Winchester Research

4500 Mile Ride for Charity - THANK YOU!! from Lawrence Didsbury of Winchester Research

ld@winchesterresearch.com (Winchester Research) — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 16:03:00 +0000

I wanted to post a huge "THANK YOU" to everyone who has participated, kept up with or "followed" the ride on Facebook, my blog, YouTube and Twitter, for being part of my journey and the 4500 Mile Ride for Charity! Thank you to all of those who supported me with contributions, loans, encouragement, re-posting etc, allowing me to take this time to try and help others through this experiment. You are helping them by extension whenever you support the people or organizations dedicated to helping others. Winchester Research will be continuing our support for these organizations by leaving the donations page up year round and reminding folks to donate!

Thank you in particular for DONATING to the charities we have been supporting with the project. Please take the opportunity to help others by visiting our donations page and donating to the organizations directly! It could be YOU in need.

Stay tuned and look for the book (a portion of the proceeds will be donated to these same charities that are on the donations page)...

"4500 Miles - A social media fundraising experiment and epic adventure".

Sincerly,
Lawrence Didsbury
President/CEO
Winchester Research

4500 Mile Ride for Charity - Welcome Back to Texas!!

ld@winchesterresearch.com (Winchester Research) — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 14:21:00 +0000

For the rest of the day that led me out of Louisiana, I lagged behind the storm that seemed bent on keeping me from home. It was doing a good job of impeding my progress. I finally made it across the Texas border at Toledo Bend, into Milam, Texas. No sooner than I made it across the border, the downpour started. I wasn't going to ride in rain I couldn't see in; plus, my tires were balding at this point. I parked Pandora on the side of the road and hunkered down under a large pine tree, using my raincoat like an umbrella. I figured I would be there a while, so I pulled the Scotch out of my pack and took it to the tree with me. I had music in my headphones, a little Scotch, cigarettes and was relatively dry with the rain jacket. Life was good! I was getting close to home and when the rain stopped...would the rain ever stop?

Soon a truck stopped and a gentleman invited me to come to a building down the road "where a couple bikers were holed up". I decided to take him up on the offer. I got back on the bike, started it up, and started to ease into the street when my bike slipped out from under me and pinned me underneath. I couldn't move the bike off me, but a trucker and another civilian had seen it and rushed to lift Pandora off my leg.

I had a slight sprain, but the shoes I was wearing saved me from any serious injury. I started the bike and eased it down the road to the shelter which had been offered. I was now soaking wet, had lost my nice wrap-around glasses in the spill, but I was still ok. As I settled down and began to unpack some dry clothes, anoher gentleman pulled up and backed his truck under the carport I was parked under. As it turned out, the gentleman was the nephew of the guy who had build that particular building back in the 40's. Cordray was his name, and he hung out with me there til after dark before heading home. He told me I was welcome to stay under the shelter if I wanted. I thanked him and unpacked the rest of my stuff...I was staying the night as the rain never let up.

The next morning I packed early and headed down the road. Somewhere down from Milam I stopped at a Shell truck stop for morning coffee and to charge all of my geek tools...phone, mp3 player, laptop etc. Special thanks to that Shell station attendant for letting me charge all of my tools for the road. That polish sausage sandwich was a nice breakfast also! I would certainly make it home to Houston today!

While the tools charged and I ate that sausage sandwich, I watched in amazement as a group of dragonflies had a "dogfight" in the air above the laundry. The zoomed around each other with amazing speed and agility. I thought of our war planes, and all of the money and engineering talent that went into them, how proud we were of those war planes like the F-16, and yet, these dragonflies could easily outmaneuver an F-16 or any other plane we pited against them. I was highly amused...Glory be to The Creator! It looked like the rain might have passed finally! I was rested, fed, and all of my geek tools were charged up. I headed on down the road ahead, still exhilirated by the ride, but getting slightly road weary.

The road between Milam and Lufkin was a nice rolling 2-lane with few cars, mostly trucks at that hour. I was still taking it easy, as the roads had the last vestiges of moisture from the rain on them, and I was aware that my rear tire was quite slick...a fact driven home by my first spill the night before and the slight pain in my left ankle from the bike landing on it. I was so blessed to have made it this far. I was just a "geek with a bike" as I told people, not even a real biker. At this point however, I was beginning to feel like a biker...in fact, I may have started to look like one. What do you think?

Up the road a piece I had the feeling that I was supposed to stop at this little convenience store on the right. Not sure why I stopped other than that feeling...I didn't need gas or the restroom and had stopped like 20 miles prior. Did I mention I was trying to let "the path" unfold in front of me? The whole spiritual aspect of the journey would take me too long to describe here on the blog, so anyone interested in that side of my thinking and experience on the ride will just have to read the book. Stay tuned for more on the book in a few weeks...Still writing that.

At any rate, while seated on the curb drinking some coffee (yes, I drank A LOT of coffee on the trip) a nice gentleman named in a truck stopped to ask if I was ok or just taking a break. I want to take a brief moment to thank all of the people I met this way on the trip. Probably 20 or more people I met on the trip were people who pulled up when I had stopped to ask if everything was ok...bikers, car riders, truck drivers...people really care. It was refreshing.

