Chris and Brenda's ALLR Blog - 2010

ALLR day three

2010-08-21T22:09:00.001-05:00

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Chris Krueger

2010 ALLR day one

2010-08-19T23:56:00.001-05:00

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Chris Krueger
CIO - CPI Qualified Plan Consultants, Inc.
620-793-8473 ext. 153
chris.krueger@cpiqpc.com

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My front fender...

2010-08-18T00:04:00.001-05:00

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=31321644&l=a886948dc5&id=1529325895

The 2010 ALLR patch set!

2010-08-17T23:53:00.001-05:00

Since I didn't have anything on the blog for this year, I thought this would
be appropriate.

Home again...

2009-09-15T01:21:00.004-05:00

Here are a few photos from our last day out.

At the fishing lodge cabins in Van Buren, MO, getting ready to head out.

Check out this great shot Brenda took of the bikes heading out in the fog. And pointing backwards no less...

We broke off from our KS group at Carthage, MO as we wanted to make a couple of stops and didn't want to hold everybody else up.

Of course, we had to have our "The End" shot...

And away they went, into the sunset. Ok, it wasn't quite sunset yet, and they were heading North at this point, but you get the idea.

We spent the night in Andover on 8/25, and finally made it home the next day.

We got our coins in the mail a few days later:

And that's pretty much it for this year's Legacy Run. It was a great time again, and we look forward to Milwaukee in 2010. Only 11 months to go!

Heading Home...

2009-08-30T23:03:00.004-05:00

Bummer. Gotta go home. Here we are lined up all ready to roll.

Wait, there's a Waffle House. Let's eat.

Gas stop somewhere in Southern Ill.

Damn, that's a great looking bike.

Took two-lane roads for a while - curvy.

Had to do a lttle maintenance on one of the Harleys.

Stopped briefly at the site of one of the Lincoln-Douglass debates.

We spent the night in Van Buren, Mo. No $60 steaks.

Day 3 in Louisville - The Legion Parade, and The Great Steak Adventure.

2009-08-30T21:56:00.008-05:00

Rule #1 for today: Repeat after me. We are not having another party tonight. We are not having another party tonight.

Today is the Legion Parade in downtown Louisville. While we were out cleaning up the bikes, Brenda decided that we should actually do some type of sightseeing activity since we were in a place we hadn't ever been. So we decided to go across the river to the LST 325, the last operational LST (Landing Ship-Tank) remaining from WWII. She took part in the Normandy invasion.

The Legion Parade was a bit of a letdown, as it was utter chaos getting there and we were, um, less than uniform in our riding formation. More like a herd of, well, hogs. On top of that, there was no ceremony afterwards where we were presented with our "full route" coins by the Commander. I guess we were spoiled last year. I hear they'll be mailed to us.

So we got back to the hotel, and decided we wanted to go for steak, rather than have a party. (See Rule #1 above.) We asked the bartender at the hotel bar where a good, close steakhouse was. She gave us a list and recommended a place called Z's Steakhouse and Oyster Bar. Sounds good, right? We call the hotel front desk and arrange for a shuttle to take us over, so we don't have to worry about riding. We get there, walk in, and...uh oh. Nice place. REALLLY Nice Place. The hostess is in a white formal dress. No one else in the place is wearing jeans, let alone leathers. We go ahead and sit down, and take a look at the menu. Uh oh. The cheapest steak is $32.95. They have a Porterhouse for $60.95. Creamed Corn for $6.95. (It MUST have been really good, right?) After some discussion, we decided that wasn't the place for us and...left. I got out the gps that I had stuck in my vest and dialed up "Restaurants". Great, there's a Lone Star just 0.3 miles away.

Remember the "rain riding" exercise in the pool in Phoenix last year? Well, we decided that we needed more practice in keeping intervals this year, so...

So we head out - round the corner, we can see the place...and...it's...closed. Great. Wait, is that a Chili's across the very busy arterial street? Yup. Is it open? Check. Fantastic, let's head over there. Great food, great service, and it didn't cost $600. We finish dinner, and call the hotel for the shuttle back. Um, he's at the airport - it'll be 30 minutes. Ok, let's head to the parking lot and wait. Sure enough, 30 minutes later the driver and van show up. (He agreed that $32.95 for a steak ala carte' was ridiculous.) The rest of the evening was spent getting things packed for the trip home, and no party. Whew!

In Louisville - ALR Meeting Day (After the fact...)

2009-08-30T20:09:00.009-05:00

Ok, ok, ok. So much for staying up on the blog. Mea Culpa.

