4500 Mile Ride for Charity - June 29 - Day 31 - Part 2

Good morning all! I left Montreal yesterday afternoon following the Interactive LIVE Media event sponsored by Asita Informatica and Heart In Action/We Got Skillz. I wish I had seen more of you inside the online interface, it would have been good to meet more of you, but I understand everyone is busy and has things to do. We will hold another one on the 14th of July, so please attend, I think you will find it very interesting! It is very easy to use, all you have to do is log in through a browser...you don't even need a camera to participate, just turn your audio on and you will hear everything...participate using the chat...or if you have a webcam, you can use that. All you need is a computer and your browser...it doesn't cost anything as it is being sponsored by Asita Informatica. Thanks to Ashie, Colin, Luca from Asita and Tami and Michael from BikersWelcomeUSA for their participation, and Mike and the two other guests who took the time out of their busy schedules to meet!



I left Montreal and it was raining steadily and had been since early. I was dressed in my rain gear yesterday afternoon after dealing with some interesting financial challenges...I was out of cash, and my debit card was maxed out...so I was almost unable to get my bike (Pandora) out of the parking garage to leave. Thanks to my sister Catherine, her husband Kelly, my brother Crayden and my true friend Terry Gagneux from HP for their financial assistance which has enabled me to continue this mission for charity while I am going broke :) Much LOVE to them and to my Son Cristian, a true hustler who is making deals and selling some of my stuff back home to raise money for me to continue my mission. Cristian is becoming quite a young man, almost 18, I call him DA HUSTLA, because this young man can sell just abouot anything. I called him the other day and told him I was going to need to sell some of my guitars and such to continue the ride...within an hour my boy called me and told me he had interested buyers for my guitars, my Marshall amp, my big TV, my pool table and my car! I am so impressed with Cristian...MY BOY! I was advised not to tell this part of the story, as it would change my "image" as a businessman who had taken time out of his business for charity. You know what? I could care less about my "image" at this point...that is not why I am here. I am here to RAISE MONEY FOR CHARITY! I am telling these details, because it is the true story. I also want anyone who reads this to understand my level of commitment to this mission I have chosen...I am not asking for anything for me, I am very blessed, have been my whole life, and will be in the future...

I want people who are following my 4500 Mile Ride for Charity to DONATE TO THE CHARITY OF YOUR CHOICE AND TELL YOUR FRIENDS TO DO THE SAME...THEN TELL YOUR FRIENDS TO TELL THEIR FRIENDS!! Let's make a REAL DIFFERENCE FOR THE NEEDY!

More than one of my friends has suggested that I quit this mission and head to Texas due to my financial challenges...I am undeterred, and I WILL COMPLETE THE MISSION regardless of my finances... Join me to make this mission a success..DONATE TO ONE OF OUR CHARITIES AND TELL YOUR FRIENDS...AND TELL THEM TO DO THE SAME! Today I ride out from Victoriaville, BC headed for New Hamshire then towards Connecticut! I will update blog, pics and video before I leave town. I rode in serious rain all day yesterday...pray for some clear skys today!!

Back to the story...I left Montreal after a painful hour ride down a street busy with traffic, 10 miles an hour in the rain...talk about "clutch hand"...my hands are getting much stronger from this ride! Once out on the hwy 20 towards Quebec City, I eventually became more secure with the wet roads and put the hammer down. Rain at 80 miles an hour feels like needles hitting my bare hands! The speed limit was 100! Ok, that is in kilometres ;o



I stopped in Notu Dame du Bon Conseil, a small town famous for its Fromage...unripened cheese...I bought a small packed, which I ate later that evening once I stopped for the night...super salty cheese, but I really liked it. Everywhere here in Quebec is like being in France...everyone speaks French, with a smattering of English. All of the road signs, gas pumps, and even the coffee machine in the store are in French. I am sure my Texas accent turned some heads :)

I kept riding, and the rain never stopped, in fact, it got worse as I headed east. Near the town of Daveysville, I saw nothing but WHITE in front of me about a mile down the road. I figured it was just water misting off the back of an 18-wheeler...I was wrong! As I approached this white wall, it got colder, the wind picked up, and suddenly I was in what we in Texas call a "turdfloater"! OMG...there was so much water coming down from the heavens that I could not see a mobile home like 20 feet in front of me except for a glimmer of its tail lights! I decided that being "hardcore" was one thing...riding in this stuff was just plain INSANE! I saw an exit and eased off the freeway, very cautiously as I feared I would hydroplane off into the woods! I could barely see the signs for the Esso gas station 1km to my left, then I eased the bike over the bridge, now in such a downpour that I could hardly breathe from the water coming up off the road, and couldn't see much from the waterfall coming down off my helmet...I almost drowned on my bike! The people in their cars who had taken refuge at the gas station saw me coming, laughing like a madman and I am sure they were wondering who this fool was...it was just hilarious to me that I had survived this torrent. I truly have angels following me! I thank my Lord for his protection!

After about a half hour at the gas station, some coffee and a candy bar, I decided I had enough of heading east into this stuff, so I turned south towards New Hampshire on route 161 to 261 south and continued on. The rain lightened to a sprinkle by the time I hit the Municipalite' Saint-Valere, where I stopped to take pics of this beautiful church. While I was there, my sister called to see if the money she had lent me had cleared the bank and if I was back on the road! Much LOVE to my sister and her husband Kelly for their help...Semper Fi Kelly!

I continued riding until about 10pm, whereupon it appeared the rain would never stop, and I would not make the Parque Canadian near the NH border in time to get a campsite...so I decided to get a room in Victoriaville, where I could check my gear and get into some dry clothes...turns out the only thing truly wet on me was from my knees down to the puddles in my shoes...my dishpan feet looked disgusting from being in puddles all day, but all was good. I unrolled my bedroll, where all of my clothes are now riding...and ouala! all still dry...knew that Boy Scout and Marine training would come in handy...pack everything in plastic when you ride, that way no matter how much it rains, or how wet you get, you can always change into some dry clothing. Most importantly as any Marine or Soldier will tell you...DRY SOCKS!! An infantryman's FEET are his second most important weapon! Semper Fi to all my military brethren out there everywhere! Support the Wounded Warrior Project!!!


I'm going to sign off for now, as I have to re-pack the bike and get outa here while I still have some dry pavement to enjoy...it is supposed to rain today and for the next 2 days! I'd like to ride dry for a few hours :). Bon Voyage! Keeping the shiny side up and the rubber down!



Lawrence

4500 Mile Ride for Charity - June 29 - Day 31 - Part 1

Hi everyone! Today is June 29 and the 31st day of my 4500 Mile Ride for Charity. I have covered over 2200 miles so far and I am still riding. I leave Montreal today and will head east towards Quebec City, the oldest city in Canada I am told. I will stay nearby that city or in it - not sure yet, but I thought I would try and bring some of that history to those who haven't had the opportunity to visit Canada or QC yet (like me...I haven't been there either)..



