As I write this, we are exactly 16 days away from our departure from Ontario, CA. I also see that 672 people have registered for the Central Route. Yeah! Gulp!
Your leadership teams have been busy for the last 11 months preparing for the May 16th departure and the 10-day journey across this great country to call for an accounting of those still Missing In Action from all wars.
All the leadership teams are in place and ready to perform their duties to make this a successful Mission. I look forward to the challenges of leading the Central Route and have spent many hours in preparation, exploring details, anticipating what could or could not go wrong. My real concern is your safety. I ask that you also think in terms of making this a safe journey.
I want to make a special call out to our State Coordinators who have been working hard to coordinate activities within their respective states. As of now, I know of three areas of road construction. The first being just north of Raton, NM, the second is near MM 405 on I-70 in western Colorado and the third is in West Virginia on I-64 between Milton, WV and Nitro, WV.
This year you will have the capability to use your computers and smartphones to track us, as each of the three routes will each have GPS trackers on their motors. When you go to the soon to be published web site you will see labels that will begin with as CR, MR and SR. For Central Route the ones you will be interested in is CR1 and CR2. CR1 is me in the front leading the Pack and CR2 is the Last Man vehicle. The other two are assigned to Eamon the Assistant Route Coordinator and the fourth is assigned to Nick Nickolas who is leading the Gold Star Family outreach. I have been told that the web link won’t be activated until Tuesday May 15th. I have been lobbying to have it turned on now so folks can get familiar with it. If you agree please send an email to kirk.olson@rftw.us
I’ve been stopping by the local parking lot when I’ve been out riding to practice tight turns. I’ll find a spot in the pavement and do figure eights over the top of it. Remembering to turn my head because that is where the motor will go. I follow that up with trying to make a U-turns inside two parking spaces.
So… what have you been doing to sharpen your riding skills? Have you started a hydration program?
May Safety Tip… I mentioned this a few months ago, but it bears repeating. Most accidents happen during a speed change maneuver, such as entering and exiting roadways. When entering a highway, I will increase speed in small increments until I reach our maximum highway speed of 65 MPH. When exiting the highway, I will begin the slow down process about 4 to 5 miles out. This is when you need to bring your A-game. You need to be watching beyond the motor in front of you to anticipate a sudden slow down.
I was in a Ride Like A Pro class last Sunday morning, which was being taught by two motor officers. One of the officers told us of a study where seven cars were lined up and traveling in a line. If the lead car reduced its speed by 5 MPH, in a short period of time the last car would have to come to a full stop. They went on to say that a mere tapping of the brake (brake light flash) sends a ripple slow down effect rearward. The message is…. use small accelerator (throttle) control corrections when making speed changes to correct interval spacing. If throttle control isn’t enough, then down shift, using brakes as a last resort.
All for now. See you in Ontario.
My Wall is Your Wall,
Harlan
