Day 7 - April 30, 2012 Brunswick, GA to Miami, FL

Misty morning.

Once again, another day free of "excitement". Let's keep it that way! Logged another 449 miles today to bring the total to just under 3000 miles for the trip so far. It was a breakthrough day in the sense that I was never, at any point throughout the day, cold! It was in the mid 60's at departure, got up into the low 80s for a while before falling back into the 70s toward the end of the day as , once again, it rained. Those pesky South Florida afternoon storms anyway! Once again the route was freeway style (as the vast majority of the entire trip will be) Most of the day I-95 followed by the Florida Turnpike around the Miami metropolis. This is kinda what my world looks like for 6-10 hours every day.

This is my view of the world every day.

There was just a minor sidetrip today into Daytona Beach. Had to stop to pick up another quart of oil at the BMW dealer there. I bought one on Saturday at Bob's in Maryland but cleverly left it in the hotel room when I checked out the very next day. I'll try to take batter care of this one.

Daytona Beach. Self Explanatory.

The warm weather allowed me to ride without gloves for a while today and that freed up my fingers to make some pictures while riding. Hopefully over the next several days there will be things worth photographing, besides just pointing the camera back at myself.

At Speed!

I'd like to run an umbilical over to this guy and then just ride alongside for about an hour every morning. Sort of like aerial refueling!

FUND RAISING UPDATE

I said there was no excitement today but that wasn't quite true. None on the highway for sure, but big news on the fund raising front. Donations received over the past weekend took the total amount up over my initial goal of $5000. I can't begin to describe how thankful I am to all my friends and supporters who got this little enterprise to this point. What happens next? That's easy. Just like the ride itself we keep going and see where we end up. We are still taking donations and will be through the end of the ride and beyond. This is really exciting! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU!

THE NEXT FEW DAYS
Tomorrow starts off with my second hospital visit, this time to the Miami Children's Hospital. After a couple of hours with new friends I'll be headed southward to Key West. It's only about 150 miles from here but it's a potentially slow ride. In any case I hope to get there, make my mark, and turn back northward before the day is done. Like you, I will be interested to see how far I can get tomorrow. Then Wednesday it's further north and ultimately West into the Florida panhandle. I'll probably pass thru Alabama on Thursday. From there it's a mad rush across the bottom of the US toward Southern California over the next week. Should be fun. Stay tuned!

Day 6 - April 29, 2012 Wilson, NC to Brunswick, GA

"South of the Border" - tacky tourist trap/fireworks emporium at the NC/SC state line.

Today was a day totally without any drama, excitement, or out-of-the-ordinaryness of any kind. Just another 400 miles straight down I-95 through North and South Carolina and then deep into Georgia. In fact, my overnight stop in Brunswick Georgia is barely 30 miles from the Florida State Line. Florida is where I'll spend the next couple of days. Maybe this is a good time for a look-ahead. Tomorrow I'll ride another 400 (or so) miles directly to Miami. The intent is to stage tomorrow nigh at a location convenient for my Tuesday morning visit to the Miami Children's Hospital - the second of my hospital kids' visits. Tuesday, after that's over around noon my goal is to head on down to Key West, my second "corner." After the requisite pictures and such, I'll head back northward, getting as far as I can that evening. Overnight destination TBD. Wednesday I'll pick up again heading north, bound for northern Florida, then the Florida panhandle and beyond. Again, exact destination unknown. I do know that I need to be in San Diego by Monday night a week from now so it's not all that hard to figure out. It's just a lot of miles! One thing worth mentioning about today is the change in weather. After having been cold most of the past week, I think that phase is finally over. It was only yesterday afternoon that I first saw the temperature go above 60! Well, this morning it was 60 when I pulled out of the hotel parking lot and by the time I got to the Georgia State Line it was 97! From record cold in the Northeast to record highs in the Southeast. Weather. Ya just really never know. At every fuel stop today I shed more clothing and by the end of the day I was down to just jeans and my jacket. No gloves even! Probably gonna be hot these next few days. Well, that's the scoop from Georgia tonight. Thanks for being here with me!

Uh Oh! First mechanical failure of the trip - Pandora's decal coming off. All that rain the last few days I'll bet!

At the Georgia Visitor Center where it was 97 degrees on arrival. You can tell it was hot. My tongue was hanging out!

Kinda creepy face. No?

