C2C-R2C Aftermath
After three quarters of a year, our project, "The Carrollton to Carrollton Ride to Care", or "C2C R2C", is now history.
What follows is a recapitulation of the entire event, telescoped from inception to end.
Why?
The question I was most asked before, during and after the ride was: "Why?"
The answer is simple. I love animals, have always loved animals and don't want to see them killed.
Having done this ride 2 years ago for Paulding Humane Society and failing in achieving my goal (to raise funds and awareness of Spay, Neuter and Adopt), I decided in January of this year to try again and correct my mistakes. This began my collabaration with Carroll County Humane Society, West Georgia Spay Neuter Clinic, and Operation Kindness in Carrollton, TX. Hence the name, "The Carrollton to Carrollton Ride to Care".
Did I succeed this time?
To be blunt, "Damifino". That's for someone else to decide, I think.
Certainly I succeeded in getting from point A to point B (711 total miles in 11 days), and certainly I did better raising funds than in 2008. (At last count $5,000.00 plus), but other than seeing the folks in both Carrolltons, two radio interviews and a few news articles, as well as the warm welcome In Grand Saline, TX, I have no idea if I got the "No-Kill America" word to the people who needed to hear it.
"Team C2C" gave out a total of 17 copies of Nathan J. Winograd's book; Redemption which chronicles animal control and welfare in the early days and introduces the concept of the 12 point "No Kill Equation". The book's inside cover contains a greeting by me and the request it be passed on to someone else who cares about animals and their well-being, so I hope that by "word of mouth and book", we've done some good.
Logistics
1. Sponsors:
Wow! It was just a matter of sending an e-mail and they were "onboard"! We needed them for a website, logo, signage, food, a spare bike, and maintenance while training and accomodations. Other sponsorship was obtained specifically to raise funds for our cause. Again, all it took was a phone call or e-mail. No problem with sponsorship. One of the "unsung heroes" of sponsorship is Travel Agent Carolyn Parrish of Harvest Your Dreams Travel, who time and time again made sure we had a roof (which wasn't that of our crew van) over our heads. She rocks and I highly recommend her services.
2. Training:
I didn't get as much as I needed, but I did my best despite the fact my wife needed life-saving surgery, living on a fixed income, and worrying about the logistics of the ride. I feel I could have climbed those hills and averaged a better speed than my measly 11.1 mph, but a lot of factors got in the way of that. (More about this later)
3. Publicity:
Once again, as in 2008, the lack of it hurt our project badly. Maybe it was due to the fact that a guy on a bicycle isn't considered "news", but a guy on a bicycle who "bites a dog" is, but we were made some promises which, to be honest, just weren't kept.
Suggestions were made, of course: "You ought to contact _______ or __________ they'll be sure to get on this!"
Well, I didn't have time to contact blank or blank. I needed to be on the bike, training. Instead I lay in my bed night after night, trying to think of how to glean more publicity for this ride, and wondering if I'd made a mistake.
The team is very grateful for the newspaper coverage from our hometown, radio interviews and the social networking mentions, but it just wasn't enough. No-Kill, which I supported and talked about on my ride, deserved better! Nathan Winograd, the author of Redemption, deserved better!
4. The Website:
I knew early on that the internet was going to be the major way to get the word out about our project, so I tried to build my own and failed miserably. Fortunately, I was able to track down Michelle McKee, my webmaster and photographer for D2D4WetNoses in 2008, and she graciously allowed us the space for C2C R2C this time.
After a few hiccups, my dear friend Becky Purkiss, whom I met on an Alzheimer's Disease message board (more about this later, as well!) had a friend in Scotland (Bill DL) who has more knowledge of computers as does yours truly, and he "took the reins", as it were.
The site was all-important, and there was much "weeping, wailing and gnashing of teeth" here in Carrollton, Georgia until I decided to turn the whole thing over to Bill and let him do his thing. Best decision I've made this year, as Bill isn't only a computer "wizard", but a damn good publicist as well.
Between Bill and Becky (my "stay balanced, Bill!" guru), the site got up and running with Bill DL losing a lot of sleep "fine-tuning" and improving the site, and, at the end, even taking time off from work during the ride.
BillDL and Becky are two people, who, as part of "Team C2C R2C", I have yet to meet personally, and the fact they both placed their trust in me will stay with me forever.
Problems
There were a few, but the worst (and most dangerous) was the traffic and the road conditions.
In Louisiana the roads were in such a state of disrepair that I often had to swerve to miss the deep cracks across my lane. Poor patching caused me to have to stand on the pedals for my rear end's sake.
