20th Annual Run For The Wall

Central Route

Run For The Wall Web Site

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Day -2  Things are mostly on schedule - laundry done and stuff is out to pack.  I went by the Registration Hotel and have my wrist band.  It was great seeing old friends again.  I picked up the sound system and podium and took a few pictures.  There were license plates from  all over the country.  I saw the first casualty put on a trailer and taken to the shop as the banners were being put on the bikes.

Day -1  I got up this morning and all was going well.  The truck was 3/4 packed and my list of to-do's was short.  While I was having breakfast my phone rang.  It was the RFTW state captain asking how many people would fit in my truck.  About three with the back seat full of stuff!  They needed someone to go to French Valley Airport and provide transportation for four Medal Of Honor Recipients.  How could I say no?  Unpack the truck and off I go.  At French Valley Airport I saw the arrival of the Recipients in a Huey Helicopter that would escort us to DC.  As it turned out only one of them needed a ride along with his "guide".  As we arrived at his car and I was taking the flags down on the truck he returned and presented me with a "Medal Of Honor Challenge Coin".  IWow!

t put me behind schedule for the rest of the day but was well worth it. 

I made it to the " Chase" briefing where I got signs for the truck and a radio then picked up the trailer .  Bill and Toni Mooney jumped right in and helped and fed me and gave me a place to sleep.

Day 1  Rancho Cucamonga CA to Williams AZ  410 miles.  I woke up at 2:30 (had planed on 3:30) and had to update the web page so I went to Denney's and drank coffee and got it done.  I had breakfast and arrived at Victoria Gardens at 5:00 and set up the stage.  Then I took in the atmosphere and some pictures.  At 7:00 the briefing started and was highlighted by Navajo Indians which gave a blessing.  At 7:45 the Thunder started as the Southern Route pulled out.  8:00 finally arrived and off we went.  I was "Chase 3" and since one and two get used first was ready for an easy day.  As we were pulling out of the fuel stop in Barstow one of the "Road Guards" directed me back into the parking lot where there was a bike that wouldn't start.  I got out the jumper cables as he took off the fairings which cover the battery and got the bike started.  Then we realized that you need the key to put the fairings back and the key was in the ignition with the bike running!  Take out the key to put the fairings on and the engine stops!  I offered to take the fairings down the road while he went back to town for a new battery.  I caught up with the "pack" at Ludlow as they were finishing fueling the bikes.  After the fuel stop in Ludlow while back on the hiway I got flagged over by a bike that had hit a rubber cone and done some damage to his bike.  A trim piece got knocked off.  I carried the trim piece (and still have it) and went to Needles.  I was collecting pieces of bikes and might have enough to build one by the time we get to DC.  While having lunch I was asked to return to the gas station as a bike was down!  I went back and no bike!  A mystery.  Back at the park I was told that "Chase 1" had a broken axel on his trailer and "Chase 2" could only carry one bike and had it loaded.  I was the only available "Chase" from Needles to Williams.  Then one of the riders who had fallen the day before decided that her knee hurt to bad to ride so we put her bike on my trailer.  There was so much water left over from lunch that they asked me to stay and have it loaded into my truck.  I arrived in Needles with an empty trailer and left with one bike and a truck full of water!  Everyone made it to Williams without my assistance and the town had us all parade through town.  I think every camera in town was taking pictures of us.

Day 2 Williams to Gallup NM  224 miles  Up bright and early - set up the sound system - morning briefing - tear down the sound system - hit the road.  The first picture is the trailer configured as stage and tow vehicle.  I Also picked up a passenger from Georgia who came along to see if they want to ride it next year.  First stop was Winslow and while waiting in line to stage I got a radio call from a Road Guard who was still on the Freeway ramp and his bike wouldn't start!  I pulled out  of line turned around and went hunting for him.  He was at the freeway end of the ramp so I went down to the next ramp and turned around to get to him.  He had to remove the seat on his bike to get to the battery and we used my jumper cables again.  When this was finished the group was leaving so waited at the ramp and got some pictures of them leaving.  This was the first time that I was ahead of them!  Parade through town and lunch in Holbrook in light rain then off to Gallup for another parade and dinner including some Indian dances and songs.  You can see a picture of one of the WW II "Code Talker's" with his Iwo Jima patch.  Also take note of my truck and trailer parked on the wrong side of the street right behind the police car!  No ticket - he even moved his car so that I could park!!

