34 for 40 Journal
Up to Date Information Before, During and After the Ride
 
 

July 18, 2006 Atlanta, Georgia, USA 10:23 P.M. EST   45 Days. This must be some kind of pinnacle day, right? For some reason I kept thinking at the forty-five mark something big would happen.   Well something did happen, 34 for 40 received a $1,000 check in the name of the Schwerd family from Northern Indiana. I was told a donation was made not only to 34 for 40 but an additional donation was being made directly to the Pat Tillman Foundation. The message said they loved the videos and wanted to support a great cause.   I think this is a great “kick-off” check and to the Schwerd’s, well you just made it possible to get a motorcycle to Prudhoe Bay!   Today I received the maps Ryan and I will use to get from Alaskan to Argentina. That is, $230 worth of maps that in the US you could walk into your local AAA store, ask for any state in the nation, and get them for free. No, that is really not true. The maps from AAA are better. <-- (Nice product placement. AAA, any chance of a sponsorship?)   Get this, had a potential sponsor contact me yesterday via email. She told me that she would sponsor our journey. This evening she wrote an email and backed out of her original commitment.   Did someone in the room just pass gas? The conversation was via email. How could it go so bad so fast?   To be honest, I suspect that the individual within the organization is a big fan, yet the journey did not fit the corporation. As a marketing Vice President, I understand why corporations try to align with the “right” program. It is also why, by being different, I have been pretty successful making an impact in the fields I have worked. Not everybody is willing to be caught wearing leather chaps and riding a playground duck.   Today I received a call from the Colombian Embassy in Washington, DC. The official on the other end of the line was very supportive of the trip. He promised to help with logistics and media.   I am really looking forward to the ride through Colombia. Americans tend to only get the bad news from this country. I have worked in Bogota, Colombia two or three times in the past. The people I have met have always been friendly and gone out of their way to ensure I enjoyed my stay.   This time I won’t be visiting Bogota. Instead Ryan and I will ride through the middle of the country from Cartagena to Medellin to Calle and on to Quito, Ecuador. I have heard wonderful things about these cities and look forward to the time we get to spend there.

July 17, 2006 Atlanta, Georgia, USA 6:15 P.M. EST   46 days and counting.   Wow! What a day. What a weekend. Lot’s to update you on.   I have a second rider. Ryan Reed of Columbia Falls, Montana has decided to “Get on Board.” Ryan is 27 years old, an experienced rider, husband, father, and in his words, “.. this ride would be a dream come true for me.”   For those of you who know me, how spending 34 days in my immediate vicinity could be a “dream,” is anyone’s guess. “Nightmare,” might be a better definition.   I’ll tell you a lot more about Ryan in the future. Of course, if you want to leave Ryan a message or “warning” feel free to drop him a line at Ryan@34for40.org.   Remember, I really need a second rider, so please don’t follow in my mother’s footsteps when she met my fiancée. Mom walked up to my (now) wife the first time they met and said, “Oh honey, do you know how much debt he is in?”   Amazingly, in a two day period I had six different people write and want to get on board as rider number two. Thanks to everyone who has written and to those who are yet to write. I have not finished writing responses to you all. Please hang in there. Ryan and I have decided that we are open to more riders for the entire journey. So drop us an email if you are serious.   Have you seen training video number two yet? You all probably thought that Johnny Depp was the only one who could follow up a big picture with an even bigger one. Well you were wrong. The video is currently posted on the “Riders” page. Thanks a million to Thomas, Dave (not related) and their families for joining in on the fun.   Most importantly, people are starting to donate. I got a nice message from Curtis today that he had donated to the Pat Tillman Foundation on behalf of 34 for 40. Please everyone, without your donations to the Foundation, there is no reason for us to make this trip. Trust me, don’t expect Bill Gates to write a Warren Buffett check to cover the million dollars. This money is going to come from us, the little people.   Oh, and that is another thing I need to cover here. A donation on my website to the Pat Tillman Foundation is exactly that. A donation to the Foundation. Not a single penny of that donation comes back to 34 for 40 no matter what our expenses. 100% of your donation goes to the Pat Tillman Foundation.   That said, there are expenses in putting this journey on. If you would like to help sponsor our trip, 34 for 40 would gladly accept your sponsorship. Your sponsorship money will go to cover basic expenses only and any remainder will be sent on to the PTF. Expenses include shipping the bikes to Prudhoe Bay, Colombia, and back to the US from Argentina. They also include fuel for the bikes and repairs and other fees along the way.   Ryan and I or any other rider will not profit financially from this endeavor. We are doing this because we believe in it.   I always try to give you an idea on how you can participate without actually donating cash. Here is another way; donate unused sky miles. Team 34 for 40 will need to fly from our homes to Prudhoe Bay and back from Argentina. You can donate miles to the journey.   Thank you all for your support. And thank you for getting on board!

