Christmas

Merry Christmas to all who read this blog. I apologize for not posting more here, but I have been busy, and have not had internet access for a while.



Clyde is getting a new battery and a new lower faring for Christmas. He is not speaking to me because I only rode him 4500 miles this year, in fact he has run away from home, but should be back in January.


Merry Christmas to all and Happy New Year too.

Dave Bounce Talley

Here is a link to a story that will explain why we ride

I found this link on the rftw.org forum. I read the entire story by EVO RED. It is great. I am posting the link here so that you too can read it. I am also wondering if anyone thinks I should link this blog to the 2010 central route web page. If you do please post a comment so that I know. I am torn on whether or not to do this small thing.

Enjoy EVO's story it is awesome. It explains why we ride, why we are a family and why we get the rewards we get. So here is the link:


http://www.vietnam6bn31inf.com/special_event.htm

I hope you all enjoy it, and thanks for reading, much more to come I promise.

Bounce

So little time and so many thoughts

I first must apologize for not posting here in a while. I know that there are some folks that have enjoyed my (To quote my Sister-In-Law) "Rants" and writing. I pulled a lot of the older posts because I wrote something that I knew to be true, but that a lot of others did not either agree with or did not know. Anyway, I have gotten therapy, well I talked to Hammy a lot about it, and I am over it.

Now here is the rest of the story on the previous post. and it is truly important:

Nic Bush is a young Army medic who is stationed at Ft. Hood and arrived for duty just last month in October. Last Thursday he was one of the medics on duty in the Readiness Center during the shootings. While he has physically survived the attack, emotionally he is struggling.

Nic rides every year with myself and ~1,000 other riders across country with Run for the Wall (RFTW) to help raise awareness for the POW/MIA issues and help heal veterans. This group of riders is very close and consider each other family - and thus I consider Nic my family and a brother/son/friend to us all. He had to sell his bike before he came out to Ft. Hood last month and has been saving and planning to buy a new one before next year's Run in May.

I want to help Nic get his bike sooner as he could really use it right now. For those who ride, you know it is good for the soul and certainly would give Nic an outlet for those tough days ahead as he recovers from this tragedy. It certainly won't take away anything from that day, but might bring just a bit of happiness and distraction to his life right now.

If everyone could help pitch in just a bit (even $20 would help), then a little could go a long way and we can help ease at least one soldier get through this difficult time. You can contribute directly from here and see our progress: http://nicbush.chipin.com/nic-bush-ft-hood-soldier If by any chance we collect more than we need, we will put the additional funds together and ask Medic Bush how to direct how to best put the money to use to help other soldiers in need from this incident.

PLEASE PASS THIS ALONG to anyone and everyone in your address book you know who loves this country and who might want to help! Thank you!



If you are interested in helping Paula help Nic Bush copy the link and go to the site and chip in. I requires opening a Pay Pal account, but that is painless, and 100% of the money donated is going to the cause. They have almost $2000.00 now and need $10,000.00. If everyone donates about $10.00 they will make it. I have met this young man and he is a great guy. I chipped in, and will do it again, but I really think this is a good cause. Paula is great for doing this, and this guy was not only a first responder to the Foot Hood tragedy, he was also a target of this attack.
Thanks for reading, more light hearted things to come. I have said this before this blog is not dedicated to Run For The Wall, but the writer is. Hopefully any and all FNGs to the Run will get the answers to their questions, and May is only 6 months from now.

Bounce

This is important

http://nicbush.chipin.com/nic-bush-ft-hood-soldier


go here and chip in to help this man out. He is a member of the RFTW family and he is a true hero.

