Before Roger Ready's casket could be taken to its ultimate destination at the North Dakota Veterans Memorial Cemetery, someone untangled a bunch of red, white and blue balloons and handed them to children who had been close to the well-respected motorcyclist.

As the children, some wearing "Ilove you Grandpa" T-shirts, let go of the balloons, a woman told them the tiny zeppelins were "all following Grandpa," and leather-clad men hollered, "Glory!" in choked-up voices.

Ready, 61, died Friday in a motorcycle crash on state Highway 200. Fellow riders say he hit a pothole. Residents of Larimore estimate Ready's funeral on Tuesday was the largest ever in the town, with more than 900 people in attendance.

Ready was a member of numerous motorcycle organizations, served as a chaplain in some and was a friend to all, according to the people who attended his burial Wednesday at the cemetery south of Mandan. Motorcycle riders who attended the Tuesday funeral were encouraged to meet up along the path from Larimore to Mandan on Wednesday to accompany the hearse that brought Ready, a U.S. Air Force veteran, on his last ride.

Rich Sheppard, a friend of Ready, said someone counted 67 motorcycles at the cemetery; however, it was possible that more people tried to make the trek, as reports spread of bikes with flat tires and people who just didn't make it in time for the burial service.

Tears welled in the eyes of nearly anyone asked about Ready. One after another, they described their fallen friend as a loving and caring "great guy," who seemed "almost magic" in his ability to be everywhere for everyone.

"Definitely one of Jesus' disciples," said one woman, who was quick to point out that Ready loved all motorcyclists, not just those of Christian faith.

Ed Strenkowski of Thompson, who had known Ready for three years through the Christian Motorcyclists Association, fought tears as he talked about his friend.

"He would walk into a room, and it would brighten up,"he said.

Rich Sheppard said Ready would ride in all conditions with any motorcycle club. He had time for every group and every person, and still had time to spend with his own family of children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren, Sheppard said.

Rain or shine, "he was there," Rich Sheppard said. "First one there - last one to leave."

"Roger was the kind of a person who would call you on the phone when you needed it, just out of the blue," said Karen Sheppard, Rich's wife.

Jenny Strenkowski, Ed's wife, said Ready was a motorcycle group's chaplain, yet he wouldn't wear the group's patch. He didn't want to have anything on him that would keep members of other groups from coming to him in need, she said.

"He was a great man,"Karen Sheppard said.

"Today is a sad day, but we can rejoice knowing that Roger is in heaven. We can rejoice knowing that this will not be the last time we see him," Brad Schmidt, the pastor of the Larimore Church of the Nazarene, said to a chorus of "Amen" from the crowd gathered at the cemetery.

The released balloons floated up and away in the light summer breeze, barely perceptible on the ground, until they were only dots against the clear, blue sky.

As the pallbearers wheeled away Ready's casket, which had been draped in a flag until the Honor Guard presented it to his family, grown men and women lifted their dark glasses to wipe their eyes.

Soon, the motorcycles roared and several processions of bikes began leaving the cemetery, many en route to a post-service gathering at the Bismarck ABATE of North Dakota office. By then, the balloons were out of sight to all on the ground as they, too, traveled to their ultimate destinations.

(Reach reporter Jenny Michael at 250-8225 or jenny.michael@bismarcktribune.com.)