I started this blog because I wanted to comment on another blog.  That guy had it set up so that folks had to open their own blog to do so.   

I had a lot to write about every May and looking back that was really the only thing I wrote about.  I love the mission of Run For The Wall, and for the most part I love the people that do it.   Some are more interested in their goals than the mission, but there are not that many of them. I moved from Wisconsin to Texas two years ago.  Last year I finally got a Texas license.  That was difficult because of Covid-19.  You had to make an appointment with the DMV and you could not just walk in and get a license.  With a lot of help from the qualifications department at Stevens I finally got it done.  I have a friend that works there that allowed me to use his address, and I got it done.   Now with all this time off I have found a place to live. I have some dear dear friends that have  rented me a single wide trailer that is at the front of their property.   I changed my license and finally got the post office to change my address.  That too was difficult because of Covid-19.  You would think that the whole world caught it and died because of it.   

In some ways, no a lot of ways things have changed.  Here in America people found that they could work from home and not have to drive into work every day.  My friend in Karnack Texas still works from home, he loves it because he doesn't have to drive almost 350 miles a day.   In a lot of ways people are more productive when working from home.  Others not so much.  But instead of logging off and walking outside to smoke or vape, they can do it at their desk.  So they are on their phones more.   Some just play games while waiting for the phone to ring.   But the point is they are at the phone more often than when they had to walk outside for a "break".   Also E-Mail is often the only way to contact some folks now.  

I am one of those.   If you know my email address write me, I will answer it.  My phone is still there and it still works, but I usually just let calls go to voice mail now a days.   There are so many scammers and sales people calling I just do not answer any more.

So what have I been doing while on short term disability?  I started volunteering at the local community center in Goldthwait Texas.  Lots of very nice folks there.  Putting together the meals on wheels and making lunch for the folks that can get to the center is fun.  It is a lot of work, and the Cook is on vacation this week, so we volunteers have been busy.  The lady that runs the program is very nice and keeps us on track.

Wednesday we had live music and celebrated a gentleman's 94th birthday.  Come to find out there are a lot of 90 year olds in the lunch crowd.  The music was great and it was fun listening to it.  Lunch was things that I can't eat but everything else was great.

In addition to that I am feeding the animals while my friends went on a short trip.   I feed four cats, two dogs, fifteen or so sheep, three cows, a calf, a donkey named EEore, and a Llama named Ethyl.  There are also a rooster and 6 chickens.  Plus an animal that I have not seen that is supposed to be a cat, but could be a raccoon.  That is over where the cattle feed is, and whatever it is eats the food every day.   

Dean and Tish have been very good to me and I am thankful that they trust me enough to do this for them.  The dogs sleep with me, and are not much of an alarm clock, in fact they tend to ignore the alarms I have set.   In fact today I got up, cleaned up and got dressed and the two dogs were still asleep.  When I mentioned that I was going to feed them Jetta yawned and went back to sleep, Ziggy did not react at all.  But I got it done.    EEore likes me and lets me scratch his nose.  Ethyl is a different story.  She acts like she had a bad experience  at a petting zoo, and won't allow anyone to touch her. But I am working on being able to scratch her nose too.  The Bull the Ram allow me to feed them, but they watch me like hawks. That is how I am spending my forced vacation.  I collect eggs and harvest Okra out of the garden too.

So twice a day I am busy, then I volunteer at the community center, and I enjoy all of it.   I have pictures, and will try to add them to this post later.

Time for dinner, then I have chores to complete.  Thanks for reading.

Bounce

 To the four or five folks that follow these posts I must apologize for not writing in here for the last couple of years.   A lot has happened since my last post.   I moved to Texas, got divorced, bought two different Pick up trucks, and have learned how to feed chickens, sheep cows.

