Lest We Never Forget

Our morning started with a short ride to the site of the Flight 93 Memorial near Shanksville, Pennyslvania. This is a "temporary" site while they build a fitting tribute closer to the actual crash site that is hoped to open by the tenth anniversary.

I personally believe the word "hero" is overused. Joey Votto of the Cincinnati Reds is an amazingly good baseball player; he's not a hero. But on this windswept hilltop in the middle of nowhere, it is clear that these 40 persons were truly American heroes. Their courage against overwhelmingly long odds is unspeakable in how they faced down terrorists who had hijacked United Flight 93 and, over Cleveland, Ohio, turned it toward Washington DC. It is believed the hijackers intended to crash Flight 93 into the Capitol Building (filled with a full session of senators and house members). After 11 of them called their loved ones to say goodbye, the good guys fought back with boiling water and a beverage cart.

None of us will ever forget hearing that Tod Beamer's perhaps final words were "Let's Roll" and that phrase is in clear evidence on this hilltop in Pennsylvania. Nearly 140,000 persons visit this hallowed ground each year to honor their memory, and it was as moving for Cheryl and I as Arlington Cemetery or any other places where American heroes have their final rest.

There was virtually nothing left of Flight 93 as it crashed into the ground at more than 550 mph. What was found of human remains was DNA identified and returned to the families. . . something from each of the 40 was saved. The black box was found 15 feet under the bottom of the crater, forced downward into the soil from the impact. The voice recorder was found at 30 feet.

The crash site is adorned by a large American flag on a fence in front of the crater, off limits to visitors and about 400 yards away from the temporary visitor center. It is, however, clearly visible from the hilltop where visitors leave tributes of all sorts to these American heroes. I hope, if you haven't visited, you'll put this on your bucket list because the courage these persons exhibited that day is nearly beyond comprehension.

From there, the somber mood was lifted as we rode down US 30 - a two lane highway - that wound down from a peak of 3,000 feet in the Allegheny mountains to eventually end up in Breezewood, PA. THIS is one of those roads that bikers dream of . . . gently rolling curves, down a beautiful mountainside, with panoramic views of valleys, mountains, streams . . . .unbelievably awesome. We were some impressed that we pulled over at the bottom of the final 6 mile descent (9% grade), looked at each other and said "wow".

After a quick lunch in Breezewood, we pushed toward Washington DC on I-70 with traffic picking up steadily as we got closer. Traffic leaving DC was unbelievable, but at two points we were at full stop which extended the last few miles by several extra minutes. And, of course, no GPS on my bike means we missed the final turn by got corrected after a short trip through Reagan International Airport.

We're staying at a Holiday Inn and it is filled with bikers. Many of them are veterans - Vietnam, Desert Storm, Iraq - proudly wearing the caps and badges on their leather vests and coats. ALL of them are friendly. We're expecting to see many, many more of them tomorrow as we go down to the National Mall to see what's happening and celebrate with out brethern.

One funny thing. . . .on the way up after parking our bikes, the elevator opened in the garage and it was filled with sweaty bikers. No fragance is quite like that, I can assure you. Leather, sweat, and stale beer. . . . .the door on the 9th. floor couldn't open too soon. But, everyone was happy . . . like one guy said "no road rash". Talk with you more tomorrow!