4500 Mile Ride for Charity - Nice ride though TX and OK...386 miles today

My friends,

I am relaxing after a long day riding and trying to catch up on the posts. The following is a map of the ride today. I will have maps of each day posted to the Facebook group for 4500 Miles.



It was geogeous today down here in TX/OK area. I am a bit sunburnt on he face and forearms, but it was worth it! The best part of today's ride was the stretch of US3 from Atoka OK to Broken Bow. Beautiful, long stretch of 2 lane highway with almost no one on it.

Today I saw a bit of wildlife (besides all the bikers out today), including a deer, a few turtles, a huge turkey vulture, and some red-tailed hawks. I saw a bobcat crossing the road as the sun was setting!! That was rare...bobcats are not often seen, and rarely during sunlight. I though it was a fox when I first saw it crossin the road, but as I slowed down to look at it, it also stopped and turned to look at me. Unfortunately I was riding and couldn't get to the camera before he took off into the bushes. Very cool!

I did manage to get some photos today though, which I will post at the Facebook site for the ride.

Join the Facebook group for the 4500 Mile Ride for Charity at: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=86418224388.

Don't forget to tell your friends to DONATE to the charity of their choice, or one of the ones I am recommending on the Donations page.

Also, check out the sponsors page and visit each of them to learn more.

Remember, this is NOT about me or my ride, that is only the "vehicle", the attention getter if you will. If we can collectively connect with and motivate a million people to donate only a quarter ($0.25 USD) each, that equals $250,000 for charity! Imagine if we can motivate that many to donate a dollar each? In the last 2 weeks only, we have started some momentum relative to getting some attention for the cause...now we need to take that start and make it viral!

What do I need from you? Tell you friends, tell your family...tell strangers!

We ARE going to make a difference together!

4500 Mile Ride for Charity - MOVE, MOTIVATE and DONATE!

Lawrence

Beautiful Sunrise at Camp Creek Lake near Franklin, TX.

Good morning everyone! I arrived at my brother's place near Franklin last night around 10pm after a short 100mile ride from Spring, TX.

For the cause...On the ride up I past the Huntsville State Prison and was reminded that some of the inmates living there have taken the lives of Police and Fire Department officers in Houston and surrounding counties. When an officer loses his or her life in the line of duty The 100 Club steps up and takes care the needs of that officer's surviving family. Let's support them by joining The 100 Club or making a donation!

You are probably going to get tired of me saying this, but again, with millions of people on Facebook, MySpace etc, if we can reach and motivate a million or more, even a single dollar donation will make a difference! Donate to the organization of your choice. Mention "4500 Miles" when you donate.

Here is this morning's sunrise over Camp Creek Lake near Franklin, TX.

Finally departing on the 4500 Mile Ride

After a lot of rearranging, I finally got what I need to live packed onto the bike. There is a lot less room than you might imagine :). I'll upload some pics of my gear and packing process later. It is interesting the choices you make when there is only a small amount of room and when you are traveling "on the cheap", staying very infrequently in hotels. I opted for a sleeping bag, clothing (packed in zip lock bags), cameras and laptop gear, fishing gear and a MacGyver kit. Since the tent was too large to carry, I dumped the tent and poles and kept only the fly, stakes and the ground cover.

I'll post more tomorrow morning. I am just road testing the load this first leg of the trip, so it will be a short one. First stop is Franklin, TX., actually Camp Creek Lake, near Franklin. Pictures tomorrow!

Packing made me think about what the homeless must face when they are carrying their lifes possessions around with them, the dangers they face daily on the streets and so forth. Remember how blessed we are with even the things we take for granted. We are supporting two homeless shelters through the ride. DONATE at http://www.winchesterresearch.com/donate.html

Cheers and thanks for the support!
Lawrence

Posted a sponsors' page for the 4500 Mile Ride for Charity

Special thanks to all of my sponsors for this ride. This kind of event takes support from many to reach many more and motivate them to donate.

http://www.winchesterresearch.com/sponsors.html

Facebook site for the 4500 Mile Ride for Charity

There are now 88 members in the new Facebook group for the 4500 Mile Ride for Charity! Join this group, follow the event for the next two months and help us drive awareness for charitable donations!!! Let's make a difference together. Remember that even $1.00 each turns into alot of donations if we can reach and motivate a million people...what about 10 million?

Join the Facebook group at: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=86418224388

Getting packed!

Lawrence

Added support for Child Advocates to the 4500 Mile Ride for Charity

I am busy making final preparations for the 4500 Mile Ride for Charity. I just received confirmation and permission from Dena Miller, of Child Advocates. Child Advocates has become a leader in the ongoing fight against child abuse, with plans to support over 1800 children this year. Support their efforts by getting to know them and donating to support their efforts at http://www.childadvocates.org.

New Facebook Group for 4500 Mile Ride for Charity

Join the new Facebook group for the 4500 Mile Ride for Charity at:
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=86418224388

Thanks to Seb Roberts of We Got Skillz for creating the Facebook page!