After I told the guy my "elevator pitch" about the ride, he said, "If you are riding for charity, you should meet the folks from Brother's Keepers Church, the perfect church for those who aren't, and the guys who run Cycle Heaven in Lufkin." I said, "Sure, I'd love to" He started giving me directions from there, and I must have had that lost look in my eyes, because he asked if I'd like to follow him over there. I agreed and he took my coffee in his truck and I followed him through Lufkin to Cycle Heaven where I met the Brother's Keepers motorcycle club with church affiliation. Very interesting. I should also mention that I met a large number of Christian bikers while on this trip.

Billie and his friends at Cycle Heaven all had interesting stories, which I won't share right now, as I need to ask them first. Let's say that they have all been down some winding roads before they found Christ.

I had some flash images of Jesus on a motorcycle, riding happy with his hair flowing behind him. I know...I'm weird. Get on a bike and ride 6000 miles with your heart and mind open and you might get a little "weird" too :)

One of the guys at Cycle Heaven came busting into the shop, having run an errand and caught in some rain on the way back to the shop. I asked him where he came in from and he said north and that it was coming this way. I quickly finished my last story for the guys and said I needed to make tracks southward before the rain caught up with me...I was determined that the rain was NOT going to keep me from home. I had less than 2 hours riding left!

I left Lufkin feeling like I had just had yet another "experience" that had significance beyond my understanding. The way the events played out unexpectedly. Perhaps it was as simple as the source of inspiraton for the Twiter message I sent out upon leaving Cycle Heaven using the above picture of their patch...

"Am I my Brother's Keeper? Are you? Prove it!! Donate to the charities we support with the 4500 Mile Ride for Charity!"
I gased up for the second to last time outside of Lufkin and ran down 59S towards Houston. I was being cautious as the store owner warned me that there would be alot of police out that day on 59S. I thanked him and the old lady who was admiring Pandora when I went outside and took off. Somewhere along 59S I saw a sign for Livingston and Huntsville. I thought that would be perfect...ride by Lake Livingston and cut over to Huntsville on 45S and make it home. Pandora was now running like a horse to water, eager to get to the house. I have to admit I was growing weary of riding myself. It had been 2 months since I had been home.

I soon reached Lake Livingston and stopped to take some pictures along the way. I thought about visiting y friend Terry Westcott at Lake Livingston who had just returned from Iraq, but I was in a hurry to get home, and wasn't particularly presentable, having been "living on the road" for the past 4 days or so. I decided to ride through.

While leaving this lake and riding down the road, it was sunny and beautiful! Birds flew by, buterflies were out, and then a bee flew down my shirt while I was riding and stung my back. I tried not to react while riding, having heard a story alon the road about a guy who had a bee fly into his helmet and while he reacted to it he crashed into he abutment of a bridge and died. I wasn't going to be a casualty! I pulled the Pandora over and ripped my shirt off! Motorists passing by honked their horns!

the bee sting turned out to be minimal, so I checked the shirt for bees, pu it back on and re-mounted Pandora and rode throught the woods to I-45. Once on 45 I took my last two breaks, one at a rest stop so I could cool Pandora off a bit. It was a HOT Texas day at this point, and I had been running pretty hard down 45. After my last cup of Joe on the road, I rode the last hour home and unpacked immediately, spreading everything out on the driveway to air it out. Much of my gear contained moisture from the previous two days of rain. I had stopped to get a couple cold Shiner Bock beers, which I slowly enjoyed as I picked through my belongings and surveyed the damage that happens when you leave your home for 2 months. Next I would begin the process of checking the mail, the bills and trying to figure out what was next. I backed up all of the data from the trip to a separate storage device, and unloaded the remaining 300 or so pictures from my camera and phone.

Standing in my driveway, drinking a Shiner Bock and surveying the stuff I had been living with for the past 2 months I felt rather surreal. I had been living a fairly humble existence on the road for 2 months and now I was back in my nice, quiet, suburban neighborhood. I was back to run Winchester Research, or get a job? Whatever I would do, I would write a book, a book to tell about the adventure...a book to share the spiritual experiences I had on the second leg of the rip...a book to share the social media fundraising experiment and hopefully motivate others to do similar projects. This blog is the beginning of that book.

4500 Mile Ride for Charity...Ridin across the South! AL, MS and LA

ld@winchesterresearch.com (Winchester Research) — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 19:29:00 +0000

When I wrote last, I had just completed riding the second most popular motorcycle ride in the U.S., The Cherohala Skyway. That was simply AMAZING! If you ever get the chance to take that ride, on a motorcycle preferably, or in a car if you have to...take it! the views from 5300 ft on top of the Great Smokey Mountains are worth the time. Last piece of advice for anyone taking either The Dragon or The Cherohala Skyway...STAY IN YOUR LANE and don't try to set any speed records! People die up there every week. The turns were so sharp in some places I wished I had a 1/2 gear...LOL!

