PUT Eve

Luggage tags are finished, bikes are built (mostly), refrigerator truck is stocked with water and sports drinks, food truck is full of fig newtons, Dennis is studying the thesaurus for tomorrow's 'word of the day' and the speaker is mounted on his motor...it must be the night before the PUT.

Although only 116 police officers were killed in the line of duty in 2009, 15 of them were killed in multiple-fatality incidents. 4 in Oakland, 3 in Pittsburgh, 2 in Okaloosa County Florida, 2 in Seminole County Oklahoma and 4 in Lakewood Washington. This year's PUT has a different feel because of these tragedies. Everywhere I turn, I see an Oakland patch or shirt remembering Daniel Sakai, Ervin Romans, Mark Dunakin and John Hege. Oakland has sent 50+ Officers to ride, both bikes and motors to honor them. The motors pictured above are only some of the ones shipped out by Oakland. Pittsburgh PD has one rider each to remember Stephen Mayhle, Paul Scioullo II and Eric Kelly. Lakewood PD has one rider each to remember Tina Griswold, Ronald Owens II, Mark Renninger and Gregory Richards.

It's time to ride for those who died.