By Cliff White
Staff Writer
John O’Leary wants to know, “What’s more American than a big honkin’ Harley Davidson riding past fire stations in southern Maine in tribute to the men and women in uniform who serve our country, both at home and abroad?”
He answers his own question.
“About 200 of them riding together.”
For the fourth consecutive year, O’Leary has organized the Southern Maine Portland chapter of the Harley Owners Group’s “Home Town Heroes Ride,” a motorcycle parade honoring local police, veterans, first responders and all men and women serving in the United States’ armed forces. O’Leary originally participated in a similar event in 2002 to mark the one year anniversary of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, but when the event wasn’t hosted the following year, he decided to create his own parade. This year’s ride, taking place this Saturday, Sept. 15, is open to anyone who rides a motorcycle and wants to join.
“I decided to organize the ride to make sure these people who serve our country so selflessly are honored properly,” O’Leary said. “Especially the police, firefighters and first responders who don’t get the attention they deserve – it’s in their nature to deflect attention from themselves and their service.”
It will be hard for the parade’s honorees to ignore the thunderous sound of a fleet of Harley Davidsons parading past the fire stations of the southern Maine on Saturday. O’Leary said he expects between 150 to 200 motorcycles to join the parade this year, as well as additional riders who will double up on some bikes. With a $10 registration fee per person, O’Leary said he hopes to collect in the range of $2,000, all of which will benefit the Portland Firefighters Children’s Burn Foundation.
“It’s a great cause, and all the money raised will go directly to helping Maine kids,” O’Leary said.
According to its Web site – www.maineburnsurvivors.org – The Portland Firefighters Children’s Burn Foundation assists burn survivors and their families with treatment expenses beyond insurance coverage, aids with home modifications to deal with new limitations, and helps organize support groups and social events among burn survivors and family members. Once a year, the foundation also sends burn survivors from Maine between the ages of 8 and 18 to a children’s burn camp in Connecticut.
Registration for the ride begins at 8 a.m. at Big Moose Harley Davidson at 375 Riverside Street in Portland. The ride leaves at 10 a.m., rain or shine.
“The workers we’re honoring work rain or shine, so we’re biking rain or shine,” O’Leary said.
The ride will pass by at least 11 fire stations in southern Maine, including those in South Portland, Cape Elizabeth, Scarborough, Old Orchard Beach and Gorham.
“We want to hit as many as we can,” O’Leary said. “We wish we could do more, but there’s just not enough time in the day.”
Most, if not all of the stations the riders will visit will have fire trucks outside the stations to receive the greeting of the motorcycle parade as it passes by.
“We honk our horns and wave to them as we go by, and they usually turn their lights and sirens on to recognize us,” O’Leary said.
O’Leary said the ride will be escorted throughout the entire route by 12 to 18 police on motorcycles. The police are volunteers from throughout Maine and New Hampshire who have received permission from their departments to wear their uniforms and ride their motorcycles as parade escorts. The ride will also feature a limousine painted red, white and blue where any “heroes” who don’t ride motorcycles but still want to participate in the parade can ride.
When the bikers arrive at the Gorham Fire Department station, it will be nearly 2 p.m. A bunch of bikers riding all morning work up a pretty mean hunger, O’Leary said, and greeting them in Gorham will be a barbecue lunch free for all registered riders, prepared for them by volunteers from the Gorham Fire Department. The effort, spearheaded by Sharon Deering, who is captain of the rescue and a firefighter in Gorham, will feature 10 to 15 volunteers from the department working for up to six hours apiece setting up the barbecue, grilling, and cleaning up. This is the fourth year the Gorham Fire Department has hosted the barbecue for the riders.
“We love to do it, and we’re happy to do it,” Deering said. “We’re out there to help people and it all goes to a good cause. The Firefighters Children’s Burn Foundation – that’s a really good cause.”
For O’Leary, the day of the ride is one of the most important days of the year.
“It’s so important to me to honor these heroes, our neighbors who do such amazing and selfless things for our community. The ride is a fun and public way to show our appreciation.”
For more information about the ride, contact John or Bunny O’Leary at 333-2919.