Who said I was making fun of them? And where once did I pick on their brand of motorcycle? I'm sorry, but riding should involve some self-examination. Just because you can ride from one bar to the next or around town does not mean you should just hop on your bike, ride to VA and take part in an event of this size. Not only are you putting your own life at risk, but others as well. I'm guessing you haven't ever ridden this. It's a very close formation of motorcycles in stop-and-go traffic. Not to mention that there a loads of distractions along the route between the spectators and the monuments. How would you feel if an inexperienced rider ran into or fell over onto your $15k motorcycle?
I'm sorry, guy, but I'm a vet a few times over and if others want to come and honor vets that's cool. I think it's freaking awesome that so many people turn out for this thing, but again there should be some thought involved. The first being, if you're going to be in an unshaded parking lot for four-plus hours in the middle of summer bring some water. I arrived with a 3-liter Camelbak and still drank some of the free stuff. Secondly, if you're going to not bring water and come close to passing out I don't think getting on a motorcycle with very little clothing on and continuing to ride on a hot day is the brightest thing to do. All of this is like going into combat without a weapon.
Thirdly, I'm willing to bet that only a small percentage of these people even care about veterans. Rolling Thunder is just another t-shirt to add to their Sturgis and Bike Week shirts. It's a rite of passage, and nothing more for a lot of them.
And if you think I'm being unpatriotic I'll have you know that I enlisted in the Reserves at 33. I already had a good-paying career, I already had a paid-for degree. I went through Basic and AIT with kids twice my age. Why? Because I was tired of seeing the pictures of kids that had been killed over there and thought I could do something. I've been in for five and a half years and I haven't drilled for an entire year because of deployments (all voluntary). Not only that, but I've lost my share of friends. My advice to you is to get all the information before you start casting judgement onto people. If you don't like what I have to say then ignore it. Plain and simple.