BELLE FOURCHE—For the second year in a row, the Heroes Honor Ride brought the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally directly to the Center of the Nation. On the morning of Sunday, August 9, motorcycles began lining up in the Tri-State Museum and Center of the Nation Visitors Center parking lot.
Spots were limited to the first 200 riders to register for the 40-mile ride that left from Belle Fourche and traveled via a police escort to the Buffalo Chip.
Before the Heroes Honor Ride (HHR) could begin, the hero who was to be honored had to be introduced to everyone and presented with a custom Indian motorcycle. “I want to thank everybody for coming out to Belle Fourche and being a part of this day. I hope what you guys are about to experience is something really special—and everybody has a safe ride,” said HHR board president, Jesse Cunningham.
Starting at the Center of the Nation is an important part of the HHR, with the Center of the Nation Monument serving as the staging area for the annual event. “We are here at the Center of the Nation Monument, right now centrally located in the United States, we could not be more surrounded by our American hero men and women,” explained Cunningham. “We have people every day that go above and beyond, and those are the type of people that we’re trying to recognize…Today, everybody who showed up on the ride, you guys get a vote for what we’re going to do next year. We’re tallying up those votes right now and we’re going to make an announcement this evening and we’re going to start taking nominations for next year’s category.”
This year’s motorcycle celebrates several significant milestones. “This year with our bike, we have a lot to celebrate. It’s the 86th Sturgis Motorcycle Rally, but it’s also the 250th celebration of our country—we have that here on our bike, represented with the 250 with the race numbers—but it’s also the 125th [Anniversary] of Indian motorcycles. That’s why we went with the Indian Challenger this year, and we have the 125th anniversary on the bike here as well,” said Cunningham.
Custom bike builder Derek Spitsnogle spent three weeks rebuilding the bike. “That one we didn’t pull the engine out and stuff like that, but we broke the whole bike down and did some fabrication stuff, and changed some parts—changed the style of a bunch of the stuff, and then obviously the paint job and the seat—it was about three weeks. We did it fast, but it was about three weeks of 18 to 20 hour days,” he shared. “All of these guys, Ace and Jesse and all these HHR guys, all came to the shop and helped me, they all pitched in, and I wouldn’t get done if they didn’t help.”
Spitsnogle says he likes to participate in the Heroes Honor Ride as a way to give back to a good cause. “It’s an easy way for me to say thank you, and so that’s the biggest part of it. It’s such a good cause. Such good people, and I know the organization is legit, and I know everything’s done right,” he explained.
Working on this motorcycle was a new experience for the custom bike builder. “They all ride Indians, they’re big in Indians, and Jesse’s told me we were doing an Indian this year and I was like, uhh…but now looking back at it, I love it. I mean, it’s one of my favorites,” shared Spitsnogle. “It’s a style that I’ve never built before, I’ve never tried to design a bike that way before—it’s like a performance style, newer modern style graphics, that kind of stuff—which is fun.”
This year, the Heroes Honor Ride honored the military. Sgt. Todd Peters was selected as this year’s hero and received the custom-built bike to lead the ride from the Center of the Nation to the Buffalo Chip. Cunningham introduced him, “Todd Peters is a sergeant first class, he received the Bronze Star, Army Achievement Medal, Army Good Conduct Medal, Army Reserve Components Achievement Medal (four times), National Defense Service Medal (two times), Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, the Iraq Campaign Medal, non-commissioned officer professional development ribbon, Army Reserve ribbon, Army overseas ribbon, and armed forces reserve medal. He earned all of these awards over 21 years of service.”
Peters’ daughter Erica nominated him for the Heroes Honor Ride Hero and read her nomination application write-up for her father. “To him, the true honor was never the medals. It was the chance to serve his country, to stand beside his fellow soldiers, and to make a difference in the lives of others…He doesn’t see himself as extraordinary, but to me and to so many others, he truly is,” she explained.
Peters then said he owed a lot to his family who was at home while he was serving. “Imagine being home by yourself with two young kids. Hell, I was over there having fun in the desert with my brothers and sisters. So really, they deserved it as much…So thank you and I appreciate it and it’s definitely a worthy cause,” he shared.
After the presentation, it was time for the ride. Kickstands up and off they all went on the Heroes Honor Ride. They received a police escort all the way to the Buffalo Chip.
And already, preparations for the next year are underway. “We’re trying to figure out, okay, what do we do next? What’s going to get most attention? Because that’s what you want to do—draw the attention to the foundation—that’s the whole point of doing it,” shared Spitsnogle.
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