Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/727617
22 nOctober 2016n www.thunderpress.net THUNDER PRESS by Don Kline NORCO, CALIF., AUG. 27—The Silkies Slow Ride on the last Saturday in August was organized by the All American Riders. According to their information sheet, they participate in hospital visits, welfare checks, security posts, military ceremonies, awareness, rallies, fundraisers and countless rides. One hundred percent of their donations go to local veterans and their families. A Department of Veteran Affairs (DVA) report shows that the suicide rate for veterans is around 22 a day. One report I found from the DVA stated that in 2014, the last year avail- able for statistics, more than 7,400 veterans took their own lives. Silkies, for those who do not know, are the green exercise shorts that used to be worn by the military. So you can imagine someone wear- ing green shorts on a motorcycle, especially a bunch of riders together, would attract attention and that was the whole idea of this ride. Twelve in our group of 32 motorcycles did wear their silkies on the ride. We had some four-wheelers along with us too; one was the fl ag-decorated truck belong- ing to Big Paws Canine Academy/Big Paws Canine Foundation Inc. And one of the vehicles in our group had "22 Vets too many" on its back window. The base for this event was Sons of Liberty Aleworks. It was here you registered and got your red wristband and formed up for the ride. That red wristband was to go on the ride and also served as your food ticket. I got there early when there were just a few motorcycles on the lot and I saw a couple of vendors setting up, and I was warmly welcomed by the members of the All American Riders. At 11:00 a.m. we took off. The route was all on city streets and back roads and our fi rst destination was Stone Church Brewing in Corona, located in the Shops at Dos Lagos. The place is run by its president and brewer, Bill Stienkirchner, a retired Army colonel. There was a section of parking blocked off for us riders. Once we got parked we went inside to check out their selection of ales, blondes and stouts. The place is furnished with benches in the middle and counters off to each side, and the decor is that of a stone church. Their menu showed eight varieties offered on this day. There was a variety of pizzas provided for us, too. I didn't try any of the alcoholic bever- ages, but the pizza was very good. After our visit we hit the road to go to the Veterans of Foreign War Post 10267 in Jurupa Valley. The post in uniquely painted in blue with murals painted on the sides of the building. One is a World War II bomber, another is an aircraft carrier with planes taking off, and one is the fl ag being raised at Iwo Jima. At the post we had our own room. A lot of food was provided; there was pizza, chicken, sausages and baked beans with bacon and coleslaw. Everyone seemed to enjoy the food. After this stop we gathered up and rode back to Sons of Liberty Aleworks. Once back I saw all of the ven- dors were set up; they included Big Paws Canine Academy/Big Paws Canine Foundation Inc. that provides service and companion dogs to veter- ans. According to some information they provided it costs approximately $10,000 to train and get a dog ready to be a service animal, but due to dona- tions the only charge to the recipient is one dollar. The story I got was that one recipient didn't want to accept any charity but he did pay the dollar. The cost of a companion or service dog is priceless to that recipient. I have per- sonally seen some vets with their ser- vice-companion dogs and it does make a difference to them. The Sparta Project is for law enforcement, military and fi rst responders. As stated, their mission is to transform the stress and trauma caused by war and violence into resiliency, empowerment, personal growth and individual greatness. They have four one-day programs for different people and a fi ve-day program called the Sparta Warrior Transformation Program. Other vendors included Patriot Alliance which sells gear and cloth- ing and they provide hunting trips for veterans, Road Runner Jewelry whose proceeds from their sales go to help veterans' causes and downed riders, Industrial Concepts that was selling metal artwork, Operation Flag Rescue which gives new fl ags to peo- ple with worn out fl ags, and Four Way Independent Mortgage. Long Beach Kettlebell had some of their members doing demonstrations with weights of 22 kg. (that's 48 lbs.!). DJ Tech handled the tunes and Get Lit and Stay Smokin' BBQ provided the food for the riders and those attending the event I got the small rack of pork ribs with beans and coleslaw, but after all the food I had on the ride I ended up sharing it with another rider. There was a table where you could buy raffl e tickets. The grand raffl e prize was an AR-15 Rifl e. Interestingly, the inside of Sons of Liberty Aleworks is decorated in a military theme and the handles for the taps are muskets. They were also debuting their new creation called All American Rider Golden Strong Ale. They let me try a little bit; it has a little zip to it, which they said was due to the yeast they use. I tried their root beer and since I was riding I stuck to that. At 5:00 p.m. a ceremony took place with the singing of the National Anthem by veteran Johnnie Griffi ths, then Warrior, president of the All American Riders, talked about their group and thanked all the sponsors and riders for coming out. The goal for next year is 100 riders. I enjoyed the ride, so make that goal ninety-nine riders. You can fi nd out more about All American Riders at facebook.com/ AllAmericanRiders or contact them at AllAmericanRiders@gmail.com, and Sons of Liberty Aleworks is at solaleworks.com. 4 SILKIES SLOW RIDE Awareness for veteran suicides All American Riders complete its mission Riders in their silkies pose for a group shot in front the Iwo Jima mural at VFW Post 10267 Riders take to the road for veterans