ENUFF SAID


Bounce

Dixie The Wander Dog update

For those of you who have read all my posts, you know about Dixie the Wander Dog. For those of you who do not know the story I will recap it a little. Last year in July I was in Alabama. I stopped at a truck stop there that I really do not like. The restaurant is usually closed and when it is open the service is bad, and the food is worse. The parking lot is so full of holes that you can break a shock or a spring just driving through it, and it is always very hot there. This day it was well over 100 degrees, and the tarmac was melting under the truck tires as I parked. I had to go to the rest room bad, but as I walked towards the main building I noticed another driver trying to feed a little dog. When I asked if she was his he said, no but I think she is sick.
I gave her a quick glance, and she looked like about a four or five month old Doberman puppy. She was clean, but looked like she had been running wild for a few days. I went inside, bought a couple of hot dogs (the restaurant was closed for remodeling) and a bottle of cold water. I walked back to my truck, and for some reason the little dog was walking along the same row of trucks. I offered her a piece of hot dog, and she took it but surprised me when she examined it pretty closely before chewing it up. She then followed me to my truck. I opened the door, and put the hot dogs on the passenger floor, turned my back long enough to find a bowl to give the little dog some water. When I turned around she was gone. I put the water on the ground under the steps of the truck and closed the door and walked around the truck and got in. Then I remembered the hot dogs, I leaned across the seats and picked the paper plate up. The hot dog that I had torn a piece off was gone. Then I looked down and on the floor in front of the sleeper Air Conditioning vent slowly chewing the hot dog was the little dog. She looked at me wagged her tail and that was the start of a great friendship.
Dixie traveled every where I went, I even stopped training drivers for about 9 months. That first day was a little rough, I spent about three hours pulling tics off her neck and back. She drank some water, and I called Judy and told her about the pup, and of course Judy said I had to bring her home. That first night she managed to gnaw through the power cord for my lap top, but once I got her a chew toy she left that alone.
We took her to the Vet when I got home and found out that she was almost a year old, and was indeed sick. $500.00 later I had a truck dog. Dixie is pretty smart, and because of her Judy has started a small dog rescue. Dixie was the first dog adopted out by this rescue, and of course the first time she was brought back. I do not think that will happen this time. She has found a home. I miss her, but am glad that I picked her up and the time I had with her was great. She learned to do high fives, leave food until told to eat it, speak on command (that one she is picky about, no food no talk) and chase anything thrown for her for hours. She alarm barks very loudly, and of course loves riding in a vehicle. Her new family is very happy with her, we will see how long that lasts. The first family that adopted her liked her too, but she can be a real handful. She needs to be exercised a lot and given something to do so that she does not get bored.
So Dixie the Wander dog Wanders no more, again. Same deal as last time, if it does not work out she will always have a home in Wisconsin, and on my truck. At least I know now why I pulled off at that truck stop that day. It was because this little dog needed help and because I needed a truck dog. It all worked out well for both of us. Judy is right saving even one dog is worth the effort.

Bounce

TX,OK,MO,IL,IN,OH,PA,NJ,PA,MD,WV,VA,TN,AR,TX,NM,AZ,CA,AZ,NM,TX

Those are the states I have been in in the order that I was in them in the last 14 days. Almost 8,000 miles. It was a fun two weeks. I had a student with me. This guy was pretty interesting. He was about ten years older than me, and he was and is a pilot. He told me that a 747 has 18 wheels and ten brakes, so driving a truck should be a snap for him. He was right. I really enjoyed the two weeks I had with this student. He did a great job, and I think he will be an asset to the company I drive for, or any company he decides to drive for.

Bounce.

There are still some honest folks out there

Yesterday while starting my big truck and pulling away from a loading dock I heard a loud snap. Then I noticed that my electrical system was discharging. I parked the truck out of the way and opened the hood. What I saw was pretty ugly. The main Serpentine belt that drives my Air Conditioning and alternator had busted. On further examination I noticed that my Air Conditioning compressor pulley was a little crooked, and of course it would not turn either. The Alternator, and other pulley that the belt goes around turned just fine. I called my company Road Rescue, and good old Elvis said he had a guy in the area that could fix it for me. This was good as a big truck will not go very far without an alternator. Well the guy came out, and did not have a belt that would fit. This in itself was amazing as he must have had at least sixty different belts with him. He made some measurements and said he would be back. He was gone for almost five hours, but when he came back he had the right size belt. When I asked him where he went, he told me that he had driven about 200 miles round trip looking for that belt. He then told me not to worry he takes care of the Owner Operators that let him work on their trucks. I was expecting a really big bill for this repair, but he charged me the minimum, and cut the miles that he drove down to what they were from his home to my truck. In short I was expecting it to cost about three times what he charged me. He told me that he wanted to be fair about it, and he wanted to keep my business. Well believe me I will be keeping his card, and if anyone in his area breaks down and asks I will give them his number. Elvis from our shop told me that this guy was great, and he was right. I do not have any Air Conditioning, but the truck runs great. This man could have charged over $500.00 and got it, but he charged less than half of that.
So what could have been a miserable day turned out to be a pretty good day.

Bounce

It is Hot in July in Kansas

Today I am in Kansas,
I do not have the hours to drive anywhere, and it is well over 100 degrees here. I am trying to not use fuel, or waste any but I am not being too successful. It is really hot, and the truck is like an oven. Stick a fork in me, if I don't bleed I am done.
Such is the life of a truck driver. I did find out today that the radio interview that I did last year on Land Line now won an award for best show on air last year. Reed Black did a great job, and OOIDA really supports the Run a lot. They have done a lot of articles about us, and posted both routes last year in May. I hope they keep it up we can use all the help we can get.