July 14, 2006 Atlanta, Georgia, USA 8:23 P.M. EST   It wasn’t long ago that on a Friday night I would be shaking a carafe of very dry Bombay Safire martinis preparing for a night out. Tonight, after a Cuban Reuben and a margarita at the local Cuban restaurant I have returned to the Internet to peruse the CDC’s (Center for Disease Control’s) web page on diseases found along the trans-Americas' route.   The good news is that the only required vaccination is for yellow fever. The bad news is that they highly recommend vaccines be taken for Hepatitis A, Hepatitis B, Malaria, Typhoid and boosters for tetanus-diphtheria and measles. It is recommended you take these six weeks out. Looks like I am booking an appointment with my doctor on Monday morning.   I am getting ready to begin shooting training video #2. Look for it to be on the shelves of your nearby 34 for 40 website by Tuesday morning.   Here’s a simple project to make you an even bigger part of this trip.   Send dave@34for40.com a play list for the iPod. You know, some great road music, a list of songs that jazz you up when you are bored, songs you love in the rain. I’m sure you all have that favorite mountain road or desert crossing list. You know, the list you jam to when you are getting down with the tarantulas and snakes.   How about a great surf list? Much of ride will be made with the Pacific Ocean in view. Be creative! Send a list of songs and artists and a title that will make it easy to find on the road. I will download as many of the songs as I can find and play them along the route, then report back on the ones I like, found fitting for the environment, etc.   By the way, the math works out like this, 34 days on the road, averaging 16 hours a day on the bike, equals 544 hours of riding. Multiply that times 60 minutes in an hour and you get 32,640 minutes on the road. Now divide that number by 3.42 (the average length of a song) and you get 9,543.85 songs.   Please, send lots of lists.   Can’t think what to donate? How about your audio collection? Send me your 30G or 60G iPod. I will return it after the trip.

July 14, 2006 Atlanta, Goergia, USA 8:15 A.M. EST   A new problem has arisen. One I never imagined I would have to deal with. In the last 24 hours I have had no less than five people write and offer to be the second rider on the trip. Looks like I won’t be going alone.   How do you respond to people who write and tell you that they have dreamed of doing just this kind of trip their entire life and are prepared to quit their job at a moments notice, kiss their wife and kids goodbye, and join the ride?   Well, as a marketing professional, I prepare a job interview. Since this occurrence (multiple riders) is no less extraordinary than frogs falling from the sky, I have created an evolving email thread with each “candidate” to determine why I should pick them. In addition, I think the questions may help them determine if I am a suitable companion to spend a month with – although we may not be stuck in a cab together for the entire trip, we will be linked via radio, be vulnerable to the decisions we make on the road, and have to share a room along the way.   In one exchange the single question I asked was, “Do you have life insurance?”   Another, “Have you ever made a repair to any mode of transportation with a paper clip, bra strap, aluminum gum wrapper, and the tube from a Bic pen?”   Oh, and this one.   Beer is?   A. An evil that has ruined society.   B. A way to relax when I come home from work.   C. A tool used to make the opposite sex more attractive.   D. The meaning of life.   I know that many of you probably think I am being a little irreverent with these questions that concern a trip that is dangerous at best and deadly at worst but I am planning to spend more than a month with someone I have never met. What would you ask?

