





Thousands of bikes now leaving Fairfax City. Keep it with @WTOP for the story and the impact on major highways pic.twitter.com/kDX89TNnAr
— John Domen (@JDDsays) May 27, 2018
The parade and Patriot Ride has left Fairfax and is headed to the Pentagon. More today @WTOP pic.twitter.com/74gT6LaRUU
— John Domen (@JDDsays) May 27, 2018



It’s a sea of motorcycles here at the Pentagon @WTOP #MemorialDayWeekend #RollingThunder pic.twitter.com/eiE0Fj8MNC
— Melissa Howell (@Mhowell003) May 27, 2018
It’s a sea of motorcycles here at the Pentagon @WTOP #MemorialDayWeekend #RollingThunder pic.twitter.com/eiE0Fj8MNC
— Melissa Howell (@Mhowell003) May 27, 2018It’s a sea of motorcycles here at the Pentagon @WTOP #MemorialDayWeekend #RollingThunder pic.twitter.com/eiE0Fj8MNC
— Melissa Howell (@Mhowell003) May 27, 2018
Rolling Thunder Event for #MemorialDay hundreds of vets and motorcyclists @WTOP pic.twitter.com/rDNFtFf8IC
— Melissa Howell (@Mhowell003) May 27, 2018#RollingThunder is on the move! Around 9 am, eastbound I-66 will be closed temporarily between Nutley St and Route 29 so almost 4000 bikes can make their way towards Washington, DC. pic.twitter.com/hq5Z1d0CyL
— Fairfax County Police (@FairfaxCountyPD) May 27, 2018


Dale City: A motorcycle convoy with @PWCPolice escort will travel today between 8AM and 10AM on Minnieville Rd, Cardinal Dr, Benita Fitzgerald Dr and Dale Blvd to I-95.
— VDOT Northern VA (@VaDOTNOVA) May 27, 2018
TRAFFIC ALERT: @ArlingtonVaPD & @VSPPIO will close part of Washington Boulevard near the Pentagon today for the #RollingThunder motorcycle rally. https://t.co/2yuuAjNTz9
— ArlingtonVA (@ArlingtonVA) May 27, 2018































WASHINGTON — Motorcyclists from the across the nation are in the District for the 31st annual Rolling Thunder Ride for Freedom.
Many more bikers will be coming in from across the D.C. area in convoys to pay tribute to military veterans and remember those who gave their lives in service.
The group is set to ride from the Pentagon to the National Mall at noon Sunday but bikers heading to the event could cause some delays on roadways as most major roads will see convoys of motorcycles heading to the event.
Rolling Thunder was established in 1987 to call attention to any prisoners of war or those listed as missing in action. Riders said they are also committed to helping U.S. veterans from all wars.
“This is beyond belief,” said Ken Rudder, a Navy veteran from Rhode Island. “All the people here are vets or honoring vets.”
Rudder has been riding for years, but this was his first time at Rolling Thunder.
By 9 a.m. on Sunday, the Pentagon was a sea of motorcycles. Rows of bikes were lined up as early as Saturday afternoon in the shadow of the Lincoln Memorial, while other riders toured the sites rumbling down Constitution Avenue and around Capitol Hill.
“It’s a very heartwarming, intense feeling because I’m a veteran of Desert Storm … When we come together as riders, we are family, no matter what’s on your back, no matter what you’re riding,” said Tina Flood, an Army veteran from Waynesboro, Pennsylvania.
Many of the bikes fly American flags or the black and white POW/MIA flag, which features the silhouette of a bowed head and the words, “You Are Not Forgotten.”
“This is a tribute to all the fighting men and women of the United States, the sacrifices they made, and it’s to honor them,” said John Santillo of Vernon, New Jersey.
WTOP’s Patrick Roth contributed to this report.