Aloha Central Route Family
Please excuse me if this newsletter seems to jump around a lot. I had a lot of information I wanted to get out and it may seem a bit disjointed, but please read the whole thing!
Pre-Run Preparation
Make sure you pack enough prescription Meds to get all the way back home. Get your Bike Ready. NO BALD TIRES!! Safety Chains are required for any Trailers. Time is running out to get your bikes in tip top shape! Get them serviced, get them inspected, and make sure your state registration, Motorcycle endorsement and insurance are all up to date and valid through the end of May 2024. If you haven’t already done so, pack up your bike with everything you are taking and get out on the highway or interstate on a test ride. Make sure you’re familiar with how your bike is going to handle with the added gear. Make sure you can safely control your bike, stop, start, and tight turns while loaded! Be sure that everything is safely secured and will not become a hazard to other riders.
As you prepare your bikes or other modes of transportation, you also need to prepare yourselves, mind, and body too! This is NOT a weekend ride. Be sure you have your Emergency Information Form filled out – completely! It will be checked daily by your Team Leaders and/or Platoon Leaders. It is MANDATORY and you cannot ride without it. If you take medication, be sure that you listed it on your EIF and that you have enough of your prescribed medications with you for your entire trip.
It is time for everyone to start hydrating! It is much easier to hydrate than it is to re-hydrate! Generally, it is recommended to drink a liter of water a day to stay hydrated. However, this can depend on your age, body, underlying medical conditions, and what physical exercise you are doing on that day. Being extremely thirsty, dry mouth, fast breathing, fast heart rate, and low blood pressure are all significant signs of dehydration, however, what many of us will likely feel first is fatigue – both mentally and physically! Be aware and stay HYDRATED!
West Virginia Motorcycle Service
In Rainelle, WV: J T Taylor is a Gold Star Father that has a motorcycle repair business on 6th Ave: tires, brakes, repairs, etc. He will be at the Veterans Memorial with numerous other WV Gold Star families and then will be available to work on any type of motorcycle after the Outreach ceremony.
His oldest son Jeffrey was a member of Seal Team 10 (“Lone Survivor” movie) – KIA in Afghanistan. His middle son Josh was severely injured by an IED.
His youngest son suffered a broken back on an aircraft carrier and now has TBI from an auto accident.
All Vietnam Era Vets on the Central Route:
If you are not familiar with them, the USA Vietnam War Commemoration is a DOD and Congressionally authorized national 50th anniversary commemoration. The primary objective is to thank and honor Vietnam veterans and their families for their service and sacrifice.
The Commemoration is providing Vietnam Veteran Lapel Pins to military veterans who served during the Vietnam Era (11/1/1955 – 5/15/1975). For the purpose of the pin, there is no distinction between veterans who served in-country, in-theater, or who were stationed elsewhere during the Vietnam War period.
The pins can only be administered by Commemorative partners, and they are typically administered by attending a “Dignified Presentation”. You can read more about this here: https://www.vietnamwar50th.com/about/vietnam_veteran_lapel_pin/
(You can also opt to have the pin mailed to you. Please see their web site for details)
The exciting news for Vietnam era vets on the Central route is that we have worked over the winter with Sons and Daughters in Touch (www.sdit.org) and the Willing Warriors Foundation ( www.willingwarriors.org) (they are Commemorative Partners) to administer the lapel pins to any Vietnam Era Vets at our Day 10 lunch stop in Marshall, VA.
The pinning ceremony will be quick – we are on a lunch stop, and have to keep on schedule to get to the host hotel. The only requirement is that Ed Wehner has your name before Sunday, May 19th (by the time we arrive at Junction City). Please email Ed at ed.wehner@rftw.us if you are interested in receiving the pin, or have any questions about this.
Order of Precedence at Fuel Stops/Lunch
#1 Road Guards and other advance teams (Fuel, Staging, Ambassadors, Outreach)
#2 Chaplains and Medics
#3 Other Leadership
#4 All Others
We are looking for a Marine to ride missing Man formation for Day one from Ontario to Needles. Any Volunteers should reach out to the Missing Man Coordinator (Listed on the website under contacts. These legs will be ridden in honor of Brian Alvarado, Sgt USMC. Brian served 2 tours in Iraq and sadly developed cancer from the “burn pits” and he passed a couple of months ago.