Bounce

Seattle tomorrow, in and out

Tomorrow I will be in Seattle Washington. Probably not long enough to see my oldest Daughter or her family. But the scenery coming in on Interstate 90 was pretty cool.

The video that I posted the link to was edited down quite a bit. It took over an hour for the entire escort, and wow there were a lot of people lining the route. It is a great video, enjoy it. Also go to the rftw.org web site, and click on the route specific web sites link, then click on central route 2009. There are a lot of pictures and videos of this years run linked there. The Jackson County Missouri Sheriff and the Missouri State Police have also put together a really nice video of the entire escort across Missouri, and there is a link to the news report of when we came in to Wentzville MO. Good stuff.

Clyde is out enjoying being ridden and here I am working. But next month I will ride him a little. He may be complaining that he needs an oil change soon, and valve tightening too. But we shall see.

Dave Talley

I recieved the following from a Gold Star Mother that I know

Let's never lose this America !!!!



Killed in action the week before, the body of Sergeant First Class John C. Beale was returned to Falcon Field in Peachtree City , Georgia , just south of Atlanta , on June 11, 2009 . The Henry County Police Department escorted the procession to the funeral home in McDonough , Georgia .

A simple notice in local papers indicated the road route to be taken and the approximate time. But it is obvious from this video that many took notice, and even better, took action to honor this soldier.

Nowadays one can be led to believe that America no longer respects honor and no longer honors sacrifice outside the military. Be it known that there are many places in this land where people still recognize the courage and impact of total self-sacrifice. Georgia remains one of those graceful places. The link below is a short travelogue of that day's remarkable and painful journey. But only watch this if you wish to have some of your faith in people restored. Please share widely.



http://blip.tv/play/AYGJ5h6YgmE

Copy and paste the address above into your browser bar and then click on play. The cities that this procession runs through are listed in the video. This is a part of America that never gets shown on the news. This is one of the reasons that I am proud to be an American.

Everything Happens for a Reason

On Thursday I had to drive from my house to Sheboygan Wisconsin to have my fingerprints taken to complete my Commercial Drivers License renewal.

I won't get into all the phone calls, and other things I had to do to get this appointment. Lets just say it was not fun. I got there early, and the technician was there so I completed it about three hours ahead of schedule. I then drove home. On the way I stopped for gas, and got something to eat, and I also got caught in a large traffic jam. It was not a real bad jam, but it delayed me by about thirty minutes. Finally I was on my way home, listening to oldies on a local radio station.

I noticed a large cloud of dust on the road ahead of me, and saw a few cars stop. Then to my right I saw a Sport Utility Vehicle that had rolled over. I pulled off the road and ran over to the car. The wheels were still spinning so I guessed that this was why there was a cloud of dust. I was the first person to get to the vehicle. When I went around the front of it I noticed the windshield was completely shattered. and I could see people moving. That was a relief because my mind had run through the other possibilities, all not so good. I got to the top of the car, and another guy, he later told me he was an off duty Outagamie County Sheriff's deputy helped me get the drivers door open. This door seemed very heavy to hold up. But since it was the only way any one was getting out of the car I held it up. The Deputy helped the driver out of the car. A few more guys came up and got the back door open too. The rest of the passengers climbed out that way. There was a second lady in the front seat the started to climb out and she was afraid that the car would roll back on its wheels so I helped her jump down from the roof. As it turns out there were several off duty police and sheriffs people there. One little girl from the back seat had a head cut. There was a nurse there that immediately started treating her for shock and took care of the bleeding. I shook hands with the Deputy that had helped me get the door open, told him I was a truck driver, and that since he had a vest on and was controlling traffic I was going to get my pickup out of there.

I have stopped to help people on the road before, mostly with flat tires, and there was the one accident back in 2000 where a flatbed had rolled over and I helped get the driver and his dog out of the truck, and in 2001 a student and I saw a pickup hit a guard wall in Idaho and sat with the folks from that one on the side of the road till the police came so they would not freeze to death. Lastly there was Run For The Wall 2008 when I stopped and pulled a bike of a friend on the road into Angel Fire NM. That happened at almost the exact same curve that I got clipped my a truck in 2007. But this is the first time I have helped with anything this serious. I have rolled a vehicle once, and everything happens so slowly, and there are things flying everywhere. Most of them are things you never think of and they are hard and hurt when they hit you in the head. I do not know if this vehicle went all the way over, or if everyone, or anyone had their seat belts on. I am just glad I was there to help. There were a lot of folks there, but almost none of them wanted to approach the vehicle to help.

