Run For The Wall Central Route Day 1 Williams, AZ

Today is finally here! The first day of Run For The Wall 2008 began bright and beautiful with lots of excitement being exhibited by the participants. Motorcycles everywhere!
What a wonderful sight!

The opening ceremonies included the Pledge of Allegiance, singing the national anthem, a prayer of blessing by the Navajo Nation, and a flyover by an actual Huey helicopter that flew in Vietnam.

After the opening, we were on our way to our first official stop, lunch in Needles, California (at a cool 102 degrees). We were served a lunch that included very good grilled hamburgers. I'm impressed that someone could stand in that heat over a hot grill!

From Needles, we traveled to our first overnight stop, Williams, Arizona. We arrived in Williams by conducting a motorcycle parade all the way through town and back again. I believe the whole town turned out. We were then treated to dinner at the local American Legion Post.
They really put on a meal: barbecue beef brisket, roast turkey, fresh corn on the cob, southwestern beans, and skillet potatoes!

Although the food was great, the real pleasure came from seeing total strangers giving back to their communities and us to assist us in traveling across the country. We passed under one interstate bridge in the middle of the desert and the entire bridge was lined with people supporting us! More tomorrow, hopefully.

Today's essential question: Why is it important to be involved in community service?

Rest and Reunion Day

Tuesday was a day to rest up from the trip to LA and for the run starting on Wednesday to DC. Tuesday was also a day of reunion of old friendships and the beginning of new ones. We also spent time looking at each other's rides, especially this one:

Our registration/merchandise trailer says it all:


My hotel was located with a beautiful view of the surrounding mountains:



The day finished with a fine kickoff dinner sponsored by the local community and some very generous supporters. During our dinner, we had the opportunity to honor a Medal of Honor recipient.


Tomorrow, we begin our mission to The Wall in DC.

Today's essential question: What is the Medal of Honor and what is the process for it being awarded?

California...Finally!!!!!

Finally, we have arrived in California! What a trip! Due to the extended travel days from the severe weather we've been through, I haven't been able to add another update until now. So, here's a brief recap.

Friday, May 9, I met up with the Pennsylvania group and we left St. Charles, MO for Colby, KS. We rode through heavy rains all morning. Take a look at this motley crew:

Rain continued until the last hour and a half out from Colby. However, once we arrived, more threatening weather was coming our way. So, the hotel management allowed us to park our motorcycles up on the walkways of the motel to get them out of the weather.

Saturday morning we awoke to showers. Then the weather broke. However, the closer we got to Colorado the colder the temperature got. At our first gas stop in Colorado, we put on rain gear on top of our cold weather gear just for an extra layer of warmth. Little did we know what a foreshadowing act that was. Thirty minutes later, we rode through one of the worst storms I've ever ridden in. The temperature dropped to 38 degrees in the storm with a wind chill of about 10 degrees. Then, for the next hour we had constant winds of around 30-50 mph with a combination of heavy rain, hail, and sleet. Fortunately, everyone made it through safely. Then, we thought we had cleared all the bad weather. HA!!! During lunch, we had more sleet and snow. Yes, that's actually ice on my motorcycle seat!

We finally arrived in Fort Collins, Colorado to the Bones Barracks. Although it was sunny, it was still cool.

On Sunday morning, we left Bones Barracks with 23 motorcycles for Richfield, Utah. Again, weather played a factor. Our primary route was closed due to snow in the mountains. Our secondary route was closed due to snow in the mountains. So, we went to our tertiary route. Ironically, to avoid snow, we traveled north into Wyoming and across and down through Salt Lake City to our overnight stop. The extra travel meant we didn't arrive at our hotel to late in the night. During the day we had wind gusts over 50 mph. Again, we had to adjust to more adverse weather conditions.

Monday, we left our hotel and rode to St. George, Utah where we were hosted for breakfast by the local Patriot Guard Riders chapter at the Honda-Yamaha dealer. They did a great job and even had the local media there to cover why we were riding across country. If we weren't on a mission of such importance, I certainly wouldn't have been riding through the weather we'd been through. Here's some shots of the visit:



We left St. George and headed through the desert to Las Vegas. It didn't help our luck any. We still had high winds. We left Vegas and crossed into California. On the way down to LA from Barstow, we again rode through yet another weather event! We had misty rain and fog so heavy that we could not even see the motorcycle in front of us until we were within ten feet of it. That stayed with us until we reached our hotel. Finally, after five days of adverse weather conditions, we arrived at our destination!

Well more tomorrow (hopefully).

Last but not least, today's essential question: What are some of the virtues of working through adverse situations? (Of course you have to answer in some narrative format! No one word answers!)

Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head

Almost everyone has heard the old song, "Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head." That's sums up my day fairly well. The first day out I spent riding in and out of rain all day until 60 miles from St. Louis. That's when I finally rode past the rain front, but right into a cold front. There's nothing more exciting than being wet and cold! (I'm kidding for those of you who did not catch my satiric wit.)

Here's a picture of what my bike looked like when I arrived:

The picture probably does not show the grit, grime, dirt, and muck very well. But, trust me, it was all over the bike and me!