Despite his condition, he was still volunteering for whatever Veteran’s causes needed help. His wife and daughter are scheduled to be at the start, and I know it would mean a lot to them if he could be Escorted by a fellow Marine.
Pre-Paid Fuel
To be totally clear on this. PRE-PAID FUEL STICKERS WILL COVER THE ACTUAL ANTICIPATED COST OF THE NON-DONATED FUEL STOPS DURING THE DAY ON THE RUN. THIS TOTAL COST (ONCE DETERMINED) IS ONLY FOR THE NON-DONATED STOPS. WE DO NOT CHARGE FOR STOPS THAT ARE BEING GENEROUSLY DONATED.
Stickers will be available from our leadership support team in Ontario and each morning (During the hour prior to the scheduled Mandatory Meeting).
Riders must fill their motorcycles up each evening on their own before arriving at staging in the morning (Spot checks will be happening). We do have 3 very generous donors that will be donating fuel in the evening. Details will be passed in the Morning meetings about how to take advantage of the generous offers to fill our gas tanks up at night. Some Bullet Points below from the Town Hall Meeting
- COVERS THE COST OF ALL NON-DONATED FUEL STOPS DURING THE DAY
- ALL THE WAY COST WILL BE $90.00
- WE WILL HAVE PRORATED AMOUNTS FOR THOSE NOT GOING ALL THE WAY . PAYMENT FOR THE FUEL STICKERS WILL BE CASH ONLY.
- SPEEDS UP THE PROCESS BY ABOUT 75%
- NON-PRE-PAID WILL PAY CASH AT THE PUMP (NO CHANGE GIVEN) ROUNDED UP TO $5.00 (EX. PUMP $8.25-PAY $10.00/PUMP $10.05-PAY $15.00.) NO $1.00 BILLS WILL BE ACCEPTED AT THE PUMPS/NO EXCEPTIONS.
- THIS PROCESS GIVES EVERYONE APPROXIMATELY 10-15 EXTRA MINUTES AT FUEL STOPS
- ANY EXCESS $ GOES TO FUEL THE CHASE TRUCKS AND HYDRATION TRUCK. ANY $ LEFT AFTER THAT WILL GO TO A VETERAN CHARITY TO BE DETERMINED
- ALL RIDERS MUST FUEL COMPLETELY THE NIGHT BEFORE AND SHOW UP WITH A FULL TANK OR YOU WILL BE TURNED AWAY TO GO FUEL AND POSSIBLY MISS BREAKFAST AND THE MORNING MEETING (CAN’T RIDE IN THE PACK IF YOU MISS THE MEETING). LEADERSHIP WILL BE SPOT CHECKING.
Ontario Schedule
The Ontario Schedule has been posted on the Route Hub. A brief list of meetings for the Central Route are below.
- Communications (GMRS) assistance at the Holiday Inn from 1500 (3PM) until 1630 (4:30 PM) Monday (Conference Room) Point of Contact Harlan Olson (Leadership Support Communications on the contact list). We are looking for a few Radio Savvy Helpers (especially those familiar with the BTech GMRS pro) to Volunteer and help folks set their radio and headset up (Connect Radio to Headset/Load correct frequencies, help conduct “radio checks”, etc.). Please reach out to Harlan if you can assist with this.
- Central Route Leadership Meeting at the Holiday Inn Meeting room Monday at 3:30 PM for All team leads and Platoon Leadership.
- Riverside National Cemetery Ride on Tuesday AM. Stage at 0700 and depart at 0800. Need to be checked in with the registration team prior to the RNC Run. (MONDAY)
- Communications testing at Lot “D” (WEST end) Tuesday at 1400 (2PM) to test GMRS Radio set ups
- Central Route Leadership Meeting in Lot “D” (WEST end) Tuesday at 1500 (3PM) (MANDATORY FOR ALL CR LEADERSHIP/TEAMS (NOT JUST TEAM LEADS/ALL LEADERSHIP/VOLUNTEERS)
- Central Route FNG Meeting in Lot “D” (WEST End) Tuesday at 1545 (3:45 PM) (Leadership and FNGS)
- Central Route ALL HANDS MANDATORY Meeting in Lot “D” (WEST end) Tuesday at 1630 (4:30 PM) followed by team and Platoon Meetings
The Merchandise and Hydration Trailers will be available at the Host Hotel, Ontario Holiday Inn located at 2155 E. Convention Center Way, Ontario, CA 91764.
