This is the pin for the 30th annual Run for the Wall 

This year is pretty special. It is my 14th Run, and the run has been going for 30 years.  The first year, 1989, there was no internet.  Facebook was not even a gleam in a college students eye, and you could not take your phone out and take a picture.

The amazing thing on that first year (I have asked the founder and this was his answer) was that people did what they said they were going to do.  Gunny had all these riders following him, he knew the route, and people had promised over the phone to support, but he had no idea if they would show up.  One story he told me was about a lady in Colorado who was so happy to see him, and all those riders (about 100 at that point) because she had a lot of food and did not want to see it go to waste.  They had a small freezer full of little cups of ice cream, the freezer was not working, and the riders were eating three and four cups at a time to keep it from going to waste.  Think about it though.  Organizing something like this. Ten days from L.A. to D.C. having an advance team that was almost 2 days ahead of you checking road conditions and possible places to stop.  Most of them camped in those days, and not everywhere they went loved them.  Bikers had a reputation formed in Hollywood, and in 1989 it was not stellar.   They had no Cell phones, the advance team would arrange with a fuel stop or a Truck stop to receive a call and then would call with a number to call back and wait for the pack to show up. Then long distance calls were made and paid for

Think about that for a moment, all of that.  Organizing something like this today is pretty easy. You pick up your cell phone or go to your laptop and email some folks, get on Facebook and post information, then you get responses and you know the thing is going to happen.   But in 1988 and 1989 things were a lot different.  How do you get the word out?   You make a lot of calls, and most of those are long distance calls (nothing today, but in 1989 a pricey proposition.

Then the day comes when you start this first journey, and wow people show up, because they said they would.  Then you start the trip, and people in the towns you plan to stop at show up, they feed you and your group, and tell you to come back.  

The people of Run For the Wall are simply amazing.  Not the riders, we perform the mission, and we number in the hundreds every year, and every year that gets a little larger.   But the people that support us across the country (there are now three routes so we cover a lot more ground) number in the thousands.   That first group of bikers (strike one) were pretty much all veterans (strike two because America in 1989 didn't treat her veterans well) and veterans of the Viet Nam War (Strike 3 because America literally shat on those veterans in 1975), were amazing people too.  They did not know what kind of reception they would get, and it was not always friendly, they did not know what the weather would be like, they did not know where they would sleep, or shower, or eat.  They just knew that they had a mission to perform, and they did it in an outstanding manner.  That first year laid the ground work for the next 29 years.   

Think about this.  When did you see your first POW/MIA flag at a State House, or Court house, or business, or rest area?   It has only been about 20 years that these are proudly displayed.  That part of the mission worked pretty well, because now those flags are flown in all 50 states, I know about 48 of them because I have been there and seen it.   Then think about how America sent soldiers to the Viet Nam War and brought them home.  1 or 2 at a time.  We don't do that anymore, and instead of protesters waiting with signs and bodily fluids, our troops are now  greeted by Patriot Guard, or simply applauded by large groups of people in a spontaneous manner.   In 2005 in Wentzville MO my brother and I met a Marine who may have been about 20 years old.  He was on leave and in civilian attire, but he told us something that is very true.  He said that his commander told his unit that they could proudly wear their uniforms anywhere they wanted to, and that they should thank the Viet Nam veterans for that. You see Viet Nam veterans, and Cold War era Veterans (I am one of those) will not allow anyone to be disrespectful of our troops today, if they try they will be shut down pretty damn fast.   I am a rider on Run for the Wall, I am a Veteran, and I am proud of the accomplishments of that first run, and the 29 follow up runs.   If you could see the America I see every year, you to would be pretty proud of your country.  The media doesn't see it or show it but America is a great place.

gotta go finish packing, Then do a shake down ride to make sure I am ready, I know the bike is.

Bounce

Wow there sure is a lot of dust in here.  I have not been in here for a while.  To any who follow this I am sorry about that, been busy trying to make enough money to afford this years RFTW.  The good news is that I think I have gotten it done.   I plan to ride all the way again this year.  I am a long way from where I was in 2004 when my Brother Bob called me and told me that I needed to do this ride.   He was right by the way, and being his older brother I often hate when he is right.  This time I am glad both that he invited me to do this run, and that I did it.  There are lots of stories about the run, and some of them are about me, but most are about the healing that goes on.  There are pictures every where, and I will be posting loads more of them here because I have finally gotten computer literate enough to do so.  

