Amidst a swarm of motorcycles at Appletree's restaurant in Lebanon on July 17 was a biker quite a bit shorter than the rest.

The riders had gathered to give a ride to Tristan Varner, 9, and his mother, OC Silvestre. Varner, who attends school in Sweet Home, was recently diagnosed with an untreatable brain tumor.

Varner's grandmother, Ruth Godinez, is a member of the United Freedom Riders and mentioned to a friend that Tristan had said he'd like to ride a motorcycle. From that remark, members of the UFR and the Road Maggots decided to accompany Tristan on a ride from Lebanon to Sweet Home.

"I mentioned it to one friend, and this is what happened," Godinez said, gesturing at the 50 or so riders who showed up Thursday evening.

The Road Maggots presented Tristan with a certificate proclaiming his honorary membership with the group.

On Friday, Tristan went to a Salem Volcanoes baseball game, where he threw out the first pitch. Earlier in the month, he took a ride in another fast vehicle - a race car - at Willamette Speedway.

An account in Tristan's name to help his family with expenses has been set up at Wells Fargo Bank.