Springfield to Rolla Missouri

Good teamwork makes driving "THE RIDE" successful.  Two members of the team really contributed this week to this success and need to be recognized.  "Alex" is an excellent map reader and navigator and keeps me going in the right direction.  "Natasha" calls ahead and gets things set up for the guys.  This week has been a success largely because of the two of them.  They have also learned several specific tasks concerning THE RIDE.

Today was maintenance day on THE RIDE.  We had to fill the water tank, fill the propane tank, empty the gray water and the black water.  If you ever have had an RV, you know that dumping the black water(contents of the toilet) can be a less than exciting endeavor.  The girls affectionately dubbed it "poo dumping".  We had talked about it for two days and they were obviously excited and motivated as we entered the "Happy Trails" RV Park in Lebannon Missouri.  They jumped right in and made it happen with smiles on their face.

Eating on the road can get expensive and we are always on the lookout for a good eats at a cheap price.  Today we stopped at the Waffle House where they had both.  If you are ever in Lebannon Missouri, you might want to stop here.  Not only was the food good, but our waitress, Amanda was excellent!

One of the riders is an interesting character named Randy.  He has not only provided comedy the entire week, but has also made some pretty profound statements.  He has a gnarly mustache and I have posed the following question to many waitresses this week: "is he better with or without the mustache?"  Today the waitress at the Sunshine Cafe said, "I don't know but he sure looks like that guy from Brokeback Mountain!  First time this week that I heard Randy speechless.  You can see him here:

http://www.ridefor9-11.org/

On to the riders.  They have put in over 400 miles this week in searing heat and humidity.  They don't complain much and are really focused on the goal of making it to NYC.  They are sacrificing their own personal time, family time, vacation time and sometimes their own personal safety on the road.
All of us want to raise money for the Wounded Warrior Project and the Dennis Leary Firefighter Foundation and if you have the urge to donate, you can do it at the same website you used to view Randy.

Here is some footage of today'S ride somewhere south of Rolla.  This is Jim, ageless Marv and Jorge rolling down the highway.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JnH72sIyZlA

I need to say a special thanks to my wife Brandi, who has been so supportive of this trip.  Thanks B, I couldn't have done it without you.

Tomorrow, on to St. Louis!