Day 5 - April 28, 2012 Malvern, PA to Wilson, NC

Another day of mostly just miles down I-95. Left from home at the decadently late hour of 8:00 with my wife Lisa riding along for a while. First stop was about 20 miles later to bid her farewell as turned for home in the 40 degree weather. At the same time I made a quick stop to top up the oil in my faithful steed's engine. Then off to Bob's BMW in Jessup, Maryland for a chance to hang out at Bob's Spring Open House. A couple of hours later I took off Southbound and Down. Into Virginia it began to rain again and I was, once again, in the lovely stuff for over 100 miles. But then, as advertised by the Weather Channel and others, just about the time I crossed into North Carolina, the rain stopped and the temperature even started to climb. I even saw numbers greater than 60 on the dash dsiplay. Is life good or what. Enjoy these few pictures from today. Tomorrow the plan is to cross through North and South Carolina and get to about the state line between Georgia and Florida. Will probably spend the night somewhere between Savannah and Jacksonville. Looks like I'm moving into some considerable warmer air. And glad of it! Miami by Monday evening! Thanks for riding with me! 

Day 4 - April 27, 2012 Bangor, ME to Malvern, PA

Today was a successful close to the first week of 4 Wheels 4 Kids. The challenge for today was simple. For the first time, cover some bigger miles for an overnight at home. After reaching the Northeast "Corner" of the US yesterday, the route now take me southward, with Key West, FL cued up next. Today I rode just about 600 miles to an overnight here at home. The ride itself was pretty straightforward but the special element of fun was the fact that it was absolutely pouring rain, and 41 degrees when I departed Bangor before 7 AM. A couple hours of very wet highway riding took me beyond that problem when the rain abated around Portsmouth, NH. The rest of the day was spent under partly sunny skies and the only issue was that it was abit cold - never going above 50 degrees until quite late in the afternoon. Not much of a worklist this evening which is good becuse I'd like a good nights sleep in my own bed. Tomorrow I'm off down I-95. A morning stop at Bob's BMW in Jessup, Maryland will be followed by a few more hours on to Saturday's destination near Rocky Mount, NC. Then Sunday I'll push on to Southy Georgia/North Florida. Monday evening it's Miami! Bike is good. Equipment is all checked out and fully vetted and I'm ready to get on with the much longer portion of the trip. Let's rock!

Fund Raising

This week has been a really good one on the fundraising front too! We've received donations every day this week and the total amount raised is now $4726. We're within shouting distance of my goal of $5000 for the Austin Hatcher Foundation and it's my hope to go "over the top" in the next week. Please consider whether you would like to help. You can contribute online, using a credit card, by clicking HEREor, if you want to something simpler and quicker, how about texting the word "wheels" to 501501 Doing so will immediately donate $10, billed to your cell phone. Remember that everything goes directly to The Austin Hatcher Foundation and absolutely nothing goes to support the costs of the ride.

Day 3 - April 26, 2012 Bangor, ME to Madawaska, ME and Return

Today was pretty cool. Well, cold actually. At least the first couple of hours this morning were pretty cold with a departure time temp of 37 Degrees. Amazingly, however, it was bright and clear again so what's to complain about. With the sun climbing ever higher during the course of the day I rode mostly in 50s temps all day. And ride I did. Left from Bangor, ME headed North toward my first "corner" destination at Madawaska, ME. It's about 220 miles up to Madawaska from Bangor and I finally had the chance to get off the superslab and ride some secondary roads, mainly because I-95 pretty much ends about 100 miles along the way. So it was I-95 and then the northern most reaches of US-1 up to Madawaska.Frankly there is not much to do in Madawaska but a stop to the motorcycle oriented Four Corners Park was in order and, of course , the requisite pictures. Bought some gas and then got on my way back southward. After the 440 mile round trip I arrived back in Bangor about 4:30 PM. Will spend this evening gearing up for what is likely to be a really tough 600 mile day tomorrow , back home to Pennsylvania. Based on the weather reports I expect that tomorrow I'll get wet for the first time. Should make that long ride even more entertaining. Despite that, I'm having a blast and really proud of everyone who has donated to the Austin Hatcher Foundation in the name of my ride. Total is now up over $4200 toward my goal of $5000. Still a way to go so please think about whether you would like to donate. You can CLICK HERE TO DONATE ONLINE or even easier, you can text the word "wheels" to 501501 top donate $10 instantly - the amount will be added to your cell phone bill.

In any case, thanks for following along and enjoy today's pics.

Day 2 - 4/25/2012 Lawrence, MA to Bangor, ME

Rode a bit over 200 miles today, from Lawrence, Massachusetts up to Bangor, Maine. But that's not the real story of today. Today's story is all about my new friends Meredith and Noah, the two Izzys, Duncan, Fin, and the others. These are all hospitalized kids at the Barbara Bush Children's Hospital in Portland, Maine. I had the opportunity to visit with them for just a couple of hours today but it was about the most amazing two hours ever. We looked at pictures and I told the story of my ride. I signed some autograph cards for them had them sign my Austin Hatcher Foundation T-Shirt for me because they are MY heros! There were some games and just general silliness and the chance to simply be a kid again if even for a short time. It was a powerful and humbling experience that I will not soon forget and I get to do the same thing several more times during my trip. Today reminded me in very personal terms why I am doing this trip and working so hard to raise funds. Thanks you Austin Hatcher Foundation and the Barbara Bush Children's Hospital at the Maine Medical Center for this fantastic experience.  