I will be online inside the support the ride video interface...guys, it is SO easy to use, just launch a browser to the link in the event notice (see events for this group, it is the only one!) I'd love to see ya'll there if you have a bit of free time...you do not have to present yourself via video..or even audio, but you will still have the oportunity to use the text chat, see everyone else who is given video focus, and interact with the group...it will support 200 people concurrently...pretty cool! See you 12 noon EST!I came into Montreal last night after leaving Ottawa and stopping in Winchester! How cool it was to use my debit card with Winchester Research in the township of Winchester.



Anyway, got caught in the rain for an hour and a half...second time this week I was not dressed for the weather...found out I kinda like riding in the rain, as long as I have on a leather jacket and my chest is warm.!!!

Musings on Bike Naming...hmmmm

Hey my friends, old and new,

I've been thinking a bit about bike naming lately, and since I am not a biker really (although I may be after this 4500 Mile Ride for Charity), I was wondering if bikers named their bikes? I decided to...well, because I talk about her alot, and it seems rude to talk about her without using her name. The same is true in our other personal relationships...and trust me...when you strap yourself on and ride over 2000+ miles on a machine with two wheels, a small but powerful engine, the sweet purr of Vance and Hines, lots of chrome and shiny black paint...you develop a PERSONAL relationship!

I would like to introduce you all to my close friend and general HOTTIE..."Pandora"!



I think I hear Angels singing!!! Yes, I have published this pic before...so I will show you a few more. Pandora is not shy...she makes friends easily. In fact, she is makes friends with both humans and animals alike.



Pandora likes pussycats...(ok, yes I thought about the double entondre'...I was tempted, but I promised to keep this rated G! See David Hellam...I can resist the temptation :)

So, Pandora makes friends easily. BikersWelcomeUSA.tv (and .com), one of my media sponsors and ardent supporters of this ride, asked me to get more "biker friendly" content for the 6000 bikers that are following the ride through @BikersWelcomeUS on Twitter. I polished up Pandora's tank and asked if she would help with that effort, so she naturally obliged...she is so supportive of our efforts!! LOL! She attracted these lovely ladies (Veronika and friends from Ottawa) at the Esso Truckstop along Kings Hwy 401, the last gas stop before we pulled into Ottawa. As we rode in the parking lot, we passed these three lovely ladies, which Pandora immediately attracted...they were like "Haaay!", and we were like "Haaaay!!" and soon we were involved in a photo shoot at the gas station!! Pandora is a bit of a prima donna...she loves to have her picture taken!



A few nights later in the Marketplace area of Ottawa, we drove by my favorite blues club, The Rainbow, where we happened upon Chantal and Beatrice. Pandora was on the job and once again attracted them with no help from me. They asked if they could sit on her, and I said, "If she doesn't mind", which of course she didn't! Another photo shoot ensued...and the guys there just gawked at Pandora...they are probably looking at buying a bike right now!



So it is clear that Pandora is photogenic and beautiful...much like her namesake. I have to tell you the story of her name. Pandora was the pseudonym of a young lady I met up here in Ottawa last Christmas. She was a hottie to be sure, and as I understand it was working to turn her life around. She had many challenges in life and had veered from the life she was supposed to enjoy into drugs and alchohol and other areas of danger and strife. I looked her up when I came up this time and found out that she had died. Pandora used to sit on the ledge of her 16th story condominium and smoke pot (marijuana). Her friends used to warn her that she would fall one day...she did. I was very disappointed to hear that Pandora had passed in such a tragic manner, and I pray to My Lord to protect her soul in Heaven! I honor her life and bless her with this story...as does my bike Pandora. Pandora, my bike, actually changed her name in response to the news...she used to be Karina.

We are hosting two contests for charity on our Facebook group. One of them is a art contest to design the image that Pandora will carry on her tank to identify her as the Angel Pandora! See our Facebook group...link on right side of the blog! Prize for the ART CONTEST is a sweet polished wood grained archtop Hamer guitar with mother of pearl inlaid trim!! Prize for the PHOTO ALBUM QUESTIONS CONTEST is a candy apple red Floyd Rose Guitar with Speed Loader Strings Photos soon! Stay tuned for a charity guitar auction on eBay including a guitar signed by Alanis Morrisette!! Talking to Warner Music tomorrow!

So, do you name your bike? If so, what's the story? Please share!

First response was from my good friend and "super inventor-geek" Sheldon in MA - Thanks Sheldon!!!

A Greek friend of mine named his bike Bucephalus...

From Wikipedia: Bucephalus or Buchephalas (Ancient Greek: Βουκέφαλος, from βούς bous, "ox" and κεφαλή kephalē, "head" meaning "ox-head") (c. 355 BC – June, 326 BC) was Alexander the Great's horse and the most famous actual horse of antiquity.[1]

While the stories and pics and such is cool, Don't forget what this is all about!!! Donate something...anything...even a dollar will make a difference if we can reach a million people!!! One Mile, One Connection, One dollar at a time!! See donate link on the side of this blog!



Cheers!
Lawrence

4500 Mile Ride for Charity - Announcing Two Contests to Win my Guitars!

Just proposed two contests to win two of my personal guitars...one candy apple red Floyd Rose guitar with SpeedLoader strings, and one Hamer archtop with mother of pearl inlay and an amazing wood finish...check out our Facebook group "4500 Mile Ride for Charity"...must join to enter contests! Tell your friends!

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=86418224388

Lawrence

4500 Mile Ride for Charity - Still in Ottawa, Ontario! Departing June 30

Hi everyone, Lawrence here (still),

First and formost, let me thank The Lord I am still here to write this! I must have angels watching over me. Many interesting things have happened and I have met SO MANY along the 4500 Mile Ride for Charity, of which I have covered over 2000 miles so far. I anticipate the total being over 5000 miles with all the side trips!



I am trying to keep up with daily posts, but as you can see I am not making it with this blog...I am however sending something via Twitter every day, and usually something via Facebook...both are on my phone...I get thumbbosis or thumbitis when typing this blog on my Blackberry :) LOL!

Once again, the story is on this blog, the photos albums are on Facebook, the videos are on YouTube.com and the occasional updates on what I am doing are on both Twitter and Facebook...check mobile uploads photo albums. Also join our Facebook group called "4500 Mile Ride for Charity". If you aren't of the net gen and happen to have trouble finding something, feel free to email me at LD@WinchesterResearch.com or call my cell at 713-444-3022 and I will try to answer...it doesn't work so well up here in Ontario but every now and then I can make or get a call...text usually works...now I know why they call it "connectionless technology"! badabada...boom!

The ride is gaining momentum, but we are a long way from a million people or a million dollars! I need your help! Please tell everyone you know...maybe not all at once, but please do! We are supporting 11 charities now with the addition of The Wounded Warrior Project, which is close to my Marine Corps heart!! These soldiers are coming home from harm's way, where they selflessly went, with serious injuries. Wether you support the conflicts or not (I DON'T in case you wanted to know) you have to support a young man or woman who has been injured in combat. I suspect none of them were the ones who started these conflicts.

