Day 6: The Run Begins (California-Arizona)

We got up at five this morning so we could get packed up and be at the daily mandatory rider’s meeting by six. We were lost for a while, until we found someone who knew where to go.

It was lightly raining and very cloudy. We got breakfast, free at the meeting, and talked while people got the meeting ready.

The meeting included, among other things, an introduction to RFTW and many tips on safety. After that meeting the Platoon leaders had a meeting with their platoons (or in the case of the chaplains we had a prayer meeting), and then we got on our bikes and prepared to leave. The procession of moving all the hundreds of bikes took some time, but we got through it and soon were on our way.

The first leg of the run was much like when we were going to Rancho Cucamonga. Since the road we used was the same, the effect was even more pronounced. Mist had set in heavily again and was mixed with a little rain now and then. As we climbed up mountains, it got more clear until we could see the end of the mist. It was pretty clear the rest of the way.

Our first stop brought back a few memories. The bikes lined up into a huge parking lot, sorted by platoons. We gassed up in order and were done relatively quickly--at least, quickly for hundreds of bikes.

We had a little time to just wait and have a break from riding, but soon it was time to go again. It is always amazing to watch so many bikes hit the Highway, one by one in order until the entire parking lot was emptied.

We went on like this for many hours. The next stop the refreshment trailer was open and almost everyone went to grab a bottle of water or a snack. I found slim jims and made sure to grab a few.

A little after we got into Arizona we stopped for lunch at Kingman. Something seemed wrong. Every year I had been here it was really, really hot. This year it seemed fine. Then I heard it was snowing ahead, which explained the cool temperature. I had never seen snow on the Run except at Angelfire, New Mexico, which is in the mountains and is usually the coldest point on the Run. I also heard it was supposed to be thirty degrees. Suddenly I didn’t want to leave the lunch area.

The next leg was fine, but it started cooling more. We barely had fuelled when everyone started to leave again. There was supposed to be a chance of rain ahead, so Dad took some time to get ready for it rather than hurrying to keep up. And when we did take off, it was not long until we found all the others.

The weather cooled even more. It was getting really cold, but when we came to where it had snowed it got miserable. We just wanted to finish the ride. Luckily, this was the last leg of the day, but Dad had gotten so cold we went straight to a hotel after coming into Williams. 

We took a long time warming up in the hotel and were really glad we could. The storm looks like it may continue tomorrow and it’s hard to say how we’ll get through it with ice on the roads. The rider’s meeting tomorrow has been delayed an hour already. I hope that’s all we have to wait for the roads to become ridable.

Day 5: Last Day Before the Run

We got to sleep in and have a slow breakfast one more time.  Chaplain Duane Gryder came and joined us, along with "Road Thing," the Central Route Senior Chaplain this year.  It was raining lightly, so I was glad we could stay inside.

Dad needed a few giant safety pins to get his chaplain armband on his vest.  The pins were actually kilt pins, or something like that, but they looked like they wouldn't come loose like the little safety pins we had used in the past.  Chaplain Gryder bought his at a craft store about a mile away.  Dad had me walk over there, but I got lost for just a little while.  Eventually, I figured out where I was and where I needed to be and found the store.  I felt awkward in my biker leathers next to a bunch of sewing people with "kilt pins" and was glad to be walking back to the hotel.

When it came around lunch time, Dad and I went to a Barbecue pit to talk for a while, but we didn't want to blow a bunch of cash there, so we just walked a little way over to Carl's Jr. to eat.

The FNG* meeting followed soon after.  There were many new people coming to the Run this year, so the meeting was very crowded.  The Route Coordinator and others discussed the basics of the Run--what to do, how to ride, things to avoid and more.

Then there was a bike blessing.  Dad gave away a lot of bike blessing stickers.  A free dinner was served afterward.  With almost all of the riders there, the line was extremely long.  I just waited until most of the people had eaten before I got in line.

While we all ate, there were free giveaways and many people talked on a trailer with speakers hooked up.  Dad went up and talked about RFTA, which stands for Run For Them All, and organization Dad has helped start.  The goal of the organization is to get new people on the Run so when Vietnam era vets cannot continue the ride it does not end.  They helped five FNG's afford going on the ride this year and are raising funds by selling patches.