So, Day 5 was a chance to sleep in (especially after the Kansas Party I), rest a bit, and have a little more leisurely day. After goofing around way too long, we went to the convention center and attended the annual Legion Riders national meeting.

We presented the $200 we collected at the Kansas Party I. (We told everyone we were recouping expenses for throwing the party, when in actuality we were extracting more $ from them for the Legacy Fund. Insert evil laugh here.)

Then it was off to Joe's Crab Shack on the river. Aren't the bibs cute?

Then Brenda had the bright idea to go for a ride in a horse drawn carriage. Of course, Brenda rode up front with the driver and his dog, while the six of us had to cram in the back. You can't say we're not a close bunch.

After that, we headed back to the hotel. We decided that since we still had some barley pop left, we should have another little gathering at the hotel. Of course, we were out of certain other liquid components, so we had to make another stop at the Liquor Barn. They had cigars too, so I was able to get some Excaliburs too (my new favorite cigar, thanks to Jeff).

We did NOT buy this:

Back to the hotel, where we found out the hotel was letting us use one of their meeting rooms for free, and Bob was getting his sound system set up again.

What's more, we had an overhead door that opened up on the parking lot, so we could have a indoor/outdoor party.

So the Kansas Party II was on, and it was bigger and better than the first night.

Ahab the Arab showed up!

A good time was had by all.

And that's all...

ALLR Day 4 - Charleston WV to Louisville KY, and the Kansas Party Part I

2009-08-23T20:43:00.008-05:00

Today was much shorter in terms of miles, but we had the usual stress of getting through a major city at rush hour. Other than one bike getting dropped - while stopped on the on the interstate no less, there were no incidents. We got into the Holiday Inn Hurstborne, and after getting settled into our rooms, set about making the preparations for the 2nd annual pool party. This year, we had a tremendous amount of help and support. Bob Couch brought his sound system and DJ'ed for us, and the staff of the Holiday Inn was great, especially Ron the maintenance guy. (He can also sing karaoke pretty well.) Bob always closes the night with the playing of taps and then Lee Greenwood's "God Bless the USA", and everyone stands in a circle and holds hands. Not a dry eye in the house.

Starting out in the rain...

Kentucky!

Looking back along the road somewhere in KY...

At a gas stop...

The parking lot at post 201 in Louisville - with 251 bikes...

Group J - Dennis McDonough from Mulvane was Road Captain, T from Wichita was ARC, and yours truly was the Tailgunner.

Here is the Kansas delegation presenting over $46,000 to National Commander Rehbein.

Sooner or later, you've gotta do some laundry...

Back to the hotel to host the Kansas party...

Even Elvis showed up!

A good time was had by all. Tomorrow night I'll post more pics from the ALR meeting on Saturday, Sunday's parade and our visit to the last operational WWII LST.

Louisville!

2009-08-22T07:47:00.003-05:00

Well, I missed a day. My apologies.

Ok. Are you over it yet? Good. I am.

Had a good ride from Charleston - a little rain to start the day, but it ended quickly and the rest of the ride was great. Arrived at Post 253 in Louisville with 251 motorcycles. For some reason I'm having trouble getting pictures to post - will look at that later. Today is the ALR meeting at the convention center. and some sightseeing.

More later!

ALLR Day 3 - Front Royal, VA to Charleston, WV

2009-08-20T21:46:00.004-05:00

We had a great day Wednesday - the Flight 93 memorial being the high point of course. Today was a mixture of interstate and the kind of curvy, twisty, two lane that I and many others on the ride enjoy. We were treated to a fantastic breakfast at Post 53 in Front Royal, then Lynchburg Post 16 treated us to lunch at Glen Maury Park in VA. We then headed for Charleston via US 60. Had a great ride through the mtns, and after the usual stressful ide though town, got to the hotel about 6pm.

Early Thursday morning - Group J is ready to ride!

On the road...

That'll have to do it for today...see you tomorrow!

ALLR Day 2 - Shanksville, PA

2009-08-19T21:48:00.007-05:00

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly.

2009-08-18T21:53:00.006-05:00

The Bad - from Dayton to Columbus Ohio. Thought we were going to see someone go down more than once, but by the grace of God we got through it.
The Ugly - Any of us after all day in the eastern humidity.
The Good - The people of eastern Ohio and West Virginia that lined the overpasses on the interstate and the streets of Wheeling as we came in. Truly awesome and it made the trials of he day all worth it in spades.

Not much typing tonight - it was a long day and we have another long day tomorrow.

