees arrived they checked in and received their packets. Before we knew it, it was time to do what we do best....EAT!! We rounded up everyone and headed over to what has become the traditional Friday night dinner locale, Margarita's. We ended up with one of our largest Friday night groups, with a couple dozen people attending. They manage to set up all together and provided excellent service in the process. We had a good time visiting, eating and drinking. After dinner with our bellies full, we really needed an nap, but we somehow managed to get back on the bikes and make the short trip back to the hotel. Some headed on to bed for the evening, but a few of us congregated in the infamous Peach Room for some good conversation and some good laughs.

Turnout was good again this year with close to 50 bikes and their passengers participating in the various activities over the course of the weekend. Besides the riders from 111, we had participants from the Rome chapter, the Cartersville Chapter, the Fayetteville Chapter, Florida, South Carolina, North Carolina, Alabama and even Wisconsin. Pat and Al Baker, our regional directors, stopped by on Friday Night on their way to Chattanooga for some preliminary Star Days work. They hung around for breakfast with us Saturday morning before heading north.

Saturday, the weather was great. It was warm as usual, but not as hot as the last couple of years, and we had a nice breeze most of the day. Again, this year, we made it through the entire weekend with no rain. It has been extremely dry so far this spring and summer and hopefully the future will provide some much needed rain for the area.

Saturday, we erected our tents and put down our stakes at Capitol Cycles in Macon. Once again this year, they were gracious hosts, providing us with a place for our tents, space for parking, and most importantly...food and cold drinks. We occasionally took advantage of their air conditioning and restrooms. In return, we gave them a little business. 

The first event was the Trivia Ride. A new route this year led the riders through the Georgia countryside and around lake Tobesofkee. Trivia questions were a little tricky this year and required riders to pay more attention to the the scenery while riding. Thirteen bikes accepted the challenge. No one came back with all the right answers, but once couple did manage to get all but one question correct. They put a little cash in their pocket for the effort. The Trivia Ride was followed by lunch. Capitol Cycles provided hamburgers, hotdogs, chips and cold drinks. To make it even better, they did all the cooking as well. Our job was simple....EAT. Shortly after lunch we started the sign up for the Show and Shine. We had to twist a few arms, but managed to get enough people to put their bike in the show to make it interesting. The stock class had the most entries, there were two entries in the semi-custom and one in the theme class. Judging is done by the people and we let everyone vote who would take a few minutes to look at the bikes. First place winners were given a trophy, with a ribbon going to second and third. Winners are listed below.

STOCK CLASS - FIRST PLACE - KAY ARGO
                                 SECOND PLACE - MARY DAVIS
                                 THIRD PLACE - ED COLEMAN

SEMI-CUSTOM CLASS - FIRST PLACE - RICK CAMPBELL
                                                   SECOND PLACE - JOHN DAVIS

ORIGINAL THEME - WINNER - PRESTON FLETCHER

BEST IN SHOW - WINNER - PRESTON FLETCHER

DEALER'S CHOICE - WINNER - PRESTON FLETCHER

After announcing the winners we pulled the winning ticket of our 50/50 drawing. Jocelyn Webb walked away with a handful of cold hard cash.

We also had a nice leather jacket contributed by STAR Motorcycles up for auction. It was a secret silent auction with bids being dropped into a box all day. After the 50/50 drawing we opened the box and award the jacket to the highest bidder, Preston Fletcher. All proceeds from the sale of the jacket go to Feed The Children. There were also a number of door prizes awarded at the end of the day.

After wrapping things up, we closed up, packed up and headed back to the hotel. Everyone had time to cool off and freshen up before dinner. Instructions were to meet in front of the hotel around 6:00. I guess everyone was hungry because at 6:00 we had a huge crowd. Somewhere along the way we had gained people. About 40 people made the ride over to the Fish and Pig restaurant on the lake. The restaurant had been warned and appeared to be ready for us. Everyone was seated pretty quickly. This has become the traditional Saturday night meal and as always, the food and the service were excellent. Once everyone was done we assembled outside, mounted of steel steeds and headed back to the hotel where we had another interesting night in the Peach Room

Bubba Nogate was given a hastily made certificate honoring one year since being dubbed with the name. Vegas rules went into effect, so what was said in that room has to stay in that room. Just know that a good time was had by all and many laughs were shared.

Sunday morning, everyone assembled in front of the hotel for our ride to Andersonville. This year our numbers grew a little with roughly 35 bikes and almost 50 riders. The morning air was cool and felt good as we rode through the middle Georgia countryside. At about the halfway point on the trip we ran into some of the smoke from the ongoing forest fires in south Georgia and north Florida. At time it was thick and you definitely could smell it. Luckily as the day progressed the smoke moved on. Other than that the weather was warm but not miserable. After about an hour and a half we arrived at Ryan's for lunch. Again, we had warned the restaurant that we were coming and they appeared to be ready. Everyone was able to sit together in a back room.  And once again, as we do so well, we ate and then ate some more. I think a nap under some shade trees would have really been appreciated by most, but we were on a schedule and needed to arrive at the Andersonville park prior to the ceremonies starting.

