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By now I’m sure you have heard the 2020 RFTW has been cancelled.  Who would have thought that after all of the obstacles we have faced and overcome, we would be sidelined by a virus.   The decision was not an easy one, but when it comes down to the Health and Safety of our Riders and Supporters coupled with CDC guidelines, ever increasing State and Local restrictions left us with really no options.  A great many riders are enduring a huge financial burden, due to related business closures, making it impossible to participate in 2020.  I have heard form many of you that you have had to use your savings and vacation time to get through this crisis with little or no income.

For those who made reservations at the host hotel Holiday Inn in Casa Grande, the entire room block is cancelled.  All other hotels are the riders responsibility to cancel.

So, what do we do going forward?  The RFTW Board of Directors has voted to retain all 2020 Route Coordinators for the 2021 Run.  Once the initial shock wears off, we will begin planning next year’s Run.  It will still be the Southern Route’s 20^th Anniversary, just a year later.  If you have questions or thoughts on planning for Southern Route, email me at bob.nelson@rftw.us

We WILL get through this.  Until then Stay Safe.  More to Follow…..

With only 70 days until KSU in Ontario I thought that I would share some new developments with you.

In Ontario, there will be Visitor Guides should anyone like to get in a little sightseeing in Ontario, before we leave.   We will also have newly printed Restaurant Guides for your convenience.  There will also be a “Get Together” Sunday night, after Leadership Registration, and a cake Decorating Contest on Monday afternoon which we will get to Judge (Cakes done by a local Culinary School).  Stay tuned for more details.

Also, for our RFTW Family coming out to CA that come up the I-10 and go thru Coachella stopping for fuel there is the Spotlight Casino there and they have restaurants in case someone would like a warm sit down meal instead of fast food. The Spotlight Casino is our first fuel stop on the Southern Route. Their hours are:  Carol Olmstead Recommended

• Capitata
• Breakfast Menu: 7am-11am
• Dinner Buffet Sun-Thurs: 4pm-10pm
• Dinner Buffet Fri & Sat: 4pm-12 midnight
•  Jem Café
• Mon & Tues: Closed
• Wed-Thurs: 11am-10pm
• Fri & Sat: 11am-2am
• Sunday: 10am-10pm

Yesterday I sent out an announcement looking for volunteers for the Korean War Veterans Memorial.  We had our 10 within hours, and a stand-by list of another 10.  Thank You Southern Route for stepping up to the challenge.   If you are on the Sandbox Route or participating in the AMVETS Rolling to Remember (RTR), you cannot take part in the Washing, do to time constraints.

For those planning to participate in the RTR and go with the RFTW, the staging will be the same as Rolling Thunder in the Pentagon Parking Lot.  As invited guests, we will be staged in one of the first 3 Lanes.  Here is the current plan; 0600 Stage in the Holiday Inn lower parking lot, 0630 depart for the Pentagon Parking Lot (CR Road Guards will lead), NOON Rolling To Remember.

**** There is a poll on our Facebook page to try to gather total numbers to give to AMVETS, The poll is pinned to the top of the page. ****

Reminder Don’t wait until the last minute to get YOU and your bike in good working order.  I just ordered new tires yesterday.   Believe it or not, the Corona Virus has caused shortages and delays for a multitude of products and supplies.

Run For The Wall has been chosen for a Great Honor.  On Sunday May 24, 2020 we will assist the National Park Service (NPS) with the washing of the Korean War Memorial.  The group will leave the Holiday Inn Ballston, KSU at 0600 with a 0630 start time.  It will likely take only 2-2.5 Hours to complete. Many hands make light work

As RFTW and its riders support the Fallen from All Wars, we should be eager to support this Special Mission, as an extension of our own Mission.  Many of us have Family or Friends who served in Korea.  If we can get 30 volunteers, that’s 10 for each of the 3 long Routes, we can make short work of it, and know that we were a part of something very special.

Just let your Route Coordinator (RC) know that you are committed to this Special Mission, by sending an email along with your cellular number and email address.  If we get more than 30, we will start a standby list.

