Preparing for the charity ride involves checking the routes and ensuring that everything is Ok.  Imagine my surprise today when I found parts of our planned route are currently closed due to snow!!  All should be clear by next Friday, which is the start of the ride, but I think we all better check that we have our cold-weather gear handy.

Tayler Robertson drives past all the riders, except Dennis, as they enter Georgia on Day 1 of the ride… http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bi72I8szAmI

Rob Alston steers the Lotus pace car past all the PRISM / Action Against Hunger Riders as they head through Georgia on their journey from Daytona Beach, FL to Santa Monica, CA…  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fyPz8GspFTs

Rob Alston gives a great view of all the riders as they start their cross country journey for Action Against Hunger… http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=as67rvmTBAE

Day 2 and full rain gear for everyone as Tayler Robertson chases down Kevin Bell, Janice Thomas, Ian Thomas and Rob Alston (in the Lotus) as they head into the rain clouds… http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qzt8dK1wuN0

Rob follows the riders in the Lotus while Tayler takes the lead in the Access Information Management Mini Cooper as the rain showers begin… http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2dEHePyLY2k

The bikes take shelter under the bank ATM in Tuscaloosa before the storm really begins. Lightening eventuall strikes the bank causing the police to arrive…  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KYevMh3zKRY

More than $30,000 in donations are helping to relieve children’s hunger around the world thanks to PRISM International President Dennis Barnedt, Access Information Management, and a team of volunteers who founded “PRISMgives.” The first project for the group was a cross-country motorcycle ride from Florida to California and the first charity to benefit from the group is Action Against Hunger; (AAH is a crisis response organization that seeks to prevent acute malnutrition in small children – particularly in disaster-related situations).

In addition to President Barnedt, a small but dedicated team of volunteers helped to construct the prismgives.com website, solicit sponsorships for the ride, and do the actual cross-country riding for the event. They are: Ian Thomas, O’Neil Software, who engaged in much of the route planning and tracking of the group (Ian and his wife Janice were also two of the riders); Tom Adams, Flourish Press, who donated his time to create and develop the PRISMgives website (http://prismgives.com) where interested persons can read about the ride, see the competition among riders for sponsorship solicitation, and learn more about the charity Action Against Hunger; and remaining riders and support car drivers : Kevin Bell, Datasafe Storage Ltd.; Scott Robertson, Access Information Management; Rob Alston, Access Information Management; and Tayler Robertson, Student at Los Positas College, Livermore.

Dennis Barnedt is excited about the level of support. “When we started PRISMgives, we wanted to give something back as business owners. We wanted to create an opportunity for other members of PRISM International to coordinate their giving in order to make a significant impact in the world. Our charity cross-country motorcycle ride created a point of focus for members to come together to make a difference in the lives of hungry children around the world. Those of us who were able to participate in the ride also had an opportunity to enjoy a really unique experience and do good work at the same time.” Barnedt is particularly pleased that the campaign exceeded its fundraising goal. “When we were first discussing the campaign we agreed that all the riders would take care of their own expenses and that all the money from the pledges and sponsorship would go directly to the charity. We set a goal of $25,000 and figured we would be lucky to reach that by the end of the PRISM International Conference, which we saw as our real opportunity for a last push toward our fundraising goal. The fact that we have now exceeded $30,000 is an extraordinary achievement.”

Barnedt credits the success of the program to a great working relationship with Ian Thomas and Tom Adams. “Ian did all of our route planning, logistics work and many other details of the ride. Tom volunteered his time and resources to design the PRISMgives website and did the liaison work with Action Against Hunger. This was a real team effort and everyone who participated as a volunteer, rider, sponsor or who contributed in other ways deserves part of the credit for the success of PRISMgives. All the participants in this year’s event have committed to working on another event in the future.”

To learn more about the program, read about the ride or to make a contribution browse to http://prismgives.com. For more information about PRISM International browse to www.prismintl.org.