I am in Bangor, Maine tonight and staged just 217 miles south of Madawaska, Maine - the northernmost town in Maine and the first of my Four Corners of the USA. Plan is to take off out of here early tomorow morning, get up there by noon, take some pictures and document my arrival, maybe grab a quick lunch and then retrace my path and head back southbound. Hopefully I'll get as far as Bangor again, or maybe even further in prep for a long hard pull back to the Philadelphia area Friday evening. Amazingly, the weather is supposed to hold clear and reasonably warm (50s) for at least another day before some rain comes in. Exciting stuff - first "Corner" coming up tomorrow! 

Day 1 - 4/24/2012 Malvern, PA to Lawrence Mass

Gas Stop First Day

Visit to great supporter Kryptonite Lock

THIS is what 2 Wheels 4 Kids is All About !

With Daryl Slater from Kryptonite. One of our staunchest supporters.

There are a long list of things that can cause your motorcycle ride to be, shall we say, less fun than it could be. Construction zones. Other people crashing and messing up the traffic flow. Rush hour traffic. Boring multi lane roads. Tolls. Cold. Precipitation. OK, so today it didn't rain - but it featured all that other stuff! Even so, this first day of 2 Wheels 4 Kids turned out great anyway. After a weekend of headline news stories about the "big" springtime snowstorm pounding the Northeast it was a pleasant surprise to awaken to a sunny morning. If a bit chilly at 39 degrees. The day was spent covering some 388 miles from home, outside Philadelphia to an overnight in Lawrence, Massachusetts, NW of Boston. Aside from fuel stops the only intermission in the action was a visit to 2 Wheels 4 Kids sponsor and supporter Kryptonite Lock in Canton, MA. My friends Daryl and Don at Kryptonite gave me the full tour, loaded me up with some Snickers bars (YUM!), gave me the lowdown on some of the latest product offerings and sent me on my way. Unfortunately right at rush hour on I-95 around Boston. Not to worry. No harm, no foul and an hour later I was here in my hotel room pondering the plan for tomorrow, when I'll be making the first of my hospital visits. At 10:00 AM I'll be at the Barbara Bush Children's Hospital at the Maine Medical Center in Portland. I expect that to be nothing but great fun! Then an afternoon push further northward to Bangor, ME. Trying for the Northern tip of Maine at the small town of Madawaska for Thursday. Hope it stays dry!  Thanks for following along. I enjoy having friends along for the ride!

Launch!

OK, It's 40 degrees out (but not raining!), the sun is not up yet and I'm in the driveway loading. What a great adventure this is going to be. Thanks for riding along! I'll be posting reports daily, or as often as practical. Hope you'll check 'em out. Well, off we go. Gotta Ride!

Some Details on my Intended Route. And More...

The Route:
I have had a few questions about the route for this big old lap of the country so here goes with the best summary I can muster at the moment.


The first week and the East Coast segment is both easy to describe and pretty solid from a schedule standpoint. It's North and East first, then a course reversal and southbound and down for the following few days.

I'll depart home early Tuesday morning the 24th and ride to just North of Boston, MA. Highlight of the day will be an early afternoon visit with my friends and sponsor Kryptonite Locks just outside Boston.

Wednesday it's a short (less that 100 miles) morning jaunt up to Portland, Maine and my first scheduled hospital visit to the Barbara Bush Children's Hospital at the Maine Medical Center. Based on what I'm seeing for weather reports, the kids may get a visit from a cold and wet motorcyclist. Later Wednesday afternoon will find me making my way further North to near Bangor, ME where I'll overnight. So those first couple of days look like what's shown above.

Thursday will be a long riding day. First the trek to the northernmost the tip of Maine and the small town of Madawaska - the first of my four "corners." I'll take the requisite souvenir photos then turn around and start back South - making it as far as I practically can by the end of the day.

Friday I'll ride back home. Huh? Seriously. Friday I'll make the long trip back out of New England and back to my home near Philadelphia overnight. The things we do to save on hotel bills.

Saturday figures to be an early start southbound. Probably destined for an overnight in NC on Saturday followed by Sunday's segment on to north Florida (Jacksonville? Daytona? St Augustine?) Then Monday it will be on to Miami where I'll stage Monday evening for a Tuesday morning visit to the Miami Children's Hospital before heading further onward toward Key West.

After Florida I'll be making my way across the southern tier of states for about the next week. The main thing to keep in mind is that I need to be in San Diego for a scheduled hospital visit on Tuesday May 8th.I'll then make my way up the West coast to Seattle for another such visit on Saturday , May 12. As you can see, the scheduled hospital visits are what will drive my riding schedule. There are a few "ugly-long" days built in but for the most part I view it as manageable. We'll see. I have lots of friends who have asked about visits and I will certainly do as many of those as I can while remaining on schedule. Love seeing you all! Just understand if I'm unable to stay all day!