I have always believed that everything happens for a reason. I had to drive over 325 miles to get my fingerprints done. I got caught in a traffic jam that held me up just long enough that I was in the right place at the right time to help those people. Everything happens for a reason.

Dave Talley

Spidey Is blogging again

I have been following a blog by Spidey. He is a very intelligent young man and I count him as a friend. He is part of my extended Run For The Wall Family. The link to his new blog is listed below here, and I will put it in this entry as well. I think his trip is a wonderful thing, and I am glad that he is writing about it. His blog on the Run For The Wall is great too. It is also linked to this blog.

I may open up a new blog too. But I will still write here too. I try not to get into politics here, so I may open up a blog to rant about politicians.

I passed my written test for my Hazardous Materials Handling on my Commercial Drivers License, and today I get to drive about 300 miles so that I can get fingerprinted for a background check so that I can continue to do my job. I may look for new line of work. But if all truck drivers would unite, I would not have to do this. Truck drivers just cannot agree on anything.

There is an old joke about military guys, that I have adapted to truck drivers.

If you put five truck drivers in a small room with a table, and gave each of the a pencil and a piece of paper and told them that they had an hour to decide what color the paint in the room (a room painted white) was. When you came back in an hour they would all be beat up, their clothes would be shredded, the table and chairs would be broken, the pencils would be broken, and the paper would be gone. If you asked them what happened they would deny knowledge of anything happening, and would still not be able to tell you what color the room was. Krazy Karl agrees with me that this would happen. I think he agrees with me that someone should do something about this.
I may try. OK that is a political as I will get here. I will put the new blog Addy up when and if I start it.

Spidey's new blog is

themissionarykid-spidey.blogspot.com

you can either copy and paste the above to your browser window, or just go to the end of this blog and click on the link there.

OK that is it for today, I have to go get fingerprinted.

Bounce

Home at last again

(Picture is of Bear and Randy)
Dixie and I are home again at last. In the next three days I have to help Judy finish moving, get my license renewed and get some fishing in. I doubt that I will get to go fishing, but I have to renew the license and finish the move. We have been here about 8 hours, and already Dixie has managed to eat her fill of dry cat food,and make a new friend. The foster Collie Amber is here, and her and Dixie seem to have hit it off pretty well. She has also reestablished who is boss in the pecking order of dogs here. That is she has kicked Bear's butt. Bear is our 85 pound Rottweiler German Shepard mix. Randy the Old Collie could care less, and she has also chased at least two cats, she insists that if they run she has to chase them. But she is pretty happy to be out of the truck again. She will get into a routine soon.

We will continue to search for a good home for her. I love her, and she is a good dog, but I cannot keep her on the truck with me, it simply is not fair to her. She loves being there, but her world closes down a little more every day that she is on the truck. She needs to be with people, and especially kids. I think that it is a good thing that I found her in that truck stop almost a year ago. She would not have survived too many more days in that heat, and she was pretty sick too boot. So in short if anyone is looking for a smart happy little dog (at 35 pounds Dixie is still little compared to Bear) who love to ride, and has learned to bark on command, and give hi fives and low fives then maybe Dixie the Wander Dog is the dog for you. She is a lovable mutt and is very well house and truck broken. She also walks pretty good on a leash, but we are working on that whole "heel" concept. She still thinks that means I am supposed to follow her. But I suspect that she really understands it, she just does not like doing it. She will sit if you stop walking, and if you tell her to take a break she will pee even if she just did it. Pretty good considering she sometimes goes eleven hours without a break.

Well that is it for now.

Dave Talley

Poll is over,,, No decision made

Today Dixie and I are in Laredo Texas. It is really hot (108 yesterday) and to think we were complaining about Wyoming being cold. The Poll about relinking to Run For The Wall is closed. 4 votes, 3 yes 1 no. No decision made, will probably wait until next year to decide.

My earlier report about the Run being over was definitely premature. A few days ago I ran into Cadillac Lady. Well at least I saw her and a few of her friends leaving a hotel next to the Buckeye AZ truck stop I was in. I ran over to her (I am sure she was more than a little worried about a truck driver running towards her in a parking lot) and said hi. After recognizing me hugs were exchanged. It turns out that she has not been home yet. Some day I too will take a couple of months to see the country. I see a lot of the Country now, but would like to stop at all those historical markers, and see all the countless places I cannot go to now with a big truck. It was nice to see a friend and know that she was enjoying her vacation. I also heard from my friend Reg from Australia. He will be heading home soon. When he returned his rental Harley they noted a few scratches (mostly on the pegs from his little encounter on the Dragon, in North Carolina.) but he said the insurance covered it.
Well that is about it today. Hot and waiting for a decision, not about the poll but about work, I am hoping they won't make me wait till tomorrow to get out of here, because it really is hot.