From early this morning:

Just some of the people that were waiting on the overpasses:

Thundering through the streets of Wheeling:

TTFN.

Official ALLR Blog

2009-08-17T20:41:00.001-05:00

Check out Flamingo Tina's official ALLR blog at http://www.legacyrun.blogspot.com/ - She has some great pictures of the rider training.

At least I didn't drop the bike...

2009-08-17T20:12:00.005-05:00

We got through the rider training with hardly a scratch. Denny had a little issue, but I'll let him tell the story. Nothing too tough, just a quick stop exercise from 20 mph, a swerve exercise, and practicing picking up a dropped bike. Had the main rider's meeting at Post 64, with Uncle Dick and National Commander Rehbein addressing the troops. Both were very good, and reminded everyone of what we're here for. Commander Rehbein will be riding with us for the first two days, on one of the trikes.

Our KS group is planning to stage at 0430 and leave the hotel at 0500, so this will be short. Tomorrow will be a long day - our last gas stop is at 1830 hours, so we won't be in the hotel in Wheeling WV until after that.

The registration table. Exciting, yes?

At the post before heading to the rider training grounds. Dave looks positively giddy, doesn't he?

The bikes and the training grounds in the background.

After the training. T and Denny are plum tuckered out.

The group assignments! Where am I?

Back at the post before heading out to find a better mic for my CB. And when I say "find", I mean go on a wild goose chase. What I have will just have to do.

That's it for today. Tomorrow the run starts! Wheeling, here we come!

P.S. Check out Flamingo Tina's official ALLR blog at http://www.legacyrun.blogspot.com/

Greetings from Indianapolis!

2009-08-16T21:10:00.011-05:00

We're here, and we're finally in our rooms. No, seriously, we were beginning to wonder. The day started out great - got out of Greenville pretty close to our intended time, had a great ride through the Illinois countryside under bright clear skies,and arrived at the hotel right at 1pm. We figured hey, we're here really early, but surely they'll have our rooms ready so we can get our stuff in the rooms and unpacked, then we'll head over to the Legion post.

No. Rooms weren't ready. Ok, when with they be ready? Don't know, said the one person they had at the counter. (One person at the counter, and hundreds of bikers are about to descend on the place?) Ok, well...let's head next door to the restaurant, get a beer and have some lunch. At 2:00 we decided to call and see if the rooms are ready. Nope. Ok, when do you suppose thy might be ready? Oh, maybe 15 minutes. Ok, we'll call back. Had another beer. Called back 20 minutes later. Are the rooms ready? Nope. No, wait. Two of the rooms are ready. (Not OUR room, mind you, but what the heck. Some of us are going to get into a room.) How long till our room is ready? 15 minutes. (See a pattern developing here?) Housekeeping is in that area. Ok, great. We'll just walk on over. Since Dave's room is close to ours, we'll just stash our stuff in his room so we can go to the post. Things are looking up. Did I mention that when I made the hotel reservations - in February - that I made all of them at once so that we would have our rooms close together? That worked out well.

Got to Dave's room, and the door is open. Not a good sign. We peer in, because we're not sure what we'll see. Not much, over than an unmade room. Turns out Denny and T's room wasn't ready either. The housekeeper (bless her heart) comes scurrying in trying to get the room made up. Turns out they had three housekeepers for the whole hotel. So, we stand around in the hall trying to stay out of the way while she finishes the room. As she finished I asked if she could move to the room that's supposed to be ours? No problem. So I go back to the front desk, get the keys, and before you know it, we're in our room. At 3:30. No problem, got to expect little snags along the way, right?

So we clean up a little bit and head over to Wayne Post 64, the headquarters post for the Legacy Run.

Exchanged post tags, which they made a really big deal out of. Had the Post Commander, the SAL Commander, and the Riders Director all come over to get our pictures taken. They happened to be having a big celebration of the Post's 50th birthday with lots of people, food, music, etc.

Had a meeting with the Road Captains (RCs), Assistant RCs, and Tailgunners (TGs). Turns out tomorrow we'll undergo advanced rider training with the Indianapolis ABATE chapter. Cool. Significant chance of dropping the bike in front of a couple dozen very experienced riders. No problem, I've done that before.

We finish the meeting, get some forms to fill out and a very cool ALLR Tailgunner sign to put on the windshield.

Headed back to the hotel to walk next door for dinner. Lunch was great, and since it's right next to the hotel, it'll be convenient in case someone has a little too much to drink. Bad choice. Dinner was terrible, and the service wasn't much better, although our server seemed to think he was great. T picked up dinner, but I felt like they should have discounted it a lot more than they did. Oh well.

