CC Biker & motorsports
vol 6 issue 7
Please tell’em CC Biker and Motorsports Sent Ya
september 2021
page 1
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RICHIE’S RISE: MOTO-THERAPY AND THE HEALING
POWER OF THE VETERANS CHARITY RIDE
though when an IED exploded under his Humvee in 2005 leaving Neider with a wrecked spine and hearing loss. The E-5 Sgt. was “Medically Honorably Discharged” two years later but the spinal injuries continued to haunt him and he ultimately lost the ability to walk. A tsunami of emotions followed, the pangs of PTSD inflamed by the loss of his legs. In 2011, he thought he’d ridden a motorcycle for the very last time.
by Bryan Harley | Aug 20, 2021 For Russ Brown Motorcycle Attorneys Richie Neider stood out in the room, not because of his wheelchair but because he was the quietest. It was the first time participants of the 2017 Veterans Charity Ride to Sturgis had gotten together so you couldn’t blame a guy for feeling a little uneasy in a room full of strangers. As everyone introduced themselves and conversations started springing up, Richie’s steely reserves slowly began to chip away. Before the night was over, a small fire had been ignited in Richie’s eyes, a cinder sparked by the thought of embarking on a cross-country journey to the Sturgis motorcycle rally with a posse of wounded veterans.
Then came the game-changing trip to Sturgis with the Veterans Charity Ride. One morning at camp the vets got Richie on a special Indian Scout, one outfitted with hand controls and a Champion sidecar, and he got to experience the thrill of riding again. Don’t think that smile has left his face since.
Each day spent on the road in a Champion sidecar, the sun warming his face, wind rustling his hair, Richie’s wry sense of humor and magnetic personality began to rise. He and fellow VCR member Robert “Doc” Pinkham, who piloted the Indian Chieftain Richie’s sidecar was attached to, became fast friends.
No sooner had Richie returned home to Arizona from the 2017 Veterans Charity Ride than the proverbial wheels were spinning. Turns out the shop that built the red Indian Scout he’d ridden in Sturgis wasn’t far from his home, so Richie approached Azzkikr Customs’ John Meade about building his own. He scored a 2018 Indian Scout Bobber from Double D’s Performance in Scottsdale along with an Avenger sidecar. As word about his ambitious project spread, so did part donations from top companies like wheel maker RC Components and Bassani Exhaust.
“At pit stops, he’d grab my wheelchair for me, either the one set up for off-road use or the one for on-road. Doc would always say, ‘Which of your two chairs do you want?’ He got to a point where he was like, I need to give you a nickname, and I’ve been Richie “Two-Chairs” to my VCR buddies since.” Nothing brings people together like sharing the open road, and over the next nine days, the veterans forged through blazing triple-digit heat in the Mojave Desert witnessed the breathtaking beauty of Zion and Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument collectively before blazing a trail over the Colorado Rockies. Flag-waving families lined Main streets in small-town parades at the end of long days, honoring the roving band of heroes as
the troupe traveled across the western states. By the time they reached Main Street Sturgis, the quiet, reserved fellow from that first day was gone, the road-tested Richie rejuvenated with a new zeal for life. This confidence led to the desire to ride a motorcycle once again. Richie loved to ride so much that
“Richie worked with me basically, I’m going to say for the last six months, full-time. If I was at the shop, Richie was at the shop,” said Meade.
at age seven he’d already built Richie became known as a his own mini-bike with a Briggs & hang-around at Azzikr as the Stratton motor. project came together. Neider “After that, I just kept getting into set up his Scout Bobber much bigger and bigger stuff and got like the original, the rear and into street bikes.” sidecar brakes controlled by the He plunked down the money for a Honda CBR600 and said “the Richie’s Rise rest is history.” This all changed Continued on page 2