Day 3  Gallup to Eagles Nest  292 miles  It was cold this morning when we got up!  Frost on the windshields.  Even the puppies were looking for a warm place.  After taking a few pictures I noticed a man at the front of my truck.  He had a dyed goat skin with patches and for a donation he had pieces of leather that you could put your name on.  The skin will go back to Hawaii for display.  I met a woman who was an Australian Viet Nam Veteran.  She is here for six months on her bike and joined RFTW.  Wow! did the New Mexico Troopers do a job for us.  We left Gallup and as I entered the Interstate I looked back and the police had all lanes of the freeway stopped for us.  It is impressive but I had seen it before.  About 20 miles down the road it dawned on me that nobody had passed us!  I looked back and there was a rolling road block behind us across all the lanes.  Every now and then an motorcycle cop would go roaring past at somewhere around 120 mph to get ahead and block an onramp.  About another 20 miles down the road and I noticed that we hadn't passed anyone either!  There would be the occasional car pulled over to the right with a police biker holding it there.  They were going out ahead of us and pulling over anyone going slower and holding them on the shoulder until we passed - Wow!  I got some good pictures showing part of the pack going down the road - You can never see all of them!

We stopped at the Route 66 Casino for fuel which was free thanks to Albuquerque Harley and then through Albuquerque where all five lanes of the freeway were held for us!!!  On the way to lunch there was the Huey again hovering over the highway.

During lunch at Espanola and more fuel we put another bike on the trailer as the rider was on meds that made her a little light headed and we were headed for narrow mountain roads and high altitude.  This used up all of my tie down straps so I took off ahead of the pack to the Angle Fire Memorial for Viet Nam vets.  At the memorial one of our riders and a Marine was explaining how the memorial came to be and by the time he finished we were both trying to hold back the tears.  I have a great picture of him in the front of the chapel that I will email to him.  He couldn't look at it there.

Spent the night at Eagle Nest NM.  8500 feet MSL and cold.  There was snow on the mountains but none in town.  My rider ended up sleeping on the couch in the lobby of the motel as her reservation got lost.  She had to get up as they were making blueberry muffins and wake up calls starting at 3:30 AM.

Day 4  Eagles Nest to Burlington CO  346 miles  As we gathered for breakfast and the morning ride briefing the townspeople began showing up.  They passed out pins for each of us and the Mayor gave a brief welcome speech.  The next stop was Raton NM where school kids sang patriotic songs for us as we munched on doughnuts and drank coffee.  There were more than a few of us wiping our eyes.  As we got back on the road and came around a corner there were 5 or 6 New Mexico motorcycle officers standing at the side of the road and saluting as we went by.  They had escorted us across the entire state as the next corner was Colorado.  We were leaving the mountains now and Paula took her bike off of the trailer to ride and we found another to replace it.  I think this one was a shift linkage problem.  I was ahead again and got some good pictures of the "Packs" arrival.  Our overnight stop in Burlington included dinner and an impressive greeting by every flag in town and a drum corps. 

