Click on the Poster image to learn more about Ride to Work Day & get free materials.

Click on the pic to learn more.

The bottom line is never give a credit car number over the phone and insist they use Pay Pal. Pay Pal doesn’t let the Business know your account numbers and is the safest way to purchase online.

I thought I would recirculate this and get the juices flowing for another year of riding.

Here a cool video which embodies my sentiment. Enjoy.

I hope you enjoy. You need to have Windows Media Player or be able to play .wmv files.

If you ever plan to ride California, here is a great resource and it has a great Forum. Pashnit

Check out Hwy 36, it is one of my favorites roads in Northern, Ca. It has, or had everything. My favorite was the first 170 miles from the coast inland with twisties, sweepers and long undulating curves. Click on this image for a link to the roads, easy to navigate.

Although I enjoyed living in California, I don’t miss much. And if I do, its only four fuel tanks away.

To watch my slide show click the pic:

Mac on his GL1800 on our way to the Annual Deming Veterans Day Gathering in 2011.

Recently Mac (Dave McAfee), a friend and avid motorcyclist, shared some of his Vietnam experiences with me over lunch.

Mac was a R.O. (Radio Operator) for an Airborne Cavalry Unit. If you can knock off the enemies radio or communication, you can cripple them. So being a R.O. is like being a Bullet Magnet.

Mac also showed me some photos he took and allowed me to scan some.  I made this small tribute for him using his photos. Just click on this link……MAC

Note: You will need to have Windows Media Player to view this video, as it has a .wmv extension. Nice music, so turn up your speakers.

You can tell Mac was a lifer, he even had U.S. Army embossed on his forehead. Actually they are dents from his helmet liner after a 8 hour ride to Jal N.M..

Our Veterans have played many roles and filled many niches in our Military History. It is important to recognize each and every one of them and the parts they played in the big picture. Here is one of those stories.

Don Snell, Artist, Sculptor, posing with my 2012 Tour of Honor Flag after my first site visit. In 2011, Don was honored by his peers and his work is currently on display at the Georgetown Library in Georgetown, Tx.

Don Snell is a renowned local Artist living in Georgetown, Tx with his wife Ruth and are fixtures in the local community. Don and Ruth are some of  my Coffee Shop Buddies, with whom news and philosophy is discussed. Don recently celebrated his 90th Birthday and I was honored to be invited and attend his Birthday Party.  Don said he became an Artist because it was one way he could look at naked women without much controversy.

As you can see by Don’s photograph, he is very unassuming. Most would discount this slightly built man as a Veteran, let alone a Veteran of WW2. When I first met Don a few years back, I deduced that Don may be a retired Professor from the local University. His table was always surrounded by others who were I assumed, hoping to gain some of Don’s knowledge and talent via osmosis. I wasn’t too far off to learn he had taught Art at College in Houston and the hovering was just because Don is cool to be around. Although I find Don’s subject matter (Paintings & Sculptures) to be rather macabre, they are fascinating and often contain naked women which is okay with me.

Don related to me some of his experiences with Uncle Sam, so I thought I would share them with you.

In late 1939 and early 1940, Don was obviously much younger but still very slight in build and unique in personality. Don was trying to figure out how he could secure some money and figured Uncle Sam was the ticket. Food, clothing, a clean bed and a steady pay check. So in 1940, Don joined the U.S. Army Air Corps, later the USAAF and in 1947 the USAF. Don really wasn’t expecting a lot of excitement although the rest of the World was at War and the U.S. was still neutral.

Don was an enigma to the government who tried to figure out a place for him in the pre-WW2 Armed Forces. While the remainder of the Services bolstered for the upcoming brawl, Don was  placed into Special Services where he would entertain the troops and be a lesser threat to national security. Due to Don’s stature and demeanor he was often relegated to playing the female roles during performances, in the all male military. Don freely admits he is no Audie Murphy and seems to take pride he perplexed Uncle Sam so much.

When WW2 broke out, Don was shipped to England. In early June of 1944, a competition (Talent Show) was devised pitting the Special Services Units from England, against those stationed in Scotland and Ireland. Winner of this competition would get a 6 month Gig entertaining Troops in London, gravy duty for a time of war.

Of course, Don played the female role in this talent show as General Jimmy Doolittle watched from the front row. Doolittle was a celebrity at the time and was brought in to take over and revise the floundering U.S. Strategic Bombing Campaign in Europe. Thus, Don’s night was destined to be memorable.

As it worked out, Don’s group won the talent show and they were to be featured in the London Press on the following day’s editions and radio, a full write up with pictures, one of the biggest things to happen to Don at this point in his life.

The next day Don awoke, he discovered it was, June 6th, 1944, D-Day! Don’s stellar achievement was over shadowed by one of the greatest events in history and Don was cheated of his 15 seconds of fame and glory. Don finished his Military Service as far from Combat as possible and later manned a Radio Station for Armed Forces Radio.

Thank you for your Military Service Don!

So far I have knocked off two of the seven sites for my own personal 2012 Tour of  Honor ride, while Merritt Francies secured a third place trophy for being one of the first three to finish Texas and Glenn Copeland did a three state run, taking first to finish in Texas, Kansas and 2nd in Oklahoma.  See Rider List for more details.

Veterans Memorial, Florence, Tx

The Florence Veterans Mural painted by the locals

The Florentines who gave their all

If you gotta eat in Florence, eat here at the Flamming Grill BBQ…great ribs and burgers.

My 4.7 mile ride to the Florence, Tx Memorial site from my ranch was a parody compared to what Glenn and Merritt did. But I turned it into lunch and took a productive nap afterward.

I just picked up the Fredericksburg, Tx Memorial site and that I documented on the Blue Knights of Texas Chapter 30 site.

Check it here.

Here is the map of last Saturdays ride (4 April 2012). About 240 miles plus change.

9 hours ago the 2012 Tour of Honor Ride sites were released here in Texas at 2200 hrs  CMT or 0001 hrs PST and those riders vying for Trophies are on the road.

It may not be too late to get a Trophy for your state.

Here is a list of Memorials

Here is the list of Texas Sites

Here is one routing option for riding Texas from the Austin Area. Approx 1,538 miles. The beauty of this ride is you can make it what ever you want.

Good luck to those Trophy Hunters and to everyone else, Good Luck and Ride Safe!