Drivers too were a huge problem. They just will not share the road! Many of them would pass me on a double yellow line and one almost caused a head on collision with a lady driving a Volvo coming in the other direction. At this point, and the road being only 2 lanes with no shoulder, the team decided it was too dangerous for me to continue. We were totally legal with emergency flashers, our amber rooftop signal turning and a sign on the back which stated "CAUTION! CYCLIST AHEAD, 20 MPH", but none of it helped and there was anger from both sides and much one finger saluting going on on my part. I would not wish to be responsible for someone's death (especially my own) even indirectly, so for future reference, even though this was a bicycle route, no more riding on 2 lane roads with no shoulder.
Accomodations were a problem as well, but luckily I had three friends working on this and no one had to sleep in the van or under the stars (although we would have). My friends Becky Purkiss, Nancy Farmer and (in a big way) Carolyn Parrish of Harvest Your Dreams Travel made sure we all had a room for the night for which we are very grateful indeed.
The weather at the outset made it a danger to ride as Hurricane Hermine attacked Texas with a vengeance and the streets were so flooded I could not maneuver my bicycle through them, so I only rode 36 miles that first day.
The heat and high humidity was a huge factor in my speed as was the wind which was blowing from the front much of the time. It seemed the sun was sapping my strength and I was hydrating to the point of hearing the stuff slosh around in my belly. Luckily we had brought enough Rehydrate (available at Perpetual Motion Bicycles, Inc.) to last and I even have some left. Good stuff and it does the job well.
As far as the sponsors, other than a small glitch with the signage for the crew van (the salesperson who originally agreed to sponsor us and provide all the signs free of charge was no longer employed by Build-A-Sign.com) and we had to scramble around at the last minute to make sure we'd get them. Luckily the company agreed to honor the promise.
Speaking of signs, 2 belonging to Pat Warren (our niece and Saba® distributor) were stolen off the van and will be replaced by yours truly.
Speaking of the van, due to a misunderstanding on my part, the use of it was not donated to us free of charge, but at a much reduced price by Enterprise Rent-A-Car®, so that was an expense we didn't expect at the last minute. The use of the van was donated in 2008 and due to me not reading the e-mail from Enterprise management correctly, we did have to pay this time.
Publicity, as I mentioned, was largely non-existent and was a problem in that I didn't get to address the public, which, with the exception of the kind folks in Grand Saline, TX was also missing. Had it not been for the books we passed out, we wouldn't have gotten our point across.
My training was inadequate as well. Due to my wife's emergency abdominal surgery in July, and having to do much of the logistical stuff on my own, I wasn't able to spend as much time as I would have liked on the bike, another major factor in my speed and endurance.
Am I being too hard on myself?
I don't think so, because after all, it was my project and I am the one who is ultimately responsible.
The Good
I've covered "The bad and the ugly", so let me now write of "The good".
Suzette Binford is my Alzheimer's counsellor and wrote the very first article (link to PDF file) about the ride and my disease. She and her dog Murphy were there to greet me at the end and we also communicated throughout the planning.
The Website started off a bit rocky, but it soon became very professional-looking thanks to the valiant efforts of my friend Bill Dalziel (BillDL) of Scotland.
Although we have never met, Bill tackled the project and gave it 110%, often working late into the night missing sleep, and during the ride even taking time off from work. Dedication such as his is priceless and I know to appreciate it very much. I know also that, had I needed to pay a professional web developer to design and keep updating the website throughout the ride, it would have cost a lot of money.
Bill not only has web design skills, he is also a great publicist. In the beginning, I had some ideas I thought were okay, but Bill had a look, suggested improvements, and edited content. Finally I just wrote him, "You're more accomplished at this than I am, so please just take it over." Yes, I made a few more minor suggestions, but I have to say the site and its content is due to Bill's very creative work and I give him 100% credit. I only hope that one day I will get to meet him and thank him in person.
My other friend (and team mate) is also BillDL's friend: Becky Purkiss. Becks and I met on an Alzheimer's message board which I joined when I learned of my dementia, which relates to Alzheimer's Disease in the form of my loss of short term memory caused by depression. Becky cares 24/7 for her mother who suffers from the disease.
Becky was extremely important to the ride in that when things didn't go "my way", she was there to calm me down and keep me "balanced". She made suggestions which I accepted and she is the other reason the ride went as well as it did. Becks also gave us the gift of accommodation for 2 nights accomodation. In short, she was there for us.
When people one has never met give so much of themselves to a project as involved as this one was, it makes for a feeling of love and trust, and, as BillDL says, it "forges friendships".
Another friend I have yet to meet, I hope that day will come very soon and she can visit us here in Carrollton or we can go to California. Thanks for everything, Becks and we love ya' muchly.
