Iwakuni Motorcycle Club

The Iwakuni Motorcycle Club and a few Japanese National Police took part in a safety Motorcycle Rodeo. The purpose for the rodeo is to encourage safer riding. Cooperation between the Japanese Government, Iwakuni Motorcycle Club, and Installation Safety was needed for this event. Everyone had a great time and might have learned a little. Thanks to all who assisted with this event, and all those who participated. If you check the link under photos you will find many more pictures from the Motorcycle Rodeo. Click here to go to the pictures!

The proceeds from the 6th annual Oshima Camp Meeting allowed the club to make city donations to Suo-Oshima Town and Iwakuni City. Several members of the club accompanied the club president, Mike Gingles, to the city halls. This gift was presented to the Mayors of each location. This even was covered by several television and newspaper reporters in Japan, also locally with A.F.N. Thank you to all who volunteered and came to the Oshima Camp Meeting, without you this would not have been possible.
（第6回大島キャンプミーティングの収益金で周防大島町，岩国市に寄付をさせていただくことができました。会長のマイクジングルスと何人かのメンバーで周防大島町役場，岩国市役所を訪問し，町長，市長に寄付してまいりました。この様子はテレビ局，新聞社，基地内放送局のAFNの取材を受けています。大島キャンプミーティングに参加していただいた皆様，スタッフとしてして働いてくださったボランティアのおかげと改めて感謝しております。）

Iwakuni Motorcycle Club members ready to donate proceeds from Oshima Camp Meeting to city officials in Suo-Oshima Town and Iwakuni City
（何台かのバイク，車で行ってきました）

 
Suo-Oshima Town Mayor Takumi Shiiki and Suo-Oshima Town Vice Mayor Haruo Okamura with Iwakuni Motorcycle Club president and members at Town Hall in Suo-Oshima
（椎木　巧　周防大島町長，岡村春雄　同副町長とIMC代表マイク，クラブメンバー）

*Donation of ¥200,000 to Iwakuni CIty
(岩国市へ20万円の寄付）

Iwakuni City Mayor Yoshihiko Fukuda and Iwakuni Motorcycle Club President Mike Gingles and  Club members
（福田良彦岩国市長とIMC代表マイク，クラブメンバー）

Friends and guest from Friendship Day 2009,

I would like to thank everyone who attended Friendship Day 2009. This year we had over 2,000 motorcycles from all over Japan making it our largest ever here at MCAS Iwakuni. There where bikes and riders from all over Japan in which I took the time to look at each and every bike that came. As a founding member for the Friendship Day Bike Meet you do not know how happy it makes me to see how the event has grown since starting Friendship Day 1992. For the first event we had six motorcycles and it was the six Americans who started the event. This year there were bikes old and new which shows people how much the bikes have changed over the years. For some of us older people it brings back memories from the past. This is was great. There were about 500 bikes that weren’t able to attend the Thunder Run and I am very sorry for this. Please understand that our staff is very small and is responsible for escorting bikes to the parking area, making sure everyone is ready for thunder run, and escorting the thunder run event. This being said and the number of bikes we had it was very difficult to keep the bikes rolling with no gaps. There were a couple of groups that wanted to pull over to the side of the road and wait for their friends to catch up causing a gap of about 250 meters between riders and the rider that was bringing up the end at the gate wasn’t able to see these riders. They thought that was the end of the bikes and he left to be bring up the end of the ride. After he left I looked down the street and saw the bikes coming and it was too late to get them out on the runway. I was told by the military policy to turn the bikes back in which was a hard thing for me to do as a rider and knowing that many of you came mainly for this event. There were several things that went wrong with Thunder Run and I as the president of the Iwakuni Motorcycle Club take responsibility for this. I will do my best to ensure we do not have the same problems next thunder run. I know that many riders traveled long distances to ride on the runway and were turned around at the gate. This also included some of our staff. My deepest apology goes out to each and everyone for this. With the event time line set, we didn’t have enough time to get the rest of the bikes out to the runway and back prior to the next event. With 2,000 bikes and a short time line this takes us all working as a team to make the event happen and we ran out of time. At our next meeting this will be one of our topics for improvement

第7回ローリングサンダー(2009.5.5 岩国基地フレンドシップデイ)
Check In from Monzen Gate (same as last year)
Gate Open:6:00-9:00
昨年同様，門前ゲートからの入場になります。
9：00までに入門手続きを済ませてください。(念のため，免許証，車検証持参で）
変更の可能性もありますので，更新情報をチェックしてください。
(重要)基地内での交通ルールを守っていただけない方の入場は固くお断りします。
違反者が出た場合は中止もありえます。サンダーラン継続のためには，皆様のご理解，ご協力が必要です。詳細はこちら 

36^th Annual Friendship Day’s Thunder Run Entrance to the base for motorcycles begins at the Monzen Gate at 0600 – 0900. Members of the Iwakuni Motorcycle Club will be at the gate to escort you to staging area and parking. All participants of the thunder run need to be on base and staged by 0900. Please remember traffic will be heavy, ride safe. Rules of MCAS Iwakuni are enforced. No knives, clubs, gun, replica gun, or weapon or replica weapon will be allowed on base and could get individual escorted off the base. Please remember to bring safety required gear for riding on the air station.