Aloha RFTW ‘Ohana,
IS IT MAY YET?
We all see this comment each year from June through May. Well, it isn’t May yet, but it is rapidly approaching. Our State Coordinators are busy finalizing our Route and Plans for our stops. Do not forget to shake their hands and thank them when you see them. We cannot do this without them.
Most of our Leadership/Volunteer spots are filled, but we are still looking for a Friends of Bill Coordinator (IYKYK) and a Videographer.
Our Director of Merchandise is still searching for Team Members. If you would like to volunteer for this important Position, please contact Merchandise@rftw.us for more information.
Fundraising
Our 50/50 Raffle to Benefit the National Veterans Wellness and Healing Center is doing OK, but not nearly as well as I had Hoped. Please see more information in my last Newsletter and Consider entering the 50/50 drawing and supporting a great Charity at the same time.
Upcoming Meetings
We are Planning Several Zoom Meetings in the next 2 Months.
Leadership Meeting in Mid-February, For team leaders and Platoon Leadership.
FNG Meeting toward the end of February. Keep an Eye on your email that you used when registering for an Invitation to that.
Town Hall meeting for Central Route in Early March and a GMRS radio Zoom meeting about a week after that. Info on the March Meetings will go into the March newsletter.
Pre-Paid Fuel
We will have prepaid fuel. The cost will be determined once we have a comprehensive list of donated stops and are closer to our departure so we can check current fuel cost. Pre-Paid fuel will be prorated from Location joined to final Location. Stay Tuned. Prepaid fuel stickers will be available to purchase in Ontario Starting and each day at the evening stop and the Morning meeting. Our leadership Support team will be collecting for those and marking them with your destination. We will not be selling these in advance and will be accepting cash only. (No $1 dollar bills).
Other fun facts
As of today, Central Route has 329 people signed up with 95 being FNGs! Welcome FNGs!!
Communications
The initial testing of the GMRS radios is coming along well. A few (minor) glitches have been identified and we are figuring out workarounds. Thank you to Harlan and Kirk Olson and a few others in Colorado (including riders from other Routes) for taking the time to figure out this new system that is a much less expensive, easier to procure and BETTER way to communicate going down the road. If you are in leadership (Pack leadership especially) I encourage you to look into the system we will be testing and participate in the test this year. Advance teams will not necessarily be involved in the testing this year, as they tend to be out ahead of the pack anyway. More information can be found in the newsletter from early January. Link is below.
Below is the link for the Survey form for Pack leadership that plans on assisting in the test.
Important Links
For any questions you may have, check out our FAQs first. Then your next level of inquiry can be directed to your platoon leadership or team leaders of the team you have a question about. We’ve got a strong cadre of leadership in the Pack Platoons and they are a great source of information, as is our FNG Liaison, Bernadette “Flat Tire” Staples, for our first-timers. All contact information is available in the Central Route Hub on the RFTW website. Additionally, familiarize yourself with our Rider Code of Conduct.
In closing, Please register as soon as Possible (Especially if you are in a leadership role).
This is important for us to know about how many people and vehicles we will have on the Route for our planning purposes (Think Fuel, Staging, Meals etc.). If you are in leadership, it is especially important to register NOW, so I know we can count on your attendance and participation.
Be safe and start getting your bike and Body ready for the MISSION and see you soon.
MUCH ALOHA TO MY ‘OHANA
Nick “Richboy” Hentges
RFTW Central Route Coordinator 2024
Check out the Central Route Facebook Group.
