Trenton Fire Department Honors Late Comrade with Charity Motorcycle Ride

The late Andy Ross was an avid biker, so it is only fitting that his colleagues at the have honored his memory for the past decade with the Andy Ross Charity Motorcycle Ride.

“Andy was on my shift,” says Trenton Fire Chief Bruce Vick. “He was new to the game when he started and wasn’t from around here, but he was just a great guy. Very talented. And he loved riding his motorcycle.”

The 11th annual iteration of the event will be held this year at noon on Saturday, June 18, at in Trenton. The route will take riders 45 miles out to the Milan Dragway, and then take the scenic route back via the area’s Metroparks.

“We are the only group that is allowed to parade through the parks,” adds Chief Vick.

This ride, like every year, will be accompanied by a police escort using bike patrols from other cities that are willing to assist.

“We started just using Wayne County sheriffs because of their experience handling the President,” Vick said. “But they told us about other patrols, like Inkster and Wyandotte, who wanted to help, so now they are involved.”

Even in a rough economy, the ride is still going strong. While a far cry from the 800 riders that made up the largest and longest (six miles) turn out ever for this event, they still hope to get more than 500 bikes signed up, with all proceeds benefiting Trenton Fire Fighter’s Charities.

To register for the ride, visit www.andyrossrun.org. The cost is $40 for individual riders and $65 with a passenger.