NEW CASTLE Cross-country motorcycle rally to roll through town

Proceeds of America's Ride will help Sept. 11 victims.
By LAURE CIOFFI
VINDICATOR NEW CASTLE BUREAU
NEW CASTLE, Pa. -- Come Sept. 8, there will be a motorcycle rally like no other in downtown.
America's Ride, a cross-country trek honoring victims of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, is expected to roll into New Castle.
About 50 motorcycle enthusiasts are leaving Los Angeles on Saturday and plan to make it to Lawrence County nine days later. The group will roll into New York City on Sept. 11.
The core group is expected to pick up more bikers as they near the East Coast, and anywhere from 100 to 500 people could be part of the group when it reaches New Castle, organizers said.
"It's a unique opportunity. They are making 12 stops across the country and most are metropolitan areas like Denver and Cleveland. I think it's an honor for us," said Mike Mancuso, president of the New Castle Downtown Business Association.
Remembering the victims
Jill Zorn, America's Ride event director, said they chose New Castle largely because of her contact with Bill Bomberger, owner of New Castle Harley-Davidson/Buell on U.S. Route 422 when she worked for Harley-Davidson.
"He always told me how nice it is out in Pennsylvania where he is. It's just beautiful country, great riding and wonderful people. I'm just totally blown away," Zorn said.
Bomberger was out of town last week and could not be reached.
Zorn said the ride has come to be a reminder for many who have forgotten the Sept. 11 victims.
"We still have soldiers out there at war fighting for us," she said. "We want to keep all of that at the forefront and help people who are left behind," she said.
Local celebration
America's Ride started last year on a whim by founder Mitch Morrison, who left Los Angeles with four riders and rolled into New York City's Ground Zero with 1,700 people on Sept. 11, 2002, she said.
The riders pay fees, depending on the length of their journey, and that money is used to help the families and victims of the terrorist attacks through the World Trade Centers Miracles Foundation, she said.
New Castle organizers plan to meet the bikers at about 10 a.m. at Field Club Commons on Pa. Route 18 in Neshannock Township.
A group of military veterans who ride motorcycles will escort the America's Ride bikers to downtown, where there will be different activities, including outside entertainment and messages, said JoAnn McBride, executive director of the Lawrence County Tourist Promotion Agency.
The bikers later will go to dinner at New Castle Harley-Davidson/Buell and then come back to the city for a bike rally with local motorcycle enthusiasts.
A fireworks display will follow after dark, McBride said.
The bikers are expected to head out the next day to Shanksville, Pa., where a passenger plane taken over by terrorists crashed Sept. 11, for a ceremony before heading for Washington, D.C., and New York City.
XFor more information at America's Ride go to www.americasride.info.