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Quick
links to Ride to Remember Events: R2R 2014 | R2R 2012 |
R2R 2011 | R2R
2010 | R2R 2009 | R2R 2008 | R2R 2007 |
R2R 2006 | R2R
2005
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Ride to Remember Events
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R2R 2013 - Ride to
Remember to Orange County, CA. 5/30/2013 - 6/1/2013
 The R2R 2013, amid much
controversy, was held without incident. The host hotel, The Holiday Inn
at Orange County Airport made it very convenient for those traveling in
and renting bikes. The accommodations were excellent, the food great and
an overall great host hotel. We were honored to have Liz Igra, Founder of CVHEN, our charity and her husband,
Jack as guests for the entire weekend. We even got Liz and Jack, 83 and
85 respectively on a bike for photo ops. We left on Friday from the Chabad in Irvine with some members of the local
Jewish riding community along with JMA members for a leisurely ride along
the Pacific coast with breathtaking views of the Pacific Ocean. We ended
up at Chabad in Mission Viejo where we were
greeted with open arms. On Saturday, there was a ride to Julian, CA for
their famous apple pie and twisty mountain roads to get there. There was
also a ride to the Rock Store in Malibu Canyon. On Monday, Ben Cohen took a small group
to Vegas for a fun day. All in
all, it was fun. It was intimate and in spite of low attendance, everyone
had a great time. AND no rain because we all know “it doesn’t rain in
Southern California.”.
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R2R 2012 - Ride to
Remember to Toronto, Ontario, Canada. 5/31/2012 - 6/3/2012
 The 2012 Ride to Remember was held
May 31st-June 3rd in Toronto Canada.
The hotel venue for R2R was the Holiday Inn in Markham, Ontario. We
enjoyed a welcome BBQ on Thursday night to schmooze and meet new friends.
Rain, and it wouldn’t be an R2R without it, woke
us up on Friday, but didn’t stop the JMA. We met for breakfast at Shaar Shalom Synagogue in Markham and embarked on a shortened
ride through Toronto. It ended at the Holy Blossom Temple for lunch and a
presentation.
The
R2R 2012 raised $32,923 for the Holocaust Educators Tour in Toronto.
There were optional rides on Saturday, the rain
ended. Saturday night, fun and frolic was enjoyed at the Israeli night
club and restaurant, Hava Nagila.
Sunday
was the departure day and everyone arrived safe at home.
Links:
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R2R 2010 - Ride to
Remember to Chicago, Il. 5/14/2010 - 5/16/2010
 The sixth annual Ride 2 Remember
was held in Skokie, Illinois at the Doubletree Hotel and Convention
Center. Money was raised to support the new Illinois Holocaust Museum and
Education Center.
An opening night Bar-B-Que and meet and greet
started the weekend off to a wonderful beginning. JMA attendees new and
old had a fine time making new friends and meeting old friends in the
lovely square.
On
Friday morning, Temple Beth Shalom, in Northbrook, IL.,
hosted a fabulous breakfast for all the riders. Steven Nasatir, President of the Chicago Jewish Federation
spoke to us all. From there we went on a police escorted ride into
downtown Chicago, riding down Sheridan Road and then along the lake on
world famous, Lake Shore Drive. Turning around between the Field Museum
and Soldier Field (Home to the Chicago Bears) we traveled back up Lake
Shore Drive and made our way to the Illinois Holocaust Museum and
Education Center. All the bikes were allowed to parade in front of the
museum with holocaust survivors waving as the large number of bikes road
past. At the museum we were treated to lunch and a tour of the new
museum.
Saturday morning had different rides for those who chose to see more of
the Chicago region. One ride went to Milwaukee to the Harley-Davidson
Museum. Another went downtown for Italian Beef sandwiches, and a third
went off into the countryside for a ride around northern Illinois.
Saturday night a wonderful time was had by all attendees at "The
Bagel" restaurant where we ate and were entertained by a Neil
Diamond cover band.
On Sunday, for those that could stay around a little longer, the Chicago
Jewish Folk Festival was held. A nice bonus to a really good weekend!