Dave Talley

Wyoming is cool, hot, wet, and snowy, all in the same day

Today Dixie the Wander dog and I are sitting in Wyoming. Since this morning we have had rain, high winds, snow, hail, sunshine. I was sitting here thinking that Mother Nature was just practicing for next winter. Then I saw five or six motorcycles roll in to the truck stop. They were all in rain gear. After they fueled and went in for some food the sun came out. It has been nice since. Maybe Mother Nature likes motorcyclists? I hope they get to where they are going safely.

That is about it for today.

The poll is going well, two yes, and one no so far. I do not guess it matters much. I probably won't link back to the RFTW web page this year. But it is interesting to see that at least three folks have read what I am writing.

Dave Talley

My Report that this years Run is over was a little premature

Yesterday after I posted I saw two very familiar bikes headed west on Interstate 70. I saw a white trike with a VW engine, and a trailer followed by a brown Harley. This couple were definitely on the Central Route of Run for the Wall. In fact I helped push start the trike in Hurricane WV when its alternator quit working, and the Harley, well that thing blew up on the way to Lewisburg, VA. That I found out about on Saturday in DC when the rider of that bike rolled up on a brand new Ultra. His bike was in the shop at Shenandoah Harley. When the owner found out that this guy would have to ride on the back of his wife's trike, he decided to give him a three day demonstration ride. They looked like they were rolling pretty good so I guess they got the Harley fixed OK. I blew my Air Horn and waved, but I doubt that either of them knew it was me. If they read this they will know. I have received emails, and calls from others, and POP TOP was in the chat room so I think he is home too. I also got a call from the WV coordinator for next year. He has a tough act to follow, Krispy has done great in that job for the last five years that I have been involved in the Run. But since he works in an office that looks over where we park when the Governor takes his picture with us I think he will do fine.

One last thought for today, the poll is going a little different that I expected. Three votes, one no and two yes. How ever it turns out I will be thinking hard about reconnecting this blog to the CR web page. I may never have the chance to do it, but hearing how the readers that I have feel about it is important to me. Thanks,

Dave Talley

This years Run is Over, time to plan for next year

Well I have been back in the Big Red Truck for a week. I have seen many many bikes headed west in the last couple of days. Some had Run patches, some did not. I just say a prayer that all of them get where they are going dry, safe, and happily.

I am in Ohio today, and will be headed to California, again. I want to thank everyone that reads this blog. I could use some comments on what you think about it. I am going to put up a simple poll. It will be should I relink this to the Run For The Wall Web pages? I think everyone that reads it regularly knows how to find it, but I need to know if people think that new folks will like to read it or not.

The only comment that I have gotten lately was that my rants and tirades were terrible.
I did not realize I was ranting, but maybe I was. That is the reason the link was pulled.

So let me know. I am planning on doing the whole Run next year. If Judy goes with me I will be in hotels, if she doesn't I will camp. Camping is tough, but more rewarding and worth the extra work.

UPDATE ON STATUS OF MY PERSONAL PRIDE:

Some may know that I dropped Clyde on the way to Corydon, IN. Some may not. Nothing really hurt, people were amazed that there was no visible damage to Clyde. My personal pride was in the Critical Care Ward, on Life Support for a while, but seems to be recovering nicely. I will take a motorcycle safety course this year and will aid it in healing.

OK That is it for today

Dave Talley

PICTURES FROM ANGEL FIRE TO DC

The pictures here are in no particular order, and were taken from Angel Fire NM to
Washington D.C. Some are of me and new friends, and some are of me and old friends. All bring back good memories of this years Run, and anticipation for next year too. I hope folks read this and look at the pictures and realize that the Run and the mission that is the Run is greater and more important than any of the parts.