CONTACT: Jim Booth, PRISM International

+1-919-771-0657 – jim@prismintl.org

CHiPs Robertson

Mini-Me Tayler

A quick update.

With the ride officially over, I should point out that three of the group are still on the road.  With their home base in the San Francisco bay area, “Duracell” Dennis, “Mini-Me”Tayler and “CHiPs”Roberston stayed overnight in Santa Barbara and are continuing up the California coastline.  When they finish, they will have travelled over 3200 miles!!! 

Duracell Dennis

Rob, Dennis & Scott are excited to be in Santa Monica

How Many Miles?

“The Boss”took the lead for the final 60 mile run to Santa Monica.  The traffic built up and got quite heavy but, without the Phoenix heat, it was still very manageable.  Keeping the group together was tricky but we achieved it and seeing the LA skyline appear was very cool indeed.  We rolled into “The Cuban’s” Santa Monica hotel at around 11.00am to drop of his bags.  As you can imagine, everyone was very excited to be here and Janice “Turtle-Mama” got lots of hugs and praise for crossing the entire country with her house on her back bike.

After a short break, we headed to the beach for a group photo and lunch.  Fittingly, as the President of PRISM, we asked “Duracell”to lead us on this final journey, secretly hoping that he wouldn’t run out of gas on the way.  Everyone was excited, relieved, exhiliarated and exhausted and the photos turned out great.  We will post a gallery of photos from the entire trip over the next few days.

Then it was time for the group to disband and go their separate ways.  After between 2760 and 2800 miles, depending on who took the adrenaline or leisurely route in Arizona, it was hard to ride off leaving some members behind.  The view in the rear view mirror would never be the same!

I joked before we left that, by the end of the journey, we would all be great friends with an amazing shared experience, or there would be some unmarked graves in the New Mexico desert!!   The desert remains undisturbed.

Road to Globe

Thursday was a beautiful morning in Socorro, New Mexico.  Everyone was up early and all the bikes hit the road at 6:30am for the ride to Arizona.   We headed out on Route 60 West with the sun coming up, providing us with an amazing sun rise departure.  “Duracell” Dennis was as excited as a 2-year old (again!) and shot off into the distance in his t-shirt and leather vest, only to learn about 20 miles along that it was cold this morning… really cold.   While he tried to flag down members of the “adrenaline junkies”  so he could put on a jacket, the rest of us had a leisurely stop at the Very Large Array (VLA) for photos.  This spot was made famous in the movie Contact.

We all re-grouped at our first gas-station and made our first, and only agreed split.  The “adrenaline junkies” headed for the hills, while the sightseers wound their way along route 60 towards the town of Show Low.  Here the weather was a lot warmer and, as the leisurely group rode in, the adrenaline junkies came in right behind… perfect timing.  A short coffe break and we were on our way again, this time to the town of Globe.  The ride was, agreed by all, as the best of the whole trip.  Beautiful sweeping roads with the most amazing canyons in the background (see photo).  We had clearly reached Heaven.  We were all so happy we decided to push on an extra 100 miles today… Hindsight would prove to be wonderful!!

After a short lunchstop we headed for Phoenix.  We decided Hell has no fury like Phoenix.  After being stopped in roadworks for about 20 minutes, in 100+ degree heat, we eventually wound oer way towards the city.    “Duracell” Dennis took off with the “Mini-Me”Tayler in the Lotus in pursuit. The rest of us made our way together into downtown, rush-hour traffic and everything started to get tough.  Our next fuel stop couldn’t come soon enough.  After 100 miles in heavy traffic, we were all in need of re-hydration.  We all agreed that the heat on this leg was one of the most difficult things to deal with on the entire trip.  We had reached Hell!!

In the meantime, Duracell decided to ignore the gas stop and plow on to get out of the heat. Much debate about what happened next ensued over dinner.  I will let you decide.  Dennis’s story is that he was so low on gas, and not stupid enough to actually run out of gas twice, so he parked up in a rest area on Interstate 10, and summoned the Lotus to go and get a gallon of gas.  Hmmm??  That sound logical???  