Check-in will be available at the Elks Lodge, 1150 W. 4th Street, Ontario, CA 91762. The Elks Lodge opened their doors to us and has welcomed RFTW with open arms. The Elks Lodge will have many volunteers assisting inside the building and in the parking lot. Please thank them for their generosity and be respectful. Disrespect of any kind will not be tolerated.
The Elks Lodge will also have Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner available for purchase on Monday and Tuesday (Taco Tuesday?). A Steak Dinner is also planned again with advanced tickets available on site.
Hydration will also be available at the Elks Lodge.
This year we will have a Shuttle Bus running continuous loops between the Ontario Convention Center, the Holiday Inn Ontario Airport Host Hotel, and the Elks Lodge. The shuttle will run from noon-8 pm on Sunday, May 12th; and from 7 am through 9 pm on Monday, May 13th and Tuesday, May 14th.
See the Message Below from the VFW in Ontario
My name is William Castellanos, I am the Quartermaster for the Ontario VFW Post 2085. I know that the Run For The Wall event is May 13th – May 15th and the starting point is in Ontario. I would like to invite all of you to our post to have somewhere to enjoy and prep before your ride begins. Please let me know if we can be of assistance. Our post phone number is 909-986-9066. My cell phone is 213-841-7634. Our post email is vfwpost2085@gmail.com
Respectfully,
William Castellanos
Sergeant – US Marine Corps Veteran
Veterans of Foreign Wars
Post Quartermaster 2085 Old Baldy
1341 East D Street
Ontario, CA 91764
Phone: 909-986-9066
Email: vfwpost2085@gmail.com
Instagram: @vfwpost2085
FB: www.facebook.com/ontariovfwpost
Fundraising Efforts
We will have a Table at the Elks near the Merchandise Trailer to showcase some of the Items we will be having a drawing for and we will be selling tickets for a Beautiful Afghan made By Daniel Slocum’s Sister. We will sell tickets for the Afghan to riders from ALL ROUTES and will continue to sell tickets during the Run. We will Draw the Winner on Day 10 (Lewisburg) in the morning and the winner will get the item in Arlington or it will be mailed to them after the Run. Proceeds from this drawing will be split amongst all 4 Routes (ONE MISSION FOUR ROUTES) based on participation.
Some Detail Below about this Afghan.
Size: 5′ 7″ x 8″ 3″
Colors: 5 unique colors
Stitches: 91.440
Stitch Type: Crochet
Backing: Sewn on cloth and border to help prevent fraying and preserve the Afghan through use.
Labor: ~700 from December 2023 – April 2024
Maker: Debbie Slocum Lockwood, Sheridan Oregon (huge Thanks to Debbie for all of the labor and love she put into this)
In closing I wanted to touch on something I feel is extremely important. During the last year I have been focusing on planning the Central Route with much support from many great people. In the last few weeks, it has dawned upon me that I have been focusing so hard on the planning and worrying about last minute details/glitches, etc., that I was not thinking about the MISSION. Please remember our Mission and try to keep that first and foremost in your mind.
At each stop along our way you will see Tom “Bones” Pogue on his knees next to his motorcycle writing the name and details about the Person we are riding for on that leg. Please go and read the name on your way back to your bike after fuel/restroom/lunch, etc. and remember that name during that leg (and after). That is a large portion of why we ride. When you are tired or hot or wet or cold or mad about something during the Run, take a second and say their name.
Be safe and I will see you very soon.
Is it May yet?
MUCH ALOHA TO MY ‘OHANA
Nick “Richboy” Hentges
RFTW Central Route Coordinator 2024
Check out the Central Route Facebook Group.
