TAA 2/10/2012 ride update

  Hi Everyone,

I have been setting up new ways to communicate with everyone for this years ride and this new "garycovert1@gmail.com" address is one those ways. I hope sending this email through Gmail Group Email will send all of them at one time because Yahoo Group Email would let not me.

I also set up a Google Groups web page called "Torches Across America 9/11 Memorial Ride" so everyone can see, correspond with others and comment on any post made by anyone.

Now here is the bad news the two organizations I asked if they could bring us together for the evening in the cities we spend night as we cross America with Armed Forces Member and their families that have come home from Iraq and with families who lost a loved one in Iraq or Afghanistan will not help me.

So at this time I have two choices. I could say there will not be a 2012 ride or I could ask the VFW members in the cities we spend the night if they will help. I hate to ask the VFW members because they have helped me so much in the past.

Other things I have to consider are there have been some home coming parades in cities now for Armed Forces Members coming back from Iraq and there are national motorcycle organizations that could put together a national home coming for them with the snap of a finger.

I will let you all decide what choice I should make but here is what you have to think about before deciding;

Will any of you help me set everything up with the VFW in your area that we will be spending the night in?

Will you be on the whole ride or part of the ride?

Will you help spread the word about the ride to other riders?

Here is the rough draft of the route:

I am going to take a different route from Coronado, CA to Kingman, AZ this year. I will be taking interstate 8 to Yuma, AZ then two lane roads north up through Lake Havasu then hit interstate 10 to Kingman.

We will be spending the night of Sept 10th in Jersey City New Jersey, and I have already made my reservations at the Holland Motor Inn their. I looked at discount Hotel Motel sights on the web and I was able to make my reservations cheaper by calling the Holland Motor Inn direct.

By spending the night in Jersey City riders can go into NYC for the evening. The morning of Sept. 11th we will start our morning at the Jersey City 9/11 Memorial service that is held looking over the Hudson River at where the World Trade Center once stood. Then we will ride to Liberty State Park to see the new 9/11 Memorial, see the Statue of Liberty and look across the Hudson River at NYC. A couple of the Hoboken M.C. road guards will escort us to their club house for we can park our bikes so we can take a taxi to the subway then ride the subway to the World Trade Center Station, Visit the World Trade Center 9/11 Memorial have lunch go back to the Hoboken M.C. club house by way of subway or ferry before 4pm to beat the rush hour traffic out of NYC. Freshen up at the club house then take off for Allentown, PA for the evening of Sept. 11th. You do have to have tickets ahead of time to visit the museum at the World Trade Center 9/11 Memorial sight.

Riders can ride their bikes into NYC if they would like to on Sept. 10th or 11th but I will be going in on the subway and out by ferry. The evening of Sept. 10th I will probably take the subway back because the ferry’s might have stopped working for the night by the time my wife and I come back.

On the morning of Sept, 12th we will ride to the new 9/11 Memorial in Shanksville, PA, visit the Flight 93 Memorial Chapel and spend the night in Somerset, PA

Sept. 4th, Coronado, CA, to Kingman, AZ
Sept. 5th, Kingman, AZ, to Albuquerque NM.
Sept. 6th , Albuquerque, NM to Amarillo TX.
Sept. 7th , Amarillo, TX to Tulsa, OK.
Sept. 8th , Tulsa, OK to Troy, IL
Sept. 9th , Troy, IL to Cambridge, OH.
Sept. 10th , Cambridge, OH to Jersey City, NJ
Sept. 11th, Jersey City, NJ to Allentown, PA
Sept.12th, Allentown, PA to Shanksville, PA

Here is the email address for the “Torches Across America 9/11 Memorial Ride” Google Group web page so you can send me comments go or bad about the ride taaride@googlegroups.com .

Have a great weekend.
Gary Covert