Rolling Thunder

[BLUEKNIGHT911]

A couple of comments - Fox news had a very nice piece ( 20 min. ? ) on the event …. After it was announced that this will be the last one …. Pres. Trump said it was a shame and would look into the " Why " there was so much grief given to the sponsors ……. Mike :ohyea:

[Grandpot]

President Trump just tweeted this:

The Great Patriots of Rolling Thunder WILL be coming back to Washington, D.C. next year, & hopefully for many years to come. It is where they want to be, & where they should be. Have a wonderful time today. Thank you to our great men & women of the Pentagon for working it out!

[SpyderConvert]

The Director of our American Legion Riders group contacted the group that has been putting this event on. He was told that the reason for "stopping" this event was the expense. Since it takes place on a weekend, the organizers must pay for security (overtime) and cleanup. The cost for this is in the neighborhood of $200,000. Our Director asked if there was some way that we could join forces, along with VFW's, AmVets, etc. to help defray the cost. He got no response. If the event is definitely cancelled, it may be that the sponsors are just plain tired of the immense amount of work that is involved.

[Grandpot]

The Director of our American Legion Riders group contacted the group that has been putting this event on. He was told that the reason for "stopping" this event was the expense. Since it takes place on a weekend, the organizers must pay for security (overtime) and cleanup. The cost for this is in the neighborhood of $200,000. Our Director asked if there was some way that we could join forces, along with VFW's, AmVets, etc. to help defray the cost. He got no response. If the event is definitely cancelled, it may be that the sponsors are just plain tired of the immense amount of work that is involved.

Rolling Thunder supplies their own security, Portable Toilets, and clean up crews. We have never had an incident. Our presence over the last 32 years has just made the Pentagon uncomfortable. There are about 1,000,000 bikers that add a tremendous amount to the local economy. This event will not stop.

The reason the Pentagon is uncomfortable is that we will not let them forget that they left 1,700 POW/MIA behind from Nam, 17,000 from Korea, and 70,000 from WWII. We won't forget either.

[Chupaca]

Would be a real shame if this event should cease to be.... It is a monumental job and as with many very few step up to working it as in many cases thankless. We have all gone to events and mostly remember what went wrong or could have been better and not all the things that were done to make it the best they could. It is a sight to see and you will not see it anywhere else in the world. Hope it will continue for years to come....:thumbup:

[LeftCoast]

I can’t imagine the amount of work it takes to put this together, especially if it’s voluntary. Heck I’ve been an Asst. Scoutmaster for my kids Troop for 9 years and getting other parents to step up is like pulling teeth.

I wonder if it’s a combination of the pentagon wanting it to go away and the cost. I did see that 200k number in an article yesterday.

[CopperSpyder]

[QUOTE=LeftCoast;1446179]I can’t imagine the amount of work it takes to put this together, especially if it’s voluntary. Heck I’ve been an Asst. Scoutmaster for my kids Troop for 9 years and getting other parents to step up is like pulling teeth.



Yes a big Thank You to the first responders (Police, Fire, Medical Staff) that did a great job of managing the staging areas of well over a million people and bikes. And the guys that did the thankless things like keeping the trash cans empty and the areas clean (all volunteers) passing out bottles of water in the sunny 95 degree weather. Just takes a so many people for something like this to happen.

[UtahPete]

A couple of comments - Fox news had a very nice piece ( 20 min. ? ) on the event …. After it was announced that this will be the last one …. Pres. Trump said it was a shame and would look into the " Why " there was so much grief given to the sponsors ……. Mike :ohyea:

My understanding is there are two issues with respect to Rolling Thunder. The first is funding; it costs a lot to put on an event like this (no matter how many volunteers there may be) and with no registration fee to participants, raising enough money each year is always going to be an issue.

The second is that the signature event of Rolling Thunder is a gathering of hundreds of thousands of participants AT the Pentagon, which is tasked with security and logistics for something they basically have no control over. Understandably, they are saying enough is enough.

If the White House wants to ensure this event continues, they will have to; a) fund it and b) force the Pentagon to continue exposing its facilities to unknown risks and costs.

[Firefly]

Plenty of BS floating around the internet on this today. RT says they've had zero talks with the White House and had no idea what Trump was talking about. They still plan on not having the big DC rally mainly due to the enormous $200k expense... money they'd prefer to spend on their mission instead. Just another situation of a made-up 'saving the day' scenario from the WH.

[SpyderConvert]

You are correct, there is no registration fee. With the great number of participants, I can't help but think that they would be more than willing to pay/donate a "registration" fee. Any amount over what it costs to cover the event could be given/donated to some organization that would help veterans. JMHO

[Raprider]

Moving on just a bit from the politics of the situation, here's a short vid (though I am sure you've seen plenty) of my little group of 12 that rode down from NJ on Saturday and back home Monday.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jCtubEV9BKI

Total 447 miles round trip...Janis and my first road trip on Blackbird and she performed like a champ!
Average mpg was 29.5, though day of ride was a measly 14.7 due to all the idling and stop-n-go.
No issues, we were very comfortable cruising at 70+ on I-95. No problems with the heat on Sunday...and it was just superb not having to put my feet down or wear out my hand with a clutch for the 2 hours it took to get into the Pentagon parking lot in the first place!
Got in line at 7am and finally into a parking lot at 9am. Just hanging out, seeing the sights, buying t-shirts, etc, in the heat until 1:45pm, then about 40 minutes to complete the ride and park. Saw the last bikes finish around 4:30pm!!!

Spyders were well-represented, I'd say...don't think I saw a single Ryker, but could have missed a few among the million or so bikes!

I hope they find a way to continue...it can't be just about the $$...all it would take is a dollar per rider.
All in all, a great weekend, a great ride and a great cause!
Thanks to all who've ever served, are currently serving and may serve in the future, to ensure the many freedoms that America has to offer.

[Saluda]

Hopefully we'll get to see some Rykers there next year ?

[springcrawler]

Amen never forget