All in all a good day with a few minor aggravations. Stuff to talk about later, I guess.

Here's a few more pics:
Lined up and looking pretty in front of the hotel in Greenville.

On the road - look at that nice tight formation!

Here's a little video from the ride today. It's bumpy, and the sound stinks, but you get the idea.

That's about it for today. Tomorrow we have the previously mentioned rider training, and the rally at the Post. Check back tomorrow night for more.

Greetings from Greenville, IL!

2009-08-15T20:08:00.011-05:00

Yes, Ilinois. 595 miles. Dave is a harsh taskmaster. But the bright side is that we'll have only 200 miles tomorrow. Since we have to be at Post 64 in Indy for meetings at 3:00 Eastern, it's a good thing.

Getting ready to leave from the house at 7:45am.

Several members of Post 180 escorted us to McPherson where we met up with Dave Schoonover from Hutchinson. (pictured below).

The mode of operation for the day was: 1-Ride. 2-Stop for Gas. 3-Repeat.

Missouri!

Illinois!

On the road in Illinois...

Greenville!

It was a good first day. Temps got to 95 in St Louis, but otherwise stayed under 90. Traffic was heavy but not bad.

I have an observation: Riders in Missouri and Illinois wave more than KS riders.

See you tomorrow!

Gas stop somewhere in Mo.

2009-08-15T14:39:00.001-05:00

It's on I70...

The 1st Annual ALLR Sendoff blowout party

2009-08-14T22:36:00.006-05:00

A few of us got together at the Legion for a proper send off...

We were done by 10:15 because we have a 575 mile ride on Saturday.

There were a lot of motorcycles in the garage tonight...

See you bright and early tomorrow!

The Goldwing, ALLR 2009 Edition

2009-08-10T20:01:00.003-05:00

Ok, here's the Wing with the super spiffy hitch rack.

One more thing to do...

2009-08-10T00:49:00.000-05:00

Get some patches sewed on. Boot Doctor, here we come!

T-minus one week...

2009-08-07T07:13:00.002-05:00

Ok, I couldn't resist the NASA reference, being the space geek that I am.

Anyway, I got this from Bill Sloan: As of Aug. 6 more than 625 riders and passengers have registered for the American Legion Legacy Run, Aug. 18-21, 2009. We expect that some 250 motorcycles and 55 passengers will travel the entire 1,200-mile route. 300 motorcycles, trikes, and bike-trailer combinations will run the final leg into Louisville, arriving with the largest group since we began the Run in 2006.

Slowdown? What economic slowdown?

I've added one last farkle to the Wing: a lighted mirror in the trunk. I know, I know, you're terribly excited and desperately want to see it. I will have some pics coming soon, I promise.

Two weeks!

2009-08-01T01:24:00.001-05:00

I saw on Twitter that the patch sets should have shipped this week, so we'll have them soon.

The latest farkle for the Wing...

2009-07-26T23:11:00.005-05:00

It's less than three weeks before we leave for Indy, and the excitement is building. I thought you'd like to see the replacement for the trailer. It's a rack that mounts to the trailer hitch and holds a 12x18 bag. I added a couple of lights and wired them to the trailer light connection. It adds a lot of visibility.

Also, I now know for sure that I'll be a Tailgunner for Flight B, group 2 with Denny. Excited and freaked at the same time.

I also upgraded the exhaust on the Wing. It's now sporting a set of Torq Master King Snake pipes. It sounds like a Porsche now.

I don't know what I am...

2009-07-17T13:10:00.002-05:00

After many emails, it appears that I'll either be an Assistant Ride Captain (ARC), Tail Gunner (TG), or just a rider on the Legacy Run. I don't think I'll know for sure until we get there. I'll take any of those roles gladly, though.

Deja tire.

2009-07-13T02:14:00.002-05:00

Here we are again, a month out from the Legacy Run, and I need a back tire again. Got the wheel pulled and in the truck, just need Ted to get it mounted. Saw on twitter updates and in emails from others that we'll have 500 participants at some points in the run this year. 350 motorcycles! Yikes!

The visual updates this year will have a new twist: Video. I haven't bought the device yet, but I'm looking. Stay tuned. (Get it?)

To Blog or to Facebook...

2009-07-10T00:36:00.002-05:00

No, that isn't the question. Actually I'll try to do both. Facebook updates during the day, and blog updates in the evenings while on the run. Ambitious? Yes. The FB updates might not happen too often, but I will get the blog posts done in the evenings. I promise.

Isn't this ironic...

