SAN ANTONIO – Justin Bateman died in the hospital after crashing his bike on the city's Northeast Side on March 15.
"It really hit the motorcycling community pretty hard to have somebody that was that positive of an influence be in such a bad situation," Lenin Toledo said. "We consider anybody on two wheels to be family."
The ride was organized by the Fallen Riders, a group of bikers who help the families of crash victims by raising money for funeral and living expenses.
Fallen Riders founder, Joseph Larriq, created the group after surviving his own crash. He said honoring deceased riders is just part of the group's mission. They also raise awareness about motorcycle safety.
"We're trying to reduce the amount of wrecks by increasing the rider safety and pushing everybody to wear as much gear as they can," he said. "Unfortunately, there will be more (rides)."
Larriq and Toledo led the group in a moment of reverence to honor Bateman, before discussing safety tips.
"We want to talk to our riders about following the letter of the law, the importance of proper bike maintenance, the importance of wearing the appropriate gear," Toledo said.
It's conversations like these that Larriq believes could one day make the difference between life and death for a motorcyclist.