My other team mate, Marty Neese, was with me in 2008 and this time as well as then took care of navigating, driving, and when needed, he was my bike mechanic and took care of my safe cycling. I listened to him as he analyzed the traffic problems and told me how to handle them. Marty has a great personality and never missed "chatting up" someone we'd meet in a restaurant or at a rest stop. He served as our on the scene public relations guy and the fact that he seems to be something of a "babe magnet" sure didn't hurt! Thanks once again, Marty and enjoy your Nutty's Peanut Butter! You ate most of my damn Fig Newtons (my energy food this time), by the way!
Last, but certainly not least with regard to "The C2CR2C Team", is My Wife, Dondra. Even though she still isn't fully recovered from her life-saving surgery, she was a 110% trouper driving, navigating and taking care of my hydration needs as well as "slapping me upside the head" when I needed it, and let me tell ya', I needed it a lot! I am tough to live with on a ride and needed many "reality checks".
She, like Marty, is a very charismatic person and never meets a stranger. She is a total joy as my partner and wife and I appreciate and love her very much! Thanks for being there and supporting me, Dondra!
I am also grateful to the many "Friends of The Ride". These are folks who, while not actually sponsoring me, helped in other ways: publicity, advice and just a whole lot of support.
While there are so many to thank, I'd at least like to thank my family (both in-laws and my brother Skip, the only part of my immediate family I have left) who were there to support us with gasoline cards and well-wishes.
The congregation of our church in Carrollton, the New Hope Methodist Church, also kindly donated money that gave us another gasoline card, which was very useful and much appreciated.
A fellow veteran, Jerry Buza, and his wife Susan, of LaZer Art Productions made sure we had t-shirts for this year's ride. This was definitely a "last minute" thing and we are very fortunate that Jerry came through for us. (The T-Shirts can still be purchased, and the profits go to the West Georgia Spay-Neuter Clinic.)
The shirt was modelled on Facebook and YouTube by Club Hypoxia team member Curtis Marwitz and we appreciate his doing this for us. It was actually Curt who originally suggested "Carrollton To Carrollton Ride To Care" (C2CR2C) as a name for the ride.
It was also my pleasure to help raise funds for the Carroll County Humane Society's spay and neuter fund, as well as represent Operation Kindness in promoting the "No Kill" philosophy. The fund is there for folks who may not have the money to pay for the spay/neuter surgery.
I made many friends in CCHS and am proud to be a member! Tina Buechner, president and Valerie Hayes, board member, worked very closely with me and I am very fortunate to have had their assistance.
I am very grateful to Laura Clawson of Unleash the Pawsitive, Pet Supplies Plus, and all the others involved with organizing the end of the ride party.
Thanks also to "Ms. Anonymous", our top contributor donating $5,000.00!
If I missed thanking anyone, please don't hold it against me, okay? It is not easy with my condition to remember all of the people and organizations who helped with, supported, and sponsored the ride.
Everyone who supported the ride, in whatever way, is wonderful because you all care about the animals.
(Editor Note: Please visit the Sponsors and Friends of C2CR2C Pages to see a list of those that may not have been specifically mentioned above.)
Parting Thoughts
I wanted to save this for last because it contains my own opinion of the ride.
Luckily, this time I was spared the phrase: "You want to do something for the animals, Bill? Knock yourself out." That comment will stay with me for the rest of my life and was indicative that the 2008 ride would be unsuccessful in my opinion.
As I wrote previously, I was happy to do this for Carroll County Humane Society, West Georgia Spay-Neuter Clinic, and Operation Kindness, and I appreciate the support I was given by all of these organizations.
I do wish the donations and pledges had been more though. This was something BillDL and I discussed at length, and I suppose the old saying "You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make him drink", fits here.
All we can say is, we did our best and hope that our fellow animal lovers will recognize this.
Before I close this analysis, I want to answer the question someone recently asked me:
"Would you do this again?"
I'm sorry. I'll do anything for the animals' welfare, but I would not do this again under the same circumstances, and it isn't because of the dementia. I set out to prove that we early onset patients don't deserve to be dismissed and that we are still viable members of our communities, and I think I did that.
It's no one's fault, but there were too few people to serve on committees and some of those who did commit to help tried their best, I know, but it just wasn't enough.
If, next year, someone calls me and says "Are you ready to ride again?", all I will want to do is ride the bike - nothing else. No gathering of sponsors, trying to get my own publicity, or choosing where. That will be someone else's job.
So, was the ride a success?
You decide.
Thank you for this opportunity to serve the animals!
We domesticated them, which makes us responsible!
Bill Craig - 2010