2009-07-08T21:55:00.003-05:00

Today I got an email from Socko that he was assigning me to be the tail gunner (or sweep) for his group in the Run. I guess that confirms that we wont' be taking the trailer this year, and won't be part of the trailer/trike "flight". What's ironic about that? My screen name in Twitter is TrailerTrash180.

In other news, we met up with Dave Schoonover (Post 68) and Dennis McDonough (Post 136) although not under the circumstances we'd like. We attended the funeral for John Street of Stafford who was killed last weekend as a result of injuries sustained in a accident with a deer. We made some tentative plans for heading out to Indy next month.

5 weeks and counting!

We've REALLY got the fever now...

2009-05-19T00:55:00.004-05:00

Got an update from Bill Sloan - 235 riders and passengers have now registered for the August 2009 American Legion Legacy Run. Of these, 160 (including us!) have already indicated that they will travel the entire 1,200-mile route in August.

In other news, ALR Post 180 as well as other area ALR Posts rode to Bunker Hill KS to greet the Run For The Wall riders. This is the 21st year for the event, which aims to promote healing among ALL veterans and their families and friends, to call for an accounting of all Prisoners of War and those Missing in Action (POW/MIA), to honor the memory of those Killed in Action (KIA) from all wars, and to support our military personnel all over the world.

Brenda and I really have the fever to get going on a long ride with a couple hundred of our closest friends now. Here's a link to some photos: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2020523&id=1529325895&l=c503e6a6cd

Had a lovely weekend of riding...

2009-05-12T00:27:00.007-05:00

Since Brenda was off visiting her niece in Corpus Christi TX, I did a little riding. Went to Wichita Friday night to see Kansas perform at the River Fest, then back that night. Home by 2am Saturday, then up and out at 8am to ride to Oakley KS to help with a Welcome Home for a Sailor returning from 18 months at sea on the USS Ronald Reagan, then to Garden City on Sunday for an ALR Director's meeting.

Oh, and along the way I broke the 50,000 mile mark on the Wing:

I'm going to do another Iron Butt ride, just as soon as I can find an open weekend. This time it'll be the "Bun-Burner" - 1,500 miles in 36 hours.

Before you know it, it'll be time for the Legacy Run again!

What economic slowdown?

2009-05-02T23:55:00.002-05:00

I got an update from Bill Sloan - 189 registrations are in so far, and the official ALLR hotels in a couple of the stops are already full! (Glad I got our KS group's reservations in already!). The ALLR staff is publishing routes to Indy from elsewhere, so as soon as I hear from the other KS riders we'll add ours to the list.

2009-04-22T11:25:00.001-05:00

Also - I heard from Bill Sloan that there are 145 registrations and 25 passengers so far and the run is still four months away.

2009-04-22T11:20:00.002-05:00

I'm on Twitter now - my username is TrailerTrash180. I'll be using it to send updates prior to and during the run. On a personal note, my father Jerry Krueger (US Navy - Korean War) died last Sunday and the funeral is tomorrow. Our participation in the ALLR this year will be in his honor.

139 Days and counting...

2009-03-31T22:09:00.002-05:00

We got more info over the last couple of days: some details on the route, the highways we'll be taking (LOTS of good curvy stuff), and some hotel info. But the real kickers are two special events: A visit to Wright-Patterson AFB and the Air Force museum, and a very special honor - participating in a wreath laying ceremony at the Flight 93 Memorial near Shanksville, PA. No doubt that this will be a trip no one will forget.

146 Days and counting!

2009-03-24T20:52:00.003-05:00

I should have posted this sooner, but on February 15 we were asked to come to the Ness City ALR meeting and show our slide show again. Thanks to Loren and Lynette Stenzel and all the members for their hospitality.

Legacy Run Info: In the last few weeks we've gotten some details about the run, the general route and the dates. We also got our registration forms a couple of weeks ago, and sent them back already, of course. I must admit I was proud to mark "No" for the "First time participant" question!

Here's part of the press release from the ALLR Committee:

For the first time, the ALLR will move east from Indianapolis towards the Atlantic Coast of the United States. Final route planning is underway with cage runs conducted over the next several weeks. However, initial plans are to traverse the states of Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Maryland and West Virginia on a 1,000-mile loop returning to the start point of Indianapolis, Indiana. After a day of rest and meetings at the home city of The American Legion’s national headquarters, the participants will mount up again on Sunday, August 23 for the final leg from Indianapolis, Indiana to Louisville, Kentucky, to lead off the 91st annual national convention parade. Registration will open by March 15, 2009 at www.legion.org.

Let's go! We're ready!

