What a fantastic time we all had in sunny Charlotte, NC at the 149th Imperial Session. The team arrived one day early to unload the motorcycles at the ZMax Dragway where the competition and parade were held. The bikes looked great for their age and performed well; so did the riders!

The week spent together flew by, many restaurants, cigar bars and hospitality rooms were visited by all members while making lots of new friends for next year’s Imperial Session in Reno, NV. Everyone enjoyed the team dinner at Roosters Restaurant with a delicious menu served family style.

Along with the fun and camaraderie, there was lots of work, too. Competition on Saturday morning started at sunrise with our standard competition procedures: cleaning the bikes, lining the bikes up for inspection, checking uniforms and straightening fezzes. Although we did not take first place, we came in second to a seasoned team of riders from Medinah Shrine in Chicago. Aleppo’s team managed to bring home three second place awards for Team Slow Ride, Team Obstacle Course and Drill and Inspection. Our one first place award went to David Veo for the IASMC fastest man on the obstacle course. After the competition, the team made their annual pilgrimage to a local Waffle House before riding back to the hotel.

This trip to the Imperial was made especially noteworthy as we had both the Past Grand Master of Massachusetts, Harvey Waugh, and the current Grand Master of Massachusetts, George Hamilton and his Lady Theresa, enjoying the festivities with Aleppo.

The Cycle Team is extremely grateful to the “star” of the transportation team, Ernie Dever, for safely getting our cycles and gear to competition. From the moment we loaded the bikes onto the trailer, Ernie became part of our Team. He was stuck with us for the week, transporting us in the van to and from hotels and the ZMax, and was super helpful all around. Thank you Mr. Dever!

Congratulations to the Competition Team: Al Popoloski, Thor Agustsson, Dave Ianelli, Ron Morse, Larry Salate, and David Veo who were all supported by the rest of the Cycle members at the Imperial: Bob Baker, Bob Brown, Mike Broomfield, Rod Kreimeyer and Henry Richard all cheered on by Laura Veo, Ilene Wolfman and Colleen Agustsson with her children.

A special thank you to Illustrious Charlie Diminico and Lady Josephine for planning a wonderful Imperial for Aleppo.