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Military Support Group of Alachua County

 
 

Art Pina Rides 7,000 miles to benefit the Military Support Group      Read His Story Here

May 2, 2009 - Art Pina leaves from Gainesville Harley-Davidson/Buell dealership on his journey to show his support for the troops and raise awareness for support groups like ours. We are grateful that his wife, Alice, will provide us with updates and we will post them here to keep up with our man on the streets.

View Photos of the May 2nd Departure

 

May 2:  from Gainesville to New Orleans, LA
Mileage = 531  (left at 10:30am)

May3:  Art wound up the day in Junction, Texas, about 1200 miles into his trip. He hit some rain but nothing severe.

May 4:  from Junction to El Paso, Texas
Mileage = 1625

May 5:  from El Paso to Silver City, NM
Mileage = 1760 (arrived at 12:25pm)
Art will have a few days to rest up and have his bike serviced before continuing on to California.

May 9: from Silver City, NM to Phoenix, AZ

May 10: about 30 bikes left from Phoenix to La Habra, CA
Mileage so far: 2,826

"Run for the Wall" leaves May 13
   from La Habra, CA

May 17: It's day 4 of Run For The Wall and at 12 noon Art was having lunch in Colorado City, TX, total miles traveled so far - 4102 - with 6 days to go. The southern route website http://www.rftwsr-2009.us/ is updated each day and today Art was in the main picture (attached -he's not facing the camera but you can tell it's him). He hit heavy rain while riding and they don't stop to put on rain gear until the next fuel stop. Needless to say, he was soaked and cold but once he changed he was fine.  I'll be back in a few days with more updates and I'll look to see if there is a better picture:-)

RUN FOR THE WALL
Southern Route Stops 2009
Day #1 Phoenix, AZ
Day #2 Las Cruces, NM
Day #3 Odessa, TX
Day #4 Weatherford, TX
Day #5 Monroe, LA
Day #6 Meridian, MS
Day #7 Chattanooga, TN
Day #8 Wytheville, VA
Day #9 Roanoke, VA
Day #10 D.C.
[Webmaster's note:  I told a friend of mine, Hal Davis (MSgt, USMC, Ret) that the bikes were coming through his town, Knoxville, TN.  He went to the exit and he had a BLAST watching and waving on the hundreds of bikes.  He even found an old Marine buddy from way back! Rolling Thunder is both impressive and worthy.  God Bless them all.]

Well Art made it to D.C. on Friday along with about 850 bikers from “Run for the Wall”.  He had a busy day on Saturday and hit the hay early to rest up for Sunday’s parade. For those of you who aren’t familiar with Rolling Thunder it is an annual motorcycle rally that is held in Washington, DC during the Memorial Day weekend to call for the government's recognition and protection of Prisoners of War (POWs) and those Missing in Action (MIAs). About 400,000 veterans roared across Washington, DC on their motorcycles as a tribute to American war heroes.

They stage at the Pentagon parking lot and ride to the Lincoln Memorial, a journey that will take the whole afternoon for the riders at the end of the pack.

 

 

 

Finally, Art arrived safe andsound in Massachusetts after riding 6,509 miles.  He’ll visit with his family, get some much needed rest, and head home next week.  He plans on arriving at Gainesville Harley on Saturday, June 6th at approximately 3:00 PM. Hope to see you there.

ART ARRIVES HOME.  On 6/6/2009, Art Pina returned from his journey to the Florida rains.  Look for updates soon.

 

 

  
 
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