Thanks, we'll be here all week...

2008-09-08T23:16:00.003-05:00

We seem to be rock stars now. After presenting our little slide show for the Post 180 ALR, we got asked to do the same for the Legion meeting. Now it sounds like we're taking our show on the road to a couple of other posts out here in Western Kansas! That's fine with us - the more people we can get excited, the better. More $$$ for the Legacy Fund and more riders on the Run next year!

Yeah, yeah, I know. The clock is ticking on our 15 minutes of fame...

Wrapping up...

2008-08-28T23:42:00.005-05:00

We've been back for 4 days now, and we're ready to get back on the road! We got to show a few of the 1,233 pictures we took at the ALR meeting at Hoisington Wednesday night. I'll also be showing those pictures at the Legion meeting next week, and I have them uploaded to a web album, which you should be seeing to the right of this blog entry. You can click on the album to see the pictures larger.

The overall contributions to the Legacy fund are now over $515,000 dollars and Kansas' share is now over $40,000! Wow.

We can't wait to see what the route is going to be for next year. Until then, we'll have to busy ourselves with getting started on fundraising for the 2009 Run, along with all the other ALR activities. It was truly an honor to take part in the Run this year, and represent Post 180 and Kansas.

We're home!

2008-08-25T14:57:00.003-05:00

Got back Sunday night at 9:45pm. Tonight I'll post some pictures from Friday, Saturday and Sunday to get you up to speed. For those of you at Post 180, I'll have a slide show after the meeting Wednesday night at Hoisington.

I think the donations for the Legacy Fund went over the $350,000 mark on Saturday, and will likely go higher yet.

Here's Socko announcing the final total for Kansas at just over $38,000!

More later...

Mission Accomplished!

2008-08-22T00:46:00.005-05:00

Woohoo! After 5 days and 1800 miles, the Legacy Run is over. We are no longer rookies! You can bet we'll back next year.

We rolled from Gallup this morning at 5:30 local time, and arrived at Legion Post 4 in Tempe at about 1:00. Along the way we traveled an absolutely beautiful road through the Salt Fork Canyon. You have to see it to believe it.

Temps started out in the low fifties, and stayed fairly cool until around Globe, AZ. It was funny watching everyone shed leather jackets and chaps (yours truly included) while moving up in the gas line every 15-30 seconds.

From there things steadily got hotter, until we arrived in Tempe at 108 degrees. (How do these people survive here?) We had a lot people that turned out to watch and wave in Globe, and we got a great welcome from the post in Tempe. We had one minor incident where a rider clipped a vehicle at a stop light and went down, but was able to ride her bike on into Tempe.

At the lunch hosted by Post 4, more donations were turned in, bringing our total so far to over $242,000, and tomorrow we should add a significant amount again.

Tomorrow we will participate in a parade from Post 4 to the Legion Convention, with lots of media and press coverage. We hope to have as many riders as possible to maximize the impact of the Legacy Run.

Damn, it's early...and dark. Dave Schoonover from Hutch tells us at the briefing to watch out for deer and elk. Fortunately, we didn't see any.

I know this is a bad picture, but it shows the snake of taillights stretching out for 2 miles in the dark.

Heading south in Hwy 77.

Also on 77, in the Sitegreaves National Forest.

Leaving our gas stop in Globe AZ. We knew we would have police escort out of Globe, but five minutes before leaving the cops told us they wanted us to take up two lanes and ride 4 abreast. We haven't done that at all in the previous 1,700 miles, but we pulled it off. Looked pretty cool too.

Pulling into the Legion Post 4 in Tempe.

Socko presenting Commander Conatser with another donation from Kansas.

Here is the Legacy Run Staff, who put the ride together, did all the planning, and gave up riding to make sure it all ran smooth. These folks are awesome.

The Ride Captains. They encouraged, pushed and prodded us until we worked like one big well oiled machine.

Next year the national convention is in Louisville, so we're not sure what form the run will take, whether a loop or something else. Stay tuned.

New Mexico Rocks!

2008-08-20T22:30:00.004-05:00

Today was New Mexico day. Started at Tucumcari in the east and travelled to Gallup in the West. Along the way we stopped in Albuquerque for lunch at the Albuquerque Legion Post 99 where we were treated to another great meal. From the NM border, we had an escort from the State Police, the Alb police and several sheriff depts along the way. In fact we had the interstate all to ourselves going through Alb, as the police had every on ramp blocked as we went through. They much have 50 mounted officers. The State Patrol blocked ramps for at least 50 miles west of Alb as well. They rotated from one exit to the next, and after we all passed one ramp, the officer would flash past us at 100+ on the their BMW police bikes. Very cool. I think they were ejoying themselves.