Day 5 Burlington to Junction City KS   316 miles  Sunday started with a non-denominational service at the VFW.  During the briefing we were introduced to a young man who was with his father and making the RFTW.  This was his journey to manhood and he would be given an RFTW patch in DC as his brothers had done before.  I was told of a bike at one of the motels that had a shifter problem.  After the briefing I went to the motel and have pictures of the loading process.  I had found more tie down straps and now have three on the trailer!  I skipped the second fuel stop and arrived at the lunch stop about an hour ahead of the pack.  On the way there I went under an overpass with at least 20 people and even more flags.  They were there an hour before the pack would show up - standing in the sun - waiting.  This is when it dawned on me that this ride wasn't just about us.  It meant something to all the people along the way that  stood on the bridges or alongside the road with their flags just to see us go by and support us.  It made me think about the lone man standing on a large rock alongside the road in New Mexico - all alone with no car in sight - but he was there.

I arrived at the lunch/fuel stop and hour early and saw the owner passing out flags to people that were there.  I was looking forward to a milk shake but had to settle for a really good sandwich and chocolate milk.  After lunch I talked to some of the people who were waiting and then heard "Here they come".  It was the advance team of about 30 bikes.  I told the people around me that this was just the beginning - there are about 300 more about 15 minutes behind these!  The advance team fueled up and began setting up for the hoard that would be here soon.  Road Guards to direct traffic - Fueling crew to man the pumps - staging crew to get everyone parked and ready for the next leg.  One of the local people asked "how will they get the cars at the pumps out of the way?"  I said "Just watch".  The radio call came "5 minutes out" and the fueling crew started blocking the pumps and road guards with their yellow arm bands began directing cars out of the way.  First comes the sound a faint buzzing that gets louder and louder then turns into the barking of motorcycles.  Down the road you begin to see them and they keep coming and coming.  What seems like a traffic jam somehow gets 300 bikes refueled and lined up in platoon order in about 15 minutes.  Even NASCAR would be proud.

The day ended at Junction City with a really good spaghetti dinner at the convention center.  There was a Memorial Service at the Heritage Park Viet Nam Memorial that I skipped - just too tired.

Day 6  Junction City to Wentzville MO  356 miles  The days are beginning to run together.  Wake up around 5:00 and go set up the trailer for the morning briefing flags and sound system.  Find breakfast.  Attend the briefing.  Put away the sound system and flags.  Take some pictures and try to remember what state you are in.  You may notice the picture of the "ammo can" with the 82nd Airborne label.  It contains the ashes of Eddie Livingston - a WW II veteran who is being taken "home" to the wall before being interned in a National Cemetery.  You can find out more at "Taking Eddie Home".

Somehow all of the bikes and riders have been repaired and are back on the road - the trailer is empty but it won't last.  On the way to Topeka I get flagged over by a Gold Wing with a camping trailer.  His bike won't run.  It starts with full choke but dies when the choke is turned off.  We load bike and trailer and head for a repair shop.  We had to wait for the mechanic to show up and open then unloaded and left him there.  I found out later that the mechanic ran all the diagnostics and was pretty sure that it was a bad fuel pump.  They didn't have a replacement in stock so he took the pump off of his personal bike and put it on our riders bike to make sure that it was the problem - it was.  The pump went back on his bike and the mechanic ordered and new pump and overnight delivery to get our rider on the road the next morning by 11:00.  At 10:00 the next morning the new pump didn't arrive!  The mechanic again took the pump off of his bike and put it on our riders - charged him only $75 and got him on the road by 11:00.  That would be quite a story but it continues.  Our rider gets down the road and a wheel on his trailer breaks!  It is an older trailer and not worth repairing but shouldn't be left on the side of the road.  Our rider - a truck driver by trade - gets on his CB and flags down a passing truck who agrees to take the trailer and dispose of it.  Now the problem is that our rider doesn't have enough bags to pack all of the stuff that is in the trailer so he can carry what he needs on the bike.  The trucker goes into his cab and into the sleeper and comes out with a bag.  He says "This is the bag that I carried as a medic in Iraq!  You can use it but I do want it back".  Our rider joined us the next night and I am sure that the bag will be returned.