Dave Talley

Gold Star, the one award no one wants

This year I got to meet a few Gold Star Mothers, and Families. This is an award that I never want to earn. My Run family will know what it means, but my Trucking friends may not. When a Mother, Wife, Husband, or Father, or Family has a loved one in the military in harms way they become a Blue Star family. When that person dies in action they become a Gold Star Family. No one wants to become a recipient of a Gold Star. The ones that do are very brave, and go on with their lives, and help others that have lost loved ones. There are a lot of folks that have Gold Stars. WWII created the most, and there are over 50,000 from the Vietnam War. There are many from the other conflicts this nation has been involved in. I salute everyone that has ever lost a loved one to war. They are a strong lot, and they support themselves and others very well. They are in part a reason for riding for those who cannot. My own parents, Mother, Father and Step Father were Blue Star parents during Desert Storm, and Vietnam, and a few other minor dust ups. They were lucky because my Brother and I were lucky.
OK that is enough, just a quick thank you to all those Gold Star families, you sons, daughters, husbands and wives served proudly and I will never forget the freedom they bought me with their blood.

Dixie the Wandering Truck Dog is back

Yesterday I headed back out onto the road. Dixie the Wander Dog is back on the truck. She seems to have grown a little, but I am glad to have her back and she is pretty happy to be back on the truck. She gives me an excuse to stop once in a while and walk around. She remembers all her commands, and we are already working on the walking on the leash thing. She almost has me trained there.

Not much else to say today. I will be posting a lot of pictures tomorrow from this years run. I had a good time in spite of myself. I am not quitting, the mission is too important. I probably won't be doing much except riding when I go back.

The forum on RFTW has been a little heated. I am not going to weigh in there, as much as I would like to. Also if you do not have the URL for this blog, you can no longer find it on the RFTW web page. I got some comments that I did not post through there. Three really bad ones, and one really honest one. Sorry but this blog is not dedicated to the Run, I still am though.

Dave Talley

The Blog has changed and Change is good?

I have changed the blog a little. I am hoping the changes are good. No one was commenting on the posts, not sure why, but now you can simply check at the end of each post. I need help with keeping this thing interesting. So if it is funny, interesting, or you think it is cool please check the appropriate box. I am currently moderating all comments because I can. I will still post all comments that come in. but I will be careful about that too. Clyde is no longer posting what is written here. I am. I decided that hiding behind a motorcycle was probably silly. I do tend to give life to inanimate objects, and will still do that from time to time. In a few hours I will post a lot of pictures here and on face book. I do not have as many as I wanted, but there are many more than I thought too. I left my camera at the tent while in DC. Probably a good thing, but I do have some pictures from the wall, and the run to share.

Dave Talley

Home Safe, Thre Trip was good

Well I am home safe, and I had a good trip. The picture here is of Barry and Marylin Matthews. They are great friends from Canada. They are also a part of the Run For The Wall Family. Notice that they have the RFTW from LA to DC bumper sticker on the front of Barry's bike, and Marylin has a similar sticker for RFTW on hers. These two are great folks. Here they are finishing up a memorial ride in Canada. I missed them and Shooter this year on the Run. I hope they will come back some day.

I had a good run in spite of my self. When I got to Angel Fire I saw a need and took care of it. I delivered Judy and My book marks to the kids at Rainelle, WV. I helped get a lot of FNG's safely to Washington DC, and I made some new friends, and got to talk to some old friends. All in all it was a good trip.

I am glad I am home, and now I have to go back to work. I will be back in the big truck tomorrow.

Dave Talley

Video Bar Information

The video bar that I had been running was old information. I have updated it with two new videos. The first one is RFTW's Southern Route arriving in Blythe, CA. When I can find another about Central Route I will post it. Run For The Wall is one Run, two routes. Check the history of the run for an explanation of that idea. In reality there are more than five routes. Two Run For The Wall routes, Northern Veterans Awareness Ride (NVAR) for short, and believe me that makes Vietnam Vets stand up and take notice. An Eastern Route that starts in Wisconsin and goes north through Canada and then back down I-95 to DC. Then There is a Rolling Thunder group that comes out of Los Angels too. All of these people ride for those who cannot. All of these people are bringing out awareness of POW/MIA issues, and Veterans issues.

The RFTW forum has some comments about the Central Route from people I dearly love. I do not agree with these comments. I also do not think that the Forum is the place for these comments, but I can disagree with those comments here freely. Central Route is not going downhill fast. The fact that we had so many new people this year does not reflect that loyal riders are going away, it does reflect that communication works. I have talked up the Run on Satellite radio for five years, and some of that might be why more people are aware of the Run.
Those new people are partly the reason that I do not believe the central route is going downhill. Some of them will be back next year. Yes some of the folks that have done the Run for years will not be back. It has been thirty years or more since Vietnam was ended, and people that started the Run are getting older. I think the Run has aged well, and grown well. I believe that our not forgetting, and our not allowing the returning troops of today to be treated the way the Vietnam troops were treated has reaped its own rewards. A great number of the new people are currently on active duty, or just released from the military. They need to heal too. That is what the Run has become. I believe in the mission. I believe in the people, and I pray that I will have the strength and wisdom to do the run again someday. If not next year then some year.

