From left: Lloyd Hill, Me, my wife Laura, Carolyn Shaw, Dr. Charles Shaw, and Andy Faust.
I AM NOW BACK HOME IN OHIO: On the afternoon of Monday, July 29th, I flew home from Flagstaff, Arizona, arriving home around 1:30 am on Tuesday. Willie Fernandez, my driver (and, as it worked out, my indispensable support “engineer”), dropped off my trailer Wednesday afternoon. The day before, Tuesday, was a day of nearly-total rest. However, I have realized that I needed to wrap this up more cleanly and provide an update on the status of this adventure.
THE 2019 RIDE/TOUR IS OVER: If you have been onboard for some time, you will know that, after the crankshaft broke south of Burlingame, Kansas, I was then simply “on tour” with the Red One, unable to ride it (just yesterday, an astute supporter questioned my earlier statement this failure occurred south of Council Grove, Kansas. He was right!… it was 1.5 miles south of Burlingame, not Council Grove). My “tour” felt complete at the Grand Canyon, capped off with a finale dinner with C.K. Shepherd’s son and his wife on July 27th. As you may also know, as great as that finale was, this outcome was less than satisfying to me and to many of those who have supported this tribute ride.
WHAT’S NEXT? I am currently evaluating the most fitting conclusion for this tribute ride (a.k.a. “Part 2”). One idea is to put the Red One back on the road next year in Burlingame, Kansas (where the crankshaft broke), and complete the journey, riding the Red One all the way to San Francisco. Another idea is to “tour” the rest of the route, riding the Red One whenever possible, having it at the ready for riding, display, interviews, etc. Either idea (or a mix of them) will require substantial discussion with my wife, Laura, who has already given so much to support this dream of mine. With all that has happened, she has justifiable (domestic and expenditure) concerns about what the conclusion of this tribute ride will look like. I’ll keep you posted!
PLEASE SEND ME YOUR PHOTOS, VIDEOS, AND COMMENTARY: While I am pondering what is next, I would like to ask a favor. If you have been involved in some way, or even if you saw me passing by, I would really like to receive any photos or videos you took. Additionally, if you would take a little time to write your observations down and send them to me, that would be great. I do not have a specific plan to use such materials, but people have asked me to write a book about my own journey and I think such materials would be helpful to give some perspective. If you have a number of photos or video and their individual or collective size does not lend itself to email please look into transmitting them via a service like Google Documents or Dropbox. Please send such material to mark@acrossamericabymotorcycle.com.
OTHER CHANGES: Additionally, over the next few weeks, I am going to:
- Engage in follow-up interviews with various media representatives who asked me to catch up with them after the ride.
- Update the web site content to reflect the most up-to-date information as possible.
- Add to the web site a “shopping cart” so that you can order t-shirts, hats, books, koozies, and other memorabilia from this trip to help me offset the considerable expense in putting on this event.
If you have additional suggestions or ideas, please let me know!