Page 27 of Moving to Love
“Nine fifty?”
Joci laughed out loud. “Nope!”
“Wow. Okay, spill.”
She giggled and clapped her hands once. “Jeremiah, we’ve got one thousand and seven bikes!”
He leaned down, picked her up, and spun her around.
“How many riders?”
Joci was still laughing.
“Eighteen hundred and three people altogether, with the bikers, passengers, car clubs, and veterans.”
“Whoo!” Jeremiah yelled. “That’s a huge record.”
He fist pumped a few times and spun Joci around again. She hung on to his neck as he spun her. Being pushed tight to his chest made her nipples pucker.
“God, I’m so pumped. What a great turnout! Thank you so much for helping me out, sweetheart.”
He kissed her, and she kissed him right back. They were locked together when the door opened.
“Seriously, you two need to get on a bike and get this show on the road.”
Ryder stood in the doorway, looking at them with a goofy grin on his face.
Jeremiah laughed and grabbed Joci’s hand. “Let’s go, baby.”
They walked out, locked the door, and headed to Jeremiah’s bike. People were starting their bikes, and the rumble from all the loud pipes vibrated through their bodies.
This was the exciting part. Everyone was fresh and excited to get rolling. The roaring of the bikes and the smiles on people’s faces were intoxicating. Joci found herself shaking a little at the excitement. Jeremiah leaned back against her as they were waiting for the starting signal from one of the veterans to start the ride.
“Are you nervous, Joci?”
Joci smiled and replied, “No, I’m excited. This is my favorite part. Hearing all the bikes rumble and roar, and getting ready to start riding. I love this.”
Joci hugged Jeremiah, and he squeezed her arms as they came around him. He loved this, too.
Soon they were given the signal and started to roll. They rode through the lines of people who had gathered to wave them off. Local people lined the roads, waving and taking pictures and videos of all the bikes. If a person had never experienced something like this, it’s hard to understand the feelings.
The first leg of the ride was about 49 miles. Jeremiah and his guys had scoped out some beautiful back roads with twists and turns. Joci loved riding into corners because she could look back and see all the bikes behind them. Well, not all of them. With so many, she could only see a portion of them. But what a sight it was. She didn’t get to look at that when she was driving. Riding along was fun—she had the opportunity to take a look around and see more.
Along the way, there were cranes and heavy machinery with people sitting or standing up to see from higher vantage points.
Some of the people who lived along the route allowed photographers to stand on their roofs to take videos and pictures, memorializing the ride. Jeremiah had photo albums of all the rides. This year, Joci was going to make a video and put it to music for him, then put it on the website. She was excited to work on it for him.
It took about an hour and a half at the slower pace they were riding to get to the first stop, which was a large bar out in the country on the way to Green Bay. Since Rolling Thunder was between Green Bay and Appleton, it was easy to find roads between the two cities. This bar, appropriately named ‘The Barn,’ was out in the country and was an old barn converted into a bar. The upstairs had also been remodeled, so there was plenty of space for almost all of the bikers. However, since the weather was so nice, they also had several makeshift bars set up outside to keep all the riders hydrated. Once they had been parked, Jeremiah took Joci’s hand.
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“I want to introduce you to Kevin. He owns the bar, and we’ve been friends for years. I’ve told him about you a few times. He’s dying to meet you.”
Joci looked at Jeremiah with her head cocked to the side. “How does he know I’m here?”
