I checked the countdown clock on www.rftw.us a few minutes ago. It shows that we are at 73 days, 20 hours and 32 minutes away from “kickstands up” in the Ontario, CA, parking lot on May 16th. As I scrolled down a little further, I noticed that 481 of you have completed online pre-registration to participate in the Central Route in some way. That doesn’t mean 481 will be departing Ontario on Wednesday. We know that some of you will be joining at one of our overnight stops, and others will be dropping off to return home for work or other family commitments.
Your State Coordinators have been doing outstanding work to make the 2018 Run a success. They have arranged and worked with local volunteers for our fuel and lunch stops. They have negotiated hotel rates at our overnight destinations. In addition, State Coordinators have worked with local law enforcement agencies to let them know we will be riding through their areas of Jurisdiction and advised them of our Mission statement. In many cases, local law enforcement offers escorts to protect us. In the days leading up to our May 16th departure, we will be depending on the State Coordinators to keep us apprised of road construction in our path of travel. Be sure to seek out the State Coordinator volunteers and thank them for their hard work.
I spoke with Tom Pogue, Central Route Missing Man Coordinator, a few days ago. He told me that he has a few slots available for those wishing to ride for someone in the Missing Man Formation.
If you are wondering about the 2018 itinerary, it is in final editing and will be going out for review. I am anticipating that it will be available online in the next 7 to 10 days.
According to Jimmie Royce, 50/50 Rouser, if you are not standing anywhere near the PA sound trailer during each morning gathering prior to the MANDATORY morning riders meeting this year, you will miss an excellent opportunity to purchase items provided by some of our major brand supporters.
If you haven’t already done so, I encourage you to check out the online merchandise store. The 2018 shirts are available. My favorite is the purple polo.
March Safety Tip: Last month I talked about our preferred “snake around” method of passing traffic. I’d like to add a footnote to that. When you are in a passing situation, you may see a Road Guard (yellow brassards) in front of a truck or car. He/she is there for a reason … to pace the truck/car. You will safely return and move back to the traffic lane well in FRONT of the Road Guard.
My Wall is Your Wall,
Harlan “Whitebirch” Olson
Run for The Wall
2018 Central Route Coordinator