Links:
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R2R 2009 - Ride to
Remember to Savannah, GA - Charleston, SC. 5/14/2009 - 5/16/2009
 The 2009 Ride to Remember kicked
off with a terrific JMA BBQ that was held in Madison Square directly
behind the Savannah Hilton DeSoto, the JMA host
hotel. We were fortunate to enjoy the BBQ on a balmy and dry Southern
Spring evening under Madison Square’s leafy canopy. JMA attendees new and
old had a fine time making new friends and meeting old friends in the
lovely square.
On Friday morning, the R2R
attendees rode, swam or boated over to the Savannah Jewish Federation to
enjoy a breakfast hosted by the Federation prior to the official Ride to
Remember to Charleston, SC.
Unfortunately, the heavy rainfall and the forecast for continued heavy
rainfall in the Charleston area forced the R2R Organizing Committee to
cancel the ride for safety reasons. Nonetheless, about 100 bikes with
some 125 JMA attendees decided to ride to Charleston and participate in a
memorial service at the Charleston Holocaust Memorial.
The Friday night Shabbat dinner was
highlighted with several notable speakers including Chaim
Melamed, a survivor of four concentration camps
and Sam Fried, the honoree of the 2008 Ride to Remember in Nebraska and
the founder of the Heartland Holocaust Educational Fund in that state.
The 2009 R2R closed with a
wonderful buffet on a Savannah riverboat cruise with entertainment
provided by Harvey Atkin who did about 40
minutes of some really funny standup. Most importantly, despite the poor
economy, the 2009 R2R enjoyed 215 attendees who through their collective
efforts, raised $57,000 for the Holocaust
Research and Lending Library in Savannah and The Remember Project in
Charleston.
Links:
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R2R 2008 - Ride to
Remember to Omaha, Nebraska. 5/22/2008 - 5/25/2008
Sixty two years ago, as Allied armies charged across Europe administering
the final blow to Adolph Hitler’s third Reich, the world learned that the
unimaginable had occurred - that millions of innocent people had been
slaughtered in Nazi concentration camps. Six Million men, women, and
children of the Jewish faith along with millions of other innocent people
were murdered in one of the worst genocides in the history of humankind.
The shocking implications of the mass murder of such a large number of
people are nearly impossible to grasp.
Each lost individual represents a mother, a father, a brother, a sister,
a child, and the loss of unknown intellectual potential - scientists,
doctors, lawyers, farmers, teachers and… The Holocaust must serve as a
horrific example that people of goodwill must face unpleasant truths and
oppose anti-Semitism, racism and bigotry wherever it surfaces. It is
incumbent upon us to remember the lessons of history. We as Jews cannot
grow complacent - comforted by the passing of time or the security of
affluence and distance.
The Holocaust is not only about the past, it is about the current
inflamed world where prejudice and radicalism threatens to destroy
freedom-loving people. In today’s world, intolerance flourishes; human
rights are too often denied; and genocide is met with ineffective
opposition and/or apathy. We as Jews must recognize the moral imperative
of teaching young people about the defining moments of the Holocaust and
the central importance of passing these lessons on to future generations.
The NHEF’S goal is to fund Holocaust education courses at Universities
and Colleges in the State of Nebraska and beyond. The endowment is
currently funding Holocaust education courses at the following Universities:
University of Nebraska at Omaha University of Nebraska at Lincoln
Creighton University Omaha Nebraska University of Nebraska at Kearney
Wayne State College With your support, we can make an important
difference in the lives of our future leaders as they gain greater
understanding of the lingering and serious impact of the Holocaust.
Together, the JMA and the National Holocaust Endowment Fund will work to
ensure a future filled with the promise of equality for people of all
backgrounds. This is an opportunity of a lifetime and we hope you join us
in remembering our past and celebrating our future. Please join us May 22
in honoring the NHEF and its founders, Sam and Frances Fried. The JMA
hopes that as many people as possible can attend this exciting and
meaningful event. We look forward to meeting you in Omaha Nebraska!