After having a sandwich, some water and coffee, I mounted up again and headed for the nearest Interestate that would take me South. I was still considering a rip to Seven Bridges Road, which Wikipedia says is actually a road outside Montgomery, AL. Later I decided not to detour that far east, rather head across the northern portion of AL, MS and LA into TX. When I entered AL, after catching just a smidgen of GA, I took a nap at a rest stop when I could ride no further...by then it was like 3am in the morning. A power nap and I headed farther south into AL past Tuscaloosa (also the name of a ship I lived on for 6 mo when I was 21) and into Mississippi, where I met Mike, a welder who owns a shop in New Iberia, LA.

Mike was riding a bike he made himself, and had some advice for me about a better route to take than the Interstates. Mike suggested I take the new El Camino route through The South. It was brand new road according to Mike, and I would "fill up my camera" with shots if I took that route.

As I was trying to let the path unfold for me rather than try to plan it so closely, I decided to take Mike's recommendation and headed farther south where I could catch US 84 across the remaining states. That would take me right into TX near Houston. I was tired after chatting with Mike for a while, having had only a power nap since I left NC the morning before. I ran down the road from the rest stop, grabbed some coffee at the next gas station and continued riding. Oh, Mike has offered to give me and my son free welding lessons. All I have to do is call ahead and go visit Mike in New Iberia. Very cool. I always wanted to learn to weld, and Mike has about 5 bike projects in various stages of completion. Should be interesting.

Riding all day down the El Camino route (US84W) was nice. It wasn't raining, but here were some ominous clouds in the distance. I kept riding, pulling over to take pictures, waiting to see where the storm was going, letting it stay ahead of me. I had nothing to prove at this point, having ridden in the rain for many days during he past two months riding. I just wanted to get home safely at this point. When you are tired, interesting things enter your mind. I was beginning to believe that I was being chased by a storm that was out to get me.

My tires were getting bald, so rain riding was pretty much out of the question anyway. I soon passed into Lawrence County. Pretty cool. I stopped just past the sign and walked around a bit, snacking on some burger and more coffee I had strapped to my bike. Soon I would come head to head with the "Dragon Storm" that was hunting me...it nearly blew me over, with strong gusts actually scooting my bike to the left or right 6 inches, then blowing hard from the other direction.

As the water started to be added to the equation, I made a hasty exit into the nearest tiny town...skidded through the exit and almost ate it trying to make the corner with slick tires on wet pavement. It was the closest I had come to wiping out on the entire trip. A few blocks into town I saw some refuge...a church with a large porch. I headed across what I thought was the gravel parkin lot (it was actually the church lawn) towards the porch as the rain poured down.

I took shelter there, ate a little lunch and started to fall asleep on the porch. Soon the pastor came out to see who this biker was at his church. We had a very nice conversation for about an hour, then I mounted up and headed out, rain having stopped for now. I rode very slowly though, as the streets were still wet.

By the time I decided to start looking for a campsite, I was in Vidalia, Louisiana, having just crossed the Mississippi River, my destination for that day's end. I drove around Vidalia looking for a place to camp, but no one allowed tent camping, so I soon blew that town and headed west for the next town. Just outside of Jonesville, I stopped at a little gas station to inquire about camping. One young man told me about a truck stop down the road that might let me pitch a tent. I was getting really tired at this point, having been riding for over 36 hours with only a 1 hour nap. It was getting critical that I find a place to rest. After a long conversation with a beautiful young lady and her daughter in Jonesville, I set out to find the T-Towne truck stop "about 10 miles down the road". I was riding in the dark down a two-lane highway with a million mosquitos to contend with. It was like being in a bug video game...soon my windshield was getting so full I couldn't see much through it. Luckily the T-Town truck stop appeared. My request for a tent spot was not exactly welcome, but I convinced the two ladies there that I REALLY couldn't go any farther and needed to borrow that small patch of grass outside. They agreed, and one of the ladies even gave me a couple Nachitez Meat Pies (a local delicacy) to add to my two cold beers.

I set up my bike tent/fly and laid down to eat the pies and drink a couple beers, listening to music on my headphones. I passed out before finishing either the beer or the food...laying on top of my sleeping bag with a nice breeze filling the tent. I took off my socks to air out my feet, sprayed lots of OFF on me and was just resting. Well, I fell asleep that way, feet hanging out in the open air...of course the mosquitos had a blast with that once the wind died down. I woke in the morning with feet, face and hands covered in mosquito bites. Gotta love Louisiana!!

In the morning I left a box of Great Smokey Mountain Taffy for Joyce at the truck stop with a note telling her to thank the owner for her hospitality and her for the meat pies (even though the ants got most of the second one). I bought some coffee, packed, and cleaned up the site so no one could even tell I had been there. That is the secret to camping...always leave the place better than you found it.

I was happy, thinking this would be my last day riding. I would head across 84W to some road that cut south, which would take me right in by Houston. Done deal...or so I thought!

Feeling good, I cruised at a nice pace across Louisiana, stopping frequently to take pictures. Next thing I knew, I was in Clarence, LA. Clarence? That was not on the route I was taking? After checking my GPS and such, I realized that I had accidently turned north somewhere along the way, and had ridden about a half day's ride out of the way! Oh well, I figured God had some reason for sending me north...wasn't sure what it was, but I really felt at this point that I wasn't directing my own steps, and was fine with that.

