Motorcyclists To Honor Vets In Memorial Day Ride

RIVERSIDE COUNTY, CA – Thousands of motorcyclists will roar through Riverside and Moreno Valley Monday in a Memorial Day tribute that will conclude with a patriotic music salute in San Jacinto.

The 18th annual West Coast Thunder is slated to get underway at 8 a.m., beginning at Riverside Harley-Davidson, 7688 Indiana Ave.

Last year's event drew more than 6,000 riders, according to organizers.

Motorcyclists will assemble outside the dealership, between Adams and Winstrom streets, where the "Star Spangled Banner" will be sung and local officials will briefly address the crowd.

At precisely 9:11 a.m., riders, many of them affiliated with veterans' organizations, will head out on a 10-mile trek to slow-roll past Riverside National Cemetery, with the Inland Empire Harley Owners-West Coast Thunder Honor Guard leading the procession, escorted by Riverside police.

Temporary road closures will be in effect along the way to accommodate the motorcyclists. The route runs east on Indiana to Arlington Avenue, turns south on Alessandro Boulevard and continues to Trautwein Road, then goes east along Van Buren Boulevard until reaching the cemetery, where some riders will peel off to pay their respects.

For the fifth consecutive year, many participants will head into Moreno Valley via state Route 60. At Frederick Street, the riders will exit the freeway and rumble into the city, turning east onto Sunnymead Boulevard, where they will travel a mile-long route as part of a veterans' tribute by the city, which will host formal Memorial Day services at 2 p.m. outside the Civic Center, 14177 Frederick St.

Riders will depart Moreno Valley via Heacock Street, re-entering the eastbound 60 and proceeding south to the Soboba Casino, escorted by the California Highway Patrol.

At 11 a.m., the motorcyclists will gather for a concert featuring patriotic music at Soboba. Scheduled performers include the Eli Young Band.

A large share of the proceeds raised from the ride and show will go to the Riverside National Cemetery Support Committee, which relies on donations to build monuments and make other improvements at the cemetery, where more than 200,000 U.S. military veterans, police officers, firefighters and others are interred.

More than $400,000 in donations have been made, according to Riverside Harley-Davidson, which previously did business as Skip Fordyce Harley-Davidson, founder of West Coast Thunder in 2000.

ALSO GOING ON TODAY:

• Half-Off Admission For Military, Police, Fire, EMTs & Families: Living Desert Zoo, Palm Desert
• Memorial Day Service in Murrieta
• Community Wide Memorial Day Event in Lake Elsinore

--City News Service/Image via Wikimedia