Mikey's Memorial Ride Ann Arbor October 8, 2008On Sunday, Oct. 8th, 2008 the Ann Arbor American Chapter of HOG conducted a motorcycle ride to honor our long time member and friend, Mikey Fleming. Mike lost his life in Milwaukee during the Harley-Davidson 105th celebration after being run down by a drunk driver. Mike was loved by all in our chapter and loosing him was like loosing a member of the family. The ride which was put together by member and friend, Jerry Bibbs went from the restaurant where we have our Chapter meetings on the west side of Ann Arbor, to the Plymouth Chili Cookoff, in Plymouth Michigan. Total length was about 74 miles. Mikey always enjoyed the Cookoff. That is why it was chosen as a destination.
We all lined up after the Chapter meeting in 4 groups. We always keep the size of the groups to ten or less unless we have a police escort for safety reasons. I would estimate that we had 35-40 bikes total that went on the group ride. Not bad concidering that it was 31 degrees when I left my house that morning. 
Rick LaValley, the husband of Dora, Mikey's cousin, joined us as a honored guest. This was his first group ride, and he did just fine thank you. Jerry had set up a very nice, scenic route that went south from the restaurant, swung around to the west catching the edges of the towns of Chelsea and Dexter, then followed one of the area's favorite biking roads, North Territorial Rd., into the city of Plymouth. After parking in Plymouth, we all broke up into smaller groups to have some chili, view the bike show or listen to the bands that were playing.
We were fortunate enough to have a beautiful, crisp fall day to take a great ride, to pay our last respects to a wonderful man, Mike Fleming. He is greatly missed by all of us in our Chapter and for those of us who were very close to Mikey, his passing has left a huge void in our lives. Farewell Mikey. We miss you!
We were fortunate enough to have a beautiful, crisp fall day to take a great ride, to pay our last respects to a wonderful man, Mike Fleming. He is greatly missed by all of us in our Chapter and for those of us who were very close to Mikey, his passing has left a huge void in our lives. Farewell Mikey. We miss you!
Ken Garrott, Director, Ann Arbor American Chapter
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2 comments:
Thanks again for all that has been done for Mike, CAN,T GET USED TO CALLING HIM MIKEY, Good to see RICK RIDING.Eventhough I don,t ride I LOVE HARLEYS,God Bless ll of you, and of course Mikey.
Mike was my cousin. I hadn't seen him since we were young teens. I am so very shocked and sad to hear of his tragic passing. I loved his family. My deepest sympathy to all who knew him. Many thanks to everyone who has posted.
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