After resting and getting coffee at this little store, talking to the local patrons hanging out drinking on the curb, I bought some boudin, one spicy and one mild, and tied it to Pandora. I quickly figured out how to keep moving towards my destination, still relatively sure I would make home by dark, even though I was a bit out of the way.

I zoomed out of Clarence, LA...ok, for about another 15 miles before the rain came and stopped me under a bridge near this lake outside Clarence. I paused under the bridge and ate my boudin. Wow that was good boudin! For the uninitiated, Boudin is a Cajun sausage, typically made with a rice filler...spices, meat etc. Yessirree chile!

4500 Mile Ride for Charity - Deal's Gap, NC to The South

ld@winchesterresearch.com (Winchester Research) — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 17:46:00 +0000

When we left off the story, I was at Deal's Gap Motorcycle Resort near Tapoca, NC after riding "The Dragon" before noon that morning. "The Dragon" is a stretch of US 129 that includes 318 turns in 11 miles. It is the most popular motorcycle ride in America, and was recommended to me by Pappy and Slick, who's blog and Twitter messages led me to Deal's Gap.

Thanks Pappy, it was a neat ride. I personally enjoyed the Cherohala Skyway more, but the Dragon was certainly a notch for the front forks. Ok, I didn't notch the forks, but I did adorn Pandora's front fender with the military service respect sticker that was provided by Deals Gap for all who served in the military. The girl at the counter (a Marine brat :) wanted some proof that I was a Marine...a tattoo in a location she might care to see it? A military ID? How about a loud gutteral OORAH?

As I mentioned before, after riding the Dragon, I settled into the Deals Gap resort and camped (in my tent that looked strangely like a dragon :) through the day. All of my geek equipment needed recharging, as did I after a few days riding through the mountains. I spent the day taking pics, checking out motorcycles, cleaning myself up and generally relaxing. It was a nice day and I listened to motors scream up the hill over my tent most of the day.

The next morning I packed up early and headed for the Cherohala Skyway. I had no idea just how beautiful the Cherohala would be. Climbing up to over 5300 feet in the Great Smokey Mountains, the Cherohala Skyway is the number 2 most popular motorcycle ride in the States. As Cherokee legend goes, the Great Smokey Mountains used to be a large area of flat, spongey land unfit for inhabiting. The Great Buzzard saw this and swooped down, raking the land with its massive claws, thus creating the Smokies and making the land perfect for habitation.

The Cherohala is over 50 miles long, and you spend the majority of that time over 4000 ft elevation, riding along the top, taking in incredible vistas, wild pure air, interesting flower and fauna and other biker enthusiasts having a ball. I also happened to meet a Buddahist teacher/student who was seated at a mountain rest stop studying the repeating archetypes present in biology. I had stopped to take a pic of this fire-looking flower when we met. We talked for over 2 hours about "everything". I now have a new penpal in NC. Interesting people and things happen when you let them.

I completed my enjoyable passage of the Cherohala Skyway by around 3:30 or 4pm. I stopped at a quaint little restaurant at the bottom of the trail to eat some dinner before continuing towards the interestate to make some time heading south. I was rapidly running out of money again, and needed to make tracks towards home. I was still considering a brief visit to Montomery, AL to look for "Seven Bridges Road", but realized later in AL that this small detour would likely break my budget (which was already destroyed :) After deciding that Seven Bridges Road was out, I re-analyzed my route to home, and decided to cut across the uppoer portions of the southern states of MS, AL and LA on my way to TX. I had never seen this portion of these states, having always traveled from and to TX on Interestate 10 across the bottom of the US. My plan was to take I-20 over to I-45 south near Dallas. That would get me home quickly. I left the Cherohala with the expansive vistas I'd seen stretching across my mind.

Repaired the Donations Page Link! Continuing from Lexington, VA.

ld@winchesterresearch.com (Winchester Research) — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 20:34:00 +0000

Hi! I'm back again :) Still trying to finish the online version of the 4500 Mile Ride for Charity story. I discovered while on this mission that keeping up with a full-fledged social media/online presence is a challenging task while you are riding across the continent on a motorcycle and living outdoors part-time. I will be including coverage of the social media experiment and the technology challenges in separate sections of the book I am writing on the ride.

When the story left off I had just departed Lexington, VA after a day of riding through the Shenandoah and Appalacian Mountains on my way to the NC/TN border area. Here are a couple shots from the riding to and from Lexington. Note another Winchester location on the sign above? Second one at least that I have seen on the trip... Had I taken the Route 11 instead of the interstate I might have driven through Winchester Virginia...pretty cool. I did check out part of route 11 at the advice of my good friend Terry Gagneux, but didn't have enough time or money to take the entire Route 11 through VA. I put that on my list for another time.

The riding through the Shenandoah, Appalacian and Great Smokey Mountains was all phenomenal! The weather was sunny and beautiful all three days that I rode along the western border of VA towards my destination of Deals Gap, near Tapoca, NC. There I would ride both The Dragon (US 129) and The Cherohala Skyway (US 143 and US165 through the Nantahala National Forest). There are so many scenic vistas riding through Virginia that I am going to have to return one day when I can take more time.