July 13, 2006 Atlanta, Georgia, USA 7:28 P.M. EST   Every night when I come home from work, I walk in the house, say hello to the family, place my phone and wallet on the counter, walk to the bedroom dump any change from my pockets into a bowl in the vanity drawer, and immediately change into a t-shirt, shorts, and flip flops. I live in Atlanta. I love the weather here.   Every morning, after dressing for work, I grab my backpack, wallet, and phone and right before I walk out the door with coffee in hand, I think, “Make today a good day.” Oh, don’t get me wrong, I don’t normally have bad days. I am a pretty upbeat person.   This morning was special. As I grabbed my backpack I heard a coin hit the counter top. Now, as I just said, two paragraphs above, my coins always go into a bowl. So the coin I just heard was, well, odd. I looked down and there, on the counter was a penny. Not only was it a penny, but it was tail side up.   I am not a superstitious person.. except when I gamble - I always enter a casino from the far left door and I never touch a person for high fives or to grab a drink from a waitress when I am rolling dice at a craps table. I do however, love to find a penny on the ground and I always like it when they are tail side up.   I knew I was going to have a good day.   The first call I received this morning was from DHL, the international shipping company. The person on the other end of the line was responding to an email I sent a couple weeks ago after DHL had declined to sponsor my trip. My email basically said that there were many ways to help beyond a large corporate investment. The caller asked how else she and DHL could help and I told her about some of the logistics problems I was experiencing. I think the “L” in DHL must stand for “Logistics.” Just think of the stuff this company has to do to deliver worldwide every day. We talked on the phone for quite a while and she ended with a commitment to finding help. It was a good start to the day.   The day continued to go well. I received some great emails along the way. I heard from a guy I worked with nearly ten years ago who lives in England, and a woman who I knew through a partner company five years ago from California, both offered to provide some type of support. I received another email from Aurora in Ohio who, weeks ago, was the first person out of the blue, to write and encourage me. I heard from Garret and Jeff today – two of my best friends in California and from Ryan in Montana, a man I have never met, who is interested in joining the ride.   If I have said it once, I have said it a thousand times, “This Internet thing is the CB radio of the 90’s. You can meet so many nice people out there.”   (Notice I said the 90’s - that’s how long I have been saying it.)

July 13, 2006 Atlanta, Georgia, USA 12:47 A.M. EST   Marketing continues – I do what I do best, or comes easiest.  With a zillion things to do in the next.. gulp.. 48 days or so, I market. Instead of looking up BMW dealerships along my route, researching visa information, or contacting the makers of PowerBar, Cliff Bar, Odwalla Bar or any other nutritional snack company about supporting my trip with supplies, ( I do intend to eat at least three meals of this type a day while riding ) I am out on the Internet marketing the trip. Tonight I uploaded the video on YouTube, Kaneva and others. We’ll see how much action it gets. Boy, it would be a lot easier to just secure a sponsorship with one of those companies and post all future videos to one place.  Speaking of videos, I am already planning the second training video and will record it this weekend. Stop by the site on Monday for the latest clip.  The video continues to bring people to the site. I just started keeping track of the daily hits this week and numbers are already looking good.  I get a number of emails or comments from friends asking what the can do to help with the trip. I have decided that I need to start keeping a list on the website with things that need to be accomplished before I depart. These tasks will be things people can sign up for and probably accomplish in a few minutes on the Internet. For instance, it would be a great help for someone to get the name, address, phone, GPS coordinates and owner name of all the BMW dealerships between Prudhoe Bay and Ushuaia, Argentina. It would be a real aid in finding a shop in case of an emergency. A little Excel file with this info would be handy. If you would like to do this project for me, drop me an email at dave@34for40. I can let you know if someone has already completed the project already or not.  I am also in desperate need to get the message out to the eleven Latin American countries I will be traveling to in search of GS or other riders willing to come along for the ride. If you are bilingual and know of people or clubs that may want to join me, I would really appreciate your help.  I had pretty much resorted to the original plan of traveling alone, when out of the blue today, two different people talked about joining me. One was the woman who was in the original plan and later backed out. Evidently, she is having second thoughts. The other is a Harley riding friend and previous co-worker of mine. We’ll see how long this lasts.  Ok, it’s late. Five hours form now starts another day in my book. Oh, by the way, I am actively seeking a contact at Iridium Satellite Company or Motorola. If you work at one of these companies or know someone who does, please contact me. I am in desperate need for a phone sponsor for this trip. Having a satellite phone along with free (or cheap) minutes will make the ride safer and allow the media to contact me as I ride down the road.