I missed lunch again while catching up with the pack and soon got flagged down by a trike that was towing a trailer.  We put the trike on a different trailer and put his trailer on mine which just about filled it.  We found our way to Wentzville where we were separated from the pack and had to find the VFW by ourselves.  Found it and had a great dinner.  The VFW allowed our riders to camp on their grounds and when the crowd thinned out a little it was up to me to get the camping trailer up to a camping spot.  The owner had walked the route and said no problem so I went down the street to the church where I had parked to bring his trailer to the camp area.  I followed him up the grassy hill - it had rained the day before - and couldn't make the U-Turn that he had planed - it became a three point turn and yes I got stuck in the wet muddy grass.  We unloaded his trailer and got a bunch of volunteers to push on the truck and trailer and I got down the hill.

Day 7 Wentzville to Corydon IN  292 miles  We must be getting used to the schedule.  Ralph and I were awake early and went to a Denney's next door for breakfast.  He had to leave for his "Advance Team" duties while I had a second cup of coffee and a third.  I got myself to the assembly area - a church parking lot - and set up the sound system then took in the sights.  At the morning briefing we were introduced to two Dutch Veterans of WWII who have become US Citizens.  We made a quick stop in town (if stopping hundreds of bikes and a few cars and trucks can be quick!).  The Fire Dept. did a presentation and there were a bunch of school kids there that all waved and shook hands as we walked by.  Back on the road and next stop a VA Hospital.  It was amazing to see the vets along the street to see us.  I got to talk to several of the patients and asked if I could take their picture and none refused.  Had to stop and pick up John's bike (again) but he took it off the trailer at lunch after a quick repair.  Picked up Jim's bike on the last leg and had to asked for directions to the Fairgrounds and dinner.  Best catfish I ever had.  Made a wrong turn and had to go 15 miles down the freeway to get turned around and find my way to the motel.

Day 8  Corydon to Hurricane WV  244 miles  I set up the trailer and went next door to the "Waffle House" for breakfast this morning before the briefing.  Then it was off to the Kentucky VA Hospital.  I met a Veteran today - a WWI Veteran! - Rex is 107 years old!  He is at the Louisville VA Hospital and was in the patio to meet and greet the RFTW riders as he has for twenty years!  I told him that next year I was bringing my brother with me and would introduce him.  I stopped as we left the hospital to help with a bike that wouldn't start.  We were lucky that there was someone there that used my meter to check things out then hot wired the bike and got it started.  Then off to the Kentucky Vietnam Veterans Memorial.  The memorial is a giant sun dial with a stainless steel pointer aimed at the sky.  The granite floor around the pointer has the names of those who gave their lives in Vietnam.  The names are arranged on the floor so that the shadow from the pointer falls on them on the date and time of their death.  This is their way of showing a tribute to each of them every year.  It is a very moving experience to watch the shadow move across the names.  On the other side where the shadow never falls are the names of those whose bodies have not been recovered.  When found their name will be moved to where the shadow falls.

We had a fabulous dinner and entertainment in Hurricane West Virginia even though the field was a bit muddy.

Day 9  Hurricane to Lewisburg VA  131 miles  The day started with an early trip to Wal Mart to get a new brake light for the trailer.  The Bush family (no not that Bush family) was introduced.  They have 6 members doing RFTW.  We also have a participant that just became a US Citizen 14 days ago!  A short 28 mile ride and we were at the West Virginia Capitol where the Governor came out to greet us and a group picture was taken.  Then a great ride through the W. V. hills to the city of Rainelle.  RFTW found this town by accident 20 years ago when the turnpike people wouldn't let them pay in advance so they took to the back roads instead.  Somehow word got out ahead of them that there was a bunch of biker veterans headed toward Rainelle.  When RFTW got to town they thought they had interrupted a parade and apologized for interfering.  The whole town was out with flags and cameras.  The town said "You are the parade - we came out to support you".  RFTW has been going back every year since and this year we raised $22000 for the school.  We went to the school where kids were running around asking us for autographs and we passed out some things we had picked up for them.  Lunch was in the Cafeteria - prepared by the city - not the school.  The pictures speak for themselves.