Southern Route RC email address is : bob.nelson@rftw.us

Only 80 days before kickstands up in Ontario.  It seems like a long, long time when you are waiting.  But, when you are working the details, time is flying by.  Speaking of flying, we just got back from the February Face-to-Face meeting of the RFTW Board of Directors, in Dallas.   It was a very productive meeting where topics which affect all Routes were discussed.  Among them were Hydration availability in Ontario, Several common sense cost cutting measures, Behavior of Dogs the Run, Parking at the host hotel in Arlington.

We will have a Hydration Trailer in Ontario, starting on Sunday.  There is usually water available in the lobby, but with this crowd it is almost impossible to keep up with the demand. 

Many of the Leadership Support persons will only wear one brassard, if they do not need to be identifiable while on the road.  Some positions were combined or eliminated.   The change to one Tail Gunner per platoon was based on practicality, not to cut cost.

Behavior of Dogs is pretty straight forward, they must be on a leash or in your physical control at all times, do not let your dog beg, bark or bite.  This is a motorcycle event, and it is hard enough on us.  I ask that you Please think twice before subjecting your dog to this environment.

As of right now, the number one plan for Arlington arrival parking is, we will all (except 4-wheelers) pull into the Holiday Inn upper lot, where we will stack in 4-wide and stay on our bikes.  Once everyone is in, we will exit 2-wide, those staying at the Holiday Inn will go left to the underground parking and those staying elsewhere will go to the right.  Southern Route will be the second route to arrive.

The 2020 Southern Route Itinerary should be posted on the rftw.us website by March 1^st.   We will take orders for the 20^th Anniversary Southern Route T-Shirts until April 10^th.  They are $25 for Short Sleeve and $35 for the long sleeve.  We also have some of the 20^th Anniversary patches available.  Please refer to earlier newsletters for ordering information.

More to Follow……

Greetings form the Battle Born state

Just 100 days before Kick Stands Up for Run For The Wall XXXII.  That mat sound like a lot of time. But believe me it will go by fast for Leadership, and for others, seem like forever.

By now I would expect you have your hotel reservations made, your plan to get to Ontario (or wherever your starting point is), scheduled your bike check-up and started your personal wellness plan.  If you haven’t, it’s not too late to start.

I would like to thank Bob “Captain” Mazzone, our Road Guard Captain for making four Great Looking Stained-Glass Panels with wood frames.  They measure 14” wide x 16” tall.  He made a unique one for each Route.  The Southern Route panel pictured here will be raffled off with the proceeds going to the Southern Route Educational Grant & Schools Fund.   It will be on display at our Merchandise Trailer.  Tickets will be on sale starting in Ontario.  The cost for tickets will be $5 each or 5 tickets for $20.  The drawing will be help in Wytheville, VA at the Moose Lodge as part of our evening program. 

The Ontario pre-Run itinerary has been posted.  Meetings for Route Leadership will begin Monday morning.  Please note the Mandatory events on Tuesday and be sure to be there for them.  Speaking of Ontario, at the Gateway Hotel the parking area to the right of the entrance will be limited to motorcycles and trikes only.  Starting Sunday night until KSU on Wednesday it will be patrolled by security.

The pre-sale orders for the Southern Route 20^th Anniversary T-Shirts are underway and doing well.  I would like all who get one, to wear them on Saturday May 23^rd for our massive group photo on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial.  It would be awesome to see a sea of maroon shirts there.  For the FNG’s this photo is taken just prior to the placing of our Mission Complete Plaque at the apex of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall.  The order form and instructions can be found on our Facebook page.  Again, the profits benefit the Southern Route Education Fund.

Our first day’s itinerary is really taking shape, this year we will bypass Phoenix altogether and travel through Buckeye and Gila Bend on our way to our overnight destination Casa Grande, AZ   The local communities have shown great support for our  Mission and are looking forward to our arrival.  We owe a lot of Thanks to our Great Arizona State Coordinator Team for turning an idea into a reality.    The complete Route itinerary is coming together, and I hope to have a draft posted before the end of the month.

We still have some of the 20^th Anniversary Commemorative Patches available.

Keep checking the website and RC Newsletters for the latest news……….