 But what started as a small grassroots effort to support our troops has now grown into a strong 13-year tradition. Josh Peterson shows us how the ride for the troops continues to draw a crowd. For a day that was comparable to early October, the rumble of the clouds did not keep the rumble of hundreds of motorcycles away from gathering for a good cause. The 13th annual ride for the troops is a 134-mile ride that rallies support from our communities for our veterans. It gets us involved as a community and it shows support for the development of veterans. A lot of the riders here are veterans. It's veterans helping veterans. That's what we do. But it's getting the community involved has been the most fun. Row after row after row. The drivers of these bikes were not only proud bikers, but proud veterans who are looking to pay it forward as well. Seeing all of our veterans coming together, these riders, most are vets and most are not. They just love the ride, but they'll step it up for the cause. It's a certain camaraderie amongst all these bikers. The diversity of the motorcycles you see and the people is what's coming together. The ride draws many motorcycle clubs and groups to the event, a chance to network and share a common bond. Getting on seeing the scenery, seeing how many bikes show up. A lot of the fun is walking through the crowd looking at the other bikes and seeing what people have done to customize and modify their bikes. Just meeting all the other bikers and talking to them. Some people we haven't seen for a year so it's nice to come back and see them again and it's just a good time. While the ride was held throughout the day on Sunday, despite gusty winds and rainy conditions, the ride was yet another success. You can just look around here at the number of bikes it is showing up and it is big. People look forward to it over here and you see people come back here or they get a chance to meet friends that they haven't seen for a year because they'll come from quite a large area. In Bemidji, Josh Peterson, Lakeland News. For a link on how you can contribute to the ride for troops, you can visit our website at lptv.org slash news. If you enjoyed this segment of Lakeland News, please consider making a tax-deductible contribution to Lakeland PBS.