Donations Page Posted for 4500 Mile Ride for Charity

The donations page has been posted for the 4500 Mile Ride for Charity event at:

http://www.winchesterresearch.com/donate.html.

Support your favorite charity of donate to one of the recommended ones! Mention "4500 Miles" when you donate!

This guy is cycling across europe for 2 years for charity!

It is very interesting to me the information that comes out of social networks and connections. When like-minded connections come together...

In response to my LinkedIn post about the 4500 Mile Ride for Charity, one of my LinkedIn contacts told me about his brother, Eric, who is cycling across Europe for 2 years to raise money for charity. He has completed 8000 miles so far and is only half way done with his journey! This is the kind of story and effort I want to highlight through my ride, namely people who have created an effort to help others. All of the charities out there started as someone's passion to make a difference.

Read about Eric's journey at:
http://aberdeen2adelaide.blogspot.com/search?updated-min=2009-01-01T00%3A00%3A00Z&updated-max=2010-01-01T00%3A00%3A00Z&max-results=3

Donate to Eric's cause at JustGiving.com:
http://www.justgiving.com/ericsmart

First of all let me thank everyone who has been supporting The 4500 Mile Ride for Charity. Momentum is growing and a number of people have joined me as media and technology sponsors to help grow the exposure to the event.

Connecting is key to the success of this project, namely touching as many people as possible with the message to support charity. When you read this message...Twitter it, Blog it, email it, Link it, mention it on Facebook and MySpace. Let's get as many people to DONATE as possible. I will have the donation/sponsor pages up before the end of this weekend. I am still receiving logos, links and verbiage from the charities and sponsors.

In the meantime, everyone is encouraged to follow the links in this blog (The 100 Club, Keshet Rescue, The Star of Hope and the Ottawa Mission for example), and give your donations early. If you can, add a memo or somehow mention "4500 Miles" with your donation so we can somehow measure the impact of the event in 2 months.

I am recommending some charities, organizations and philanthropic projects that either I support or I have heard about through my network of friends and associates. I encourage everyone to get to know whatever organziation or cause they are moved to support.

I'd like to highlight the charities and philanthropic organizations we have confirmed to support and thank their contacts that have confirmed their support:

· The Star of Hope Mission – Houston, TX - Scott Arthur, Director of Public Relations
· The 100 Club – Houston, TX and 17 surrounding counties – Rick Hartley, Director
· The Ottawa Mission – Ottawa, Canada – Shirley Roy, Media Relations and Diane Morrison, Director
· Keshet Rescue – Ottawa, Canada – Debbie Moffat, Director
· Heart In Action / WeGotSkillz – France and Vancouver – Ashie Hirji, President/CEO
· The Fender Music Foundation - Agoura Hills, CA - Moriah Harris-Rodger, Executive Director
· Shoes for the World – Vancouver, Canada – Eduardo Fritis, Founder
· Nehemiah Services – Houston, TX – Gustavo Amador

I'd like to give special notice to the following who are supporting my efforts to connect and spread the message:

Asita Informatica Inc of Vancouver, Canada with an office in Saint Martin de Seignanx, France has signed on as a technology sponsor and is building a custom Interactive New Media room as well as providing the hosting bandwidth for the 4500 Mile Ride to use for live, interactive video sessions supporting up to 200 concurrent participants with bi-directional audio and video. That is a very significant contribution, so when its ready I encourage everyone to visit one of our live sessions and experience the their technologies. Very cool.

Ashie Hirji and Seb Roberts of Heart in Action and WeGotSkillz are building a Facebook site for the event that will be called 4500 Miles, where followers can get updated information on the progress of the event and we can grow the community. Coming soon! Their participation comes from the South of France and Vancouver!

John Horsley, President of Marzar.com and founder of GreenProfs.com, which is the online extension of the largest Green group on LinkedIn, has offered to share the message with his over 27,000 members! John joins the effort from London, England! Thanks John, at least one of them has to be a "connector" :)

Allan Holender, author of the book "Zentrepreneurism", and founder of The Worldwide Association of Zentrepreneurs on CollectiveX, has graciously offered to include the story of the ride in his upcoming ZenBiz Buzz newsletter and interview me on his Blogtalk radio show. http://www.zenbiz.net. Allan joins us from Vancouver!

I would also like to thank his new newsletter editor, Charlene Macquire of Shape Shifter Studios, who made the introduction to Moriah of The Fender Music Foundation! I should also point out that Allan was my original connection to both Eduardo Fritis of Shoes for the World and Ashie Hirji as well. See how these connections work? Charlene and Moriah join the effort from the LA area in California!

