You may have heard thunder rolling through on Sunday.
Hundreds of bikers took to the road for service men and women wounded in combat. “This is very important.” says Rocky Russell, veteran and President of the VFW District 3 Warriors Motorcycle Club, “We didn’t have all of this stuff years ago so it’s really nice to help the next generation have things better than we had.” Last year the Defenders of Freedom Recognition Ride drew about 200 riders. This year nearly 500 rode to raise money for the , an organization which provides programs for severely wounded veterans. “We had originally planned to make this a one time event. But we had so much success last year people kept telling me to get it together again so here we are and we have an incredible turnout.” says organizer Brian Wess. It’s an out pouring of support from a culture many don’t understand. “I’m a veteran, a biker and a real estate agent!” says Wess. We have lawyers, teachers and veterans of all walks of life here. “One of the nice things about the biker community in El Paso county is we donate more money than any other money except for the El Pomar foundation to charity.” While the riders do enjoy the open road on a warm spring day, those overseas are never far from their hearts. “A lot of us are veterans, but the active duty folks especially we want to make sure they know we appreciate them, their commitment to our country and what they do for us.” says Wess.” Russell echoes those feelings, “Never forget and always remember. We still got a lot of our family in harms way and we’re here to support them.” Wild Wild West Fest Colorado Improv Festival Munchkin Market