Warrior Ride keeps memory of Preston Marine alive
May 24—PRESTON — This year's Warrior Ride will take off from Two Good Park in Preston on Sept. 7 for its 13th year in memory of Marine Cpl. Zach Reiff.
"It keeps him fresh in everybody's mind and what he's actually done," Zach's father Matt Reiff said of the event. "It keeps him alive."
Zach, from Preston, enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corp in December 2008. He was stationed at Camp Pendleton and Twenty-Nine Palms near San Diego, California, for basic training and infantry school.
His first deployment to Afghanistan was in March 2010. Four months later, Zach was injured by an improvised explosive device, or IED,
He recovered and volunteered for another deployment in September 2011 where he again incurred wounds from an IED on Nov. 18, 2011. Zach died on Nov. 21, 2011, at the age of 22 in a hospital in Germany as a result of the injuries.
Josh Giddings, of Preston, had for years been a friend of the Reiff family and, having served in the U.S. Marine Corps himself from 2000 to 2006, acted as a mentor for Zach.
After Zach'a death, Giddings in 2012 organized the first ride of, he said, 30 to 40 motorcycles at most.
In the years following, the ride grew to now averaging up to 300 motorcycles plus up to 70 vehicles that follow.
All of the proceeds from the ride have for several years gone to Cedar Rapids nonprofit Definitely Dogs and helping local disabled military veterans pay the cost of service dogs through the organization.
"A lot of people don't realize what actually goes on in the background when these guys come back from service," Matt said. "The PTSD, the sacrifices they do, the stuff they've seen over there... So Definitely Dogs kind of really helps these guys transition back and get some sense of normalcy again, so I think it's a good thing."
This year, sign-up starts at 10 a.m. in the park on the day of the ride. A $25 donation at that time will buy a ride T-shirt and meal ticket for a hog roast at the end of the ride.
Near a memorial for Zach in Two Good Park, riders are asked to gather for the national anthem played through speakers before the ride takes off at 11:30 a.m. sharp.
The first stop will be at the Harley Davidson store on Lincoln Way. About an hour and a half will be spent there with food available from Brett Stalker's "The Boar's Nest" food truck and alcohol provided by Bonnie's Scenic Tavern.
Riders will then be escorted by local law enforcement through Clinton to the north bridge where they will cross over the Mississippi River into Fulton, Illinois, and through the "Cops & Rodders" car show simultaneously being held on Fourth Street on the date of the ride.
From there, the route goes to Poopy's in Savanna, Illinois, where an hour will be spent, and an escort will lead them back over the river into Iowa where they'll stop at The Homeport in Sabula.
The ride then ends at Downtown Pub in Preston.
Placing an emphasis on safety, Giddings doesn't allow any reckless driving during the event.
"I tell people to ride where you feel comfortable," he says, "either ride up on the front or you go to the back. If you're comfortable riding in the middle, ride in the middle."
With the hog roast at the end of the ride is also a live auction handled by Loras and Pam Frost, of Delmar.
Raffle tickets for firearms are to be available for purchase all day during the ride as well.
For more information and updates about the ride, visit www.facebook.com/WarriorMemorialRide
For more information about Definitely Dogs, visit their website at www.DefinitelyDogs.org