"La paix commence lorsque cesse toute attente." - Sri Chimoy (1931-1964)

The other charities we support with the ride are all innocents and without political or theological affiliation for the most part :)...children and disadvantaged are my causes...homeless, abused, orphaned, rescued, injured, impoverished without the blessings that most of us enjoy. Are you any of these things? If not, then - Make a difference - One Mile, One Connection, One Dollar at a Time! See the link to the right to Donate!!! We are not touching the money, only moving people directly to those that need it. Skip lunch today and give that!



Lawrence

Day 13 - 21 Ottawa stay

I am at about the half-way point, visiting with my mentor Andrew Moffat near Ottawa, Ontario. The first half of a portion of the written story is below and in the archive of posts linked in the right-hand columm of this blog. I am feverishly posting content for this blog, photo and video content, and wanted to remind everyone of the project and its relevant links!

In the event that you are not up with this story, am riding my motorcycle 4500 Miles to raise money and awareness for charity. I have ridden over 2000 Miles so far! I am conducting a social media fund raising experiment using social media/networking and my crazy motorcycle adventure to drive large numbers of people into a community where they can make a small donation directly to the charity of their choosing.

DO NOT SEND ANY MONEY TO ME!!! DONATE DIRECTLY!!

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

Our event is BLOWING UP...we have been covered on the radio in two cities and a newspaper in one! I have ridden over 2000 miles already, from Houston, TX to Ottawa Canada. See the photos, videos and the community we are building!!!

The daily photo albums will be posted to my personal Facebook site (Lawrence Didsbury) and will be shared from there to the Facebook group named "4500 Mile Ride for Charity" at http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=86418224388

The written version of the story will be published to my blog at http://www.winchesterresearch.com/blog.hml

The video blogs and any relevant video will be published to my You Tube channel at http://www.YouTube.com/ldidsbury

Follow me on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/ldidsbury

Check out where I've been and where I'm going on the Google map (there is a Google lattitude GPS tracking badge that "knows" where I am at all times on my blog page as well.

http://maps.google.ca/maps/ms?hl=en&ie=UTF8&msa=0&msid=116136750893856786033.00046a965e325ce625977&z=5

Look forward to having you join our mission to make a difference, one mile, one connection, one dollar at a time!!

Share your blessings with the less fortunate!

Kindest Regards and Thank YOU!

Lawrence


Lawrence Didsbury
President/CEO
Winchester Research
713-444-3022
ld@winchesterresearch.com

Day 12 and 13 - Rest and Media Events

The day after I arrived when I woke up at Karina's apartment (listen to the LiVE 88.5 Radio interview for that story!), I had to hurry to make an appointment with Metro newspaper at the Ottawa Mission, one of the organizations we are supporting with the 4500 Mile Ride for Charity.

I was interviewed by Tracy Tong of the Metro news Ottawa June 10 and the article appeared in the paper 2 days later. The ride sounds pretty long in kilometers :)

http://www.metronews.ca/ottawa/Local/article/244216--riding-across-continent-for-ottawa-s-homeless

I was hosted on Livelifelive.fm Radio Live 88.5 Startup with David Shellenger and John Moran in a live interview from their studio in Ottawa on Day 14 (June 12). Click on the image of the station below for the MP3 of the interview (Note one error at the beginning of the interveiw...I have only ridden a bit over 2000 miles so far. the total will be over 4500 by the time I return home July 25-30th):

Day 11 - Ann Arbor to Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

I am finally getting to the story of Day 11 and it is now Day 21, but I really wanted to keep the story of the Ride in order. I am learning that obtaining and publishing content continuously has some challenges, but none that can not be overcome, just bear with me. :)

So, we left off with me sitting under cover beside the Sears at the mall in Ann Arbor, MI, just off Interstate 94, having just replaced my lost/destroyed Blackberry 8830 with a new curve. (I finally wrote Bryan Marr's boss today :). I continued to sit outside the Sears, and was not disturbed by mall security, as I had approached them when I parked up on the curb under the cover earlier. It always helps to be direct in your approach with any law enforcement, and you will generally find them open and respectful. It is when you avoid or try and decieve them that things turn for the worse. Support The 100 Club or your local police or police survivors' benefits! Officer Rami Tremlay who I met in downtown Ottawa further reinforced my respect for these Canadian peace officers!



Once the rain stopped, I headed down the street to refuel and locate a place to charge my new phone at 11:30 at night. I found a gas station where the young man was about to close. He agreed to let me sit in the lobby while he cleaned up and charge my phone. Nice guy, but unfortunately I did not record his name to give him a shout out! When he phone registered a decent charge, I continued up 94 towards Detroit. Somehwere up the road a piece in the town of Belleville, MI I was getting pretty hungry, so I pulled over at a 24 hour restaurant called Dimitris. Because I was getting near Detroit and it was about 2am I asked the waitress if parking the bike out back in the parking lot where I could not see it was wise, or if I could park it on the sidewalk by the windows.

They suggested instead that I park in the bank on the opposite side, then sat me in a location nearby. All the folks in Dimitris were very nice, staff, customers etc. I ate some fish and chips and engaged the group in conversation and rested for about an hour. The conversations there were fairly wide-ranging, and I particularly enjoyed talking to the chef who sat down with me, and another young man with a pony-tail, whose name escapes me. I do recall that he was a college student, and that he and his girlfriend were ballroom dance instructors. He struck me as wise beyond his years...Hey buddy, if you read this, drop me a comment...it was nice to meet you! I mean, how many pony-tail wearing college student ball room instructors can their be that study at Dimitris at 2am in Belleville?

Back on the road I sped off for the International Bridge in Detroit, having received a few clues from the local patrons as to which route to take. It was all under construction, but they said the tunnel was the worst. I am glad I didn't go that way, because the "good" route was a mess! First of all, east Detroit is a war zone, tagged with graffiti from head to toe. Glad I went through at 4:30-5am.



I would have been through and over the bridge into Canada before sunrise, but the Canadian border agent didn't like my story (or me taking pictures in Immigration), so he sent me out the door to the fence and told me to take a left at the fence. Without looking at any signs, I followed his instructions and before I knew it I was headed back over the bridge...returning to the US! I was tired but I figured maybe there were two bidges...wrong! I explained this to the border agent on the US side and he told me it was fairly common, both folks being sent back and folks from Detroit just plain getting lost and ending up in Canada!



I stopped for a bit over the border at the Thunder Road Harley and was feeling a bit worn. I had many miles to go, and an appointment the following morning at 10am at the Ottawa Mission, so I needed to push on. Within the next hour, I found myself blinking with tiredness, a dangerous road condition! I napped briefly at exit 59 at a truck stop on a concrete block, so tired I hardly noticed the continual passing of 18-wheelers past my resting block.