In addition to that two years ago this month I was run down by a big truck in an El Paso truck stop.  Idiot driver was reading his cell phone when driving to the pumps.  I was walking no where near the path to the pumps, but he hit me and dragged me a bit over 30 feet.  I was sore, had road rash in a few places.  I insisted on going to the hospital to get checked out.  I was fine. The truck driver (flip flop wearing idiot) that hit me told the responding law enforcement officer that I jumped under his truck.   The video witness statements clearly refuted that statement.  The video from the truck stop security camera clearly shows the driver was looking at the cell phone in his hand.   Before someone asks, no I did not sue.  I called a few lawyers, including the "Texas Hammer" and got the same thing from all of them, I wasn't hurt bad enough for them to take the case.   The one guy that said he would do it wanted 40% of anything I got and told me that it would mean at least six months off of work.   Today I would do it, but then I didn't think I could afford it.   Almost a year later the driver found out that my company had put a lien against him and finally reported it to his insurance company.   That insurance company fired his agent and dropped him for not reporting the accident.  I got almost enough cash to buy a 12 year old used pick up truck.  It was too small to haul the kind of travel trailer I want so I sold it and bought a bigger truck.

The divorce cost me a duplex, and a paid for motor home.  I will never get married again.  In fact it is hard for me to want to even be with some one anymore.  I trusted my Ex wife, and it turns out that she and her daughters screwed me over pretty bad.  But like the song says "Thank God and Greyhound she's gone."  Funny thing is I have managed to save money and still cover all my bills. Never could do that before.

Okay, that should bring everyone up to date with me.   I still work for Stevens Transport, and I now live in Lometa Texas.

More to come, and pictures too.

 First an apology to the four or five who read my posts here.  I have not been here since 2019. Covid is not my excuse. Life is.  Things have changed a lot for both me and Clyde since 2019. He has been fixed and is languishing in storage somewhere in Wisconsin.  His younger sister, aka Big Red (haven't ridden her enough to have any other name.  She is bid and she is red so I guess that works). My clothes, and a desk, a dresser and a bed and a lamp are in storage in Wisconsin. I have moved to Texas, and have not been in Wisconsin since September of 2019.   I am now divorced, not my idea, but I did  not fight it.

I still work for Stevens Transport, and still for the most part like my job.   Currently I am in a motel in Albuquerque, NM.  The wonderful new Freightliner I got a few months ago doesn't run properly, and right now the dealership it is at has no idea why.  They have had it since Monday, and did not even look at it until yesterday.  They are giving our Road Rescue a run around, but at least they have looked at it.  Main CPU keeps losing programing, the only way to start the truck is disconnect the battery cables, wait 5 minutes, reconnect and it works.  While parked at night it locks up again.  unfortunately it will also lock out the neutral on the transmission if turned off during the day.  Truck is set to only idle for three minutes, so it will shut down when getting out  to look, or opening the doors at a dock, and then won't start.  Then I have to disconnect batteries and reconnect to get it started. Sometimes the four way flashers work, sometimes they don't.  Along with that the traction control, anti roll back and lane departure switches and units do not work.  This truck only has 20,000 miles on it so it is a warranty issue and the shop it is at does not want to replace the computer in the truck.  If they get it fixed fine, if not I will just limp it back to Dallas and see if I can get a different truck.

Okay that is enough about me.

I have some exciting news

Run For The Wall has not been cancelled again for this year.  I am not going because I cannot afford it. I like everyone that does it. I love the mission, but I just cannot do it this year or next.  After I retire I may be able to.  In 2019 before it cancelled I resigned from my self made job of Central Route Communications team.   I hope the keep doing it but  I doubt seriously that they will.  Current leadership doesn't think what I did was important.  I know it was, but Central Route was the only route doing it.  I will be posting information here as I receive it, and OOIDA is supporting us again this year.  They were pretty happy that the Run is on.   I have no idea of the numbers, but since it has been two years I am betting that there will be a huge turn out this year.

So that is about it for now.  

Except that I plan to start a new blog.  No name for it yet, but it will be about my retirement, and Clyde may be in it.  I plan to give him to my son Luke. Clyde likes Luke and Luke rides very well.  Although Clyde is old, he is far from obsolete, new brakes, new tires, new clutch and all body work repairs done.  Old Clyde is pretty much like new.