I rode late into the night to reach Knoxville and was sure I could make Deal's Gap Motorcycle Resort by a decent hour that evening. I shot out of Knoxville to complete the 50 or so miles Google Maps said I had remaining. After stopping to take the above shot outside Knoxville, TN, it began to get dark, and I continued clocking off the miles. Once at around 50 miles per my odometer, I stopped. It was now near 10pm, and I had overshot my destination by about 33 miles according to the locals, who then pointed me up US72 towards US 129. It was a pitch black night, and I rode throught the winding, twisting roads in the dark night, at ever slower speeds as I got up into the mountains. Talk about earie riding! I could tell there were ledges, but couldn't see what was beyond. No cars, no bikes, no light anywhere! Eventually I came to the intersection of 72 and 129 at another motorcycle resort called Punkin Center. The maps and newspaper articles told me was getting close to The Dragon.

I didn't want to ride The Dragon at night. I did not want to become one of the stories on the wall. I would have stayed at the Punkin Center, but no one was here at 11pm at night to check folks in to the rooms they advertised, so up 129 I went, unsure where I would stop for the night, hoping NOT to encounter The Dragon at night. My GPS wasn't working out there, so I just continued blindly.

Around midnight I encountered a National Forest sign for Abram's Creek. I was looking for just such a place, so I turned up that 2-lane road that turned into a one-lane, which turned into a thin, rocky, dirt road with pot-holes that led into the Abram's Creek National Forest. That last 15 miles or so up the mountain in the pitch black over dirt roads with invisible ledges was unnerving! I eventually made the park, figured out where to pitch my tent at midnight, and in the morning awoke by a serene creek...Abram's Creek in the Great Smokey Mountains.

The next morning I had a quick meditation down by the creek then headed to Deal's Gap. As fortune would have it, I ended up riding The Dragon early that morning, fully loaded, uphill, before the crotch rockets and people with something to prove got up on The Dragon. After I rode into Deal's Gap, I spen the rest of that day resting around my tent, which looked strangly like a Dragon. After a day's rest, I would wake up and ride the Cherohala Skyway and continue riding all the way until I reached a rest stop in Mississippi. I will pick up the story from the second rest stop in MS.

4500 Mile Ride for Charity - Made it home safely...Now to analyze the project!

ld@winchesterresearch.com (Winchester Research) — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 16:34:00 +0000

Hi everyone! I have been "offline" resting and recouperating from the over 6000 miles I rode over a 2 month period for the "4500 Mile Ride for Charity" event. (Ok, so I can't count very well :). I want to first thank God for His protection during my trip and allowing my safe return. Secondly I want to give a big THANK YOU to all of the folks who have supported the 4500 Mile Ride for Charity with their donations, their encouragement, and their use of social media tools to spread the word to a much wider audience. I have been amazed by the help the project has received from people who are complete strangers to me, yet believed enough in the vision for the project that they got behind us and used their contacts and time to re-post our messages and requests for donations. This "viral" aspect of the project is very interesting and will be covered in much more detail in the book that I am writing about the project, which will be titled, "4500 Mile Ride for Charity - A social media fundraising experiment and epic adventure".

The coming book will include many more stories from the ride, a complete analysis of the social media coverage and technology used, some spiritual experiences that have not been published during the ride as well as a multimedia DVD that will contain hundreds of pictures and videos not published. More details on the book to be released soon. I will donate a substantial portion of the proceeds of the book to the 10 charities we have been supporting with the project. I am taking with publishers and should have the book out before Christmas in order to maximize the charitiable fundraising potential.

So, when I last posted to the blog, I was leaving CT for the remaining 2000 miles of the trip, having obtained the necessary funds to continue the trip. I had many challenges with power and internet connections during the last 10 days or so of he ride as I was roughing it for much of the final legs. I continued to use my phone for pushing up some images and Twtter for updatin my progress. I did not keep up as well with the blog story. While I am not now going to go into complete detail on the remainder of the ride due to some time constraints, I will cover all of the ride in considerable detail in the coming book. I encourage everyone to support the book in the same manner as the rest of the project, as it will be a continuing vehicle to raise money for the homeless, children, the wounded warriors, the police survivors and the animals we are supporting.

I departed Bristol, Connecticut on a beautiful summer day, taking a route recommended by my aunt's next door neighbor who is a trucker (and retired Navy). He sent me out of Bristol on route 8, which was a georgeous ride through the hills of Connecticut, which led me down to the New Jersey Turnpike thru New York into New Jersey where I stayed the evening with my good friends, Deepak Sahoo and his wife Priscilla.

Deepak and his wife were amazing hosts, preparing a wonderful "Indiaruvian" meal accompanied by a nice Shiraz wine. Seeing them was quite relaxing after running at high speeds down the New Jersey Turnpike. My relationship with Deepak is one of the "small world" stories I am going to tell in the book. The short version of the story is that I met Deepak Sahoo online through one of my online businesses while he was still living in Mumbai, India over 7 years ago! Eventually Deepak obtained a position with a firm in the US and moved here. About 5 years after we met online, we met in person during a surfing trip I made to CA with my kids. Deepak and his wife then moved to NJ for a job, whereupon I have now had the opportunity to visit with them again during this ride. They have become very close friends, and Deepak and his brother in Bangalore both do some contract work for Winchester Research.

