Arizona First Responder and Military Memorial Motorcycle Rides
“Bravery and our debt to the heroic men and valiant women in the service to our country can never be repaid. they have earned our undying gratitude, America will never forget their sacrifice.” President Harry Truman
Our rides cover a wide range of terrains, including city traffic, mountain roads, rural highways, and freeways, often in unpredictable weather conditions. These environments demand a higher level of skill, experience, and confidence, along with reliable equipment. If your vehicle, expertise, or comfort level does not meet these challenges, we strongly advise opting for a full-sized vehicle instead. Prioritizing safety is essential for all participants. Please consider your own riding experience and capabilities as well as your vehicle’s abilities to keep pace with the group. Passenger cars are just as welcome to join us on the rides as motorcycles.
We recommend riders start hydrating days ahead of the ride and carry appropriate hydration with them during the ride as the weather this time of year can still be quite warm. Each participant is responsible for their own actions and abilities.
Once you sign up and pay the low registration fees for one ride you can ride in all three rides and enjoy all three barbecues.
STARTING LOCATIONS, STARTING TIMES, RUN ROUTES, and BARBECUE LOCATION(S) MAY CHANGE WITHOUT NOTICE. if changes occur, we will provide the changes on our social media pages, this website and via email.
In the past, we’ve spent a significant amount of money guessing at the number of Memorial Ride shirts needed. To address this issue, we are implementing a strict policy: only registered riders who sign up prior to August 1st for the Memorial Rides will receive a shirt.
This cut-off date is essential because our shirt vendor requires sufficient time to produce and deliver our shirts. We need time to fold them, bag them and separate them by location. We need additional time to distribute them to the various Road Captains throughout the state. By adhering to this policy, we can ensure a more efficient and cost-effective process.
Our Annual First Responder Memorial Motorcycle Runs consists of motorcycle rides throughout Arizona on the second Saturday of September in Northern Arizona, the first Saturday of October in Southern Arizona, and the first Saturday of November in Central Arizona. We conclude each run with a memorial ceremony at the barbecues for those First Responders and Military Personnel who made the ultimate sacrifice while protecting the citizens of Arizona and our country.
Our 2025 runs will occur on September 13th in Northern Arizona; October 4th in Southern Arizona and on November 1st in Central Arizona.
Our definition of a First Responder is somewhat different than most. We define a First Responder as all local, county, state and federal law enforcement to include corrections and probation officers; firefighters, either governmental or private emergency medical personnel, and military personnel.
We realize there is an Arizona and National Memorial for fallen First Responders; however, our goals are quite different. We strive to build on the camaraderie between agencies, pay it forward by raising money for charities who support First Responders, the families of First Responders who are seriously injured or killed in the line of duty, and to never allow our fallen or their survivors be forgotten.
We encourage all agencies, either governmental or privately owned companies who have had a line of duty death to develop their own routes, hold their own memorial ceremonies on the day of our runs, then meet us at a designated meeting locations, and enjoy the barbecues we host. All we ask is that you register with us and support our chosen charity.
The Arizona Fallen Hero Memorial Riders reserves the right to refuse entry to any of our events to anyone at our discretion and without details or reason.
We recommend riders start hydrating days ahead of the ride and carry appropriate hydration with them during the rides.
NORTHERN ARIZONA RUN
Kingman Run
This year for the AZFHMR Kingman route we will be taking Historic Route 66. Starting at Mohave County Sheriff’s Office and then paying our respects at Kingman Firefighter’s Memorial Park. We will take Route 66 out of Kingman through the iconic Peach Springs, Seligman, Williams, and the Northern hidden gem of Valle. Rides will head south on US-180 through the cool tall pines to meet up with the rest of the rides in Flagstaff.
This is our most popular ride in Northern Arizona. The ride takes riders through Jerome, Cottonwood, Cornville, Village of Oak Creek, Sedona to Flagstaff. This route is approximately 125 miles and will take most of the day with stops.
Show Low (Formerly Pinetop/Lakeside Route)
The Show Low Memorial Ride will start at the Navajo County Peace Officer Memorial adjacent to the Show Low City Hall, 180 N. 9th Street.
The Navajo County Peace Officer Memorial reflects Officers killed in the line of duty in the White Mountain and surrounding areas. We will speak about these officers and some of their stories as time allows. This starting point does a good job of representing those lost in the area and allows us to shorten this ride from years past with greater safety. An additional memorial for the military is immediately next to the Peace Officers’ memorial where all five military branches are recognized. We will honor all of those at these memorials with kickstands up shortly thereafter. The ride will take us east out of town to Concho Valley where we will visit a memorial. This route is approximately 172 miles and will take most of the day.
Once all riders have arrived at our designated location, Oregano’s Pizza Bistro, 1061 South Plaza Way in Flagstaff, as a group we will stop in Flagstaff to honor Flagstaff Police Department Officers Tyler Stewart and Jeff Adam Moritz.
After the honoring the Flagstaff officers, we will have a parade of bikes to GOAZ Motorcycles, 1400 E. Butler Avenue for the barbecue.