On the way out of Rainelle we were not in a pack.  I came across a minor accident involving one of our riders whose bike was bent and he was a little shaken up.  I flagged down one of our Chaplin's as they are trained to handle these things.  It was decided to load his bike onto my trailer and he rode the rest of the way with friends in a car.  I agreed to take his bike to Ashland KY on my way home.

With one day to go I am beginning to believe that this trip will end.

Day 10  Lewisburg to Washington DC  258 miles  We made it!  At the second fuel stop at Toms Brook we were to join with the Southern Route group for the ride into DC.  The police decided that the two groups would be too much to handle so the Southern Route left Toms Brook before we arrived.  After lunch and fuel the non-chase vehicles were sent off to DC while the bikes and chase trailers stayed behind for the last 85 miles.  Finally it was time for the last leg and off we went.  The police provided an escort and all went very smooth.  There was one time when I was in the diamond lane - two or more per vehicle - doing about 70 mph and trying to keep up thinking what if there is a cop around!  Two local cars managed to squeeze in between me and the bikes.  There was a cop around - he came screaming up cut in front of me and forced those two cars out of the lane then turned and waved me up!  The freeway ends right in front of the hotel and it was a great sight to see.  The bikes were directed across the street to a large parking lot and I was directed into the hotel lot which I knew was a little cramped when you have a large truck and a 20 foot trailer.  I stopped behind the hotel in the traffic lane to check out the parking before getting somewhere that I couldn't get out of.  Another chase truck came up behind me and said we would park side by side along the curb rather than nose in like they are marked.  As I got back in the truck my accident free trip ended just 50 feet short of my destination.  A lady in a small car didn't see the trailer and backed into it!  She felt her car bump against something so naturally gunned the engine to clear the obstacle!  The obstacle didn't move it was my trailer!  The last picture is her rear bumper which was torn up pretty good.  I couldn't find a mark on the trailer.  She made a couple of phone calls then left.  I have about 500 witnesses that know I was stopped when she hit me.  Even the guy upstairs in the shower said he saw everything!  Nobody was hurt - no crime - no foul.
 

Day 11 Washington DC  Sights around the hotel.  This morning I took the trailer across the street and set up the sound system for the briefing for the ride to Arlington.  Only riders on their first RFTW are allowed to ride their bikes into Arlington and then it is limited to 250 bikes.  This is the only motorcycle group that is allowed to do this.  RFTW is allowed to place a wreath at the "Tomb Of The Unknown Soldier".  I took the metro to the Lincoln Memorial and joined in the RFTW group photograph and went to "The Wall" afterwards.

In the afternoon I had made arrangements to load three more bikes onto the trailer for the trip home.  One for Kentucky - one to Texas - and two to California including Ralph's who was riding back with me.  As we were getting people together another rider came up and someone had ran into the back of his bike and he needed to get it back to Long Beach CA.  Ralph offered to ride his bike to Kentucky where we would have an empty spot and we loaded the Long Beach Bike.  Four bikes and the trailer is full.  I went off to spend a couple of nights with John and  Charlotte before the trip back.  I was about 10 minutes away from their house when my phone rang and another bike was broke down in DC.  I had to tell them that I already had five bikes on a four bike trailer and couldn't help.  Even on Monday when we were near Kentucky I got another call looking for trailer space for a broken bike.

The trip home was four and a half days of driving and riding as Ralph did at least his share of the driving.  Virginia - West Virginia - Kentucky - Tennessee - Arkansas - Texas - New Mexico - Arizona - and finally California.  We averaged almost 700 miles a day as I would start in the morning and drive about 6 hours then Ralph would drive about 6 hours.  We only had a little rain in Kentucky on the first day and quite a bit of rain the next but all in all an uneventful trip.  It is good to be home and although it won't be in any history book I will always know that in 2008 I was Chase 3 on the Central Route of Run For The Wall.  I'm already making plans for next year.

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