Riding south down Interstate 20 on a bright turquoise motorcycle, David Kling marveled at the dozens of motorcyclists around him as he wiped tears from his eyes.

Shared pain brought him 1,300 miles from Palm Springs to Dallas to participate in the Officer Down Memorial Ride on Saturday in honor of the Dallas officers killed last July 7.

Nine months ago, Kling's daughter, Lesley Zerebny, who worked for the Palm Springs Police Department, was ambushed and killed alongside her partner while responding to a call.

1 / 3David Kling poses for a photograph with members of the Dallas Police Department during a Weekend of Honor event at Southwest Center Mall on Saturday, July 8, 2017, in Dallas. Kling's daughter, Lesley Zerebny, was killed in an October 2016 police ambush in Palm Springs, Calif.(Ryan Michalesko / Staff Photographer) 2 / 3A man rides off on his motorcycle at the Faith Family Academy Of Oak Cliff on Saturday, July 8, 2017, in Dallas. (Ryan Michalesko / Staff Photographer) 3 / 3Members of the Dallas Police Department motorcycle unit mount their bikes at the Faith Family Academy of Oak Cliff on Saturday, July 8, 2017, in Dallas. (Ryan Michalesko / Staff Photographer)

The 27-year-old had just returned to work from maternity leave after having her first child when she was fatally shot by a man armed with a stolen AR-15 assault rifle and armor-piercing bullets.

As Kling drove down the Dallas highway in a city all too familiar with his loss, he thought about his blond-haired, blue-eyed daughter and cried.

"I believe there's some things that she can see from heaven, and I'll bet that she can see this," he thought as he looked around at the dozens of police officers and bikers riding with the Dallas skyline behind them.

Kling, a 30-year veteran of the California Highway Patrol, jumped at the opportunity to come to Dallas to participate in the ride in honor of the Dallas officers and his own little girl killed in the line of duty. He flew in, and a Dallas police sergeant lent him a motorcycle for the ride.

Kling said he remembers July 7, 2016, well. His phone rang, and it was his daughter telling him to turn on the news.

Lesley Zerebny and her baby, Cora, shortly before the young mother and police officer was shot and killed last fall in the line of duty in Palm Springs. (David Kling)

"She was just horrified at what happened in Dallas," he said.

The two talked about the officers who lost their lives and the challenges of working in law enforcement amid growing hostility toward police.

"It was three months and a day later that I got the call about Lesley," he said.

Rallying around a city still coping with its own fresh tragedy has brought some comfort to the grieving father.

Kling said he will join the families of the five fallen officers from Dallas in other events planned throughout what's being called the Weekend of Honor.

"It's helpful to come spend time with others that are going through the same thing you are," he said. "You're spending time with families that understand exactly what we went through."