Community Corner
9/11 ride draws big crowds in downtown Leesburg
In advance of the 10th anniversary of 9/11, motorcyclists from the America's 9/11 Foundation came through downtown Leesburg on their annual ride.
Folks started lining up on King Street in Downtown Leesburg at around 1:00 on Friday, in anticipation of America's 9/11 Foundation members bringing their route through Leesburg on their way to the Pentagon.
The annual ride, which started in November of 2001, almost didn't make it here this year. Originally, to avoid road closures, Virginia State Police were planning on rerouting the ride around Leesburg and onto the Greenway to Arlington. However, the Town Council later voted to keep this important tradition in Leesburg.
Kathleen Phillips, whose husband, Carl Phillips is riding with the group is happy with the route change. "I'm glad the town came to their senses," she said. "It's an important event."
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The group of around 2,000 motorcyclists arrived downtown around 3:00 and took a solid half hour to ride through. They were greeted by eager families and flag-waving town residents.
Boy Scout Troop leader David Lovingood brought a few of his troop members with him to show their patriotism and support for the ride. "Scouting is about patriotism and respect for our country," he said. "We're teaching our young children to grow up and learn about the heritage of our country and to become model citizens. As a show of patriotism we decided to come out and support the riders who are making the trek out from Somerset up to Ground Zero."
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Downtown Leesburg resident Jennifer Gryder brought her three daughters, aged 10, 8 and 4 out to the event partly so she could educate them about the events of September 11. "I wanted to take my girls here and give them a little history lesson on September 11; they were a little too young to know what happened."
Many attendees were first-timers, citing the increased publicity around this year's tenth anniversary event as a reason for coming down. Although Route 15 was closed for the afternoon, causing traffic problems, the residents I spoke to didn't seem to mind.
Clarence and Shelly Zarobila used a day off of work as a reason to come down and support the riders. "I think [bringing the ride through downtown] is a great idea," Clarence said. "There's a lot of people here who wanted it, and the council made the right decision."
