Medium animated Philippine flag clip art for a white background

The annual ride to partake in the SanFrancisco Veterans Parade celebration on November 11 is a special event for the Juancheros. This is the time of year that we unite with our brothers in the bay area, the FilAm Riders, to honor our Pilipino war heroes by heading the 1^st and 2^nd Infantry Pilipino Regiment contingent in the parade.

0700hr……Early Saturday when the sun was just burning through the morning fog, the Juancheros came in on their road ready machines one bike model at a time, geared and set to brave the cold coast ride on the 101 freeway headed up north to the city by the bay.

Noli showed up to bid us adieu and a safe trip. Dennis showing up straight from bed to ride with, Sonny and Brenda, Ohgie and Delia, Glenn and the Road Pirates, Bing, Jimmy, Gio, Jojo and Jing to join the gang for breakfast in Santa Barbara.

With Dennis on his way back south to the San Fernando Valley, the rest of the gang took off for the long stretch to our next gas stop in Santa Maria…..uh wait a minute! Hey where’d they go?

After an hour of riding in a split group, we re-joined at a gas station on the Teftt street exit in Nipomo hastily exiting north on the freeway to catch up on our scheduled rendezvous in Soledad at noon with the FilAm Riders coming from San Jose and Daly City.

A happy re-union at the Starbucks Café in Soledad with Rey, Romy and some new faces in the ever growing number of northern California Pinoys in the FilAm Riders’s roster of membership.

The tardy Juancheros late arrival at the rendezvous point delayed everyone’s lunch. And so the bonding among the brothers continued on the freeway on our way to the Country kitchen in Monterey for a late lunch. With more stories to swap about the day’s ride, lunch was extended to catch up on the group’s past activities and other tales of past adventures on 2 wheels.

With the united brothers finally ready for the last leg of the trek up north, Romy led us to another ride on the wide open but congested freeways of the bay area to our sleeping quarters at the Goodnite Inn in Fremont.

Arriving at the motel at 4:30 pm just right about when the light drizzles started followed by a light downpour as soon as we completed unloading our gears off the bike. The rain spoiled our plan to have dinner at the nearby Union City Barrio Fiesta. With nowhere to go on our bikes on a cold wet night, we stuck it out with Romy who was waiting for the rain to stop so he can go home to his family and have a good night’s sleep next to his wife after a busy day of riding.

At exactly 7am the next day, Romy came in all set for the day’s event. Breakfast was at Nayong Pilipino in Union City while also waiting for the Road Pirates who are coming in from another part of Fremont to complete our southern California group.

The original plan to hook up with the FilAm Riders in Oakland and proceed to the parade venue in downtown San Francisco was altered by the congested freeway exit caused by the influx of Raiders fans who were flocking in to watch the early morning football game at the coliseum on the same area we were headed for to meet Rey and the rest of the gang.

The San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge known locally as the "Bay Bridge" is a toll bridge which spans San Francisco Bay and links the city of Oakland and San Francisco as part of Interstate 80. It is one of the busiest bridges in the United States, carrying approximately 280,000 vehicles per day.

After getting in touch with the Bay Area group, we decided to meet them in downtown SFO where the parade assembly point will be. Romy proceeded to downtown SFO hoping to find the area where the rest of the group will be.

The city and county of San Francisco is the 4th most populous city in California and the 14th most populous city in the United States, with a 2006 estimated population of 744,041.

San Francisco is a popular international tourist destination renowned for its steep rolling hills, an eclectic mix of Victorian and modern architecture, and a cosmopolitan population that is highly diverse both ethnically and in sexual orientation.

The parade started to move on time at 11 am. Kickstands were up and we advanced to proudly lead the representations of the young and old heroes of the 1^st and 2^nd Infantry Regiments of Pilipino war veterans…”Laging una…bahala na!....

http://geocities.com/laginguna1942/pv-3.html

The slow pace of the parade, unhealthy to air cooled motorcycles was edging towards the City Hall still in formation despite the warmth of the rising noontime temperature causing some discomforts among the riders wrapped in leather gears.

The City Hall of San Francisco, opened in 1915, in its open space area in the city's Civic Center and is actually a replacement for an earlier City Hall that was completely destroyed during the 1906 Earthquake.

The Pilipino / American flag

The San Francisco earthquake of 1906 was a major earthquake that struck San Francisco and the coast of northern California at 5:12 A.M. on Wednesday, April 18, 1906. The most widely accepted estimate for the magnitude of the earthquake is a moment magnitude of 7.8; however, other values have been proposed from 7.7 to as high as 8.3

The mainshock epicenter occurred offshore about 2 miles from the city, near Mussel Rock. It ruptured along the San Andreas Fault both northward and southward for a total length of 296 miles. Shaking was felt from Oregon to Los Angeles, and inland as far as central Nevada. The earthquake and resulting fire is remembered as one of the worst natural disasters in the history of the United States.

Posing at the Square after the passing in review in front of the city hall.

Despite the chaos getting out of downtown SFO including the adrenaline inducing two wheels adventure on the steeply sloped streets of SFO as well as the Bermuda triangle effect of mysteriously losing Glenn on the run to the Golden Gate Bridge north Vista Point, we got to our next stop safe and sound. Glenn eventually found his way to join us with the help of the kind people and Police Officers who directed him the way to the Golden Gate Bridge north vista point.

New faces from Daly City in the roster of the

FilAm Riders

The Golden Gate Bridge had the longest suspension bridge span in the world when it was completed in 1937 and has become an internationally recognized symbol of San Francisco and the United States.

In the 70 years since completion, the span length has been surpassed by seven other bridges. It still has the second longest suspension bridge main span in the United States, after the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge in New York City.

The day’s final stop was at the East Buffet in Richmond for a sumptuous, gut busting meal of seafood menu variety as well as tasty desserts of pies and fruit mixes.

Delia’s appetite for the Pilipino desserts brought in the urge to zip lock bag more of the sweet stuff to bring back to the motel in Fremont.

Goodbyes and brotherly hugs and handshakes extended at the parking lot of the buffet place, the Posse split into groups going in different directions of the Bay Area.

Romy led the Juancheros and the Road Pirates back to our motel base in Fremont and headed north on the 880 to the waiting Cabalar family who’ve missed him much during his absence from home for the weekend. Braving the cold and wet Bay Area weather, taking the task of hosting and leading the Juanchero’s ride around San Francisco was a pleasant experience for everyone.

Our salute to you Romy

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