After Seattle it'll be back across the middle of the country and on to my big finish in Chattanooga on May 19th. Looking forward to seeing and talking to lots of you along the way.

The Helmet:
For those of you who haven't seen the pictures elsewhere, My Bell RS-1 Helmet, painted up in the winning design from the Austin Hatcher Foundation Helmet Contest is amazingly cool and an incredibly unique design. Thanks to contest winner Mackenzie from the Chattanooga area. I'm going to be proud to wear it and I know that it will be an amazing conversation piece throughout the trip.

Fundraising stuff:

The fundraising part of this little exercise is going pretty well but there is still plenty of distance between me and my $5000 goal. We actually, just this week, passed the halfway point. I suspect, however, that this was the "easy" half and that I'm going to work even harder to get to the finish line! Please, I'd once again ask if you if you can find it in your heart to help. Two best ways to contribute? Go online and DONATE SAFELY HERE with your credit card or take the "easy" part and just text the word "wheels" to 501501 to donate $10.00 immediately. Thank you all. Especially those of you who have already contributed.









I can't believe that in just two days I'll be on the road! And I'll be sharing the story here as it happens. The really cool part is just about to begin!

Fundraising is Moving Along - Won't You Please Help Now!

Now it's just over a week until my departure and there is still an astounding number of things to do. The good news is that the past week has been a very good one on the fundraising front. I'm now up over $1200 and on the way to my goal of $5000. There is, however, a very long way yet to go. As my followers know, every donation goes directly to The Austin Hatcher Foundation for Pediatric Cancer, a 501c3 registered charity. Just to make it clear, absolutely nothing goes to support my travel - it ALL goes to support the important work of the Foundation.

Can't you please help?

The goal of the 2 Wheels 4 Kids ride is to raise $5000 for the Austin Hatcher Foundation. Some donations have already come in but a whole lot more support will be needed to reach that goal!


Here's How to Make a Donation

There are several ways to donate. All are quick, easy, and filled with the satisfaction of knowing the good you are doing for stricken children and their families.

1. Write and mail a Check

-If you wish to donate by check you can send it directly to:

The Austin Hatcher Foundation
6739 Ringgold Rd. Suite G
Chattanooga, TN 37412

-Please note on the memo line of your check "2W4K"

2. Make an online donation by Credit Card

-Using your web browser go to the Austin Hatcher Foundation Secure Donation site HERE
Complete the form (again, please note "2W4K" in the comments field) and proceed as instructed.

-If you encounter any difficulty or would prefer to make a credit card donation over the phone you can call the foundation directly at (423) 243-3666. Foundation comptroller Stephanie or one of the AHF staff will be glad to help.

3. Text to donate !

-Using your cell phone you can donate $10 instantly by texting the word "wheels" to 501501. The $10 donation will be added to your phone bill. How easy is that?


I want to sincerely thank each and every one for your support on this. You'll never know how much this means to me and to the families that you are supporting.

Jack

THE AUSTIN HATCHER FOUNDATION - Can you find it in your heart to help?

With just two weeks left until my departure, it's time to become serious about the fundraising aspect of my trip. As my followers know, every donation goes directly to The Austin Hatcher Foundation for Pediatric Cancer, a 501c3 registered charity. Just to make it clear, absolutely nothing goes to support my travel - it ALL goes to support the important work of the Foundation.

Can't you please help?

The goal of the 2 Wheels 4 Kids ride is to raise $5000. Some very generous supporters have started the ball rolling but, as with the ride itself, there is a long way to go!


Here's How to Make a Donation

There are several ways to donate. All are quick, easy, and filled with the satisfaction of knowing the good you are doing for stricken children and their families.

1. Write and mail a Check

-If you wish to donate by check you can send it directly to:

The Austin Hatcher Foundation
6739 Ringgold Rd. Suite G
Chattanooga, TN 37412

-Please note on the memo line of your check "2W4K"

2. Make an online donation by Credit Card

-Using your web browser go to the Austin Hatcher Foundation Secure Donation site HERE
Complete the form (again, please note "2W4K" in the comments field) and proceed as instructed.

-If you encounter any difficulty or would prefer to make a credit card donation over the phone you can call the foundation directly at (423) 243-3666. Foundation comptroller Stephanie or one of the AHF staff will be glad to help.

3. Text to donate !

-Using your cell phone you can donate $10 instantly by texting the word "wheels" to 501501. The $10 donation will be added to your phone bill. How easy is that?


I want to sincerely thank each and every one for your support on this. You'll never know how much this means to me and to the families that you are supporting.

Jack