After leaving NJ, I headed down into Maryland, and I tried to camp at Susquehanna State Park, which I found is closed during the week. I did however get to see the junction of the Susquehanna River and the Chesapeake as shown in this picture below.

I ended up stopping some 12 hours later outside of Washington, DC where I stayed at a Countryside Inn after realizing that I was exhausted and surviving being nearly run off the road by an impatient driver. Sometimes cars need to give motorcycles a little more leeway!

That night I shared my room with a homeless man who had been sleeping on a cardboard box outside the 7-11 near my room. Have you ever felt like you were "called" to help someone? Well, I felt a calling like that this evening, so I brought this 47-yr old black man into my room and shared what I had with him. Remember when I pulled into Ottawa and was taken in as a homeless man by that Russian woman? I felt the need to give that back...to "pay it forward" if you will, so I did. That was really going outside of my box...something I have never done before....something I will never forget. After we had breakfast the next morning. I gave the gentleman the suit I was carrying...which is a whole other "multiple blessings" story...for the book, called "The Suit".

I don't have any pictures of James, but I did manage to get him to give me his P.O. BOX. James is homeless and needs your help. I had a daydream about posting his info and encouraging people to send James a small donation, so here goes. If enough people send some small gift to James, we can impact his life directly and anonymously. Please send James what you can to help him out care of the following address:

James
P.O. Box 7798
Capitol Heights, MD
20792

After leaving Washington area, I headed down the highway towards VA, and somehow missed my planned turnoff which would have taken me on a more direct route towards Deals Gap, which is near Tapoca, NC. As fate would have it, I drove right past Quantico, VA and Ft. Belvoir where I had spent some time as a young 18yr old Marine. I had to see if I could get on the Marine base at Quantico to get some photos and content to help drive support for the Wounded Warrior Project. The Marine Sentry let me on base because I identified myself as a Marine (81-85) who was raising money for the WWP. Once on base and after a brief lunch at McDs, I found an administration building and fortuitously a Master Gunnery Sergeant and a Major who were both Harley riders. That was all the content I needed. A big OORAH to Master Gunnery Sergeant Miranda, aka "Kojak", and Major Hunt from Quantico!

Once back on the road, it was slow traffic for miles, which can be painful for the clutch hand, so I pulled over for a smoke and to take some pictures. While pulled over, I met another Major (and Officer Lee), who pulled over to make sure I was ok. I should mention that both Majors I met that day were "mustangs". In other words, they had both been enlisted Marines before becoming officers. OORAH to the MUSTANG officers! Semper Fi! Support the Wounded Warriors and The 100 Club!

Because I had taken so much time to wait out traffic and to hang out at Quantico, I rode late into the night that night making my way through VA. Much of that riding was flat, through the foggy forests at night. Eventually I was very tired and pulled off the highway for a camping spot, which ended up being almost 20 miles off the beaten path near Louisa, VA. I arrived around midnight after a very interesting and DARK ride through the fields and tiny towns. I set up camp in the dark and broke camp early the next morning. Here is a pic from the Small Country Campground near Louisa, VA. I wanted to make special mention of the fact that Small Country gave me a small discount to support the 4500 Mile Ride for Charity. Any time you are near Louisa and need a place to camp or park your RV, this is a great spot!

I caught some rain the next morning and rode all day through the breathtaking vistas of the Shenandoah and Appalachian Mountains. Pandora Esperanza, my workhorse Yamaha 1100 Vstar Custom, handled the elevations, climbing and descending without any problems. I stopped to take alot of pictures as I continued through Virginia. I felt like I was in VA for 3 days...riding the longest length of the state. That night I stopped in Lexington, VA and stayed at a cheap motel. I met an interesting gentleman at the motel who had the room next to mine. We shared some beers and stories, and I was given another "respect gift" by this gentleman...an indian-style necklace made of bone, touquoise, red coral and a stone he called "Angelite". He told me I would have even more angels following me because of that central stone in the necklace. I learned a long time ago not to laugh at such suggestions, in particular when you haven't researched the idea. I made a mental note to look up "Angelite" when I had the time. I will post a pic of the necklace later...

I have to run some errands, but I will pick up the story soon from this spot in Lexington, VA. I will add the pics later, as Blogger is not cooperating with the picture upload at the moment. Continue to support the efforts of the charities we are supporting with this project! Donate!

Thank you again for your continued support!

