Amazing, wonderful gorgeous, beautiful…. is how I describe the day. It was 65 when we got up. And no rain. YEAH!!! Eamon gives us a run down of the legs for the day. He tells us at lunch, a Harley dealer will host it. He said the Harley dealers are very generous and will even let the Honda riders eat there. The ribbing between the Harley and Honda has be here since day 1. LOL
If you remember Shawn bought this in the auction. It was made by Skeeter’s wife. Ross the head road guard and Skeeter were very close so Shawn and the road guards gave this to Ross in Skeeters honor. It is made of the Run shirts from prior years.
Before we get too much further on the day, I would like to tell you about 2 other teams:
1) Outreach Team.
This team will visit Gold Start families. They will normally reach about 30 per year.They will go to the family and as they get there , each team member introduces themselves. They will express their condolences for their loss and thank them for service and sacrifice to their country. The Pledge of Allegiance is said and a RFTW pin is given to the family members. There is also a Gold Star patch and a certificate of appreciation from RFTW. A green bracelet is also give as a symbol of hope. They will pray with them and many times cry with them. Thanks you Outreach for your time with our Gold Star families.
2) Road guards. They are our guardian angels and try to keep us safe. Like putting a bubble around us. They will stop the entrance ramps, help cars and trucks get past the pack, stage at all interchanges, direct us thru gas stops. I will have several pics for you of what they do thru this post.
Little bit of fog but what beautiful country.
several pics from the day. You know me, got to get some last time scenery
pics in. We have such a beautiful country with all kinds of
landscapes. Hope you have liked them.
Here a road guard is signaling the traffic to move over a lane to give the pack a chance to get on highway. Remember, we start on the highway at only 35 MPH until the last man is on the highway.
Look at the amount of trucks and people on this bridge. It takes time and effort to pull this off. So may be 30 minutes. We had someone stand on the bridge today and they times the pack. It was less than 5 minutes. This is truly a sign on the supports have for our troops.
Last gas stop, Rick said he lost his hat…. I believe I saw it heading down the road in the high speed lane
Last time you will have to stage guys…. nice work. By about day 10 in think you have it downpat.
Road guards have to recycle to the front. On the left are 2 road guards working their way back up to the front of the pack.
the miles to Arlington get lower and lower, I realize our mission is almost
complete. I also think of all the troops still deployed all over this
world. I pray that some day they will be able to count down the number of days they will be home.
The crowd cheers as we pull into the parking lot. Remember how our Vietnam troops were treated when they got home. Remember it only takes a few seconds to THANK a veteran, active service person, police or fireman for their service. And it you remember, if you thank a Vietnam vet , Tell them “WELCOM HOME”.
This is our road guard crew. They are amazing men and women.
I will have one more post tomorrow before completing this years mission. The FNGs get to ride into Arlington on the bikes. This is a very rare privilege. I hope to get some great shots.
Temps: 65-95
Route: I-64 E, I-81N, I-66E
Miles: 254
