Veterans Motorcycle Ride - I'm so pumped for this year's ride.

Who knows what the weather will bring, it's been crazy all over the USA, but we're hoping that on May 18th the skies are clear across Central and Southern USA, as we depart Rancho Cucamonga, CA headed for Washington D.C.

So many details to putting this together, but I feel like I've worked with the best team ever taking care of paper work, finances, insurance, leadership teams, so many volunteers who could actually count.

I'm honored beyond comprehension to serve this incredible Veterans motorcycle ride.

Run For The Wall web page

Less than 50 days and Run For The Wall will commence. I'm excited.

What a year of planning and great changes.  We are excited to participate again this year.  Rooms are booked, all the Leadership is in place and final edits are being done on important documents.  I'm so honored to serve this organization.

Pictures posted on Facebook of Run For The Wall in Corydon

CLICK HERE TO SEE THE LINK TO CORYDON INDIANA'S PICTURES

So many communities welcome Run For The Wall each day of the ride.  I've come up with some numbers.

There is 1 Run For The Wall.
There are 2 Routes, Central and Southern
Each Route has 3 chase vehicles that help with down bikes and riders
There are 4 extra days that RFTW participants are together - 2 in California for orientation/training and a mini reunion, and 2 in DC for the visit to the Wall and Rolling Thunder.
Each Route has 5 people in the Lead Element called the Missing Man Formation. 

|  | the first two bikes, Left leading, Route Coordinator Right - State Coordinator (changes each State)
|    this rider rides with a "missing man" to his right (this position changes each leg of the Run

|  | the Route Chaplain and Missing Man Coordinator ride these two spots


Each Route has 6 platoons made up of motorcycles, and one with motorcycles that pull trailers or trikes.
There are 7 Board of Directors for Run For The Wall, Inc.

After leaving California the Southern Route stops in 8 more states.

Once they leave California Central Route goes through 9 states. (see the map of both routes here)

The ride itself is 10 days.  We leave on a Wednesday and arrive on the Friday before Memorial Day weekend.

We registered 620 people in California for the 2010 Run.
Not all of them traveled all the way to DC with us.
Southern Route registerd an additional 700 + people and CR almost another 700 across country.

The Routes totaled over 90 stops for Fuel or to visit VA Hospitals, Veterans Memorials or Schools or to overnight in a community.  That's over 90 communities across America that HOST Run For The Wall.

Pretty impressive.  Can you tell we love what Run For The Wall does for Veterans with a TOTAL VOLUNTEER STAFF!!

Thank you America!!

My Run For The Wall Mascot stayed at the Wall Friday Night

I'm listing the items that Sugarbear - my "mascot" for RFTW 2010 collected across country.

A flag pin in the shape of the USA Top Left Lapel
A RFTW 20th Anniversary POW, American Flag Pin (Bottom Left)
A 2003 (that was my first RFTW) HonorBound Motorcycle Ministry Pin (top right lapel)
A 2010 RFTW Pin (on the back by the miniature RFTW backpatch)
A 2010 Rancho Cucamonga, CA pin
Beads handed to us somewhere along the route signifying POW/MIA and American Flag colors
A Psalm 91 Scripture Dog Tag and a Cross Penny hanging with it.

 Still smiling after thousands of miles!!

It looks like my mascot is waving good bye.  The bear started out white, but rode on my motorcycle tank bag all the way across country, without a bath.  I see the reflection in the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall, it was emotional.  I have other pictures coming, my cell phone didn't do the greatest here.

Run for the Wall and the School at Rainelle, WV

Run for the Wall news article

I found this article from a local newspaper about our trek through Rainelle, WV.

The kids have grown up with us coming through their community.

A few years ago the 5th grade class wrote a book "Veterans Reign in Their Own Parade."

You can click on the link above to view the article.

Lewisburg, WV to Washington D.C. area

We had 3 easy legs of about 80 or so miles each today, the last 20 miles of the 3rd leg brought us into Arlington, VA where all the traffic in the world is stuffed into 2, 3 or 4 lanes, everyone in the wrong lane it seems, and everyone has an agenda, and probably written proof that their cause is most important than the people in the next vehicle..

We weaseled our way through all the traffic, kept our wits, and arrived about 9 minutes later than scheduled with hundreds of bikes and riders, in spite of the tough challenges of road work, rush hour and missing escort.

Breaking the pack into platoons helps keep each small group on track, we planned to arrive as platoons, but ended up arriving as one big pack as if we were escorted.

Tomorrow THE WALL

Post War memories - growing up with a knowing and expectations.

Being a Post War "Baby Boomer" - my elementary school years were filled with News Reels at the theater.

Saturdays we walked the 6 blocks from our downtown Indianapolis home to 10th and Dearborn for the matinees at the Rivoli.  Along with bonus full-feature length cartoons before the movie, there were intermissions with contests, prizes, sometimes clowns, or magicians, jugglers, ventriloquists or just comedians to entertain us.  Teenagers walked the aisles with flashlights to keep us all in our seats and behaving.  But just before the feature presentation, we were always fed a good dose of patriotism with News Reels that caught us up to date on progress since the big war that had just ended, and the battle on-going in Korea. 

It amazes me how conditioned I was by these News Reels.  I was prepared to be patriotic, I cried every time I said the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag, and memorized God Bless America, and the National Anthem faithfully belting out each word as a child.  My parents were married a few months after they met.  My Dad served in Europe WW II and when he returned his sister set the two of them up for a date.  This year they celebrated 63 years of marriage.  He didn't expect the welcome home he got from this country - but fanfare and celebration reigned.  My hubby's Dad lost an older brother on the SS Arizona at Pearl Harbor, his Dad dropped out of high school, married his HS sweetheart, and joined the Army.  They were separated nearly 4 years by WAR.  But they celebrated 63 years of marriage before he passed.  He continued his military service and retired a Chief Warrant Officer.  Patriotism ran thick in both of our families.

I wasn't too surprised when the hubby joined the Army - not happy about it, we were newly weds, but proud anyway.  But the reception he and his fellow comrades received when they returned from the "unpopular" war of the 60's and 70's was to our detriment as a nation and our generation.  It has caused a knee jerk reaction, we know, as we make every attempt to welcome home the warriors who are serving this day,  and we forgive America for this oversight, but people, war is what it is, soldiers serve out of a love for their fellow Americans, and their country.  Gotta respect them and treat them like warriors for this very reason, THEY ARE OUR HEROES!!