July 11, 2006 Atlanta, GA, USA 10:20 P.M. EST   Today I spammed friends with my first training video. I keep saying "first" because the second video is already in the works.   The oddest thing about forwarding the video is how many people wrote back and asked if I was really doing the ride or if the video was just a spoof? Honestly folks, I am not trying to be mean here, but RTM (Read the Manual) or in this case RTW (Read the Website). Yes the video is funny, but it was made to bring attention to a great cause.   I also received a number of letters of encouragement. To those of you who wrote today, or have written in the past, thank you for your support. It is your encouraging words that keep me going when things are just not moving fast enough. It seems the only thing moving fast lately, is the day itself. I am only 50 days or so out from the start and I still have a long way to go on finding a sponsor and completing plans.   As a result of the video and word of mouth, I had over 125 new hits to the website today. Ok, so those are not "Google" numbers but it was a nice increase. Hopefully by the time the ride starts I'll be getting one hundred times that number.   I get a lot of questions asking “How can I help?” Sending the website address to a friend, forwarding the video, and telling others about the journey are easy, inexpensive, ways to help the cause. Let's not forget why I am making this trip - to support The Tillman Foundation.   Debbie, a close friend of mine from Westville, Illinois, hearing about my journey, contacted a local newspaper reporter. The reporter called Sunday night and interviewed me over the phone. An article will appear in the News-Gazette in the next few days. My point in telling you this, is that one phone call from Debbie will result in thousands of more people reading about the journey and its cause. Help us out. Place a call to your local TV, radio, or newspaper.   That’s it for today. I have a few more hours to peruse the Internet and research shots and immunizations. Oh boy!

July 9, 2006 Atlanta, Georgia, USA 8:45 A.M. EST   In my last entry I mentioned what a bad week it had been for sponsorships. That entry was recorded around noon on Friday. I guess you really never know what is over the next hill because on Friday afternoon I received a call from Norm Allen at Cycle Gear. I was told that he and Cycle Gear were excited to provide all of my riding gear, from head to toe, for the trip. This commitment is big help for a guy who has been known to wear flip-flops, shorts and a t-shirt when riding his Harley. [I know, I know – that’s just stupid.] Having Cycle Gear’s experienced team helping outfit for all the weather conditions will alleviate a major hurdle.   On Saturday, I received two important pieces of mail; my renewed passport, I noticed about a month ago that mine was to expire in September, and a letter from the Embassy of Nicaragua in Washington D.C. The letter, written in Spanish, is from Ambassador Salvador Stadthagen and it wishes me good luck and quick passage as I travel through the beautiful country of Nicaragua. Along with the letter is a message addressed to those whom I meet in Nicaragua asking to help speed my travels.   This letter is the result of my correspondence with Senator Chambliss’ office. See my posting for July 3, 2006 for more information on Senator Chambliss.   I spent yesterday putting my ’52 Harley back together. After filling the car up with $3 a gallon gas, I decided it was time to get the bike on the road again. I’ll be honest; I would have preferred practicing on the new BMW R 1200 GS. I will need to become an expert at changing tires, replacing spokes, cleaning air filters, and making adjustments for altitude. However, the bike has yet to be purchased as I continue to seek financial support for the ride.   One thing did occur to me as I was working on the Harley, I am going to have to invest in a set of metric wrenches for the BMW.

July 8, 2006 Atlanta, Georgia, USA 12:10 P.M. EST   I put the a new video up on the web page today. If you want to see the clip, click on the "Riders" button at the top of this page. You will find the "Training Video" on the left hand side. It is currently only available in Quicktime. A Media Player version is on its way.  As I predicted last week, this was a slow week as far as sponsorships go. Most execs were out of town. I will be back on the phone on Monday in search of marketing partners.  A Fourth of July highlight arrived on my doorstep late Tuesday night. My community paper, know as the "Dunwoody Crier," printed an article about the trip. You can find the story here.

July 4, 2006 Atlanta, Georgia, USA 11:40 A.M. EST   I just finished running the Peachtree 10K road race with my daughter. The two of us wore Tillman jerseys. I wore Pat’s NFL Cardinals #40 and my daughter wore his Arizona State University #42.   It was great to get the, “Go Tillman!”, “Great Jerseys!”, and “Pat was the man!” comments as we ran through Atlanta. After the event a guy walked up to me and said, “I wish I would have seen that jersey during the race. I would have run harder.”   My daughter and I talked about the now complete race as we downed a bottle of water.   “One thing I knew as I was running is that I couldn’t stop and walk. Not while wearing this jersey,” she said.   I had to agree. Twice along the route I started to throw up. Both times I held it back. There is no way I was going to barf with Pat’s name on my back.   While we walked back to get the Marta train home a really nice guy caught up to us and started talking about the jerseys. He was an Arizona State grad and knew Pat at school.   “I was just a regular guy at State, really a nobody. Pat was the most popular guy on campus. Of course, all the girls loved him. He had that California look. By chance we met one day. Do you know Pat never forgot my name. Not only that, but he would call me and invite me over to meet his friends. Here I was just a regular guy, and Pat would call me up and invite me over to his place to hang out. That’s the kind of guy he was.”   I continue to hear stories like this. If you have a favorite Pat story send it to me in an email at dave@34for40.org. I will try and put it in the journal.