Lawrence

4500 Mile Ride for Charity - Update July 18th

ld@winchesterresearch.com (Winchester Research) — Sat, 18 Jul 2009 10:13:00 +0000

Hey everyone! I will be departing to continue the last 2000 miles of the 4500 Mile Ride for Charity, tomorrow, Sunday the 19th. I am 4 days behind my intended schedule...not bad for a guy that is winging it :). Regarding my note about being broke and all that...my apologies for whining in public. It won't happen again. I think I had some lessons to learn on this ride as well. All the way from Ottawa (where I ran out of funds) to CT I heard a bible verse echoing in my head, and when I got here to Bristol, my baby girl, Nitza told me it was Matthew 6:26...off the top of her beautiful head. I am so blessed. Look it up...it reminds us not to worry about anything and uses the beasts of the field and the birds of the air as an example...they don't worry or toil and yet they survive. We are God's children...wouldn't he take at least that care for us? Think about it and Believe! Here is a little reminder pic...of a little guy I captured in Montreal. Ever try and take a picture of a sparrow?? They don't sit still very long!

So I started doing that somewhere during the three days of rain riding I did thru Quebec, down to the Parc National du Mont Orford where I had to borrow $20 CAD from a stranger so I could get back into the USA and to my sister Catherine and her husband Kelly (Semper Fi my brother) for getting me to CT. Thank you to Bruno for helping a stranger in the forest...reminds me of a verse where Jesus says something like "whenever you do these things for the least of your brothers...you do it for me". May blessings be many for Bruno and his family and everyone that has helped me with my mission to help those in need. All my challenges have been resolved by an old investment in Compaq stock I forgot I had...and I am mounting Pandora to complete the ride. Praise the Lord. I am starting to sound like a preacher :o rather than a biker...actually I'm just a geek with a bike.

When people ask me if I' riding alone...I tell them I have lots of people online in social media (and angels) riding with me. Thanks for everyone's support.

Where am I going next on my way to Texas? Let me think about it a bit...hmmmm.

4500 Mile Ride for Charity - Bristol, CT - Farewell to my Grand'Mere Edna Didsbury

ld@winchesterresearch.com (Winchester Research) — Sat, 18 Jul 2009 08:56:00 +0000

First of all, I want to thank The Lord for keeping me safe and allowing me to continue this mission to raise money for the needy in Houston, Ottawa and the world. Secondly, I want to thank all of my friends, family and supporters of the 4500 Mile Ride for Charity for the progress we have made so far with this social media fundraising experiment and epic adventure. It is great to be alive and to have met so many fantastic people with great big hearts and souls. Many blessings will come to those that serve others in need!

For those who have sent me messages asking how the ride went...Thank You BUT, we are not done yet!! I apologize for being somewhat absent for the past 10 days or so, but I had to get off Pandora for a bit to attend to some family business in Bristol, CT while on the ride. My Grand'Mere Edna Didsbury, the matriarch of our family, passed away right before I began this ride. Don't be sad...this was a circle of life situation, as she was 93 years old, lived a blessed life with her husband Lester for 64 years of marriage, many kids, grandkids and greatgrandkids,then passed into her Lord's house in her sleep, with no pain and no significant illness in her final days. I suspect Grand'Mere stopped by to visit her family in France first on he way to her Lord, as she told us three times that they were coming to take her to France during her final few days. We can all hope for such a blessed life! The Didsburys, Beans, Cables and all of our other family came up to CT to pay our respects and to have a family and friends reunion...it was amazing and we laid Grandma to rest in the Northfield Cemetary next to Lester and all of our ancestors since the first ones came across the pond. We all wrote messages to Grandma on helium balloons and let them fly into the heavens as has become our family tradition for our final goodbyes...try doing that with a dry eye!

The Northfield cemetary is one of my favorite places on the planet...beside it runs an old footpath through a dark ancient forest, where the ground is soft with centuries of Douglas fir tree droppings and the Northfield River below cascades downhill over waterfalls, cutting through granite rocks patiently. The breeze blows softly through the trees at the top of this hill above Thomaston, CT and the old Seth Thomas watch factory and brings with it a sense of peace I have found in very few places in the world. I took my daughter Nitza down to walk on this path after the burial service, stepping along in the footprints of our ancestors and drinking in the glory of His creation around us. Nitza is a very soulful child and she appreciated my "special place". I am happy and Grandma is now with my Grandfather, my father and all the other Didsbury's and Vidous. Rest in His Light Grand'Mere and thank you for a lifetime of your love and service to me, my children and of our family!

4500 Mile Ride for Charity - June 30 thru July 4th - Back in the USA!

ld@winchesterresearch.com (Winchester Research) — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 18:04:00 +0000

Happy Independence Day and a belated Happy Canada Day to my friends north of the border!

At last posting I had stopped for the night in Victoriaville, Quebec after turning south on route 55 towards the States. The next morning while riding I stopped in Danville, Quebec at the Bureau D'Informaion Touristique, where Annie gave me directions to the border crossing and told me about the Canadian Parc National du Mont Orford near Orford, Quebec on my route south, so I headed there.

On the way I missed one of my turns and ended up discovering this cool bridge and memorial site along the way. I backtracked after a quick ride over this metal bridge and back...and found my way to Mount Orford near the town of Orford.

I spent that night the next day (Canada Day - July 1st) and night in the Parc, an appropriate day to spend Canada Day, as the Parc is like 75% Maple trees, part of a large grove of maples that inhabit the valley around Mont Orford. I spend the 1st exploring the parc, hiking, swam in the lake and relaxed a bit. I saw lots of the local flora and fauna, and captured some on film.

