Staff photo by Fritz Busch Dozens of Indian motorcycle riders rode from the Twin Cities and northern Iowa to New Ulm and back Saturday as part of a national Folds of Honor fundraiser for service members and first responders killed in action. The riders ate pizza in the Harman Park shelter before riding home.

Motorcycle riding groups from the Twin Cities metro area and northern Iowa rode to New Ulm, stopped at Harman Park to eat pizza and renew friendships and ride home.

Saturday marked the Indian Motorcycle Riders Group (IMRG) National Charity Ride that teamed with Folds of Honor to raise funds for families of fallen or disabled veterans and first responders.

The goal of the national ride is to raise $250,000. Every $5,000 raised accounts for a full scholarship for the families of the fallen or disabled.

New Ulm Gulf War I Veteran Kris Schneeberg, a IMRG member, organized the New Ulm stop.

It was the second IMRG ride for veterans and first responders in Minnesota. Last year, the group held a ride in the Twin Cities.

“It was very difficult for some people to get to St. Paul, so we created the Greater Minnesota IMRG Chapter,” said founding president Doug Hall of Monticello. “We’re just getting started with this. We’d like to involve more businesses and other organizations. It’s challenging to start something nobody knows much about. This event was held to get everybody together and talk.”

Several of the IMRG chapter leaders were Gulf War I veterans in the Navy and Army.

“I was going to join the Army. I wanted to fly helicopters,” said Hall. “I wound up in the Navy. I wound up with a degree in nuclear engineering and work at the Monticello nuclear plant.”

An Army veteran who was a chemical operations specialist, now works as an IT specialist, Jacques Snyder of Eagan leads an IMRG chapter there.

“We like to support veterans and first responders. We’re a motorcycle riding group that wants to become more active in the community,” said Snyder. “We also do Adopt-a-Highway, Toys for Tots. We’re just a year old but we’re coming along.”

Folds of Honor is a non-profit organization that provides life-changing scholarships for families of fallen or disabled vets.

For more information, visit http://foldsofhonor.org.