July 3, 2006 Atlanta, Georgia, USA 6:05 P.M. EST   Today I received a call from a very pleasant woman from the Panamanian Embassy in Washington, D.C. regarding a letter that was forwarded to them by Georgia Senator Saxby Chambliss’ office pertaining to my trip.   About a month ago I logged onto my two Georgia Senators’ websites. On each one I filled out some information about myself and placed a request for assistance with contacting Ambassadors representing countries I would be traveling through. I’ll admit the request was kind of vague, but I really was not sure exactly how my representative could help. I had never before contacted a government official and frankly, never really considered their presence in the world unless they were making the news for a crime they committed. I know, that is a pretty sad way to look at your government.   About a week went by when I received a call from Washington, D.C. It was an official from Senator Saxby Chambliss’ office. The person on the phone wanted to know about my trip. What I intended to do, how I intended to travel, and why I would consider such a journey. When I mentioned raising money for the Pat Tillman foundation, I said, “You know who Pat Tillman was, right?” The person on the other end of the phone was quiet for a second, “I think so. Tell me about him.”   I don’t think I have ever been so thorough about a topic in my life. When I am passionate about something I stand up. It helps me get my brain going. Here I was, on the phone, pacing my office, stretching the cord and talking about the trip, how I knew Pat, and the Tillman foundation. I talked for twenty minutes.   When I finished the story, silence, then, the voice on the other line said, “David, you are obviously very passionate about this trip and Pat Tillman. I will talk to Senator Chambliss about your request.” Another few seconds of silence, “And by the way, I know very well who Pat Tillman was. I just wanted to hear your words.”   I have been in the business world for about 20 years. During that time I have been on the job seeking side of at least fifty interviews. I have been on the hiring side of at least one hundred and fifty. I had just been interviewed by a real expert and had not even realized it.   Another week goes by and I receive a call from Senator Chambliss’ office. “David, if you put together the letter you would like us to forward to the Ambassadors, along with all of the contact information, we will see what we can do.”   I contacted my good friend Dan Molina, dan@34for40.org. Dan is bi-lingual and has been both a supporter and facilitator of this journey. He owns 34 for 40’s Latin American operations. Together, Dan and I wrote letters to each of the Ambassadors for eleven countries. The letters described the trip, its challenges, and requested assistance in helping to speed the documentation process at borders and along the route. I emailed the letters to Senator Chambliss’ office and thanked them for their support.   The woman from the Panamanian Embassy was asking how she could help. Was letters all I needed? Where was I entering the country from? Had I considered how I was getting to Colombia? Was there other support the Ambassadors’ office could provide?   Oh my gosh, this was the result of my representative, Senator Saxby Chambliss, in Washington, D.C. taking the time to help a constituent and a great cause. That’s amazing!

June 30, 2006 Atlanta, Georgia, USA 5:45 P.M. EST   63 Days until departure and 5 PM started the Fourth of July holiday. Normally, I would be ecstatic that the long holiday weekend is upon us. However, this time around, it's a little worrisome since most executives will take all of next week off. That means decisions on corporate sponsorship will not come until at least July 10th.   Last night I did a radio interview with Rick Petersen of Sports Byline USA's "Out and About" program. The interview can be heard on Saturday, July first at 1 PM and 7 PM EDT on Sirius Radio channel 122. You can also listen live here. I will try to have a link to the audio on the website for those that want to listen after July 1st.

June 29, 2006 Atlanta, Georgia, USA 6:11 P.M. EST   64 days out from the start of the trip and there is still much to accomplish.   I decided to add journal entries to the website for those of you that are following the trip's day to day status. Stop by here often.   The first news article published on the trip came out on Wednesday from the Arizona State University Paper. You can read the article online at http://www.asuwebdevil.com/issues/2006/06/26/sports/697070. I will provide links to other articles as they appear.   Today I also firmed up sponsorship for the communication gear that will be used to link all of the audio technologies on the bike. Baehr USA will ensure that I am able to do live audio interviews as I am traveling down the road on the bike. Next to the R 1200 GS itself, the communications network is probably the most important feature I will have. Baehr's motorcycle communications link bike-to-bike radio, satellite phone, cell phone, GPS system and iPod all one integrated system.