We all rode on, towards Palm Desert, where we arrived at 8:00pm after a long day and well over 600 miles behind us that day, and 2500 in total.   After showering we re-grouped for our final dinner at PF Changs and celebrated our achievement of riding from Florida to California.  Heaven had returned and many stories shared, from missing gas caps, bird strikes, wandering turtles, and how “Lucky” Rob really was that lucky.

Friday we make the final run to Santa Monica Pier…

Westex Documents Team Welcome the Riders

Today we got another early start to make up lost time.  All bikes were on the road at 6:30am as we headed into a glorious, Texas morning with no signs of last night’s storm.  As we headed for Lubbock, the wind picked up and soon we were battling the weather again.   Somewhere along the way, we had our first damage as a bird hit the front of the Access Information Management Mini Cooper.  We got off lightly with a big dent and missing light ring. 

The hot windy day made the ride across Texas very tricky, so we were all delighted when we arrived at Westex Documents.  What made the arrival so great was that John Miller and his entire team were waiting for us in the parking lot.  Cameras were flashing as we rode in and that really put a smile on all our faces.  After a quick tour John surprised us again with a check for $1000 for Action Against Hunger.  That was fabulous and helps with a huge boost to see if we can reach $30K in donations???

After some group photos we headed off again, this time for Roswell, New Mexico.  We looked hard for aliens but the closest we saw was “lucky” Rob in his rocket ship (aka the Lotus).   A stop for lunch and a quick visit to the Harley Davidson dealership and we were on our way again.

We made our historical visit of the day as we rode through the town of Lincoln, NM and past the historic Wortley Hotel, formerly owned by Sheriff Pat Garrett. The town is famous as Billy the Kid broke out of jail for the last time in Lincoln, killing Deputy J. W. Bell and U. S. Marshall Bob Ollinger, in the process. Bob was eating at the Wortley, along with several prisoners from the jail, when the breakout occurred. It was his last meal.  

A couple more hundred miles and we ended up in Socorro, NM for the night.  With 518 miles covered we were now over 1900 miles into the journey with two days to go.  We need to cross Arizona tomorrow so we can have a straight run for Santa Monica on Friday.

Finally In Texas

Today has been probably the most eventful day, which is hard to imagine after all that has happened.  After taking cover from the storms yesterday, “Duracell” Dennis and “Mini-Me” Tayler were up early to make a run to the Harley-Davidson dealership in Paris, Texas.  In the rain, Duracell had learned that slick tires are not a great idea.  Today, on his early run, he also learned that putting gas in the tank helps.. a lot!

The rest of the group followed a few hours later and rendezvoued at the dealer around 10:30am, after 190 miles.  The weather mostly co-operated with just a light shower or two.  We must mention that the dealership was absolutely fabulous.  “Duracell” got a new tire and break pads and Ian “the Boss” got a check-up at no charge.  That was probably because the rest of the group shopped to the tune of about $1000 !!  Kevin “The Cuban” looks great in his shiny new chaps!

Onwards into the west and the weather quickly improved.  After another 100 miles a lunch stop was called for.  Immediately after lunch, Janice “Turtle Mama” proved that her engine immobilizer was working… too well.  The battery had run down and she was now immobilized.  “Duracell” sprung to life and was quickly back with an Energizer Battery!??! “Turtle Mama” was back on the road, complete with her house strapped to her bike.

90 miles later in 97F heat, another fuel stop and more dramas. This time “Duracell” has a problem as his hand-grip came off!!  Thank goodness for duct tape and we were on our way again.   Surely nothing else could go wrong???

Now pounding miles across the windy, Texas plains and a shout comes down the line.  “The Cuban” was seeing if he could equal the record for not making the destination due to no gas.  With 10 miles to go, he had managed to drain his tank down to fumes but he just scrapped it ito a gas station at our destination… Childress, TX.  Safe at last… or not!!

