Mikey's Memorial Ride was a Success

Mikey Fleming Memorial Ride

Sponsored by
Hupy and Arbraham S.C.

As can been seen from the picture above, we had a very strong turnout for the first annual Mike Fleming Memorial Ride. We were blessed with a perfect day and a turnout of over 65 motorcycles. At 7:15am the bikes began to roll in to Wisconsin Harley Davidson, which opened early with coffee and hot chocolate for us. One after another, we lined up to ride in honor of someone that none of us have ever met, but yet many have come to know well. A group of total strangers who were all moved by Mikey's story came together to send one strong message "We will not stand by and let Drunk Drivers kill our brothers and sisters of the road!"

At 7:40am under the escort of two motorcycle police officers, the ride left to join with the run / walk at the high school. While in route to the high school, the ride passed the site of the Homicide of Courtney Bella, Jennifer Bukosky, and her unborn daughter Sophia. At the site, the ride stopped as each motorcycle passed with two hits of the horn and a rev of the engine to let our respects be shown. For me and many other riders, this was one of the more emotional points of the day. It really drove home why we were all out so early on a Saturday morning.

At the high school, we received a big welcome from the crowd. The bikes were parked and the riders and runners mixed together and showed their support for change in the Drunk Driving problem. The media was present and cameras were rolling as several people spoke about what brought this large group together.

The helmet was passed to take a collection for the Courtney Bella and Jennifer Bukosky fund, our group was able to present over $1200.00 to the fund. Right before our ride left, we were surprised by a gift from Parker Fitness http://www.parkersfitness.com/ Every rider in the group was presented with a shirt from the run walk with Micheal Fleming's name printed on the left sleeve.

The picture to the left shows our ride leading off the start of the 5K run / walk under police escort. We had three flags bikes to lead the way: one from the American Legion Riders, one from ABATE of Wisconsin, and one which flew the United States Flag alongside the United States Postal Flag. It was a moving sight.





Following next in line were Tony and Amy Caffaro along with myself and my daughter Sarah (my wife is the one behind the camera that can not be seen but was a big part of making the day work).

The next group was the Milwaukee Area Chapter of the Blue Knights http://bkwivi.tripod.com/ . They are a law enforcement motorcycle club that does all kinds of great things for the community. A group representing the United States Postal Workers followed next, which was followed by a large group representing several regions from ABATE of Wisconsin http://www.abatewis.org/ . Our final groups were members of the local Harley Owners Group Chapters (HOG) with both the Kettle Moraine Chapter http://www.kmchog.com/ and the Rock River Chapter http://www.rockriverhog.com/ with both having a very strong showing!

Thanks to all the groups and individuals that turned out and rode or supported us - we could not have done it without you! We would also like to thank our major sponsor - the law firm of Hupy and Arbraham S.C. http://www.hupy.com/ . It is through their generous support that we will be able to continue and grow this website and our other efforts in this fight.

After we lead the run through the course, it was back to the high school to gather signatures for the petitions and network with everyone there on how to bring about change to the Drunk Driving problem. Snacks and drinks were shared and we all made a lot of new friends.

Well at this point our work was over, so back to the motorcycles we went. We received a police escort out of town to the freeway, and we were off to lunch. We enjoyed a great pizza lunch at Marty's Pizza http://www.martyspizza.net/ . Many thanks to them for opening early and providing complimentary drinks for our group. Lunch was provided for all of the riders compliments of Tony Caffaro and we thank him as well. At lunch it was decided that this ride will be run annual along with the annual run presented by Parker Fitness http://www.parkersfitness.com/ to benefit the Courtney Bella and Jennifer Bukosky fund.

Media Coverage of the Memorial Ride

ABC Channel 12 WISN precoverage day before interview with Tony Caffaro
http://www.wisn.com/video/17516721/index.html

ABC Channel 12 WISN coverage on day of event includes interview
http://www.wisn.com/news/17521584/detail.html (transcript of report)
http://www.wisn.com/video/17521705/index.html (video of report)

FOX Channel 6 WITI coverage on day of event includes interview
http://www.myfoxmilwaukee.com/myfox/pages/Home/Detail?contentId=7478847&version=1&locale=EN-US&layoutCode=VSTY&pageId=1.1.1