We started seeing some higher temps today, close to 90. But we had several rain showers that would cool us for a few minutes so it wasn't bad at all. Tomorrow will be a different story, with temps around 105 in Tempe - and they're having a cooler spell right now!

I know these pictures of a line of bikes get a little old, but I think I have a couple of good ones here that are close to being in focus.

You really can't visualize being in a group this big for this long, but after a couple of days we all really start working well together. Even the lead ride captain, "Uncle Dick" says we're doing great.

Here's one of the motor officers escorting us through town.

The police bike in the left lane is doing well over 100, or 40 mph faster than we are. If you weren't ready for it when they came by, it would scare the crap out of you.

Well, I'd better get to bed. KSU (kickstands up) is at 5:30 tomorrow morning. Later!

Day 5 - Rain...and more rain...

2008-08-19T22:34:00.007-05:00

Yep,we missed another day of blogging. Let's start with Monday - we left Fort Leonard Wood and had a great ride, leaving the interstate and travelling for a few miles on the old Route 66. through the towns of Catoosa and Claremore. Had lunch at Post 308 in Mohawk, OK. Very good brisket. We rejoined the interstate, and started to get a few drops of rain. Not enough to stop and put the rain gear on, though. Getting through OKC was a challenge - but eventually we made it to the Biltmore (or less) hotel. I don't recommend it. About the time we got there it started RAINING and did so all night.

We awoke to the same driving rain on Tuesday and put on the rain gear. After the usual briefing to start the day, we splashed our way west on I-40. Stopped in Clinton Ok and was treated to coffee and donuts by the Legion post there. Moved on into Texas, and stopped at Shamrock for lunch. The Post not only fed us a fantastic Texas sized meal of ribs, brisket and all the trimmings, but they paid to gas up all of our bikes! They really do things bigger in Texas.

Coming out of Texas, the rain began to slow and finally stopped, and this strange and wonderful yellow ball appeared in the sky, and seemed to follow us into Tucumcari, our destination for the night. We had a great dinner at the Elks lodge, co-hosted by the local Post. We were finally able to present our check from Great Bend, along with Wichita, Hutch and several other KS posts. All together our donation today was over $21,000, with more to come. The grand total is now over $250,000, with more to come.

Instead of staying at the regular chain hotels, tonight we're staying at the Blue Swallow Motel, a Route 66 landmark. Brenda and I stayed here a few years ago on a trip and loved it. Pictures are below.

That's it for now...

I meant to post this Sunday, but here we are with Commander Conatser. Pretty cool guy.

Gas stop on Monday - while it was still dry.

Route 66 and the bridge at Catoosa.

Riding in the rain.

Presenting our checks to National Commander Conatser

Our lodging for tonight. We even have a garage to put the Wing in!

Day 4 - The Ride Starts!

2008-08-17T22:09:00.006-05:00

Plenty of movement, even at 4:30 am.

Socko and Jeannie

Flamingo Lisa.

Here's the main group of bikes....

And here's the trailer trash.

How about we go for a ride?

Several overpasses had people sending us off.

The first gas stop.

Bikes for miles...

More tomorrow!

Day 3, after the fact...

2008-08-17T16:27:00.006-05:00

I apologize, but we just didn't get to it yesterday. Too many things to do. We stopped by the post several times, went on a wild goose chase for a tire for another rider's trailer (3-1/2x8" tires are very hard to find in Indy - go figure). Anyway here are some pics from the day.

Brenda with Jeannie from Wichita

Indianapolis Post 64

The only yellow Wing. The only yellow bike, in fact.

Road Captains meeting. Zzzzzzzzz....

Went for a ride, along with my ear...

That's Socko and Dave

...and we're back!

Hmmm...much more people than earlier.

The Kansas delegation!

The flights - note that we're in flight F1, reserved for trailers, trikes and sidecars. We're the trailer trash.

Presentation of some of the fund raising proceeds. We're waiting for a day or two and will present the entire Kansas donation.

We're here...

2008-08-15T22:12:00.012-05:00

Sorry this is so late, but it's been a full day. At Columbia we hooked up with Socko and Jeannie from Wichita, and Dave from Hutchinson. Dave took us to Indy on the back routes and avoided going through St. Louis. Great weather today - a little fog this morning, but otherwise sunny. Got into our hotel, went to Post 64 to check things out prior to all the festivities tomorrow, got some dinner and went to the hotel. Walked over to the restaurant next door and a beer or two with 15-20 other riders from Georgia, Texas, Virginia, Minnesota, and Florida. This is going to be a great time. You can check out the official ALLR blog posted by Flaming Tina at http://www.legacyrun.blogspot.com/ - We're on there today! We're famous!

