Bikers Raise Money For 9/11 Families On Final Ride For The Fallen

Roughly 1,400 motorcycles thundered into Washington, D.C., Friday afternoon in honor of the victims of the September 11 terrorist attacks and to raise money for children of first responders.

“As we rode coming through different small towns, the outpouring of people, waving flags, holding signs, it was very moving,” Rick Ritz, a rider from Florida, told The Daily Caller News Foundation. “This is my fourth year riding and that is really the best part for us.”

The annual event, called America’s 9/11 Ride, began Thursday at the Flight 93 National Memorial in Pennsylvania, before heading to the capital with a full police escort to visit the Pentagon Memorial. Riders departed in the early hours Saturday to begin their trek north to New York City, where the group will pay their respects at ground zero Sunday.

The fifteenth anniversary is expected to be the final ride for the group, which is finding it increasingly difficult to organize road closures with local authorities. Organizers host the event in August to allow families of victims to mourn in September.

“The ride is in remembrance of 9/11 and we raise money to give scholarships to the children of first responders,” Jimmy Csizmadia, a board member of America’s 9/11 Ride and 14 year participant, told TheDCNF. “We gave roughly $40,000 last year in scholarships, and that’s what it’s all about. Its a logistical nightmare though and its been getting worse and worse.”

America’s 9/11 Foundation, which oversees the event and fundraising throughout the year, gives roughly 15, $2,000 scholarships to children of first responders annually. Riders and participants in the event donate, while others from across the country chip in as well. The foundation has awarded $330,000 to the children of first responders since their scholarship program began and has given $530,000 to affected police and fire departments and their families.

The ride also draws local residents who come to speak with the families and event organizers and thank the group for their fundraising and continued remembrance.

“They always hold a special place to me because of their loyalty,” Robert, a park ranger at Flight 93 National Memorial in Pennsylvania, told TheDCNF. “Its a real honor to be a ranger there, and its hard to say that about a job. So I feel very fortunate to be able to tell the story of the crew and passengers to the visitors, and motorcycle groups have always made up a large part of the visitors to the memorial.”

Another onlooker of the motorcycle ride said the event means a lot to her because of the personal connection she has to the attacks. Her husband worked in the Pentagon but was not at the office on the day of the attacks. She watched the aftermath from a hotel overlooking the Pentagon.

“You’re looking out the window and watching it burn…and you know that’s where he could have been,” Ann Marie Sharratt, former executive director of the Women in Military Service Memorial in Arlington, told TheDCNF. “Our policeman and fireman and military protect us, and they always have, so anything we can do to say thank you we should.”

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