The rest of the Phase I outward bound group that I'm traveling with arrived from Pennsylvania in a similar fashion. We leave early on Friday with another long day to the other side of Kansas with about 10 motorcycles. We'll start adding more bikes on our way out to LA.

By the way, the witty response of the day goes to Mr. DB for asking clarification on whether LA means Los Angeles or the Logan Area.

Today's essential question: How does one plan a cross-country trip including mode of transportation, logistics, and budget?

If At First You Don't Succeed...

Well, you know the rest of the saying: If at first you don't succeed, try, try again.

Here we are another year later and once again it's time for Run For The Wall 2008!

This year, I have a bigger, newer motorcycle and I will make it all the way (on the motorcycle)! Here's a picture of my newer bike:

It's a 1999 Yamaha Royal Star Venture (1300 cc) with plenty of storage.

I will be leaving for Los Angeles on Thursday, May 8 and passing through Almost Heaven on Thursday, May 22.

Stay tuned for more posts as I hope to chronicle each day on the way out and back until we complete our mission at the Vietnam Memorial (The Wall) in Washington D.C. and ride in Rolling Thunder.

If you'd like to know more about Run For The Wall (RFTW) go to http://rftw.org/ . I'll be on the Central Route.

Good thoughts and prayers for safety, good weather, and a successful mission are always appreciated by me and my fellow riders.

Run For The Wall 2007 - Final Update

Mission Accomplished!

On Friday afternoon, the RFTW pack (over 1,000 motorcycles) rolled into our headquarters hotel in Arlington, Virginia. Friday night, some of us made a night run to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial ("The Wall"). I tried to get some pictures of this, but, this was the only one that I could get to turn out half-way decent.

On Saturday morning, we split into three groups: those going to Arlington National Cemetery, those going to the US Marine Memorial (Iwo Jima), and those sleeping-in late to recover from the long journey. I rode with the group that went to the Marine Memorial. What an awesome sight it was as we rounded the corner and rode up to it! Words cannot describe how huge it is!

While we were there, we got the opportunity to meet a gentleman that was an Iwo Jima survivor. How fascinating it was to listen to a first-hand account of the battle and the struggles they went through in fighting for freedom.

The setting is absolutely breathtaking! This is the view from the memorial towards DC. What a sight to look across the Potomac River and see the Washington Monument and US Capitol standing out as beacons of freedom!

On Saturday afternoon, RFTW assembled for our group picture on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial and our official visit to The Wall, thus completing our mission we set out on almost two weeks ago from California. This group picture shows only part of the group as we were beginning to assemble. From the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, we had this wonderful view of the World War II Memorial with the Washington Monument and US Capitol in the background. From the Lincoln Memorial, we walked over to The Wall and completed our final ceremony. The flag quilt is from one of the elementary schools that the Southern Route (I was on the Central Route) of RFTW visited on their way to DC. The back of the flag quilt is signed by the teachers and students at that school.

Many people leave tribute items at The Wall, as well as take time to remember lost friends and loved ones.

I also took the time to visit the World War I,
World War II, and
Korean War Memorials.

On Sunday, we participated in Rolling Thunder. This is where over 500,000 motorcycles parade through DC to remind everyone that we still have POWs and MIAs from current and previous wars. Rolling Thunder is staged in the Pentagon parking lot. The parade begins at noon and it takes over 3.5 hours for every motorcycle to traverse the parade route. Some people even bring their four-legged friends!


A great deal occurred over the weekend that I don't have time or room to record here. However, without a doubt, the most touching moment for me happened on Friday night when I made the night run to The Wall. I was trying to get a rubbing of one of the names on The Wall onto paper for a friend of mine. When, out of nowhere, a little girl knelt down beside me and said, "Here. Let me help you with that. I'll hold the paper." At that moment came the confluence of two major parts of my life; and, I thought, "No military person left behind! No child left behind!" If for no other reason, that moment made the whole trip worthwhile. I can't wait for next year.

Today's Essential Question: What is the design concept behind "The Wall"?

Run For The Wall - Update 4

Charleston to Rainelle

Once again, our day started early with our riders' meeting. We gathered in Hurricane and went to the West Virginia War Memorial at the State Capitol. Once at the War Memorial, we were greeted by Governor Joe Manchin. From there, we traveled to Rainelle School.


The stop at Rainelle School has been going on as long as the Run For The Wall (RFTW) has been occurring, nineteen years. The whole town turns out to welcome us there. We then park in front of the school and all the students have RFTW participants sign booklets they've made and t-shirts. The students get a real, living, first-hand history lesson. The parent volunteers then treat us to lunch followed by a school and community ceremony with all the town dignitaries present. Several presentations are made including a special one from RFTW. All the way across the country, the Run raises monies for Rainelle School. Over the years, the monies that RFTW has raised has purchased new playground equipment, library books, and additional student computers to name a few. This year RFTW raised over $22,000 for Rainelle School!

Tomorrow is the final day on the road as we arrive in DC.

Today's Essential Question: Why is it important to study history?