Braydens' Battle for Sight
Braydens' Battle for Sight. A great run for an even greater cause.
I enjoy riding but I enjoy it much more when I am riding with a group in support of a worthwhile cause. On July 19th I rode over to the American Legion Post 574 in Hudson Falls, NY to participate in their annual “Braydens Battle for Sight Run”.
Brayden is a 17 month old infant that suffers from Optic Nerve Hypoplasia, a condition that is caused when the optic nerve is not fully developed. There is no treatment available for this condition in the United States but it is available in China. The funds from this run and associated activities are to be used to help Braydens’ family afford this expensive treatment. Braydens’ dad is a U.S Army Staff Sergeant and will be deploying to Iraq again in the near future and his family has earned and deserves our support.
Upon arrival at Post 574 I was directed to the registration area and registration was 
quick and painless. After registration it was out to the pavilion for some hot coffee and donuts provided by Post 574.
Free coffee and donuts, I like this ride already!
We departed Post 574 with a bike count of 124 and rode north on Ridge Road, crossed Rte. 149, rode down the east side of Lake George, connected to Route 9N and headed towards Luzerne. The first refreshment stop was at the American Legion Post 862 in Luzerne. Upon departing Post 862 (with 127 bikes) we proceeded through Hadley and rode down the east side of Sacandaga Lake to Broadalbin where we made a refreshment stop at American Legion Post 337. The ride then skirted Saratoga, went through Fort Edward and returned to Post 574. This ride was extremely well organized. The ride progressed through three counties and there were uniformed Police at every major intersection. The effort required to coordinate this must have been extensive. The ride was also well managed and very well paced and was a pleasure to participate in. Sue Ostrander and her event team are to be congratulated on the truly remarkable job they did in organizing and conducting this ride.
Upon our arrival at Post 574 the guest of honor was there. It was moving to drive into the Post and see Braydens’ family standing there with Brayden and holding signs saying “Thank You”. The members of American Legion Post 574 Riders Group were already cooking and everyone lined up to grab some grub. The beer on tap was ice cold as were the sodas. The camaraderie and brotherhood was evident as people sat together, ate and had a well deserved good time. There were plenty of additional opportunities to help Braydens’ cause in the form of T-shirt sales, 50/50 drawings and merchandise 
purchases. The Jury and The Wild Dogs (both are Hudson Falls based organizations) each made a club contribution to Braydens’ cause and they should be acknowledged and congratulated for their contributions. I would also like to acknowledge Rob and Wendy, the owners of ARCA Ink. They are members of the Post 574 Riders Group and although I do not know this to be a fact, I am betting that the profit they made printing the T-shirts for this event was somewhere around zero.
The following organizations were in attendance. We did our best to try and record every organization that we saw. If we missed yours, please accept our apologies.
- · American Legion Post 574 Riders Group – Hudson Falls (DUH)
- · True Order – Hudson Falls
- · American Legion Post 490 Riders Group – Stillwater
- · Hootch Hogs – South Glens Falls
- · The Jury – Hudson Falls
- · Wild Dogs – Hudson Falls
- · American Legion Post 337 Riders Group – Broadalbin
- · American Legion Post 1231 Riders Group – Clinton Heights
- · Crazy Train Riders - Corinth
I really enjoyed this day. Besides the great ride and the great food, I was able to meet some of our subscribers that I had not met before. It is always nice to introduce myself and have someone say that they are a subscriber and enjoy the content of the magazine. I had the pleasure of meeting Lady Bug and Moon Goddess who are members of the Crazy Train Riders based in Corinth. Lady Bug stated that she has been putting together an article to submit to the magazine for some time now but keeps re-writing it. Our suggestion to Lady Bug is to send it to us ASAP. After that many re-writes is has to be better than the stuff we put out.
Michelle is Braydens' mom. She graciously offered some of her time for an interview and I want to thank her for that. Like any mom, she wants what is best for her child and she has the added burden of a husband that is going to be deployed soon. After talking to her I know that she has the strength of character and the will to succeed which will get her through these times. I hope that the number of bikes and riders that participated in this event is evidence to her that she is not in this fight alone.
I would also like to take this time to personally thank the American Legion Post 574 Riders Group for allowing us the privilege of covering this event.
This is an annual event and I would encourage each and every subscriber to participate in this event next year. The cause is just, the ride is excellent and you just cannot beat the feeling that you accomplished some real good while having a great time.
See you next year at American Legion Post 574 for the next “Braydens Battle for Sight Run”. Lets shoot for a two hundred bike count next year.
To follow Breydens' progress or to make a dontation, please visit Braydens' Facebook Page.
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