I literally stayed up through that day and until I arrived in Ottawa. That was not a smart move. I fortunately arrived unscathed save a bit of extreme exhaustion. I will fill in some bits and pieces of the story later, but the embedded video and the mp3 from the LiVE 88.5 Radio interview from Day 12 (June 10) will tell alot of the story!



I need to rest some more tonight as I am riding in the morning to visit with David Hellam and Sheryl and Brea Lawrenson, a talented Canadian singer/songwriter near Carleton, Ontario tomorrow. David has arranged for me a private tour of the Hall of Remembrance operated by The Canadian Legion, in the town of Perth, which will be conducted by the Deputy Mayor! Earlier this week, David gifted me with a Remember Our Troops ribbon lapel pin from the Canadian Legion, a serious honor. As I told David today, I am continually amazed at the hospitality and respect afforded me by my military brethren and the local law enforcement community as a result of my brief Marine Corps service and the fact that The 100 Club in Houston is one of the charities I am riding for on this 4500 Mile Ride for Charity. My hat is off to both the Canadian military and their law enforcement community! I salute you all! Support The 100 Club! See the following video to learn what they are about!

We interrupt our regularly scheduled program...

Hey everyone!

Sometimes we run across something that just has to be shared. This is one of those things. This video is one that shows us the true depth of the human spirit and the grace of God. Whatever your belief structure, politics or philosophy is, if you are a human being at all, you will GET this! If you happen to be one of the fortunate humans on the planet, regardless of your problems, this should shake you out of it.



Thank you for supporting the 4500 Mile Ride for Charity...anything is possible with Him!

Thank you

Lawrence

Day 10 - Pokagon to Ann Arbor, MI - Blessings in Disquise

Hi everyone, and before I continue the story back at Day 10, I want to thank everyone for the huge amount of support I am receiving for this 4500 Mile Ride for Charity and accompanying social media fundraising experiment! I think it’s working! Now, are we raising any money for charity? Not enough I am afraid, so please, tell your friends, tell strangers, tell everyone to tell their friends to join in and to step up with a dollar or more donation to the charity of their choice or one of the ones we are recommending. All I ask is that you put a memo with your donation that says “4500 Miles”, so we have some way of tracking the effectiveness of this event! Blessings to you all, you are doing a great thing! One Mile, One Connection, One Dollar at a Time!

BIG NEWS TODAY! - Day 16, the 4500 Mile Ride for Charity is adding support for our troops. Being a Marine myself, with a mentor (Andy Moffat) who was 20 years Canadian Special Forces, and many friends who served (Semper Fi Jarheads!)we feel very strongly about supporting the wounded soldiers that are returning from harms way. We are awaiting final approval, but please visit their site and donate to those who have been wounded in combat!



In addition, one of Andy's companies, Keshet Productions, is mentoring Brea Lawrenson on her singer-songwriter journey. Brea's cousin, a soldier in the UK is currently serving his country and just returned from harm's way in Afganistan (SALUTE!), and she will be releasing a CD to honor the troops. I got a glimpse of the video content yesterday and her single "If Im Not Here Tomorrow"...wow...I almost started crying...very talented and very impactful. Way to go Brea for supporting our troops in the UK, Canada and the U.S! Today's blog is dedicated to your cousin and Alain Garceau today, who I met at the corner store in Carlsbad Springs the other day. Alain has served his country in the Canadian Navy since 1973, first enlisted, then as an officer, and continues to serve, now a Captain and the Canadian Forces Naval/Joint Forces Attache' at the Canadian Embassy in Washington, DC.



Watch the YouTube video I am posting today with all of the "shout outs!". You'll see the VERY cool "Entre Amis" medal that Alain gifted me when we met. The people I meet on the road never cease to amaze me. Alain - SEMPER FI!



At the start of Day 10 I awoke to the sound of rain beating down on my makeshift bike tent, looked around to survey the condition of the tent and my belongings…good news, everything was dry and the tent had held, duct taped side flaps and all! I grabbed my phone and Tweeted the fact that it was raining. Then to start promoting The Fender Music Foundation, I Tweeted that I would be starting the day with some music from Creedence Clearwater Revival, namely “Who’ll stop the rain?”. My cousin Lisa in Bristol, CT replied, “Jared (her son) said you should start the day with “Born to be Wild” by Steppenwolf.” I replied, “Tell Jared I do take requests, but he will have to make a donation to The Fender Music Foundation”. To both our surprise, Jared returned with a dollar to donate! I couldn’t help but use Jared’s selfless example to browbeat our followers into donating. What a great impetus to donate! We could take many examples from the innocent minds of children…Jared didn’t have to think about donating for even a minute, he just ran to his room and got his dollar to support his cousin on this ride!

I am surprised that Jared, a nine year old, even knows that song!! Why?, because he has been “turned on” to music by his parents. His dad Jerry is an avid guitar player, collector of Hamer Guitars from Hartord, CT and happens to be friends with the original members of Molly Hatchet! Jared’s mom, Lisa works full time for the Bristol Community Outreach, an organizationt that cares for Bristol’s poor and homeless. Great influences in Jared’s musical and socially concious young life!

This is exactly what Fender Music Foundation does for the less fortunate. They turn kids on to music; more specifically they mentor them in MAKING MUSIC by donating musical instruments to their schools and by supporting those schools’ music programs. JARED GETS IT at 9 years old! We adults should get it even faster! Go Jared, you ROCK man! I’m taking him for a ride on my bike when I get to Connecticut!
I took quite some time packing in an effort to tighten the load and improve the balance of the bike (and avoid riding in the rain  . I had a hearty breakfast and prepared to ride to the Canadian border. I didn’t et out of the park until just after the checkout time of 2pm. I needed to gas up first, so I backtracked about 8 miles to Angola, bought gas, re-acclimated to the bike and headed north.
Just inside the Michigan border I stopped to take a picture of the Michigan State Line. It was a beautiful sunny day, and appeared to be a gorgeous day for riding. Little did I know I was already running from a nasty storm.



A few miles ahead the beautiful day displayed its true colors and began to rain. I pulled off to don that great Frogger rainsuit that Danny Phillips, my oldest friend in the world (since I was like 7 or 8 yrs old) donated for the ride. I quickly made a Tweet and Facebook post, set my Blackberry against the pack, finished dressing, jumped on the bike and took off into the rain.

I quickly outran the rain, not knowing that it was actually a serious storm that was following me as I ran up the highway. I stopped for gas outside Ann Arbor, Michigan, and following the fill-up, I went to make an update to Facebook and discovered my phone was missing. I immediately remembered setting it against the pack and knew it had taken a dive onto the MI interstate and was lost forever. I went inside the little country gas station, distraught over the loss of communications with the audience and concerned about my abiliy to get another. The attendant pointed me at a Verizon up the road 14 miles or so in Ann Arbor and gave me directions.

