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HOKIE SPIRIT: A biker flies his colors with a Virginia Tech flag.
“Words just can’t explain that feeling” said Howard Clark, one of the organizers of the event.
“As we rode in, people were waving, cheering us on, flashing V’s. . .you almost forgot you were riding a motorcycle,” said fellow Rappahannock organizer Del Clarambeau, who lives in Sperryville.
Clarambeau and Clark began organizing the ride in early May, shortly after the Virginia Tech tragedy gripped the nation.
“If you ask me this was as big as 9/11 for our country, said Clark. “It didn’t have international ties, but I consider it to be a terrorist attack on a domestic scale.”
Clark said that the community was very responsive to the riders. “People are still hurt bad from what happened,” Clark said seriously.
The riders presented a check of about $4,000 for the Hokie Spirit Memorial Fund to representatives at Virginia Tech.
The fund is the official memorial fund founded by Virginia Tech. The money is used to offer assistance to Virginia Tech victims and their families.
“It was an exciting thing, seeing them all ride to Shultz hall,” said Kim Christopoulos, the Virginia Tech Director of Donor Relations. “Bikers are a pretty generous group and it shows with all of them coming together to support Virginia Tech.”
“A lot of people were really moved by it,” said Bob Smythers, the Assistant Director of Gift Planning, “they were really a nice group of people.”
Clarambeau and Clark plan to organize a ride next year in support of Virginia Tech.
“It’s amazing that we got the response we did with only a month of planning,” said Clarambeau. “Next year is going to be bigger than ever.”
Email the reporter at cspiering@timespapers. com
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