Midway Route Coordinator Newsletter – August 2026

293 Days to KSU!

Hello Midway Family!!!  Now that we’re into August and the dog days of summer, I hope you have had, or are having a very enjoyable time with friends and family.  Soon school will start up again, Fall will hit first then Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years, Valentines Day, Easter and before you know it RFTW ’27 will be upon us!!  It goes by fast and we are already very busy planning for next May.

The Board of Directors have approved my recommendations for your Assistant Route Coordinator (ARC) and Road Guard Captain (RGC) for 2026. They are Mark Brundage, “OX”  as ARC and Ryan Long, road name “Pipes” as RGC. Congratulations to both and I look forward to working with this leadership team in developing and providing you with the best Midway route experience in 2027.

 

NEW NEWS

After our face to face Board of Directors meeting in Dallas here are a few tidbits from that meeting.  There are a few Directors who are term limited and will be dropping off the board in a few weeks.  John “Turkey” Staub will be leaving the board as President and Billie “Bugs” Dunlap will become President.  Corey “Sunbear” Lederer will move from Secretary to Vice President,  Bob “Captain Nelson” term as Treasurer expires on August 31^st, Alan “Xbox” Steiner term as Operations Manager also expires on August 31^st.  If you are interested in getting more information or would like to apply for one of the open ppositions please let me know.

There have been a few changes to the SOP mostly driven by the increased requirements and cost of the RFTW Insurance policy company. They can be very restrictive and intrusive. Insurance costs have increased by over 50% in the last two years and have required the Board of Directors to develop additional safety protocols and internal procedures before they approve liability Insurance for the RFTW. For all you business owners, you are probably dealing with more restrictive insurance requirements also, so you know. There is really nothing you can do when the law says you are required to have insurance, right!

With this increased insurance cost in mind, a registration fee increase was voted last year on and approved by ALL members, me included, to cover some of the lost revenue due to the additional insurance cost.  That cost has been maintained for our ’27 Run

2027 all routes registration costs will be:

• $100.00 early bird, Sept 11, 2026 – Jan 31,2027 (Please register early)
• $120.00 starting Feb 1,2027
• $100.00 Day riders for up to three days

Last year we left Ontario on Wednesday with the other routes and combined days 10 & 11 into day 10.  For ’27 we’ll be looking to adjust a few times on site and locations to benefit our riders as well as our hosts.

Your state coordinators are beginning the process of contacting all daily stops within their respective states to ensure a seamless experience for you in 2027. The State Coordinators are some of the unsung heroes who quietly provide a lot of time towards developing new experiences including parades, museums, veteran homes, great lunches and dinners, etc. for you that support the mission of RFTW. They receive limited recognition for these efforts and carry out this crucial work to ensure the success of the Midway route. Their pay is a “Thank You”, so please give them that when you meet one.

All other Leadership leads are also starting the process of developing their teams and starting their training for a successful 2027.

Speaking of Leadership, I have some key positions that are open and need dedicated professional individuals who are willing to provide some of their time in the development of a team that supports the mission and the Midway family.

They are currently:

Promotions Team Leader, Registration team members, Chaplains, Medics, Chase vehicle drivers (requires a pickup with a trailer for hauling motorcycles), Platoon Leaders, Assistant

Platoon Leaders and Platoon Tail Gunners. Of course, we can always use more fuel, staging and road guard team personnel.

If you are interested in any of these positions or any position in leadership, please submit a volunteer form and we will contact you. (Please Hyperlink to the form here)

It is not too late for returning riders from last year to submit an after action report (AAR) discussing their thoughts on the 2026 Midway route. All comments are welcome and can only help me to provide a better experience for the 2027 Midway route. So please take advantage of this opportunity. After Action Report – RFTW

If you haven’t seen our Podcast, you should check it out at  RFTW Podcast – RFTW   Here you will get a lot of information regarding the Run and hear from various guests as they talk about their experiences and duties they perform to assist Midway’s mission.

Any ideas any of you may have to improve Midways social media footprint please feel free to contact me at randy.sheets@rftw.us with your ideas and I will discuss it with our social media team.  All ideas are welcome!!!!

Riding a motorcycle is fun, it’s enjoyable being out in the open and getting a good dose of “wind therapy.”  What a lot of rides overlook is that riding a bike is a lot of work and you need to be in some sort of shape to do it safely.  Our cross-country ride is very physically demanding on the body with early mornings and long days on the bike.  So please keep walking, running, swimming, hiking, going to the gym or maybe playing a lot of golf (No cart). Just keep moving. The bulk of our riders are 60 plus and closing in on retirement or are already there.  I know firsthand why being in “motorcycle riding shape” is so important.  I was not in rider shape this past May and I dropped my bike, knocked myself out, bruised my ego at our Halifax, NC fuel stop.  Thankfully, Bling Bling only had some bumps and bruises, but we both ended up with an ambulance ride to the hospital where I was treated for a mild concussion.  So, my advice to you and my plan between now and KSU in addition to hydrate, hydrate, hydrate is to practice, practice, practice!!!

Be sure to check in regularly as I’ll be posting a newsletter every month with interesting tidbits and news regarding our ’27 RFTW mission.

Much more to follow !!!!!!!

Enjoy your Summer!

“Tell their Stories”  “Say their Names”  “Never Forget”

“We ride for those who can’t”

“IS IT MAY YET!”