Dave Talley

Bounce is back

I over reacted to something my Brother said. I am going to apologize here for that. I realize that a lot of folks read this blog, and that they enjoy what I write here. This blog started on a fluke, but it is good for me.
I will be writing again. Not because people enjoy reading my thoughts. Not because it is important to me to write. Not because I have received a very short and forceful email from a friend telling me that he enjoyed this and I better put it back up.
I may never really share my reasons for restarting this blog. Heck I am not even sure why I decided to stop, or restart. Bounce is back, he never really went away. I also got hammered by my wife Judy for stopping. No that is not the reason I am restarting either, although it will make my life a little easier.


I publicly apologize to all my Run Brothers and Sisters for basically being a complete jerk for the first three days I was on the Run this year. I was doing a job that I volunteered for, and did not want to do. The staging crew is a good bunch of folks, and last year after a few days I realized that they were not getting breakfast, or breaks while doing their jobs, so I started doing that for them. That was all I intended to do this year. I have a job on the Run, and it is to keep the Big Trucks from panicking, or causing an accident that could and would probably kill riders. I was frustrated because I could not do that job. Krazy Karl was doing it alone from California until Wentzville. I was helping a little by talking to West bound Trucks ahead of the pack, and alerting trucks in Rest Areas and Truck Stops that they should go, or wait half an hour, so that they would not get caught on ramps by the pack. I allowed my frustration to bubble out. No I allowed it to erupt, or explode. I tried to let Trunks know that it was going to happen, and he had no time to hear me. Then when for the third time that day a rider, who knew that I was staging platoon 6 decided to cuss me out for not doing my job right (please note that the rest of the platoon found me and knew that I had the #6 in my hand, and this rider knew it too, but because he did not feel that I was doing my job properly he told me.) I simply blew up. It was ugly, my words and actions were ugly. I apologized to that rider later, and now apologize to everyone that did or did not see and hear this event.
I also apologize to my Brother, Shoreparty, I was sending him my daily check calls along with others. My last check call was written after a long day. I stated the truth in the email, and jumbled my words a little. I have read and reread the email, it made sense at the time, but is jumbled. Run For The Wall, is a mission of healing, remembrance. It is a mission to make America aware that We have left a lot of people behind and can never forget them. Run For The Wall is not in any way a protest, nor is it misnamed as some have indicated. The Run goes to the Wall. In the past it has ended at the Wall. In the future it will end at the Wall again. The mission of the Leadership is to safely get a lot of motorcycles safely across the country and to D.C. This year that was done again very successfully. The leadership guided it, but the people that joined and participated were responsible for the safe completion of that mission. In 2005, my first Run, my Brother and I left the West Virginia Capital after the pack, and we stopped and picked up trash. There was not a lot of it, but there was some trash. It may or may not have come from the riders, but it was there after the pack left. We took a few minutes to pick it up. We both mentioned that there had been trash left, and Leadership told riders that was unacceptable. Every year since then (and twice in 2005 and 2006 I proudly did it with my Brother) except for 2008 I have picked up the trash after the pack has left this area. 500 plus bikes, most with a rider and passenger, can leave a little trash without intending too. Things fall off packs, especially when folks dawdle a little while waiting to roll. In 2008 I rode into Rainelle with the staging crew because I was needed there.
in 2005,2006, 2007 there was some trash, not much but some. This year I picked up the trash too. There were three full water bottles, and I saw two of them fall off a bike that was passing me. The third probably fell of a bike too. That was it. There was not a single scrap of paper, or even one wrapper anywhere on the ground. That is the type of rider we had this year.
To the folks that have said the Central Route is going downhill, I say no you are wrong. To the person who asked me if I felt more comfortable with my riding this year, and asked what I attributed that too, I say that yes I was more comfortable with my riding this year, because I now have 32,000 miles on my bike. Not because he decided that riding two up is not safe, he was a team leader and he can run his team any way he wants. I ran my team the way I wanted, and followed my plan. He on the other hand used the excuse that he had been simply following the license plate in front of him for the previous years for getting his entire team lost not once, but several times. In addition I think he may have started the whole controversy about riding two up as opposed to staggered. Two up is the way Central Route Rides. They do it proudly, and even with more than 50% FNG's this year, WE DID IT WELL. I do not know if I will do the Run next year or not. This has nothing to do with this year, it has to do with the cost to me and my business. The minor mishaps, including my dropping Clyde involved experienced riders. As far as I know no FNG was hurt while riding in the pack. There was one ankle injury and that happened at a fuel stop, not on the highway. 4ridden (pronounced FOR RIDING dropping the G) got hurt, but will heal, a Road Guard got hurt but will heal, I lucked out and because I was working with the big truck behind me I am alive. Had I not told him the pack was stopping before I dropped Clyde, I might be a greasy spot. I dropped Clyde because another bike went where I had decided to go, and I could not hit that rider. Minor damage to Clyde, my personal pride will come back too.

