Last year I was on the road during Rolling Thunder and after I read about it I thought it would be a great adventure to ride our scoot in the 2010 event. I schemed over and over about how to get the bagger out here (from Oregon) but decided to just be a spectator this year instead. I’m thinking that may have been a good idea because it was a lot easier getting around town on foot (and metro, and bus) than it would have been on the bike. Riding the electraglide in this kind of heat is not high on the bucket list either.
We had planned on watching the ride from the Memorial Bridge but found out that no spectators were allowed on the bridge this year so we found a nice spot a few hundreds yards from the big crowd and enjoyed the shade of a grand ol’ oak tree. The spot we picked was right below the departure path from Reagan Airport, so having the sound of planes overhead was expected. What I didn’t expect was the sight of a B-52 zooming overhead after take-off. I managed to snap a quick picture in my excitement. Back in the old days I logged about 2000 hours riding backwards in that bomber – must be why I get my lefts and rights backwards all the time.
B-52
We had a pretty good spot and were part of the first set of “wavers” that the bikers saw. They were all very enthusiastic and we enjoyed seeing all of the different types of bikes.
The first of many (half a million or so)
A purpose....not a parade
After watching for about an hour we jumped on the Metro and headed over to Foggy Bottom for lunch (yes….spicy half-smoke dogs with sauerkraut) and then walked over to Constitution Ave to see more (and more and more and more) bikes headed to the parking area.
Constitution Avenue
After checking out the vendor area and seeing almost as many spectators as bikers (we’re approaching a million now I think) we grabbed a metrorail ride home to beat the heat. On the way we stopped for a reflective picture.
Reflections on the storefront windows
We felt pretty sneaky as a couple of bikers dressed up in our incognito tourist outfits!