Without going into great detail about the first Verizon I visited, let’s just say they have a lot to learn about customer service. They essentiall y blew me off because they were closing and didn’t want to be bothered with my semi-emergency. Up the road from there in the mall in Ann Arbor of Briarwood Circle I met Bryan Marr, retail sales rep for Verizon. Now here is a guy who understands customer service. I am in fact going to write Verizon and commend this guy…Bryan, if you see this post, I salute you and your cheerful, attentive customer service. You restored my faith in Verizon. If it wasn’t for you, I would now be some other provider’s customer! Bryan listened to my story, paid close attention, and told me to go get a cup of coffee while he worked on a solution. When I returned, Bryan informed me that I was due for an upgrade, and that he would give me an in-store rebate as opposed to the standard mail-in rebate, allowing me to leave the store with a brand new Blackberry Curve for no charge! Having listened to the detail of my story, he also made sure I had a model with a camera, video, voice notes and GPS, all designed to make this fundraising experiment more successful! He even adjusted my voice and data plans so that my trip into Canadadian airspace would not cost me an arm and a leg, something I had neglected to attend to. Bryan, again, my hat is off to you. Tell your district manager to read this! You should be a manager for sure!
Sometimes problems are really blessings in disquise. In this case, the “problem” of losing my phone on the road in Michigan was actually TWO blessings in disquise. The first blessing was provided by Bryan Marr of Verizon in Ann Arbor in the form of a new Blackberry Curve, better suited for this social media experiment. The second blessing became evident to me as I stepped outside the mall. The storm I had been running from all day had hit, and it was a massive tornadic weather cell that produced a deluge of rain, high winds, lightening and a tornado warning! Had I not lost my phone, I would have still been on the freeway, and likely caught in the middle of that storm on my motorcycle. That could have been disasterous. I feel like angels are following me.

Thank you Lord!

I got on the bike and continued riding after waiting out the storm under shelter at the mall, but it was late and Day 11 was beginning in an hour or so. I stopped for gas at a local station where the attendant let me charge my phone even though he was about to close. Some coffee and a candy bar, a newly charged phone, and I was off down the Interstate again, trying to make up for time lost Days 1 and 3, determined to cross the border into Canada that night.

4500 Mile Ride for Charity - Day 9 Still - Pokagon State Park

Hello my friends and supporters of the 4500 Mile Ride for Charity! First of all let me thank you for the amazing support and speed at which we have grown the awareness of the 4500 Mile Ride for Charity! I have met so many COOL people who GET IT along the road.

This could be the beginning of some impactful, easy and fun fundraising. Raising money to help our bothers and sisters (and don't forget man's best friends at Keshet Rescue) doesn't have to hurt, it doesn't have to be hard, and it can be really FUN! Technology, Social Media and networking has connected us more than ever. We ARE connected! Why no use those connections to change the world...feed EVERYONE! Clothe EVERYONE! Stop the abuse for EVERYONE...One Mile, One Connection, One Dollar at a time (or Euro, Yen, RMB, Peso etc :))! Tell at least one person today and put aside $1 today to donate to the charity of your choosing or one of the ones we recommend at the following link:



On Day 9 I decided to lay over one more night in the Pokagon National Forest at my campsite, as I had not slept much in the previous 24 hours. As I mentioned in the Day 9 video blog, it was 3 am when I was making that video, and when I finished blogging and uploading, it was near daybreak. I returned to the campsite, took a nice, long hot shower, dressed and went up to the Potawotomi Inn for the Sunday all-you-can-eat brunch. I ate til I was stuffed and returned to the campsite. Most of the campers were leaving, so the park was becoming much quieter. I decided to take a nap and crawled into my “bike tent”. I crashed hard, but was awoken two hours later by Gene the park ranger, who thought I was supposed to be checked out of the campsite already. I informed him that I had already paid for another night and showed him my permit. He let me go back to sleep, but I was already up, so I made the following video (2 parts) at sunset…beautiful end to a nice stay in the forest!

Following the video, I laid down for a good nights rest…little did I know it would be the last good sleep I had til Ottawa, save about 3 hours on the lawn in front of a gas station near London, Ontario and another less successful rest on my bike in Ajax, Ontario.

4500 Mile Ride for Charity - Day 9 - Pokagon State Park

Good morning all!

I'm still here at the Pokagan State Park, in NE IN. The name of the park is pronounced PO KAY' GAN.

Ive been working and catching up the blog, video and such all night. While my eyelids are heavy, I never had any trouble with the mosquitos...since I never made it back to the tent. Sometimes there is a silver lining :)

Still trying to decide if I am going to ride today or not. It looks like rain, but that wouldn't deter me any more after riding 2 hours in the rain through MO the other day. The rain used to make me timid when riding. My buddy Brent Allen says that as long as you don't make any sharp turns or try anything crazy it is about the same as regular riding when it is dry. Im just timid (spelled healthy respect) about riding a moorcycle in the rain...he told me I would I would just have to "put on my big girl underpants!" So I did. The truckers out on 44 are probably still talking about the crazy fool they saw dressed like a fighter pilot driving his bike in the rain singing and hollering at the top of his lungs. What they likely were not privvy to is that I was calling cadence to distract myself fom the discomfort. All my miliary friends know what I'm talking about. Cadence is something the military does when they run, march or take long force marches. It is similar to "call and response" type singing...only a bit more coarse :). It is particularly effective at taking your mind off an uncomfortable or painful solution. I had to do it at the top of my lungs to be heard over din of my motor, the air, and the trucks around me.



Before I run off to breakfast I want o remind everyone of the general plan for posts and the various locations of relavent information to this 4500 Mile Ride for Charity.

The daily photo albumns will be posted to my Facebook site and will be shared from there to the Facebook group named "4500 Mile Ride for Charity"

The written version of the story will be publshed to my blog at http://www.winchesterresearch.com/blog.hml

The video blogs and any relevant video will be published to my You Tube channel athttp://www.YouTube.com/ldidsbury

If you have any questions,either email me, call or text me at 713-444-3022 or write it on the wall...

Cheers,
Lawrence

Day 8 - 4500 Mile Ride for Charity - Part 1

My friends, supporters and curious folks :)

It's the end of Day 8 of the 4500 Mile Ride for Charity (9:37pm here) I'm still "keeping the shiny side up" as my new friend Randall, former national president of Bikers Against Child Abuse (BACA), advised, or "keeping the rubber down"...referring to keeping the bike upright for any non-bikers reading the blog.
I want to send a special "shout-out" to my brother Randall, as he has been constantly encouraging me with personal messages and stories to keep me vigilant and safe. As I keep telling everyone that advises me to ride safe...there is no other alternative if you want to remain alive, which I do if it is HIS will. I AM being safe my friends.

I take a break at every gasoline refill, often including coffee at night, which I schedule at between 80 and 90 miles so I don't risk running out of gas...my bike is not very fancy...no gas guage or fancy electronic accoutrements. Less things can go wrong with it :) I have ridden for 20-24 hour periods twice since I started, and I know that I should probably keep it under 12 and schedule my stops more, but that destroys the appeal of "winging it", not knowing where my next stayover will be until a few miles down the road from it. Not having a tight schedule or destinations I have to reach by a certain time allows me to remove alot of the stress from the ride and just enjoy it. That keeps me safe. For those who know me well, I don't sleep so much anyway...I have overactive imagination syndrome and it keeps me up at night. :) The ride has been good therapy...long hours to yourself sucking in massive amounts of force-fed air (and the occasional bug for protein to keep me going)!