I plan to buy a toy hauler trailer and see the country.  That is what the new blog will be about.  Might even try video blogging to.  Never too old to learn new things.

Thanks for reading.

comments are appreciated, suggestions on what you would like to see here, or maybe suggestions for the new blog?

Bounce is out

Wow it is hard to believe that I have not been in here since last year.   The last post I saw dated May 5, 2018.  I thought I posted more than that last year. 

A lot of things have changed for me and good old Clyde this year.   First off he is getting a ride most of the way to California. I trailered him to Ken and Carol Neufeld's home in Arlington Kansas.  So this trip is  going to be from Wasau, Wisconsin to Arlington, KS to Ontario, CA to Arlington VA back to Arlington, KS to Wausai Wisconsin.

We are using our new (it is not new, but it is new to us) motor home.

We will be traveling with the Neufelds, and our Grandson Jake.  It will be a little crowded, and Clyde gets trailered part of the way, but we will have fun.

Today Ken and I and Jake whacked some golf balls around Ken's 9 hole golf course.  Jake is 14 but he really had fun. He even hit the ball better than I did.  Clyde got his oil changed, and some of his electronics updated. Retired the old Garmin Street Pilot that the maps can no longer be updated on, and set it up the new power plug a newer Garmin, and changed the power plug for the SiriusXM Radio.

The bike is ready for the Run, and will be loaded on the trailer in the morning.

Ken will be driving the Coach, and I will be on Clyde, but it has been raining a lot here, and after last years little mud bath we are going to give Clyde a little break.

Well We are on our way to Run For The Wall. 

The plan is to sell the house and retire debt free and live in the motor home.  Will have to do all that next year. 

Many more posts to come.

Bounce

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)

Life is Good

Life is good.   This week I had to go to Milwaukee to visit with my Brothers and Sister.  My nieces, nephew  and daughter were also  there.  It was almost like a Family reunion.  But it truly was not.  We were all there to attend my Mother's funeral.  Although this should have been a sad occasion, it truly was not.  Mom had a long life, and most of it was good.  We chose to remember the good times.   The times she made us laugh, and the times she helped us.   She and my Dad, were responsible for both my Brothers and my Sister going to Wisconsin Lutheran High School, and also in a way her grandchildren that live in Milwaukee going there too.   She was also in some ways responsible for my grand children going to a church school.

The memorial service was very nice.  We had a wake or family rememberance of her the night before.  On the night after we watched Super 8 movies of her, my Dad, and a lot of our family.  It was really a good time.  There were actually pictures of my Brother and I smiling together, and film footage of it too.   Life is so good.

I will miss my Mom, she had a way of making me smile even when I was in the worst of moods.  I loved her, and she loved all of her children.  If not for her my brothers would not have met the women that they have been married to, I would not have the children and grand children that I have.

The pastor said some one had described her as fearless, and she was.  Always up for a challenge, and relentless when she thought she was right. 

I danced with her at my nephew's wedding and she was so happy there.  I will remember her that way.

She is with God now and with her parents and brothers and sisters that she loved so much.  She is not suffering anymore and she is smiling down on us.

Retirement Is coming and I am chasing it hard

This July I turned 62.  This in America is the first year that you can apply to start recieving Social Security, a fund that we pay into our entire working lives.   I quickly found that I cannot afford to retire, yet.   My wife and I are going to do it, and it will happen probably next August.  Until then I will be working, and even though I thought I was leaving Stevens Transport, that won't be happening either.   They want me to stay, and even though it is only for a year more, they want me to retire from there.   So after a conversation with the V.P. of driver relations, and my wife, I will be returning to Texas next week and will be rolling out in a Stevens Truck.  

A lot of my friends from Run For The Wall will be forming up in Angel Fire N.M. next weekend to lay bricks, I won't be there, but after this year I will.   I also have been asked to head up the Central Route Communications team next year, and I have agreed to do that.   I will be looking for at least 3 other riders to help with this.  Merry Starkey will be on the team and as long as Rick is a tail gunner it will work, but if he moves to Platoon leadership it won't, or at least I cannot see how it can work.