After that there wasn't much left to do but go to bed and get ready for the start of the Run For The Wall.

*New people to the Run are called FNG's.  In Vietnam, this was a name for new soldiers.  On the Run, many refer to FNG as Fine New Guy.

Day 4: Registration

We slept in this morning and did not hurry through breakfast.  It was pretty uneventful, although I felt a little sick for a while.

Mr. Kevin asked if I could help with registration.  He needed me around noon, so I got up and went to the Hotel across the parking lot, where everyone would gather to sign up for RFTW.  Most of the bikers had come by now and there were plenty of opportunities to talk to people.

I spent some time labeling papers and tags with numbers 1-200, and by the time I had finished with that the registration line was very long.  It took a long time for very much progress to be made at all.

The line did not end all day.  Just as soon as it got close another group would arrive, making the registration workers busy for hours on end.

Dad and I eventually got registered after the line had shortened quite a bit.  It seemed strange to me that after all this, we were only just now on the Run officially.

After that, we were invited to eat dinner at a spaghetti restaurant.  We had a great time talking with many people.  The portions of spaghetti were so large that many of us did not finish our meals, although Dad and I did.

We went back to the hotel, very sleepy from a busy day and a huge dinner.

Day 3: Rancho Cucamunga

We got up and left by six.  It was cool outside, which meant the ride was a little cold.  Things were going pretty smoothly.  We only had a couple hundred miles and it looked like we would be there in no time.

Then we saw clouds--lots of clouds.  Big, dark, cold and soaking wet black clouds.  We stopped for gas before we hit them and thought about what to do.  I think all of us wanted to stay at the gas station and wait it out, but Dad decided we should just go for it in case it only got worse.  We only had one more leg and we weren't sure we would hit the storm anyway.

Keeping a close eye on those clouds, we set off again, keeping ready for the worst.  We seemed to be headed straight for the storm, but the road turned in time and we avoided it, at least for a little while.  Then it turned again and we faced a thick wall of water.  It looked a bit like heavy rain, but as we got closer it turned out to be really thick fog.  The change from clear air to the worst of the fog was abrupt.  As soon as we entered the fog, I looked back and could not see anything else.

It was better than rain, but it was still miserable.  Water didn't fall on us; it just got us wet as we rode through it.  Thankfully our electronic gear stayed dry.

It also got really cold.  I don't think it was quite as bad as Trinidad, but it got close.  I'm not sure how long we were in the fog; it seemed somewhere around a half hour.  I was so happy to see a sign saying Rancho Cucamonga was five miles away.

It started raining lightly as we pulled into the hotel parking lot.  We couldn't find the entrance at first, but after we circled the building we figured out where it was.  Finally, we parked and I was able to get off the bike.  We went inside as soon as we could to check in.  When we did, we heard that breakfast was still open for another ten minutes.  We hadn't eaten yet, so me hurried and got some.  Being some of the first bikers to have arrived at the hotel, most of everyone else there were "normal" people with suits and ties.  Our hands were still clumsy from the cold, and while we made a bit of a mess of our breakfast people starting giving us weird looks.

We did not come out to get our stuff until we had gone into our room and settled in a bit.  It rained some more while we were indoors, but eventually we went outside to move the luggage and the bikes.

We stayed in the room for a few hours, waiting for Dad's meeting at one.  When it came around, Dad left and I stayed in the room for a couple hours longer.

When he came back, he let me leave the hotel and talk to the people who had come since the last time I was outside.  People were arriving pretty steadily for it being this early.  I talked to many people I recognized, and the rest of the day was mostly spent talking. 

In the evening, Dad, Mr. Kevin, Chaplain Gryder (who rode with Dad, me and Chaplain Dean last year) and another friend walked around for a few minutes.  We found a Carl's Jr. where we ate dinner.  We all talked a while, and when we were done we all went home for the night.  Tomorrow more bikers will arrive and will be filling out paperwork to sign up for RFTW.

Day 2: New Mexico-Arizona

We started out again much like the day before. We did not have to get up early again, so we took it pretty easy while we got packed and ate breakfast. Dad had a good time talking with DC before we took off again.