OK now that I have ranted. I will at the request of friends, and I will list their road names here, like Krazy, Bones, North, Broomie, Snow Kitten, Black and Chrome, and many others, continue to write. I had no idea how many folks have read this blog, and I thank them for their encouragement and support. I prayed and got the answer, it is not always the answer you want by the way, so I will continue to write. Now if you have read this far thank you. I have pictures to post, and people to thank. Entries here may be long or short, but in the future they will be clearer than before. I will think about what I write, because Shoreparty is correct, our words do have consequences. I will be writing about this years Run, and things and people that I meet during my job as a truck driver.

I sincerely apologize to any and every one that I have ever offended. I do not intend to do that. Run For The Wall is not a rally, it is not a party, it is a mission. One does not have to like it, one simply has to do it. That has been my feeling since May of 2005 when I first joined. Run For The Wall is more than just an event, it is a family too. Some do it once, and mark it off their bucket list, others like myself will probably do it until either everyone left behind is brought home, or until someone has to ride in tribute to them because they have passed on.

To Jack Tilkens Family thank you for giving me the honor of having a Marine in the over watch position this year. I have a copy of the tribute and pictures of where I left it. Also there were at least three CAP marines that wrote down Jack's info and Gunner should be contacting me with a website that he is posting Jack's information on. I will forward that to Mark when I get it.
Everyone on the Run I am praying you all make it home safely, thanks for putting up with me, and thanks for making every year better and more memorable than the last.

Dave Talley
Writing as Bounce, or Clyde the motorcycle. They are interchangeable

OK already I will keep writing

I wrote something I should have thought more about and should have been clearer about in an email. I thought I was pretty clear, but was not. These words caused a firestorm, and I got burned badly. I have asked for forgiveness from the person I upset, and he has given me that. He understands that I misspoke. I no longer have the heart to write. I am sorry about that. I have said that this blog was not dedicated to the Run For The Wall, but the writer is. Well I was and still am, but I will not be riding with those wonderful people again. I will miss them. I love all of them, even the ones that rub me wrong and that I rub wrong. This years Run was successful in that there were no life threatening injuries, and the mission was completed with the laying of a wreath on Saturday, and a lot of FNG's were helped to get to the Wall. The Rolling Thunder parade was pretty much shut down by the Capital Police. There is no respect for Veterans in D.C. When the Police stopped the parade to allow pedestrians to cross the street I finally realized that we truly were trespassers in our own Capital. I wonder what I sacrificed so much for, what my family sacrificed so much for, what all those Vets that were there had sacrificed for. We were not honored, nor were we given the respect that some of those Veterans have earned by losing limbs and peace of mind. We were just an annoyance.
As for the Run For The Wall, I am still dedicated to it, and will support it, but will never be able to ride with them again. It breaks my heart to write this, and that is at least in part the reason that this blog will end with this post.
This blog started because I was upset about something someone else had written. Today some one posted a reply to my last entry that opened my eyes a lot. That person was right in everything they said. I do rant, and I do go on about things I should not. So it started because I was upset about something some one else said, and it ends pretty much the same way.
If you enjoyed the words I wrote I thank you, if I offended anyone I am sorry.

As for all previous postings here they have been deleted. *God Bless the American Soldier, and the American Trucker, without them this Country would stop.

*Krazy

May God Bless all the riders as they head home knowing their mission is accomplished again this year, and may they never forget, and never quit until everyone our Government left behind comes home.

This is not the final post. It was going to be, but friends have brought me back from running and hiding in a cave. I had no idea how important these rants were to some folks. More to come. As for the Mission of Run For The Wall, it is greater than any one person. I do not know if I will do it again or not. Time will tell. Everything happens for a reason, EVERYTHING. Also I love my Brother, and my Run Family, I will desert neither. Those that pick a fight with my Brother, had better be ready to fight me too. He has apologized to me, and no apology was needed. I have apologized to him, because I was wrong.


Dave Talley