In the past I have tried really hard to monitor 2 channels at once, and nothing seems to work, but I may have a solution this year, possibly.   The other three bikes that I need are first a pace bike for me and then another radio bike and pace bike to be towards the front of the pack.  

But that is for the spring, for now I am planning on packing what I need to take tonight, and will be heading back towards Dallas either in the morning, or more likely Monday morning.  There is a little hurricane in Texas right now that may hamper me driving back down there.

Thanks again to all who read this. Comments are moderated, but will be shared in their entirety.

Bounce

Well there sure are a lot of cobwebs and dust in here.  Just a few little house keeping things.   First an apology.  I did not post as much this year during the Run For The Wall as in past years.   I am getting older, and finding WIFI and power to plug in were just not on my list of things to do.  Setting up my camp and going to sleep were.  
OK that being done here goes.

I turned 62 this last month.  I really want to retire.  I almost can.  I will be changing jobs, and we plan be to finish remodeling our house and then selling it.  Then we are going to invest in a motor home, use the proceeds from the sale of the house to pay everything off, and intend to see the country.  It will be fun.  A little scary but fun.  Good old Clyde will be trailered as will a car.  It might not be the great jeep we have now, but it will be something.  This way I can home all the time and still drive around the country.   We, my Wife Judy and I both have National park lifetime passes now, and we are both looking forward to the next step.   Things will be pretty tight, but with a budget and a lot of frugality we will be fine.
I will be blogging all about it.  Hopefully those who read this will share and who knows, maybe I will become a famous blogger.


Well that is it for now.  More to come

Dave Talley
AKA Bounce

RFTW XXIX is over.  I passed out a lot of cards with the blog on them.  I told everyone that if they came here not to mind the dust and cobwebs.   I am cleaning those out now.

What a journey.  This year I did not go to Colorado, but instead went to Kansas to visit with Ken Cheetos Nuefeld and his wife Carol.  Of course I also visited Buster the dog.  I really enjoyed that short visit.  Ken showed me the9 hole golf course he has in his back yard.  This is no putt putt course it is a true 9 hole golf course with traps and everything.  I do not golf, but may have to take it up. When I first got to Arlington Kansas we got lucky.  Just as soon as I pulled Clyde into Ken's garage the sky let loose with a real downpoor.  But I was dry and so was Clyde.

After a nice afternoon and evening visit and a great night on a self inflating air mattress I headed to Albuquerque to meet my Brother Bob Shoreparty Talley and his friend Homer.  We spent the night in Albuquerque and then went on to Kingman AZ.   We met about 5 other riders at the Route 66 casino and they went on to Kingman and then Ontario CA.   There were to new guys on Trikes, and it was kind of fun answering their questions.

I was the communications team lead for this years run.  I was also the only one on the radio with the trucks.  I did have a team member, a wonderful person and awesome rider named Gary Wells.  His pipes were a little loud but he kept me in line and riding tighter than normal.  It took a few legs to get him to see what I needed, but we worked it out.  The road guard behind us did request that next year I get some one with mufflers on his bike instead of open pipes.  So since Gary will be going back to the Southern Route I will put that in the requirement when I request help.

We had great weather our first day.  That is until we were heading to the middle school in Williams after dinner.  We got hail and sleet.  Then in the morning Clyde was frozen over.  Nothing except the chokes and starter worked.  We all had to thaw bikes out that morning.  Once good old Clyde was parked in the sun for a while he thawed out and everything including the CB was working properly.

In Oakley KS there was a small fender bender while we were getting off the highway.  I had been talking to a tuck driver who was passing the pack.  He saw the whole thing.  Apparently a pick up truck decided to exit with us and hit a couple of bikes.  No real damage and no one was hurt, and because the truck driver was already slowing down he was able to get stop before he ran over any one or any thing.

For the most part we had a pretty safe year.  As always there were errors by riders, and those resulted in some minor injuries, and minor damage to bikes, but we got better as we always do.  This ride is pretty intense, and one MUST stay alert and aware of everything in order to do it.

