Has there been rain during any of the Ride for Jill's House motorcycle rides over the past nine years?  I don't remember any.  In spite of the weather forecasters (I could do a whole blog post on that, but I won't!), this year's ride was cloudy but dry.

Lots and lots of motorcycles started rolling into the parking lot of the Prince William campus of McLean Bible Church around 8:30 Saturday morning.  How many?  I didn't count, so I'm sticking with "lots and lots"!  There were Chick-Fil-A breakfast items, raffle tickets for some great items, plus Renegade Classics was there sewing Ride for Jill's House patches onto vests. After everyone was organized, fed and ready to hit the road, Joe Livingood, the event's organizer, talked to the crowd about Jill's House and gave all the safety rules to the riders.  After the big start, a lot of police escorts in various jurisdictions (thanks to them!) and about 2-1/2 hours of riding, the group arrived at Jill's House in Tyson's Corner, where they were treated to a demonstration by the 

So what's the point?  Two things come to mind.  First, to raise money for Jill's House.  Second, to raise awareness of what Jill's House does for special needs children and their families.  In the words right off the Jill's House website, "Jill's House celebrates children with special needs and provides relief to the extraordinary families who love them through short-term, overnight respite care."  This is done through a lot of wonderful people- both paid staff and lots of volunteers.  Everything is done with excellence and honestly costs a lot of money, which comes from many financial supporters large and small.  The families of the special needs children pay only a portion of the costs, so that's why events like the Ride for Jill's House are so important.

Here are a few photos.  If you want to see more, visit the gallery on our web site by clicking here.