When I did my first Run in 2005 I started in Limon, Colorado.  My Brother and I met the Run with a few other folks in Lamar, Colorado, and we just fell into line at the fuel stop.  I knew the hand signals and had lots of other information because I was my Brother's FNG that year, and he took good care of me.  A great deal has changed since 2005.  You can no longer just join the pack any where, you have to register online (We take walk ons, but it costs more that way) and can only join at a night stop.  Our registration folks are busy during dinner, and in the morning too.   I miss the old days sometimes, but  having folks registered and informed and at the riders meetings is pretty important.   When people were allowed to just jump in (we called them Day Riders) there were always problems.  We still have problems, but nothing like it was.  Day Riders often had no clue what the hand signals meant, or that we ride in formation, and tight all the way across country.

In addition to being better organized, we have a lot more police escorts today than we did back then.

I remember my first trip through Kansas City, KS and MO in 2005.  The route coordinator missed the exit to I-670.  Not his fault, the road guard (Injun Joe) could not get where he could be seen do to construction, and JR just missed the turn.  Part of the pack, the guys in front mostly, took the turn because the knew the route.  The guys in the back also missed the turn.  The pack exploded, no police protection, and no leadership.   There were about 300 bikes in the pack that year.  70 or so of them were on the right road and picked up the police escort.  The rest of us were pretty much on our own.  My Brother and I had radios, and he got me going.  After about 3 miles of fast riding (I refuse to say how fast, but my speedometer goes to 140 and although not pegged it was close) I decided that JR was in front of us, I could hear him talking trying to communicate with the rest of the pack.  All he had was the 5 bike missing man formation and a few road guards in sight.  I got Bob to slow down to about 10 or so over the limit, and very shortly bikes started catching and passing us, and then all of a sudden bikes started forming on my Brother and I.   Pretty soon the entire pack, the part that did not take the right road was behind us.  I knew that we were on I-70 and that if I could get into the proper lane we could go straight through.  I had driven my truck through there many times.  Seems I was the only one who knew that 1 JR was still in front of us, and 2 that we were going to catch him.  after about 10 miles I was close enough for JR to hear my radio.  I do not remember his exact words, but it may have been "Hello, come in. Is there anyone from the Run behind me?"   I clearly remember replying "yes sir! most of the pack is formed up and we are catching you".  He responded with his speed and mile marker  and we caught him.  In retrospect, it was a good thing that all the cops were on I-670, cause a lot of us could have gotten speeding and even reckless driving citations that day.  When we got to Wentzville, MO one of the guys that caught us (he actually flew past us and then slowed down to form up behind us) came up to me and told me that he was really glad that he caught me and Bob.  I asked him why, and he said, that he knew that I had a radio, and figured I would be talking to JR.  He also said that he had ridden beside me the day before, and that I was pretty steady.   That made me feel really good, because when it comes to Run standards, I am a novice rider.   I ride very little other than the Run.  In fact an All The Way trip is between 6500 and 7000 miles.  I have participated in this run in one way or another every year since 2005.  This will be my 14th year.  Clyde was new in 2005 and has a little over 70,000 miles on him.  Do the math, I do not ride much.  When I ride with folks that have not done RFTW I tend to scare them, because I want to be right behind the guy in front of me and right next to the guy next to me.  Normal riders do not ride this way, they do not consider it safe.  They  have never ridden with over 600 other bikes in rush hour traffic in Charlottsville, WV, or into the middle of the Mall in Washington D.C. with over 1000 bikes with no police escort, I have and believe me there is safety in numbers, and protect your buddy is a good rule.

So More to come in the next few weeks.  If you have questions comment, if you like or dislike something leave a comment.   I moderate the comments because kids read this stuff too, but all comments will be posted here (please remember there are children in the audience.  I will redact any and all bad words, but all comments will be posted.

Dave Talley,

Aka Bounce the truck whisperer.

(there is a story in that name too, and I will relay it this year)