May 13, 2018 - In Ontario

Today was a good day to sleep in.  No meetings yet (those are tomorrow).  Ron (my brother) flew in from Cincinnati.  His flight was support to land at Ontario Airport at noon.  So let's relax, get shower, get breakfast....  Then I get a call from his wife at 10 AM.  She tells me he is already in CA.  WHAT!

I wanted to be at the dealer where his bike was before he got there.  Larry and I hustle to get ready.  We go to the dealer about 10:40.  Good  there is no way he is there yet.  Guess again.  He surprised us as he had just gotten there.  Bummer.  Oh well, he was still surprised.

Ron and Larry

We went to our hotel and then over to the host hotel.  We greeted old friends from years past.

Gil and Jeanie

 Dan - aka Boiler maker

 Ron and Ronnie (Ron will be the assistant platoon leader for platoon 1 and Ronny is a Tail gunner in the same platoon)

 Shawn, Annette and Ken ( they come all the way from Alaska - this is their 3rd year)

 This is see this gentleman. Do not know who he is but if you look close you will see he has a little dog. His name is Lt. Dan (remember from Forest Gump?)

Gunny is one of the founding fathers in starting RFTW and was on the first ride cross country in 1989. He pulled in and lots of people came over to greet him.  

 His wife Pattio is also here.  She is here on the right.  Great couple and always has time to talk.

Since this is the 30th year, someone made this banner.  It reads:

"Thank You Gunny.... For Your Vision of a Path Towards Home".

"We Ride for Those Who Can't"

Ron had not ridden his bike for about 3 weeks.  He wanted to ride and get the cobwebs out so we headed toward the coast. Headed toward Seal Beach and road the Pacific Coast Hwy  for a bit then headed back to register.

See several Oil rigs.

 Lots of ships

 Pretty clear day so got a few pics.  Kind of hard when you are riding mostly in the city

We head to registration.  I want to introduce you to the RC (Route Coordinator)

Harlan (aka Whiteburch) and Janelle Olson (aka Mama O) 

Love the bows LOL

 Eamon (aka:Boomer) and Terri Tansey - Assistant Route Coordinator

 We meet Gomez.  He and Larry and a few others had a great time in Goodland KS last year.
Gomez gives Larry a little gift to remember

Here is one of the merchandize trucks that follow us cross country.  You can get shirts, challenge coins, patches, ......  Love the design.

And of course we get all this stuff.

Since this is kind of a short entry today, and I continue to reference things like Platoons, route coordinators... I thought I would give you an idea of all the volunteers it takes to make this happen and their roles.

TEAMS (ahead of the pack)

Advanced road guard - 10 = first to go out and confirm there are no issues on the roads. Ex: detours, traffic issues, ...

Staging - 30 =  Get to the next stop and set up for each platoon to be staged 

Fuel - 24 = They get to the gas station and clear all pump for the platoons to come in.  There is no one at the gas pump when we arrive.  They also direct the pack how to get to the pumps and leaving the pumps

Ambassador - 15 = Usually thanking the people on the bridges or in the towns for coming out and supporting the Run.

Hydration  - 6 - They carry water, gatorade, snack and are at every gas stop.  All donated by someone or organization

Registration - 8 = In every city, they are there when we arrive, and every morning before we leave.   Since not everyone can ride 10 days, many ride only a few day.  This team gets them signed up.

Merchandise team  - 2 = travels with the Run selling t-shirts and other trinkets

  

State coordinator - Total 21 for the length of the run. Usually 1 -2 per state.

The Pack Formation:

Missing man : Route Coordinator (RC) , state coordinator, person representing the missing man, missing man coordinator, chaplain

Road guard - 30-35 = they have many jobs: stop traffic on all entrance ramps, guides us thru towns at each intersection, help direct at fuel stops......you will see more through the blog.

6 pack - 6-8 = Assistant Route coordinator (ARC), mentor(this is the RC from last year), leadership (Finance - Jenny, Larry and Jean), any dignitary, .... this changes daily. Could be the mayor, POW... we never know who will be here leg to leg.

Platoons - 15-25 = each platoon has a platoon leader, assistant platoon leader and 2 tail gunners.  In the middle are all the participants.  There are usually 10-11 platoons

Communication team - 3 -  talk to truckers and 1 in back of the pack (last man)

Medical team - 6 - there for any injuries or illnesses

Chaplains - 8 = this is a very key role.  Many are on this for healing.  Others remember comrades lost in war.  This is a very emotional trip for everyone.

Last man - 1 - conveys to RC when the last bike is on the road/ expressway

Chase vehicles - 5 = pick up anyone running out of gas (yes this does happen) or break downs.

===============

Totals:

If you add all this up, it is around 160 people that have roles

Participants = 15-25 per platoon - so 200-250 

At any given time, we are at 350-450

As we continue on this mission, I will refer to these terms a lot and you will see how each play a very important role.

Over the next 2 weeks we bringing awareness for all our men and women that served or are still serving that keep us safe.  Remember when you see someone, please make sure you thank them.  It is such a small gesture and only takes a few seconds.  You will be amazed on how they appreciate it and you may be surprised at the conversations  you may have.  Also thank our firemen and police officers.