As we checked into our hotel, we sat to check the weather channel for tommorrows journey.  As we did, we were quickly alerted to a Sever Tornado Alert in, guess where… Childress, TX.  Almost immediately the storm hit and we were watching live TV reports as we looked out the window at the same scene.  A tornado down, was reported and the hotel opposite car-park filled with TV storm chaser trucks.   Thunder, lightening, hail and torrential rain descending on us as we visited the local Tex-Mex.

Roswell tomorrow… what on earth could go wrong there!!

1400 miles down after a 500 mile day, so still on track to be in Santa Monica on Friday.

Doppler Radar of the Storm

With the storm still pounding us, it was decided to wait a while this morning before proceeding.  A local visit to Lowes got some rain-gear for “Duracell” Dennis (who had to actually sit still for a while), Scott “CHiPs” Robertson and Kevin “The Cuban”.  Unfortunately, they now look like fishermen… but the roads look like lakes.

We headed out at 9:00 into the rainy day, hoping for the best… but getting the worst.  Immediately the rain turned into a full, blown storm and for the next hour we rode through torrential rain as we entered Arkansas.  A quick stop to check that everyone was okay and we immediately ventured out again into the rain.  This time we were greeted with a full thunderstorm with lightning bolts and even more torrential rain. 

With only 20 miles to El Dorado, after covering only just over 100 miles, Ian “the Boss” decided to call it a day.  With the help of “Lucky” Rob and his cell phone, 5 rooms were quickly booked in the local Holiday Inn Express and the ride ended for the day.   Every one and everything was absolutely soaked, with the rain suits no match for the storm.

While Janice “Turtle Mama” Thomas,  Tayler “Mini-me” Robertson, “Duracell” and “Lucky” all headed for manicures, pedicures and massages, a new route was planned to get us back on track.  We now hope to be following these daily routes:

Tuesday:  http://tiny.cc/9b8Fp

Wednesday: http://tiny.cc/5iBDk

Thursday: http://tiny.cc/sclxD

Friday should be as previously planned.  Now all we need is to get out of here early tomorrow, hopefully without a storm!!

Heading to JJ’s local BBQ shack for dinner. The locals said it’s the best food but not in the best neighborhood.  They politely said, while giving direction: “If the neighborhood starts to look safe again, you’ve gone too far”.  If you don’t hear from us tomorrow, dial 911.

With three days completed and 914 miles, everyone is still in great spirits and ready for a few early starts to make up for lost time.

Dennis the Fisherman

Alabama Morning

Tuscaloosa ATM

The day started out beautiful.  Not too Hot. Fabulous riding conditions as we enjoyed the sweeping, rolling roads of Alabama (see picture 1).  We crossed the state by lunchtime… and then it all changed.

Just ducked under a bank ATM cover in Tuscaloosa before a major thunderstorm hit flooding the streets (see picture 2).  Lunch was a local delicacy known as Casa Taco!! As it was only a short walk from the bank, it seemed like a good choice.  It was a good job we left there as lightning struck it, set the alarms off and shut off the power in all the local stores.  Quickly a police car turned up to check the bank to see if we were making an unauthorized, large withdrawal. Luckily we are not having to take advantage of their hospitality and we were able to leave the bikes under cover.

Eventually we made a run for Greenville, Mississippi hoping to beat a storm cell that was moving in… no such luck!  With about 20 miles to go, the second storm hit but we rode on. The rain allowed “Duracell” Dennis to realize he needs a new tire… IMMEDIATELY!!  Slick Tires & Rain??  No Good!

Now sitting in the Holiday Inn looking for a restaurant that is open on a Sunday…  Not too many in these parts???

Today’s historic fact was that we rode through Montgomery, Alabama where the Confederates first “White House” was located.

Two days and over 800 miles behind us…