SOUTHERN ARIZONA RUN
Cochise County Run
Riders will start in Sierra Vista and will visit Naco, and Douglas. They will travel north on US 191, to Dragoon then to the “Thing” for a relief/refueling stop and meet riders from the Nogales route. Both groups will stop at Texas Canyon for a memorial ceremony. Afterwards, the groups will ride together to Tucson.
Tucson Metro Run
Will keep riders in the Tucson/Oro Valley/Marana area. The entire route is approximately 65 miles and four and one-half hours travel time with stops. This year we will be adding a stop in town to Oro Valley’s Naranja Park Memorial. There we will survey the many occupations that have lost lives in the line of duty serving our communities.
Tucson/Nogales/Texas Canyon Run
Will take riders through Sahuarita, Green Valley, Nogales, Patagonia, Sonoita, Elgin, Whetstone, Benson, Texas Canyon and back to Marana. The entire route is approximately 232 miles and a total of five and one half hours with relief breaks and refueling stops.
Yuma Run
Will take riders through Dateland, Gila Bend, Ajo, Why, Sells, Three Points, Picture Rocks, Saguaro National Park to Marana. The entire route is approximately 300 miles and approximately five and one-half to six hours travel time with relief breaks and refueling stops.
Once all riders arrive in Marana, we will meet at the Harkins Theater parking lot, 5755 W. Arizona Pavilions Drive. Riders will depart the Harkins Theater and travel to Harley-Davidson of Tucson, 7355 N. 10 East Frontage Road for the barbecue. Approximately 2 miles and 8 minutes travel time.
CENTRAL ARIZONA RUN
Eastern Maricopa Route (Formally State Route 87/Beeline Highway Run)
Will take riders to near Sunflower and back to Mesa. The entire route is approximately 106 miles and will take approximately two hours travel time. This year we will be adding stops at Salt River Fire Department and Scottsdale Police Department.
Once all riders arrive in Mesa, we will meet at the Mesa Community College parking lot, 51833 W. Southern Avenue, the riders will depart Mesa Community College and travel to Desert Wind Harley-Davidson, 922 S. Country Club Drive for the barbecue.
The Eastern Maricopa County ride usually has a large number of registered riders and continues to be one of our most popular Central Arizona ride.
Pinal County Run
The route will take us near the site of Ak Chin officer killed then south into the heart of Pinal County. We will take a refreshment and fuel break in Eloy before traveling north into Florence. There we will stop at the Pinal County Government Center where they have erected a Memorial Monument honoring all Fallen Law Enforcement in Pinal County, to include Federal, State, County and Municipal. After the memorial ceremony, we will ride to Mesa Community College here we will meet riders from other routes and then to Desert Winds HD for the barbecue. This route will encompass nearly all of the lands and jurisdictions of those fallen in our long history. Distance, time, and road construction will prevent us from visiting all the memorials in the area, while the Pinal County Memorial is a near, all-inclusive representation of those heroes lost.
Prescott/Yarnell/Anthem Run
This approximate 180 mile route will take riders through Prescott, Skull Valley, Yarnell, Congress, Wickenburg, New River, Anthem to Mesa. This year we will be adding a stop at the Yavapai County First Responder Monument in Prescott prior to leaving Prescott.
The Yarnell ride has had a large number of registered riders and appears to be turning into one of our most popular Central Arizona ride.
Western Maricopa Run
This approximate 80 mile route will take riders through Phoenix, with a stop at the State Memorials at the State Capitol. Then to Glendale, Peoria, and El Mirage to honor our fallen First Responders.
Run Specific Information
Once you are registered, on the Wednesday prior to the run(s) you are registered for, we will send you an email providing specific information, such as rider check-in dates and times, rider check-in locations, run starting times, run routes/designated meeting locations, and the barbecue(s) location.
In various locations, we have host hotels who provide reduced rates for our riders. In an email, we will provide you with the names and locations of our host hotels, their room rates and any code you may need to receive our preferred room rates. Please visit our Host Hotel page to make reservations.
Our Rides
We normally have a large number of motorcycles and non-motorcycle type vehicles involved with our rides. Due to this, we utilize the Motorcycle Safety Foundation ride formation guide during our runs. If you are planning to ride in one or all three of our runs, please download the guide and become familiar it.
RUN REGISTRATION FEES:
EARLY REGISTRATION
$45 for single rider (includes Tee Shirt & BBQ)
$65 for rider & passenger (includes Tee Shirts & BBQ)
To register for the runs, please visit our Ride Registration page.
Specific run information, please visit our Ride Route page.
For those riders registering on the day(s) of the event(s) there will be a $10 increase in the registration fees.
DAY OF THE EVENT REGISTRATION
At Arizona Fallen Hero Memorial Riders, we are committed to providing exceptional experiences during our events. However, due to the added logistical challenges and increased costs involved on the day of our events, we must implement a small adjustment to our registration process. An additional $10 fee will be applied to all registrations received on the day of the event.
This adjustment allows us to: Streamline event-day operations. Ensure adequate staffing and resources for a smooth experience. Continue offering high-quality events and services.
To save on registration costs, we encourage participants to register in advance. Pre-registration not only helps us plan better but also saves you time and money on event day. Thank you for your understanding and support as we work to enhance the experience for everyone involved.
BARBECUE ONLY
If you would like to join us at the barbecue please visit our BARBECUE REGISTRATION page to register.