I have only had one close call, which was a large piece of roadkill in the middle of my lane as I pulled into St. Louis at about 2:30am the other morning. Fortunately I had just turned on the brights because the stretch of 44 through St. Louis is NOT a biker-friendly stretch of road. Well, just as I turned on the brights I saw this large dead animal which had been just outside my field of vision until that moment. I reacted with a quick right shimmy and missed the body by about 2 inches...that gave me an adrealine rush to be sure...I am not sure I would have cleared that animal if I had hit it straight on. I ride with the brights full time at night now...unless I am on a two-lane and a car is approaching.

So for anyone who is worried about me traveling alone, I'm not...HE is with me all the time. While I'm not a biker, and that experience is new for me, this isn't my first time away from home either...I've travelled literally a million miles in my lifetime, half as a young Marine, and the other half on business as a 40-something geek mouthpiece for U.S. technology firms.

S, where did I leave off...let me review real quick and I'll be back and edit this. I have to run down to the campsite and grab a USB cable so I can upload the pictures Ive taken since Marshall, IL.

Many thanks to all of my old and new friends, and the onces I have yet to make on this journey. I want to shout-out to you all, and thank you for the heartfelt messages you have been sending me in support of my effort.

I appreciate everyone's thoughts and considerations for me, but I must reiterate...this is NOT about ME...it is and must remain about the charitable organizations we are supporting and VERY IMPORTANTLY, it is about growing this group of observers and potential donators to a sizeable number. That is the only way this will succeed.

If we do not succeed in moving and motivating as many people as we possibly can to donate whatever they can afford AND to extend the effort by adding their contacts to the effort, I might as well have stayed home on the couch. Many of you have pledged your support, either by your plan to donate to one of the charities we are supporting or by your pledges to share the word with anyone and everyone you know.

That is the secret sauce! Let's make a difference together. How many people have you invited to join the Facebook group? How many have you sent a Youube channel link to? If you haven't done your part, that's ok, there is still time. I will be continuing to move and motivate for the next 2 months at least, so you can catch up!

Thank you for your service to others! May your blessings be ten times ten times that of the blessings you share with others!

Be back in an hour or so!

Lawrence

Day 7 - 4500 Mile Ride for Charity

Hey everyone! I'm still riding...didn't get to the blog last couple days as I was launching a youtube channel and learning how to video blog, video edit and such. All new pursuits :). My sister just slammed me for now updating my blog...thanks Cat! For everyone's information, here is the general process for my posts.

Daily photo albums of the 4500 Mile Ride for Charity are being uploaded to my Facebook page and shared to the Facebook group named "4500 Mile Ride for Charity" created for me by Seb Roberts of WeGotSkillz.org, one of the charities we are supporting. I will do a showcase of that charity later in the week.

Video blogs of the event as well as charity and sponsor showcase videos will be posted to youtube at http://www.youtube.com/ldidsbury.



The written story of the journey and the accompanying fund raising experiment with a subset or select photos will be posted to the blog page at http://www.winchesterresearch.com

Much of the content is being posted, re-posted, re-Tweeted by others to their networks of individuals...which is AWESOME! Thanks to everyone who is doing that, especially BikersWelcomeUSA.com, BikersWelcomeUSA.tv, The GREEN group on LinkedIn, and Greenprofs.com and all my friends who are telling their friends...and their friends, and so on and so on and so on...just like the old Breck commercial :) for those old enough to remember it. :). For those in the younger generation, let's just say we're gonna blow this up!

To that end, everyone can feel free to borrow my content and repost it, email it, carrier pigeon it or whatever it takes to spread the message to as many people as we can!

I saw a group (and joined it) on Facebook yesterday that Teri Westcott invited me too called "Free Postage for the Troops" (or something similar), and they now are reaching 500,000 members!!! I'm all for supporting the troops, as I am a Marine myself, but I'm just saying...if we can get half a million people together to urge the govt to give soldiers stamps, can't we get twice that many to feed, clothe and shelter those who are homeless? Think about it.

Wouldn't we band together in larger numbers to help support the survivors of police and fire officers killed while protecting citizens? Think about it...

Let's show the world where are hearts are and how we can be "the hands and feet" of good works for those in need. Spread the word!

Just leaving Indianapolis after getting into rush hour traffic...headed for Ft Wayne still. My best to all!

I will write more about Day 5-6 when I get a chance...some good stories there!

Lawrence

New YouTube Channel created for 4500 Mile Ride

I created a new channel for the video blogs and other interesting content from the 4500 Mile Ride for Charity group. Help me out here...look at my first two (ever) video blogs and tell me what I can do to make this more interresting? How do we take this viral?

http://www.youtube.com/ldidsbury

Do any of you have content you'd like to share on this channel? I am open to anything (no porn or foul language please as we are supporting some charities that would take offense). That will help us move and motivate donations to charity.

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

There are alot of Gen Y folks watching this event it appears, so help an older Gen X brother out!

Cheers,
Lawrence

Day 5 - 4500 Mile Ride for Charity - MOVE, MOTIVATE and DONATE!!

Good morning my friends!

Have you ever felt like life was just so good that the ground might just fall out from underneath you and you'd just float off into space? I have. I am a truly blessed man to be able to fly by the seat of my pants (a sore seat this week :), and have so many friends and friends of friends support my efforts!

A warm, heartfelt thank you to everyone who is participating!!! I want to give a special thanks today to my good friends Brent Allen and his wife Teri for giving me a place to stay and feeding me in Bentonville last night! I also want to thank his daughters for giving up their bunkbeds and sleeping at Grandma's so I could have a room to myself! You girls are amazing! Brent and Teri also donated my first tank of gas today.

It was good to see my friends from the EMC Bentonville office. Brent and I got to visit for a bit at the office while his (and my old) boss Ryan Davidson were hard at work til late. Teri and her daughters prepared steak kabobs, baked potatos and saute'd mixed veggies with mushrooms, fresh jalepenos, red peppers and onions and brought them to us at the office. I am still salivating over the fresh cracked peppercorn steak flavor and the spicy veggies. Teri YOU ROCK!

Brent then took me for a short ride through Bentonville! If you haven't seen the pics of Brent's Hog on Facebook, I'll post one here later...sweet ride that his wfe Teri "forced" him to buy.

Reminds me of a billboard I saw near Atoka, OK two days ago with a picture of a nice Harley. The caption above it said, "Your wife called, she said it's OK!"


