Ian and I spent part of our morning today on a highway overpass, watching the 19th annual March of Dimes Bikers for Babies. Kansas City has the largest Bikers for Babies event in the country; 6,000+ bikers started their ride from the Kansas Speedway and headed south on 435. In years past, because of my job, our family has had the opportunity to see the starting line and the opening ceremonies from the inside of the Speedway. It's incredibly impressive to see that many motorcycles all lined up waiting to ride together as a group. You can not imagine the noise all those revving engines make.
But today, I wasn't working! Ian and I staked out a great viewing spot on the Kansas Avenue bridge over 435 before the bikes made an exit on K-32 to head west. As we waited, several other cars joined us on the bridge. One family brought a big flag and draped it over the side of the bridge. One family had made a sign that said "Thank you for riding! We love you!" A group of bikers stopped to take pictures before getting back on the highway below to continue their ride. Everyone on the bridge had a reason they were there. One was a grandpa whose granddaughter was a 1 pound 10 ounce 25-weeker who spent 7 months at St. Luke's NICU. He took out pictures from his wallet to show me how "normal" she looked. One family had a daughter who had been a preemie with a 2 month NICU stay. Two parents were there wearing their matching t-shirts with a picture of their twins with the words "Riding for Aubry". We all had our story to share.
The bikers started out in small numbers, only one or two at a time, interspersed between cars and trucks. Within 10 or 15 minutes, the groups of bikes started getting bigger. In no time at all, I realized that I had snapped 168 photographs from the bridge.
My favorite pictures are the single shots of the riders. They all have their own style of waving: peace-sign, thumbs-up, high-5, love-sign, power-to-the-people, we're-number-one... we definitely felt the love up there. I think I've said it before: I'm a novice at taking pictures. I'm still working out the whole shutter-speed/f-stop/ISO thing... those darn bikes were moving pretty fast, so none of my pics today will win any awards. Some are a little fuzzy, but the individuality is still fun to see.
Behind the hard exterior, the leather chaps, the tattoos and the noisy bike, all you have to do is ask one of them why they ride in this event. They immediately melt and soften, usually pull out a photograph from their inside vest pocket and tell you a story. It's my story, too. I simply love this day.
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