Ready to move out!

We received a $5 donation from a gentleman in at breakfast stop.

The mighty Mississip...

Indianapolis Post 64

Some photos from inside the post...

Well, we had two taillights when we left Topeka...

2008-08-14T18:43:00.007-05:00

Greetings from a soggy Columbia Mo. We didn't quite make that BCOD departure time - more like 9:30, but we were waiting for the rain to move on. Had a great day all in all, but had light rain from Topeka on. At a gas stop in Oak Grove, MO, I noticed that one of the taillights was missing from the trailer. And of course it was the one with the cool Legion Riders license plate frame and the bike-sized tag I had jury rigged from a full size ALR tag. I am severely bummed. Oh well, off to Walmart to get another taillight. At least the wires separated at the connectors...

See? We had it before we left!

Here we are ready to roll...

C'mon Chris, I'm ready to get back on the road.
(Breakfast at Salina)

Getting geared up for the rain in Capital City...

And now we don't...

That's it for now. Tune in tomorrow!

Let's light this candle...

2008-08-13T23:07:00.002-05:00

By the time you read this we should be well on our way...

2008-08-09T21:42:00.002-05:00

I thought you'd like to see the patches...

Two wheels again...

2008-08-09T14:16:00.007-05:00

Yep, that's a new Dunlop Elite III 180/60HR16. Pretty, isn't it? Even prettier since it's on the motorcycle. Finally got to ride Friday after 4 days without. I was going into withdrawal...

One wheeled wing

2008-08-05T00:18:00.003-05:00

I finally got the truck back from the shop (Thanks, J.P.!) so now I can get the rear tire changed on the Wing. You haven't lived until you're lying under a 900 lb motorcycle perched on top of a bike lift removing a 40lb rear wheel. Hopefully by this time tomorrow I'll have this little chore done.

Bummer...

2008-07-30T09:12:00.002-05:00

I've been wondering about the lap of the Indy Motor Speedway that they show in the 2007 ALLR video. I haven't seen any mention of it in the materials, so I sent an email asking about it. Here's the response from the legion:

Unfortunately, not this year. IN ALR from Post 500, Speedway, Indiana were lining the event up for us, but track officials had another large event planned and we were conflicted out.

Oh well. We can still go check it out and get our picture in front of it or something. Definitely not a big deal in the grand scheme of things.

We've got mail!

2008-07-30T01:28:00.003-05:00

Our packets arrived today! Patches, maps, refueling procedures, the whole thing. One thing is for sure - these guys are SERIOUS about safety - which is just fine with me. Now to get those patches sewn on...

Workin' and Practicin'

2008-07-27T22:43:00.002-05:00

The Chiefs have training camp - why can't we? We did some hot weather riding this weekend as a warm-up (pun intended) for The Big Ride in a couple of weeks. Saturday we attended the Western Kansas ALR picnic hosted by the Hays ALR. Had a good time, met lots of people, plus got to take part in a sendoff for a couple of local soldiers heading for the sandbox.

Decided to head from Hays to Wichita to see one of our sons, which meant 200 miles of interstate riding like we'll be doing on the run. We also were trying out our cooling vests. They work great, but dry out in a couple of hours. The other downside is that they do get the waist of your pants damp. Oh well. We're on a motorcycle, right?

Sunday we went for the weekly breakfast ride to Wilson, and afterwards went to Lucas and toured the Garden of Eden. Weird. You just have to see it for yourself. From there we looped around to Russell and home. A little over 400 miles for the two days, with temps in the mid 90's - no problem. Two weeks, three days and counting!

Lit up with anticipation...

2008-07-24T00:32:00.000-05:00

Welcome to our American Legion Legacy Run (ALLR) blog page. Hopefully we won't be too wiped in the evenings to make entries as we progress through the run. We're three weeks out and getting into the final preparations. I still need to change those squeaky front brakes on the wing, and I have a brand spankin' new Dunlop Elite III to mount on the back.

We plan to try out our new water soaking polymer vests (courtesy of RideCool.com) this Saturday for the ALR picnic in Hays. Mother Nature should help out with more triple digit temps.

I got an email from the ALLR staff this week, and we should be seeing our packets in a week or so. Hopefully we'll have time to get the patches sewn on our vests.

I'll get some pictures on here soon.