Good morning Barry. No I'm not going to delete your comment. I hope what you had to say has relieved some tension you must be carrying. I have a question though Barry - why did what I'm trying to do anger you? Do you know me? You know who I am pretty well just from reading my blog if you read the whole thing, but I know nothing of you except that you found it necessary to send this note to me and everyone who might read it - and you have a right to do that - I just can't imagine doing it myself.
I need to understand though that if there is one Barry out there, probably more are wondering about this ride and how or why I did it. I just did it the best way I knew how. I will never apologize for affecting lives in a positive way. I had the courage to step out in the light and do something to try and help others. I would do it again if I thought it would help.
Yes, I spent a couple of hours visiting my grandkids since I hadn't seen them in several years. I stayed with friends, family and complete strangers some times to save money and rest up, do laundry and get a little boost from being alone. The pins seem to be an issue, but I only had 300 and I gave many away to people who were kind to me - I will take the hit on what ever penalty for not getting cash for them. I have receipts from all cash spent. If someone gets taken out for lunch in a business they are not penalized to my knowledge. But anything people did for me is that much less that would have to be taken out as an expense.
If I fail to raise enough money to cover expenses and still give money to the charities, the charities will get the money anyway - I will take the loss. I will not do something in a charities name and not take care of them, even though if I only raised one dollar extra, that is all I am required to give. Have you ever looked at the amount a non-profit uses to run the business and the small percent that gets to the people they are helping? I'm not going to do that. I don't have a staff to pay, I have friends who helped and gave their precious time because they believed in what I was doing.
Note: Auction items donated were shipped direct to Harley Davidson of Seattle to be held for the auction and they are still there.
My purpose for riding out across the country and getting exposure was to increase the odds of raising more for the charities. Instead of one donation from me, I wanted to make as many as possible aware of the need to help those who need it. I know that Grounds for Health was a totally unknown charity to almost all I met. As for New Orleans, it had become old news - except for the big coverage on the anniversary of the storm, where lots of hoopla was made while real people were trying to gut out their destroyed homes in conditions of no power, no facilities, no potable water and extreme heat and humidity. Who is going to explain that this is still going on unless they go to see it? And all I can tell you is that everyone I met in New Orleans said thanks to me for trying to get them help.
Then there was the part of this ride meant to encourage women to take control of their lives, fight fear and follow their dreams. I know that I touched some lives and made a difference and I will never feel guilty for that. I figured if women saw that someone my age, from an average life doing something totally out of the box, they would see that it's possible to change or expand their lives - even a little.
If this would have been just a nice ride around the country to visit people what a neat thing that would be. I don't know if you ride - but can you imagine driving 20,000 miles in anything - and in one trip without going back to your home to rest? I rode in the rain, hail, heat, cold, when sick, to places I had never been before, stayed with strangers and waited along the road at night for a tow truck to haul me and my broken bike to safety. I got on the web to update information on my site and give the people curious about me and my ride information after riding until I was so tired I just wanted to stop, take my boots off and rest. I went to trade shows and called companies trying to sell sponsorships to raise more money...and so on.
Yes sometimes dealerships were kind enough to cover working on my bike, but others I had to pay. The little bit from my parent’s estate went to pay my house payment and bills while I was gone and I charged the trip expenses. Bottles of water, an ice cream bar for lunch and snacks for dinner aren't very expensive, but yes it does add up.
What the "supporter" said about my finances is true, but if I lose my house over this I'm still ahead for the experience and all of the good people I met along the way. There were no Barry's out there, and there are usually not when it's face to face.
Sorry if I disappoint by defending myself and this ride, but I think that too often people don't stand up for what they think is right, and then bad things continue to go on.
