Rolling Thunder 2013 - This Memorial Day Weekend Saw Half A Million Riders in D.C.

Rolling Thunder's inception dates back to 1988. It was conceived as a way to honour those service personnel that were "abandoned" after the Vietnam war by providing a very visible (and loud) display of support. The ride starts at the Pentagon before crossing the Potomac, looping around the Mall before ending back at the Lincoln Memorial.

This past Memorial Day Monday, May 27th, 2013 saw an estimated 500,000 riders participate! It's a sight that will certainly make it's message known.

The event commenced on the Friday evening with a candlelight vigil at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.

On the Saturday morning, the (in)famous Thunder Alley opened. Thunder Alley is the commercial aspect of the weekend, but remains somewhat restrained. Most of the offerings are for food, as well as memorabilia for the event. It's also the location for the tribute bikes that were first displayed at last year's 25th anniversary event.

Jay Allen created the Army Tribute bike and acted as the driver for recruiting each of the other tributes.

The Navy Bike was contributed by Dar Holdsworth of Darwin Motorcycles. Part of the bike was even made from parts from the retiring USS Enterprise.

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The Marine bike was built by Bridgitte Bourget of Bourget bike works.

The Air force tribute bike was built by Billy Lane, a convicted felon working out of Avon Correctional in Florida.

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The Coast Guard bike is perhaps the least obvious of the tributes and tends to attract little attention, however it certainly deserve it's place among it's peers!

On Sunday, events begin in earnest with a 6 AM Reveille wake-up call in the Pentagon parking lots, where riders assemble for the noon departure of the First Amendment demonstration run, concluding in the Mall.

On Monday, most riders continue to stay in town for the long- standing Memorial Day observations.

Riders come from all over the country to take part, all types of motorcycles are represented, but American V-Twins dominate. It's an unabashed display of U.S. pride and Rolling Thunder certainly lives up to it's name as seen in the video below.

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Veterans Roar On!

All in all, Rolling Thunder achieves it's aim of raising awareness for American veterans past and present. It's hard not to pay attention with so many loud pipes in one place!

The annual event is a testament to the great organizers; festivities typically runs without any incident, while at the same time bring a significant economic boost to the Capital every year.