I camped all the way accross.In Williams because of hail, sleet and freezing conditions we all spent the nigt in the middle school gym, but this is normal this time of year in Williams.   In Gallup we all slept inside because of wind and rain.  In Eagles Nest NM a couple offered some of us the chance to stay at their house because it was going to snow that night.  We quickly took them up on that offer.
It was great. Clyde and Tatanka (that is what my Brother calls his bike) and Homer's Trike spent the night in a heated garage. Everyone else set up in the room we ate dinner in.  We left Eagles Nest with cold air, and wet roads, but no snow anywhere but on parked bikes.

We campers again lucked out in Goodland KS.  We had moved from the National Guard Armory to the Technical College, and it was again going to rain.  So Far we slept inside in Williams, way to cold not to, and at Angel Fire, Eagles Nest, again inside way too cold to camp.  Then In Goodland we slept inside, way to windy and rainey to set up tents.  The Technical College was great and let us use both a garage and their gym.  I hope we can use that again.

Then in Junction City it was supposed to rain again that night, and the Eagles Club where dinner was hosted offered to let campers set up air mattresses in the same room we ate.  Once again it was going to rain and storm so we of course jumped at the chance.

Then came Wentzville, MO.   The weather was great, but again the weather man had predicted heavy rain and high winds.  So far we had been lucky, but were looking at setting up tents, and having to tear them down wet and in high winds in the morning.  Then my brother met Phoebe and Susan.  They were there working as volunteers to help out the VFW in serving all the riders.  There were about 400 of us at that point.  I am not sure how the conversation came to it, but they offered to let about 6 of us sleep at their houses.  Once again we jumped at the chance.

I had a nice chat about the Run, and some politics with Phoebe and her Husband Justin.  Neither of them look old enough to be married, but they were very nice.  Phoebe may be hooked on the Run too.
While I was waiting for my brother to let me know where the houses were I participated in a special 50/50 raffle to raise money for Rainelle. (more on Rainelle in a moment).  I bought $5.00 or 6 tickets.  My friend Cam Larson bought$20 worth of tickets.  Because of many things, Cam handed me his tickets, and headed for his hotel. Right after that I won the clock that was being raffled.  Mine was the fourth or fifth ticket pulled for this.  It had gotten so late that many folks had already left the VFW.
So I won the Clock, and they were going to ship it to me.  Then Gary called Phoebe to get the address, and my brother answered her phone.  He told us to meet him at the gas station down the road from the VFW and he would show us how to get to Phoebe and Justin's house.

When we got there Phoebe let us park our bikes in her garage,  Then she showed us where we were to sleep.  It was great, I had expected to set up my air mattress in the basement, but she had two guest rooms for us.  Gary and I were very very happy with the arrangements.  Plus she had a shower set up in her basement, and had room for maybe 4 or 5 more folks down there.  I will keep this in mind for next year.  
Then next morning Phoebe and her Mom were there to watch the riders leave.  I asked if the clock had been shipped yet, and it had not.  I asked for it.  D.C, Hagerman, our raffle rouser said there was no way I could pack it on a bike.  I told him that I felt that the Run should not have to spend the money to ship it to me.  It weighed almost 40 pounds and would have cost a lot of money to ship.  I gave it to Phoebe and Justin, because they needed a clock for their living room.  It is a beuatiful piece with RFTW 2017 engraved in it.  It is made of Oak and was made in Missouri for the Run.  I just felt that it needed to stay in Missouri, and Phoebe would love it.

When I gave it to her she was shocked, and I think honored to recieve it.  I hope she enjoys it and gets years of use out of it.  She is a great person as is her Husband and Mother and Father.

