Aleksey Popov sends us some photos of his “Full Throttle” designation ride that he completed this year. The photos were taken in the mountains of the Northern Caucasus (Russia).
Name: Clarence Thornton
Road Name: “Heavy”
Iron Horse: 2014 HD Tri Glide
Hello my name is Clarence W. “Heavy” Thornton Jr. I’m retired from the Department of Veteran’s Affairs. I am presently the Chaplain of the LRBSTMC, and my horse is a 2011 Harley Davidson Tri Glide. I started my journey in the U.S. Army as a 19D Cavalry Scout in the Cavalry where I served in numerous units (1/9 Cav.-3/5Cav.-9th CBAA -11th ACR-3rd AD- 4/23 Inf.) across the US and oversees. But most prestigious having actively served as a Buffalo Soldier in the 9th Cavalry; in which I was awarded numerous awards along with The Order of the Spur from my peers in the Cavalry.
I wanted to share my most recent trip where I had a great 3982 mile adventure! I departed my residence on 13 July 2015 to surprise my “Lady” who was vacationing in Los Angeles, CA. I picked her up on my Harley Davidson for a romantic getaway in Las Vegas. Then I flew her back to California so I could ride on to Albuquerque, New Mexico for our National convention. I returned home to Arkansas on 26 July 2015. As we say, It’s All Good!
NAME: Jim Manner of Windsor, Virginia BIKE: 2010 Harley-Davidson Road Glide Custom.
Jim was welcomed into Long Distance Riders in 2015, with a 500-mile ride and a 1,000-mile ride from his home in Virginia, up the East Coast, and into Canada — his first trip on the motorcycle out of country. This taught him a very valuable lesson: If you use your phone as a GPS, you will lose service in Canada unless if you are willing to pay really high “international fees.” Luckily he had an old-fashioned map of Canada.
Jim is currently pastor of Liberty Biker Church in Suffolk, Virginia. He said that God has something in common with most motorcyclists: God is more concerned about where you are going, rather than where you have been. Jim is hoping to tackle the Coast to Coast challenge on an upcoming ride — if he can convince himself that there are still plenty of good, reliable miles on both his motorcycle and his 50-year-old body!
I ride Kawasaki Vulcan 900. I use it to commute and for occasional weekend rides around Bay Area. I had a license since mid-nineties, but started riding again a year ago after a long hiatus. There are a few music/fire arts festivals that I go to every year; one of them is IgNight in SoCal, Joshua Tree area. So this was a great opportunity to try a long-distance trip and have a great destination. It was my first long distance ride, both very beautiful and quite exhausting. I hope to explore more of California on two wheels; I plan to ride Route 395 next year.