After watching the sunset, I made an Inukshuk statue (or my version of one) in the tradition of the northern tribes of Canada. According to Wikipedia, the Inukshuk is "is a man-made stone landmark or cairn, used by the Inuit, Inupiat, Kalaallit, Yupik, and other peoples of the Arctic region of North America, from Alaska to Greenland." In my case, it marks my stop at that campsite, part of my 4500 Mile Ride for Charity. I left the statue behind, with its precarios balance...I wonder how long it will remain erect? Building one is harder than it seems. I started with a pile of rocks from around the campsite and the result is below.

I left the Parc du Mont Orford on the morning of July 2, and it began to rain as soon as I was packed. The day without rain in the park was nice, and it was nice to get back on the road, even though it would be stop and go riding all day due to all the rain. I rode about 10-20 miles each stretch before I had to stop for visibility problems and just due to the stress of riding down mountains on slick asphalt roads in the rain.

At night my visibility challenges worsened. During one stop around midnight on top of a mountain somewhere up the road from Hanover, VT, I pulled over to wipe the windshield and my goggles of bugs and fog. While sitting on the shoulder of the road in the pitch black, I was greeted by a fantastic firefly show, where about 30 fireflys were dancing in the air among the wet grass and up under the fir tree boughs. I stepped off the bike for a second and she fell over into the ditch, about 20 degrees upside down! With my load on Pandora, she is quite heavy, so here I was, grunting and heaving, gasoline spilling out of the top of the tank, rain coming down on me, 18 wheelers passing by blowing additional water on me as I struggled to upright Pandora. I would lift, then rest the weight on my legs while I caught my breath, then heave some more. Eventually I got her back upright, firmly on the kickstand, and started her up. Other than the rear-view mirrors and left front headlight/turnsignal being twisted around, some mud and grass on the windshield and footpegs, she was fine and I had been unhurt. I adjusted all of these at my next stop in Hanover, VT. I then continued down the road VERY slowly in the rain and dark.

By 3am on July 3rd I had had enough and stopped at a rest stop near Hartford, Vermont...and stretched out on a picnic table for a wet nap. When the sun came up, I awoke, changed into some dry clothes, warmed up some coffee and Chef Boy R D Lasagna and napped another hour or two before re-packing the bike and heading out.

Riding through Vermont on I-91 is scary in the rain and even more in the rain at night, but in the sunshine on dry roads it is amazing! It was so good to ride in the sun again, without the bulk of the rain gear!

I wouldn't see the sun again for two days of riding down I-91 thru Vermont towards Connecticut. fortunately the second day of riding was sunny and the roads were finally dry...until I hit Hartford, CT, about 20 minutes from my destination. After riding around a bit getting my bearings, I finally made my cousin's apartment in Bristol. After a brief visit with Allen, I slept until noon today, discovered a wireless connection and made this post. I will update the pics on Facebook and post some new videos on YouTube channel over the next few days. I plan to take some visits to local towns in CT while I am here to lay my Grandmother to rest and have a family reunion.

Thank you to everyone who has been following my 4500 Mile Ride for Charity and for all of the incredible support! I will share some updated statistics as soon as I can, but over a week ago, our message had been seen by over 250,000 people through all the media, 15,000 had visited this blog and donations and sponsors pages from over 26 countries, 233 people have joined the Facebook group from over 10 countries, and about 150 people have viewed my videos on YouTube.com/ldidsbury. The experiment CAN WORK...we can reach a million people and have them donate $1 or more directly to the charity of their choosing! Help me make a difference! Tell your friends and tell them to do the same!!

Blessings!
Lawrence

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

ld@winchesterresearch.com (Winchester Research) — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 12:49:00 +0000

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

ld@winchesterresearch.com (Winchester Research) — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 12:47:00 +0000

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

ld@winchesterresearch.com (Winchester Research) — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 09:14:00 +0000

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!

ld@winchesterresearch.com (Winchester Research) — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 23:01:00 +0000

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

ld@winchesterresearch.com (Winchester Research) — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 20:42:00 +0000

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

ld@winchesterresearch.com (Winchester Research) — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 05:11:00 +0000

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

ld@winchesterresearch.com (Winchester Research) — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 04:40:00 +0000

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

ld@winchesterresearch.com (Winchester Research) — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 03:20:00 +0000

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...

ld@winchesterresearch.com (Winchester Research) — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 03:13:00 +0000

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

ld@winchesterresearch.com (Winchester Research) — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 14:27:00 +0000

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

ld@winchesterresearch.com (Winchester Research) — Sun, 14 Jun 2009 10:50:00 +0000

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

ld@winchesterresearch.com (Winchester Research) — Sun, 07 Jun 2009 12:08:00 +0000

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

ld@winchesterresearch.com (Winchester Research) — Sun, 07 Jun 2009 02:21:00 +0000

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

ld@winchesterresearch.com (Winchester Research) — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 23:11:00 +0000

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

ld@winchesterresearch.com (Winchester Research) — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 15:48:00 +0000

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!!

ld@winchesterresearch.com (Winchester Research) — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 11:14:00 +0000

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.