Gov. Cuomo and Billy Joel lead fire fighters on a noisy, somber journey

Gov. Andrew Cuomo, gunning a black Harley-Davidson, and music icon Billy Joel, on a blue and white Kawasaki Drifter, led several dozen firefighters on a tribute ride from FDNY Rescue Company 1 on West 43rd Street to the World Trade Center site, as part of the 9/11 commemorative events.

The route was a tribute to "the ride that the Rescue 1 firefighters would have taken 12 years ago when they got the call to leave the firehouse early that September day," Cuomo said in a speech afterward.

He paid tribute to rescue workers and various officials before acknowledging Joel as "the quintessential New York citizen who never forgot where he came from and always turns out for New York."

The 55-year-old governor is a self-proclaimed "gear head" who has been riding motorcycles "forever" and is fond of restoring classic cars, according to a spokesman.

Joel, 64, has an impressive collection of vintage two-wheeled rides.