We visited the Jefferson Barracks VA hospital next.   I and about six other riders went up to the mental ward.  This ward has folks that have admitted themselves because they have either tried to kill themselves, or thought they wanted to.  Entering this ward was through a sally port, or man trap.  We met with and talked to 4 patients.  the nurse told them that we were going to Washington D.C. and that we were going to talk to Congress.  We did not correct her, but maybe we should have.  Congress leaves town when we come.  But the conversation was interesting, and maybe, just maybe we gave these guys some hope.  One of them was very interested in the Run, and when he gets better he may become one of our riders.  I got their names, but did not write them down, and I am terrible at names.
But it was a good visit.  We gave them all hugs, and my card, and left other things for them.  The nurses said they would give them to them when they were released from the ward.  Except for my cards, she said that she would share those in a session that afternoon.  For the most part except that they felt they were treated a lot like criminals, they said that the care they were getting is very good.  This important to our riders, because all of us that are veterans know that someday we could be in a VA hospital.

Then we went on to Corydon Indiana, great fish, and another awesome greeting.  We did set up tents here, warm air, and no rain.

Then we went to Nitro, we stopped in Mt Sterling KY for lunch and fuel, and as always it was great.  This did not used to happen.  Mt. Sterling was always a fuel stop, then we staged and went to lunch where we could.  But several years ago Cruizer and some road guards stopped a dine and dash, and an armed robbery of a gas station.  Two years later we had free gas, and a great lunch.  When I asked about this I was told by a woman in the town that they were not real happy that they had ignored us for so long.  We love Mt. Sterling, and they should not be ashamed, We could have asked for their support a lot sooner, but never really thought about it.

After Mt. Sterling we headed for Nitro WV.  This was a new stop for us.  We rolled in and the travelling Wall was waiting for us.  As was my friend Chuck Shadow Guryek and his wife Lynn.  What great folks,  This year was Shadow's 19th RFTW.  He is a great guy and he gave my Brother and I each a coup feather.  My Brother's was died with the colors of theVietnam Service Ribbon, and mine was just a warrior feather.  But Shadow who is a Medicine Man had blessed both of them.  My Brother really liked his.  I was just honored beyond belief.

The next morning Clyde was straffed by geese.  The crapped all over him, and yes the blessed coup feather was in the trunk.  Guessing it was a goose feather before dyeing and painting was done.  He was in a line of about 12 bikes, and he was the only one hit.  Nitro is a great town, and was a pleasant stop...Campers slept in the Church, rain and high winds again.

From Nitro we headed to the State Capital for a group picture on the Capital steps.  Then we went to the payoff.  That is right we visited the kids at Rainelle WV.  This little town was the first place to welcome the original Run, and we have been paying it back forever.  The Principle of the School rode with us into Rainelle.  She has her own Harley.  Then we gave the school $22,000.00 in cash.  That is right 500 riders donated $22,000.00 in cash to this little town.  Not the most we have ever collected but added to $18,000.00 in coats, hats and gloves given to them this winter it is an impressive number.
We camped at Lewisburg W.V. at the state fair park.  A few hours after we set up it started storming, but I was already asleep, so I did not care.  I slept for almost 12 hours.

Then we went on to Shenendoah Harley for lunch, then Toms Brook VA for fuel.  Then our last leg, into Washington D.C.
The Virginia State Police did an awesome job escorting us in.  We made it easy for them as even with 500+ bikes we were only about a mile and a half along.  (I saw about 100 bikes rolling into Washington D.C. Sunday on my way home, and they were stretched out to almost 3 miles.  They had an escort, but they were not riding very tight at all.)
I camped at the Arlington Assembly of God Church again, and completed my mission on Saturday.  I delivered Mark Tilkens tribute that his Wife Jackie had made up, and I awarded the winner of the knife that I had carried all the way across to the winner.  I raised about $200.00 for Neptune Warrior, and more importantly I got them a used Dive Compressor.  Something they desperately needed.

Final thoughts for this years Run.  In Zanesville OH I stayed at a Super 8 Motel.  They had special parking for veterans, and they gave me a 15% discount because I was on a bike.  I will stay there again.  The manager also sent me an email thanking me for taking the time to tell her about Run For The Wall.

I am home and ready to head back to work.  But I already have a plan for next year, and yes I am doing it again.  This was my 13th Run for the Wall, and I can't stop there.




Run For The Wall XXIX Mission Accomplished

Bounce Signing Out