Links:
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R2R 2007 - Ride to
Remember to NYC. 5/2/2007 - 5/6/2007
 
Why New York City? With
approximately 1.4 million Jews living and working in the metropolitan
area of New York City, it has the largest Jewish population outside of
Tel Aviv. As well, the Jewish Motorcyclists Alliance (JMA) feels that we
will have the greatest impact by holding the 2007 Ride to Remember (R2R)
in the city that is the gateway to the United States and the media
capital of the world: New York City!
The JMA feels its imperative for us to show our
solidarity with Israel. It is also the responsibility of the Jewish
people Worldwide to show the rest of the world, that we will Never Again
allow another Holocaust. Therefore, the theme for this year’s ride will
be "Remembering the 6 million lost and honoring the 6 million living
in Israel." Accordingly, we are calling the 2007 R2R the “6 and 6
R2R.”
We have many exciting events planned for New York and the surrounding
area as noted in our itinerary; from visiting the Museum of Jewish
Heritage and Ellis Island to riding in the Israel Day Parade. You will
also have some time to explore the great city of New York and its many
boroughs; maybe take time to visit Crown Heights or take in that Broadway
show you have always wanted to see, or visit old friends and make new
ones. This is an opportunity of a lifetime and we hope you join us in
remembering our past and celebrating our future.
We have selected the Magen David Adom as the focus of our charity efforts this year. Magen David Adom (donation
Letter) (MDA) and its team of trained volunteer and professional medical
responders provide the entire nation's pre-hospital emergency medical
needs, including disaster, ambulance and blood services.
As noted above, the JMA hopes that as many members as possible can attend
this exciting event and we look forward to meeting you in NEW YORK!
Links:
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R2R 2006 - Paper Clip
Ride to Remember to Whitwell, Tennessee. 5/5/2006
 On May 5, 2006, members of the
Jewish Motorcycle Alliance visited the Whitwell Middle School’s
“Children’s Holocaust Memorial” in Whitwell, Tennessee.
The genesis of this remarkable
memorial was the desire expressed by the school’s administration and
staff to teach cultural diversity to students in a community that is
almost exclusively white and Christian. In 1998, the students of the
Whitwell Middle School began to study The Holocaust. They decided to
collect six million paper clips in an effort to understand the enormity
of the genocide of the six million Jewish victims. This endeavor touched
a chord amongst Holocaust survivors, their families and even world
leaders and celebrities. The project eventually expanded to involve the
entire town of 1600 and reached out to some 19 countries and 49 states.
The JMA decided that we would ride
to Whitwell, TN in memory of the Jews who perished in the Holocaust and
to honor the students and staff of the Whitwell School for their
remarkable efforts. The JMA felt that The Whitwell Middle School was an
appropriate venue in that the paper clip memorial at the school
represents many thousands of Jewish victims who otherwise would not have
a memorial. As well, in an era of increasing anti-Semitism and Holocaust
denial, we felt that the Jewish Community had a responsibility to
recognize the remarkable mitzvah that the school has created--in a most
unlikely place. The school has taken the responsibility to teach its
students (and the community beyond) about intolerance, thus fulfilling
what must be considered a major component of an educational institution’s
mandate.
We wanted to “give back” something
to the school. The then principal of the school, Linda Hooper, told us
that the school would like to purchase an electronic teaching aid called
a Promethean Board. The co-chairs of the ride, Steve Stein and Sid Rochwerg told Linda in one of their preliminary
conversations that they would guarantee them a Promethean Board as they
felt confident that the funds could be raised. In the end, the JMA was
able to provide the school with 10 Promethean Boards! As well, the
Promethean Corp. was so impressed with our efforts that they donated
another board to the school.
On the morning of May 5, 2006, the
JMA congregated at the Jewish Community Federation of Greater
Chattanooga. After several poignant speeches and a touching poem read by
local Judge Moon, we saddled up for 45 minute ride over a mountain road
to the hamlet of Whitwell. We were greeted by cheering students ushering
our riders into the school parking lot. As we walked into the gym we
heard rising roar of exuberant, exited students and staff that welcomed
the JMA to the school. We spent several touching hours, many of us with
tears in our eyes, touring the school’s Holocaust Memorial and
interacting with the students and staff.
There was no doubt in anyone’s mind
that this was truly a Ride to Remember.
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R2R 2005 - The first
Ride to Remember. more description needed
The
brochure
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