Tour of Valor Harley Owners Group Touring Rally

In May I had the honor of participating in part of the Tour of Valor Harley Owners Group Touring Rally. This is the first year we’re hosting this touring rally, which honors our nation’s heroes by stopping at several military locations on the trek from Pensacola, Florida to Washington, D.C.

Our first rally mission was visiting the Naval Aviation Museum on Naval Air Station (NAS) Pensacola. About 20 minutes into the ride on my newly purchased 2024 Sharkskin Blue Road Glide, I knew this was going to be an amazing experience. As I approached the gate at NAS Pensacola, I could feel the rumble of several F/A-18 Super Hornets flying overhead. It didn’t take long to realize that the first special treat of the rally was to see the Navy Blue Angels practice. As we pulled into the parking lot, we had the pleasure of watching the Blue Angels perform precision aerial demonstrations for nearly an hour. After coming down from the rush of seeing the Blue Angels, we entered the museum which had a truly awesome collection of Navy and Marine aircraft. One of the rally attendees with me, David “Yak” Yackel, was a Naval aviator. He and a few others in our group had the pleasure to get an insider’s view of piloting an E2. Listening to his stories about the challenges and coordination required to land on an aircraft carrier was very intriguing. One of the most beautiful things about Harley Owners Group rallies is the people you meet. I know several individuals who came as strangers and left the rally as good friends. After lunch, we closed out day one by attending Pensacola Harley-Davidson’s Military & First Responder Appreciation Bike Night, where there was music, food trucks, and good ol’ fashioned fun hanging out with other riders.

For the next couple of days, we hit some rain… and by some rain, I mean it took a week or so to dry out my boots. But that didn’t stop us from completing our missions at the National Infantry Museum in Columbus, GA, the Anderson National Historic Site where the National POW Museum is (a truly humbling experience), and Fort Sumter in Charleston.

Unfortunately for me, Charleston is where my amazing Tour of Valor rally experience came to an end. I was filling in for our Regional Manager, Chris Harrison. Chris is an Army Veteran and planned on meeting up with the rally in Fayetteville to take over. In addition to the great people that you meet at H.O.G. rallies, another feature we incorporate is to have a Harley-Davidson Motor Company Representative on all rallies. Not only do we love to ride, but it also provides us with a great opportunity to bond with our fellow riders and offers a direct connection for H.O.G. members to the Motor Company. The rally soldiered on to more iconic locations, including the 82nd Airborne Division War Memorial Museum, the U.S. Army Airborne & Special Ops Museum, the National D-Day Memorial, the Virginia Military Institute Museum, Appomattox Court House National Park, and the National Museum of the Marine Corps.

The rally landed in Washington, D.C. on Memorial Day Weekend. There are numerous military memorials and experiences in the city such as Arlington National Cemetery, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall, the Iwo Jima Memorial, and more. The list is lengthy, but importantly there has been a large motorcycle demonstration held this weekend for over 30 years called Rolling to Remember (formerly Rolling Thunder). This massive motorcycle demonstration ride, starting in the Pentagon’s parking lot, rolling through Washington, D.C., demands full accounting for America’s POWs and MIAs and to raise awareness of the mental health crisis stealing thousands of veterans’ lives each year. I’ve had the opportunity to work with and be a part of the demonstration for several years, and initially wrote a H.O.G. Magazine article about my adventures on this ride several years ago. It is extremely powerful what riders can do when they unite around a great cause for our military veterans.

As a motorcyclist, a veteran, a H.O.G. member, and an American, it was both inspiring and humbling to participate in such a meaningful event. It’s an experience that stays with you long after the event. I encourage everyone to check out the H.O.G. rallies – I firmly believe you will have an awesome experience.

Lastly, I’d like to extend a special thank you to all the dealers who supported the event along the way. One of the amazing things about owning a Harley-Davidson motorcycle is the awesome dealers who are almost always willing to step in and assist. We really couldn’t put on such amazing events without their continued support.

See you at the next one! Check out www.harley-davidson.com/us/en/content/hog/rallies to find a H.O.G. Rally near you this year.

Words by Tim Budzien, U.S. Air Force veteran and Harley-Davidson employee.

Photos by Josh Kurpius and Tim Budzien