I wanted to mention the latest organization to contact me as well. An old friend of mine, Gustavo Amador of Spring, TX (who I have known since the 1st Grade), has recently put his energies into starting Nehemiah Services, an emerging 501C whose goal is to provide home repair services to those in need. Gus is just beginning this effort, so I encourage you all to support him as he turns his skills and energy into benefit for others. Here is what Gus wrote me about his new venture,

"I am starting Nehemiah Services Inc in order to spread the good news of Jesus Christ, through works (acts of service). I am performing repairs to homes for people in need (I.E.- fixed income seniors, on disability, single parents, etc.). The goal of the ministry is to show people the compassion of Christ by helping them gain a safe, sufficient and healthy living environment (we're not remodeling houses)."

They are looking for "sponsors" for individual repair jobs as well as one time and ongoing supporters of the ministry. If you are interested in helping, you can contact Gustavo Amador at (281) 743-1026 or at g.amador01@gmail.com.

Thanks to everyone for your support!!!
Lawrence

Download 4500 Mile Ride for Charity - Event Summary and Vision Story.pdf


Let's continue to MOVE, MOTIVATE and DONATE!

4500 Mile Ride for Charity - Event Summary and Vision

I wrote and posted an event summary for download at:

http://www.winchesterresearch.com/downloads/4500_Mile_Ride_for_Charity.pdf

Thanks to everyone involved for their support!

Lawrence

4500 Mile Momentum is Growing!!

It has been less than a week since the idea was hatched, and already momentum is growing for the 4500 mile fundraiser. In addition to my previous posts today, the following has occurred this afternoon.

Confirmed a technology sponsor (Asita Informatica - France) and a media sponsor (GreenProfs.com - UK) for the 4500 Mile fund raiser. More on these two later.

I was just invited by Outlaw Dave to be on KPRC Radio 950, this Saturday (May 23rd) evening to discuss my 4500 mile Ride for Charity. Dave is a big supporter of The 100 Club, one of the organizations I will be supporting through the ride. Dave will then have me call in to his show on Friday the 29th before I depart on May 30th for a quick update and bon voyage. I will post the exact time and applicable web links, channels etc as soon as I know. http://www.the950.com/main.html. Thanks to Outlaw Dave and Clear Channel for their support!

I have confirmed Keshet Rescue in Ottawa as a target for the 4500 mile motorcycle ride fundraiser. Support Keshet at http://www.keshetrescue.com/

I have confirmed The 100 Club as one of the organizations I will support through the ride. Please make donations directly to The 100 Club through their website at http://www.the100club.com/join.html. If you are not familiar with The 100 Club, they are the organization that supports Law Enforecement and Firefighters in 17 counties in and around Houston by providing benefits to the dependents of Officers and Firefighters killed in the line of duty.

I am departing on a 4500 mile motorcycle road trip (spelled business trip) on May 30th. My trip will take me from Spring, TX to Ottawa, Ontario (with side trips to Montreal and Toronto). From there I will go to Bristol, CT for a family visit, then return to Spring. I will be gone about a month and a half as I have to spend 20 days or so in Canada conducting business.



I will also be riding to support my favorite charities and would like to ask the support of the wider community. I welcome suggestions as to charities to include. I will use blogs, twitter, photo uploads and GPS tracking to publish my progress continually and to continue to garner support for the target charites while on the trip. Currently I am planning to support Keshet Rescue, The Star of Hope Mission in Houston, the Ottawa Mission, Bristol Community Outreach, cystic fybrosis, prostate cancer, Shoes for the World, the Milagro Foundation and Oprah's Network. I will also accept sponsor donations to help defray my expenses.

I also welcome any "bikers" out there who would like to join me for any portion of the ride (save my 20 days in Canada as I will be working). My rough plan is to depart Spring May 30 or 31, arrive in Ontario by June 10. For the return trip I will depart Bristol, CT around July 15th and take my time riding back. I want to hit the famous "Dragon's Tail" or "Cherohala Skyway" (or both) on the way back.

I will be travelling "on the cheap"...camping mostly, spending very few nights in hotels. My aproximate route is attached. If you are interested in helping with the fundraiser in any fashion or would like to ride along...let me know.

Cheers,

Lawrence

"Write Right" Writers' Group First Meeting - Wed. May 20, 7pm @ Langtry Academy

Calling all writers! The new "Write Right" writers' group is meeting for the first time Wed. May
20, 7:00PM at Langtry Academy in Old Town Spring, TX. The address for the meeting is 200-5 NOBLE STREET, Old Town Spring, TX. 77373. Plans are to continue meeting every other Wed at 7pm.

The format for the group is casual, with the goal being for the group members to regularly share
samples of their writing with the group for feedback and editing assistance. Through this
interaction, the writers in the group will be able to leverage the experience and skills of other
writers to improve their own. Samples to be shared will typically be around 2000 words, and can be from any genre. For those unable to physically attend the meetings, arrangements can be made to participate remotely.

For more information or to join the writers' group, contact Debbie Flarity at 281-353-8835
(dflarity@langtryacademy.com) or Lawrence Didsbury at 713-444-3022 (ld@winchesterresearch.com).

We look forward to meeting you!!