So we convinced everyone to get back on the bikes. We made a quick stop at a gas station to refuel our rides and then gathered up  in a nearby parking lot before heading to the cemetery. As we always do, we put our veterans in the front as a position of honor. These are the men and women among us who have served our country defending our freedom. It is only appropriate that they should lead us into the park on this day.

Riding in to the cemetery is an experience. Nineteen thousand graves, each with a flag placed there for the weekend by the Boy Scouts. It is reported that 485 scouts erected those flags in less than an hour.  After parking our bikes, we made a group picture and then headed over to the area where the ceremony was to be held. Arriving at the wreaths, we located the wreath that we would present and made pictures with all our Star Vets around the wreath.

The ceremony was about an hour and a half long. It included some patriotic and spiritual music by the Army band out of Columbus, Georgia. There were several speakers. The main speaker was a former four star general, now retired. It was not as hot sitting there this year, but as he spoke I was again reminded of the sacrifice American soldiers were making on my behalf. It became personal and I knew that my endurance of 45 minutes of heat was nothing and could not compare to what our soldiers endure. I was ashamed of the fact that most Americans see this weekend not as a chance to honor these men and women, but as an opportunity for self indulgence, forgetting that they are able to boat on the lake, or lay in the hammock sipping a cold beer, because somewhere a fellow American was willing to lay down his life for our freedom to be so indifferent. Then I was proud, proud to be there, to be a part of a group that was willing to give a little of our time to honor those men and women.

After the speeches was the presentation of wreaths. Star Chapter 111 presented a very nice wreath. The wreath was presented this year by John and Mary Davis, both vets, from the Star Chapter in Jacksonville, Florida. The ceremony was closed with a 21 gun salute and the playing of taps. I never served in the military, but my dad was career Air Force. I understand taps and it always gets to me. I thought of all the men and women who have died fighting for freedom and defending our country over the last 250 years. But beyond that, I thought of all the parents, wives and children who lost their children, husbands and parents. You have to realize that the cost is even higher than human life. It is the cost of families, and loss of loved ones. How many times have taps been played. How many times has someone wept as they heard taps played for their, child, husband, wife, dad, mom, brother or sister. We need to thank them all. They have all given so much.

After the ceremony some headed back home, some immediately headed back to the hotel and some went over to the POW museum to cool off and tour the facility. The museum provides a history of POW's throughout history. It really gives you an appreciation for freedom and life. Once cooled down we mounted up and headed back to the hotel in Macon.

Of course it wouldn't be a decent road trip without a little excitement. With the hotel literally in sight and two traffic lights away, we had the clutch cable snap on a bike. We were slowing as we approached one of the lights and it just snapped as he pulled in the clutch to downshift. He realized what happened and just coasted over to the side of the road. A couple of us stopped to see what was happening and assist. Once we knew the problem, we managed to get him shifted into neutral pushed him off and started and he popped it into gear. However as things sometimes seem to go, he got about 500 feet and had to stop for a red light which killed the engine. It was a busy intersection and he really had no choice. So we hop on our bikes ride 500 feet and repeat the previous process. He is going again, but, (remember...we were two lights away) he hit the second light red as well. This time, we were less than 300 feet from the hotel, so we just pushed him into the parking lot and retrieved our bikes. It was 7pm on a Sunday, tomorrow was the Memorial Day holiday and they needed to leave for home in Florida that morning. Calling a dealer was not an option. Doug got on the phone, made a few calls and located a cable. Henry Williams (Chapter 111) who lives up around Gainesville had a spare stock cable so Doug and Mitch headed up to Atlanta to meet Henry around McDonough. Around 10pm Steve and I started removing the broken cable. Very shortly thereafter Doug and Mitch arrived and we installed the new cable on the bike, adjusted it and everything was good to go. This is just one reason it is great to be a part of this group. We look after one another. We really do care about each other.

The event was now officially over. Some headed home, others waited until Monday morning. Those who hung around headed to their room or the pool. Around dinner time, we did as we did last year and ordered pizza.  It wasn't long before we were in the Peach Room once again, sharing pizza. The evening was a little calmer as everyone was a little tired for the days events. We did manage to get in some good laughs and found out what it really means to be a COW-BOY (Sorry you had to be there....Vegas rules).

Monday morning several of us met and rode across the street to Cracker Barrel for breakfast. We ate, talked a little, rocked in the chairs out front and put off leaving as long as we could. Eventually, however, we headed back to the hotel to pack up, check out and head home.

Each year, I hate to see this weekend end. We always have a great time. We make new friends, enjoy old friends and honor our Vets. We laugh, we eat, we tell stories, we eat, we enjoy life. It's all about friends. I've deciding the ride is just a bonus.  If I had to quit riding tomorrow, I would hate it, but I know I will always have the friendships and memories of these events. AND, in the process we honored those who have served and are serving, those who have died and will continue to die. To top it all off, we raised a little money for Feed the Children. It was a win, win, win weekend.

Next year will be the 5th anniversary of this event. Let's plan now to make it the biggest ever. If you have ever been, plan on going back. If you have never been, next year you have to be there. Mark it on the calendar now!

Attending (From Chapter 111):

Doug & Teresa Turco
Gary & Maria Kohl
Steve & Kay Argo
Mitch Argo
Preston & Stephanie Howard
Henry Williams & Frances Cornett
Rick Cothran