Yesterday (Day 4) began in my tent just north of Dequeen, AR where I departed C+W Bait and RV Park. Before I left, as I was striking camp and repacking the bike, a small group of local "outlaws" came over and were checking out the bike, chatting with Marcus Millwee and another semi-permanent resident, Richard Maish. I forget the names of the two outlaws...(because they told me to forget). Let's just say that these were a couple of characters (as many bikers are :) who have had an "interesting" life. Marcus tells me that one of them is known for his nine lives...an older character who related to me that he had once taken a ride to and lived in Alaska for a couple of years because the "law wanted to speak to me about something". The guys knew alot about bikes and guns. Not uncommon in that part of Arkansas. The locals refer to it as "outlaw country".

I've met all kinds of people in my life, literally tens of thousands of them all over the globe, and if you are willing to keep an open mind, overcome your pre-conceptions, you might hear some interesting stories and encounter some life outside the box. Appearances are not always what they seem. Dig beneath the surface and you will find a richness in human beings that is beyond compare. I'll share some of that richness with you now...when I was mounting up to leave C+W, Marcus gave me a nice hand-carved, cedar bear claw as a momento. Richard said, hey, don't leave, I have something for you too and he returned with a Zippo with a guitar on it which he sent me off with, protesting my protestations.

Thanks Richard and Marcus (aka Clovis Beula)...I will cherish both of these personal gifts. Both had listened to my "stories" and had given me something they knew would mean something special to me. The bear claw relates to the Bear Paw Yin/Yang tattoo on my right shoulder and the guitar zippo because both Richard and I are guitar players. Riches.

The ride up US-71 was georgeous. This scenic route winds up, down left, right all the way though the foothills, which are all thick with lush, green summer foliage. Being from Texas were most of the land is flat enough for you to see 15-20 miles into the horizon, I really enjoyed this road where the horizon was never more than a mile to the next curve or hilltop where the road disappeared.


The curves weren't so tight that I had to slow down much, allowing me to cruise at 50-55 most of the way. You have to be careful when riding curvy roads in beautiful surroundings...curves and sightseeing on a motorcycle can be a dangerous combination. I heard stories over the past two days of 3 people dying in AR rides and another being seriously injured. I will be careful. Thank you to everyone who has suggested I do so.

I continued up US-71 to the junction of I-540N, and since I needed to be in Bentonville for dinner, I needed to make better time. The folks at the diner/gas in Mena, AR suggested I take 540 (and gave me some fried cabbage to try :) MMMMM..tasty.

I made good time and other than my oil light coming on and worrying me a bit, the trip was amazing! Arkansas is a georgeous state, and I have much more to see of this place another time. Today I will be heading across into Missouri, The "Show Me" State. Not sure where I am going yet, but I'll let you know when I do :)

Leaving AR I will remember that the people here are hearty, adventurous, and the land is rich with every natural resource on the planet. In the heart of the bible belt, AR also retains alot of old fashion values, as displayed by this sign on he gas pump in Mena, AR.

Day 4 - 4500 Mile Ride for Charity - Move, Motivate and Donate!

For some reason I can't upload pics to Facebook this morning, so I'll post some here this morning and try to post another daily album to Facebook tonight from Bentonville. I'm looking forward to seeing Brent and my friends on the EMC Walmart team in Bentonville! the ride up US-71 from Dequeen to Bentonville should be scenic, and it looks to be a sunny, partly cloudy day! Beautiful day to ride for charity! Wanna help out? Tell 1 person about this today. Thanks!

Oh, I made a couple of errors in my story about Marcus Millwee, the owner of C+W Bait and RV Park (where I am as I write this). Marcus ia not from CA, rather is 5th generation Arkansan...born in Frog Level, AR. I did not make that name up...it really is Frog Level :). Anyway, Marcus contributed to the cause by giving me electricity, water and wireless for free, essentially gave me an RV spot for the cost of a tent spot so I could blog and charge all my geek gadgets last night. I wanted to give a special thanks to Marcus and tell you all if you are ever near Dequeen and need a place to camp or park overnight (or get some live bait for fishing nearby, Marcus is a good man and C+W Bait and RV Park is the place. Nice hot shower this morning (and some comp coffee from Marcus, who crawled out of his tent to make me some...a true angel! :))



Have an awesome day my friends! Let's make a difference TODAY for the needy! Are you tired of hearing me say the same thing? MOVE, MOTVATE and DONATE! Don't forget to tell just 1 person about this each day, ask them to donate a dollar or more to their favorite charity in the name of "4500 Miles"...then tell them to tell one person each day and so on...simple math (1+1+1 = $10 Million for those in need)...that's not so hard, right?

Thanks for your support!!!

Lawrence

Day 3 - 4500 Mile Ride for Charity - MOVE, MOTIVATE and DONATE!

Good evening...err morning! It's 2am here in DeQueen, Arkansas, and I am writing this note from within my makeshift, semi-tent accomodations at an RV park for the evening (C+W Bait and RV park on US-71 just north of DeQueen). I didn't ride far today as I was waylayed at the Oklahoma - Arkansas border at a fine establishment called Carl Sims First and Last Chance. The place has its name because it sits on the OK side of the border, and the AR county on the other side at US-70 is a dry county (i.e. no alchohol is sold or has to be sold and consumed in a private "club"). So in one direction it is the first chance for a cold one and the last chance in the other.

When I got up today I was planning to head to the Crater of Diamonds State Park in AR from my Day 3 starting point in Broken Bow, OK. On a ride like this, plans are meant to be broken! That's when things get really interesting. When I got to the Arkansas state line on US-70, I puled over at the Last Chance to use the facilities and take a photo of the state line. Well, I figured I should at least buy a cold beverage since I used their facilities. Carl, the owner, was the only one there when I arrived, and we got to chatting about the ride and exchanging stories. Some of his regulars arrived and the stories continued. Before I knew it the afternoon had nearly passed. GREAT STORIES from Carl's place. Most of his patrons were about 10 years my senior, most were Vietnam vets, and a few had been government contractors (of the interesting / clandestine sort). I won't share all of the stories here as it would take pages, but let me just say I have about a chapter for a book from the stories I heard today.

Around 4:30 or 5 I was heading out and was joined by my first rider, Jackie White for the ride to DeQueen, about 20 miles from the border. Jackie was driving a NICE Anniversary Edition Harley, red white and blue. Nice to meet you Jackie!

After a quick dinner of fish sandwiches and milk from McDs in DeQueen, I headed up US-71 and after only about 15 minutes of riding, the sun was setting and I came upon C+W Bait and RV Park. I pulled over to take a picture of the setting sun and to put on my jacket as it was getting cooler in the hills of Arkansas. After talking to the new owner of C+W Bait and RV Park, Marcus Millwee, I decided that pitching a tent here might be a better choice than riding at night through these unfamiliar winding 2-lane roads in the hills.

