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[magic-rat]

All,

I had a great experience at Rolling Thunder this year.

I got a call from Patriot Harley-Davidson in Fairfax, VA. They asked me to film an event for them. Turns out they have a big ride from their shop in Fairfax up to the Pentagon (in conjunction with the Fairfax HOG) called "Ride Of The Patriots".

I had no idea ...

The "Ride Of The Patriots" ... to get to "Rolling Thunder" ... was a HUGE event. There were 5,000 bikes or so, with a parade, Keynote speaker, ceremony ... and get this ... the police CLOSED DOWN the 495 beltway for all 5,000 of us to parade from Fairfax up to the Pentagon. I couldn't believe it.

So, I when I got there in the morning to film, I find Command Sergeant Major of the Army Ken Preston (the senior NCO in the whole Army) is their keynote speaker ... and he is riding the Orange County Choppers bike that the Tuttles made for the Army ... and they brought their own professional Army camera crew. On top of that, the Command Sergeant Major of the Army Golden Nights Parachute Team was there on his Harley ... wearing the camera on his helmet that he uses when he "jumps".

Special thanks to Staff Sergeant Mike O'Brien of Army Soldiers Radio & Television and photographer David Windmiller. Half of the footage in this video is from them.

You can read all about the the "Ride Of The Patriots" on their website here: http://www.dwcllcsolutions.com/rop/

The complete video of the event is 17 minutes long and includes a musical compilation and excerpts from the speakers. Sooo, I've broken it out into two parts. If you want to see just the musical part, click the first link. If you want to see just the guest speakers, use the second link. If you want the whole thing ... use the last link.

Enjoy:

Part 1 - Musical Compilation (8:09):  http://www.magicratvideos.com/magicvideos/video/RoTP_Short/RoTP_Short.html

Part 2 - Guest Speakers (9:40):  http://www.magicratvideos.com/magicvideos/video/RoTP_GuestSpeakers/RoTP_GuestSpeakers.html

Complete Video (17:34):  http://www.magicratvideos.com/magicvideos/video/RoTP_Long/RoTP_Long.html

If you want to download a copy of the "Complete Version" to your hard drive, you can Right-click, "Save Target As..." on the link below. The file is high resolution .wmv format (264 MB) and will take about 45 min to an hour to download:

http://www.magicratvideos.com/magicvideos/video/RoTP_Long/RoTP_Long.wmv

[Hobo]

Thanks Rat

Hobo

[Fired00d]

Rat,
That was awesome. I'm looking for your name to be on something from Hollywood any day now. Great job.

 
Ride Safe,
Fired00d
 

[Chief]

Awesome stuff Pat. I sent your post along to the organizer for our Ride to the Wall.

Keep 'em coming.

[magic-rat]

Awesome stuff Pat. I sent your post along to the organizer for our Ride to the Wall.

Keep 'em coming.

Thks all.

Yeah, I'm here in DC area if you need me.  I work for beer (and good times).  LOL.

[magic-rat]

BTW ... since I'm posting ... I did some "landscaping" at the track last weekend.  LOL.

It was HOT ... I mean, really, really HOT. 

Well, after making several "heat delirious" bad passes (sorry James ... and to that other guy) ... it all culminated in a nice turn 1 fiasco.  I was trying to hit a little patch between the rumble-strip and the "crap" (if you haven't been to Summit Point Main Course ... there's a really bad spot in T-1 where the track is all ripped up).  Well ... I just hit the rumble strip, instead ... dead-on.  Do'h.

Doesn't look so bad in the video ... sure felt bad, tho ... I was at full lean ... with knee down in the grass on the infield.

For your viewing pleasure:

http://www.magicratvideos.com/magicvideos/video/Turn1/Turn1.wmv

Sure hope 18 JULY is better than this one was.   

[Johnny]

Your videos are absolutely fantastic!  Really enjoyed.

[magic-rat]

Thks.

It's time for some more CVO Harley videos!  When is the next ride near DC?  I'm ready!

[RedDevil]

Rat,
As always, an awesome and inspiring video.  Thanks for the great "ride".

   

[Captain Looney]

Awesome, Awesome job.......thank you.