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Military Charity IBA World Record - 390 Riders
I had the honor to form this charity and organize this IBA event. It was truly inspiring - here is a summary story of the IBA World Records we set on 16 MAY 2009.
The REDWING 19 ride was formed in 2005 to honor 11 U.S. Navy SEALS and 8 U.S. Army Special Operations Aviators who gave their lives in the War On Terror, June 28, 2005. These warriors were members of SEAL Team 10, SEAL Delivery Vehicle Team 1, SEAL Delivery Vehicle Team 2 and the 3rd Battalion, 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (SOAR) (A); they were deployed for counter-terrorism operations in Afghanistan. Their operation was called “REDWING”; the 19 refers to these honored lost.
On June 28, 2005 two 160th SOAR MH-47D helicopters deployed west of Asadabad, in Kunar province Afghanistan. Embarked in one of the MH-47Ds were eight Navy SEALS and eight Army Aviators of the 160th SOAR. They were acting as a quick response team to provide support to the 4 man SEAL ground element who had encountered a large group of Taliban forces and were engaged in a fierce firefight.
Enroute to their objective one MH-47D was shot down by enemy fire and crashed in mountainous terrain. The crash was severe and there were no survivors. This was the largest single loss of Navy SEALS in a single incident; their brother warriors in the 160th had suffered other mass casualty events too. 16 Operators were lost with that shootdown.
The SEAL ground element leader was LT. Michael P. Murphy; for his actions that day he became the first Medal of Honor recipient for combat in Afghanistan. He exposed himself to heavy fire because it was the only way to raise communications.
The Army and Navy special warriors assigned to this mission left many family members. Recognizing the immensity of this sacrifice, I started a series of rides beginning with an IBA SS1K in September 2005. We rode from the SEAL base in Little Creek VA to the 160th helicopter base in Savannah GA. As if pre-ordained, that round trip distance was exactly the amount we needed for our SS1K. 32 of us that year raised about $1500.
After that ride I formed a group of Veterans and others with close ties to the special warfare community to run a memorial motorcycle ride and fundraiser to ensure the memory of these fallen warriors does not fade. We also wanted to develop another way to raise money to assist the families of all SPECWAR fallen.
We held several other rides including IBA events. But our biggest success came in 2009. I approached IBA president Mike Kneebone in 2008 and told him we wanted to do an IBA sponsored event for the World Record Largest Group Ride. Mike welcomed the effort and the cause. He said we’d need more than 158 riders to beat the current record. And so began a PR, organizing, email, website odyssey the likes of which I had never encountered.
We had 440 pre-registered by mid April. On Saturday morning 16 May 2009 there 412 lined up to ride the 1,036 mile route all inside the state of Virginia. We had decided to go for a second world record – the largest group ride all inside VA.
By now you are asking, “Wow, how long did it take to check the odometer and sign out 412 bikes?. It took 28 minutes. With a fantastic group of well trained volunteers (including IBA President Mike Kneebone!) we moved out in an orderly fashion. And no – we thought it would be at least an hour.
As an added incentive for the riders, we were lucky enough to have 2 Hollywood actress/models from the TV show “Deal or No Deal”. Above you see Pilar Lastra and Marisa Petroro. These two ladies volunteered their time to help us raise a record amount of funds and set two IBA World Records. I don’t care what you have heard by other “Hollywood types” – these two are genuine patriots and won my admiration.
So 412 showed up – 390 finished. Late Saturday night very heavy rains moved into the Shenandoah valley along the 1-81 corridor. Some riders opted out and that of course was just what they should do instead of riding beyond their limits.
The first rider back was the infamous John Ryan in just under 14 hours. John went on a few weeks later to break the IBA record for Prudhoe Bay Alaska to Key West Florida. He honored our cause by keeping his REDWING IBA rider tag attached to his windshield.
The last rider made it back Sunday morning 17 May with about 2 minutes to spare.
However, the biggest success was not our 2 IBA World Records. It was the fact we raised $1,500.00 for each child affected by the tragedy of OPERATION. REDWING. You’ll note that in 2005 we only raised a total of $1,500.00.
All total, we raised $51,000.00. Out of that was expenses for posters, patches, food, celebrity transportation, guest hotels, ride supplies, etc. But when you stop and consider, this was a bunch of volunteers with no professional training and we raised that much money from an IBA ride. What could be done with a professional event organizer?
Founder and President
REDWING 19 Ride
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Join the Iron Butt Association FLIGHT 93 Families Charity Ride - Largest Group to do 1500 Miles in 36 Hrs - Summer 2011. (PM for details)
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