So here I am, blogging at 2am in a tent I made from the fly and groundcloth I managed to fit on the bike, having left the tent and poles behind because they were just too big and heavy for the bike. The great thing about using just a fly is that you can string it up anywhere. I have one corner tied to a tree and the opposite corner tied to my bike. The six foot power strip I brought along is coming in very handy to charge all of these geek devices I bought along...laptop, battery recharger for the camera batteries, cell phone charger and wireless bluetooth headphone charger. Without power and an Internet connection, this whole blogging and social media aspect of the event becomes very challenging :)



Marcus, the owner, was kind enough to give me a RV spot with full electric, wireless and water for only $5 more than a tent spot since I told him about this event. Marcus recently took over this failing RV park after moving here from California, having become nearly homeless in CA while trying to help the homeless himself. He decided to take a chance on this place, and in less than 6 months he has fixed up alot on the place and is about half full tonight. I will take pics of this place in the morning, as it was too dark last night.

By the way, I also want to make special mention of the staff and management at the A-OK Motel in Broken Bow where I stayed last night. Cassie and her mom Fay, housekeeping staff at the motel were very patient with my late checkout. Thanks to them and the managers, Nitin Patel, his uncle Nanu and wife Bharti from Bombay. If you are ever passing through Broken Bow, this place is clean, free wireless and really friendly staff! Best hotel value for the money that I have experienced in the last few years. A room there costs half as much as Motel 6 and is twice as nice.

Check out all of the pics from Day 3 at the Facebook group for this event, created for me by Seb Roberts of WeGotSkillz.org. That group has grown to 109 in less than a week, growing now at about 10 members per day. That is very exciting, but we will have to connect exponentially more people and motivate them to donate to the charity of their choice in order for this social media fund raising experiment to succeed. How can you help? Tell at least one person about this event and share the links to the blog, Facebook group where the pictures are being uploaded (as Facebook doesn't charge for storage like my ISP does :). If can grow the numbers of people paying attention to the event, we can move and motivate them to donate...even a little bit will make a BIG difference then. Let's make a difference together! There is power in numbers!

FOR THE CAUSE: Marcus' story about nearly becoming homeless while helping the homeless was touching. There are many, many stories like that and much worse! For example, I wanted to share with you just how urgent the need is! I will dig up some more census data later, but here are some sobering facts.

Shirley Roy of The Ottawa Mission shared the following statistics with me from their mission.

In 2008:
• 1,677 different people found shelter with The Ottawa Mission - some stay a few days, others stay a few months.
• The occupancy rate was 94 per cent.
• The average resident was a 43 year old man.
• An average of 208 residents stayed in the shelter each night at The Ottawa Mission.
• The Ottawa Mission kitchen served an average of 1,156 meals each day, for a total of 421,940 meals.
• 850 people participated in one of the addiction treatment programs at The Ottawa Mission
• 170 people upgraded their education in The Ottawa Mission Stepping Stones Learning Centre
• 320 people received help to find safe, affordable housing
• more than 1,000 people received dental services in The Ottawa Mission's Dental Clinic which is run by volunteer dentists from the community

What if you were one of these stats? What if you were one of those I saw lined up outside The Ottawa Mission last year at Christmas time...it was 20 DEGREES BELOW ZERO (F) outside!!

Let's MOVE, MOTIVATE and DONATE to The Ottawa Mission and make a difference in these peoples' lives.

Check out the pictures from the ride so far!
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=1884530&id=776434583&ref=nf#/photos.php?id=776434583

Thank you for all of your support!!
Lawrence

My friends,

I posted a bunch of photos from Day 2 of the 4500 Mile Ride for Charity to the FACEBOOK Group created for this charity event...386 miles yesterday!

I am excited by the quick growth of this group, and I know I owe most of that to Seb Roberts since alot of you are from the Vancouver area. Since I haven't met most of you in person yet, I wanted to extend a very warm Thank You for helping me with this charity fund raising experiment. The only thing I would ask you to do more is DONATE at least a dollar to some charity in the name of "4500 Miles" and TELL SOMEONE about this every day.

Most of you are obviously "plugged in" and "get it", so you understand what we are trying to do with this experiment...take advantage of the huge numbers of people connected with social media to grow awareness and drive donations to charity...essentially the ride is just the tool with which we can attract attention...YOU are the ones that will make a difference by helping make this viral...growing it to the "tipping point".

Ok, so let's do a little fund raising math. Right now we have aprox 90 members in this group. The event is lasting 60 days.

I asked everyone to TELL ONE PERSON EVERY DAY about this event and invite them to this group.

If 90 people tell 1 person each day for 60 days, that is 5400 people that will have heard about it. If each of those new people also tell 1 person each day for 60 days, that is 324,000 people, and if they told 1 person each, that is 1.94 Million people that will have heard. Of course with days passing, we won't be able to reach that number exactly, but what if we only reach 1M people? If each gives just a quarter ($0.25 USD) we can help raise $250,000 for charity. Get the picture? THAT is the story. Tell it as often as you can. Let's show the world what a few people with very little money can do. Stike a MATCH to this fire!

If you know someone you think might be a "connector" like Seb, tell them first! :) Feel free to use my name in vain...post this wherever and to whomever you think will make a difference!!! CNN? Orange County Choppers? I've had some interesting suggestions along the ride already.

I am welcome to suggestions...
Lawrence

Beginning Day 3 of the 4500 Mile Ride for Charity

Good Morning All!

It is a beautiful morning in Broken Bow, OK! I woke up a bit sore from yesterday's 386 miles, sunburned about my neck, cheeks and forearms, but feeling blessed! I had a nice breakfast at McD's, spoke with an older gentleman from the area who reminded me that our perception colors everything!

This old guy was telling me how he was born in the hills nearby over 70 years ago, and that he had left to work in CA on the railroad for most of his life and returned to retire recently. He was very disappointed with how much Broken Bow had grown...how there were too many people around now. I of course found this funny being from Houston. Broken Bow is not exactly a cow-town, but rush hour this morning had about 10 to 15 cars max :) Perception.

Since I have plans to be in Bentonville, AR tomorrow to visit the EMC Walmart team and some of my buds there, I am going to take a leisurely ride to the Crater of Diamonds State Park near Murfreesboro, AR today and go diamond mining for charity! Any diamonds I find will be donated (or the proceeds thereof) amongst the charities we are supporting with the ride. My buddy Brent has given me the scoop on the most effective methods for finding diamonds there...a squirt bottle and lots of water! This should be fun. I've always enjoyed geology, looking for rocks, fossils etc.

FOR THE CAUSE...I am going to sound like a Harpie by the end of two months, but I am going to keep pushing and reminding everyone why we are doing this...to MOVE and MOTIVATE people to DONATE to the charity of their choice, or one of the ones we recommend. Once again, I am NOT collecting any of this money, simply trying to motivate people to donate directly...to get involved. Mention "4500 Miles" when you donate. Also, TELL SOMEONE ABOUT THIS every day. Within the 2 months let's see how many people we can MOVE!!! Join our FACEBOOK GROUP created by Seb Roberts of WeGotSkillz.org (THANKS SEB!). We have over 90 members in less than a week, most of whom Ive never met! Very exciting! Let's keep the momentum building!

Share your blessings!
Lawrence