It was hot and windy as we rode across Arizona on Highway 40. I enjoyed recognizing a lot of the same places we stop on the Run For The Wall route. We stuck with each other for most of the day, but we weren't stopping in Las Vegas, so when we had lunch at McDonald's we parted ways. It was a bit of a letdown to be back to two bikes, but I knew we would see each other the next day.

We continued on our way to Needles, CA. It got a lot hotter right after stopping at Kingman. I was glad we were moving fast as the wind kept me relatively cool.

Soon we stopped for the day. Gas was ridiculous in California, at $4.89 a gallon for the cheap stuff! I hated to stop at all, because when the wind quit blowing it was hotter than before. We quickly checked into a Motel 6 and turned the air conditioning on. I was glad we rode so hard the day before so that we didn't have to go far today. Better yet, tomorrow is going to be even shorter. However, Dad needs to be at Rancho Cucamunga by 11AM for a meeting, so we won't have quite as much time to be slow. After that, we can relax for a few days before the Run starts.

Day 1: The Trip Begins...Again.

A few days ago Mr. Kevin came to our house.  He is riding with Dad and I this year, so he stayed with us at the house until today.  We got everything loaded on (including all three of my cameras/camcorders) and said goodbye.  We prayed briefly for safety on the road and that things would go well at home, too.

Then we were off.  We had waited to leave until eight because the temperature was twenty degrees colder at six, but when we did get on the road it was still cold.  The temperature itself wasn't so bad, but we were on motorcycles, which meant a lot of windchill.  I figured out right away what I had forgotten to take.  Gloves.  My hands felt so cold, but there was nothing to do.

We stopped in Avondale, just a few minutes West of our house, to make sure we had enough gas for the ride.  From there, we went through Pueblo and got on I-25.  We traveled for a while just fine, but the it got colder.  Dad only had fingerless gloves on, and he didn't want to put his winter gloves on until our next fuel stop.  The only thing for us to do was to tough through it.

Finally, we made it to Trinidad and stopped.  Dad was barely able to use the gas pump, but after he did we went inside and got coffee.  We stayed for a half hour, but our hands were numb for most of that time.  We were all glad for the break.

Reluctantly we pulled ourselves away from the indoors and took off again.  Dad had his winter gloves on now, but it turned out he didn't need them much.  The weather got warmer the further South we went.  Soon it was almost hot.

We crossed into New Mexico and made it to Albuquerque, where we stopped again for gas.  But we weren't expecting to recognize anyone.  When we pulled in, I recognised DC, who has been on the Run for several years, and two others.  They were going the same route we were, so we just rode together for the rest of the day.

Someone else on a motorcycle with a large bag strapped to the back of his bike tried following us.  He had a bright greenish-yellow safety vest, so I guessed that was a road guard.  However, we were going pretty fast and he just couldn't keep up, so he eventually fell out of site.  For a while, though, it seemed like we were leading our own run!

We finally stopped in Gallup, where we found a hotel to stay in.  I was glad that we ate at Denny's for dinner after a long and hard day of riding.  We talked a while before heading off to our rooms again.  We had covered 500 miles today and the plan is to go 300 miles tomorrow, then 200 miles the day after to get us to Rancho Cucamunga, CA, where the Run begins.  We should have a couple days to rest there before the Run begins.  As always, I can't wait!

I'm Back

It's been a while since my last post on this blog.  I've had to skip Run For The Wall for a year while my Mom, Teresa Hubbell, went.  But now my Dad has let me come back to finish my third and final year (that is, until I learn how to ride and get a bike, etc.)

I'm getting very excited about seeing everyone again.  Last time I was on the Run, I had a little Sony camera I used to take the pictures for the blog.  In the aspect of photography, I've gotten a little more ambitious.  I now own a Canon Rebel T1i, an SLR camera that I was only dreaming of earlier.  Also my Dad has a camcorder and I have a Flip video camera loaned to me, so not only will I be taking pictures but I will also shoot video.  I hope to be able to put together a documentary of some sort when it's all said and done...

In the meantime, I have to prepare for the ride.  With all of my new equipment, I have to find something to put it all in.  SLR cameras take up a lot of room so I'll have to get creative.

That said, I can't wait to ride again!