Diary & Travel Report by Simon Milward

Preparing to head East from CA

April 10th 2002

Dear All

I'm speaking from the palmed paradise of Palm Springs in Southern California, about 3 hours inland from Los Angeles. Known as Hollywood's playground it is a city nestled between the mountains of Joshua Tree National Park and the Santa Rosa Mountains. The weather is hot. But nothing like the 110 deg F that I'm to expect if I come back this way next September, which seems likely. It's gay weekend in Palm Springs.

ROUTE - riding north to San Francisco Bay area for ten days of events I stopped in the oil-mining town of Taft for a night. I wanted sunrise photographs of the hundreds of wells at a nearby oil field. I framed the picture with the bike in the foreground then panicked , where was my big red bag? Not only my bedroom and wardrobe was gone, but also my complete fundraising office (I mean everything) as well as some cash and checks. I felt sick. Is this where it all ends? It was difficult to stay positive as I searched the refuse bins of Taft for any sign. I hung out with the town's scavengers and alcoholics and was fed at the Mission. I rode off bagless but after 30 miles God told me to turn around. The next morning at 6am I was drinking coffee at the point where I thought I had lost or left it. Someone recognized me from the pictures in the newspaper clippings in the bag. Oil workers picked it up after it dropped from my bike. I was the happiest man alive!

I did a presentation at Niles in Fremont with the local ABATE chapter. This was where Charlie Chaplin made films before the filmstars moved south to Hollywood and better weather. There was a tunnel underneath the Florence Bar used for bootlegging liquor during the days of prohibition.

Riding back to LA I took Route 1 running down the Pacific coast through the Los Padres National Forest. About 80 miles of it ranks among the best ever (twistiest) roads I've rode. The danger lay in looking at the ocean breakers pounding the rocks hundreds of feet below, look too long and you would join them. I stopped at the castle of William Randolf Hearst who once owned most of California and the US media. He built a Mediterranean style palace overlooking the Pacific, furnished it with the most exquisite of European antique items and invited the rich and famous to share the splendour. I got a lot out of that visit. Firstly it was marvelous to see the European style and antiques again. Secondly here was a man who had a dream and realized it. That feels good. That's what I'm doing. We can all do that.

BIKE - I think it knows it is within an hour or two's riding distance of Ron Wood Racing near LA, the main US distributor of Rotax parts. Back and forth I've been. In particular various seals on the engine don’t all blow at once, they like to leave at least a few days in between. The squeaky leak from the cylinder head seemed to have cured itself but I had to replace a rocker arm. My friend Charlie located a replacement rear brake caliper (that was the only second hand part when it was first built) and Custom Chrome shipped a new steel front brake hose. Ahhh brakes.

FUNDRAISING has not got any easier yet, but I'm working on it, trying to keep from burning out. New Corporate Sponsors include Local 14 ABATE (Fremont), Local 19 ABATE (Pomona), CapitalCityMC.com, HD/Buell of Victorville and WeaselsFurOnFire.com . CTXintl.com's digital projector is still magnificent. We are only somewhere around $62,000: the lack of tax-exempt status is taking a bit of toll.

There has been fair amount of TV coverage but translating that into cash raised is proving difficult. I did meet Jay Leno (famous chat show host) at the Rockstore last Sunday and at least managed to put my info in his hands.

WEB UPDATES on www.millennium-ride.com. For Europeans see the big US edition pin badge, now available to you. Pictures from Russia's Road of Bones that will make you cringe. A map on the 'route' page showing where I have been since departure on 1.1.2000. A re-order of sponsors showing the greatest first. Plus a new Summer dates list. I must thank deeply Mike Forrester for this who has stepped in since Uschla is incommunicado.

HEART - Maybe I owe you an explanation on the change you may have noticed in recent emails. A friend said my spirit is gone. I wouldn’t agree with that, my spirit mutates, rather like life, when priorities change and you take a different route. A great friend agreed saying life comes in waves. We all know what that is like. I never promised an adventure of only deserts and jungles, cultures and curiosity. I'm not able to live one thing and write another either. We are all going with the flow with this adventure.

I don't apologize at all for this detour. Like the unforeseen lap of the Mediterranean at the start, like it is with another lap of the USA. It's hard work yes, I'm in a different mode, and without the help of many friends things would be hopeless. But I feel that this is what I was meant to do. Rather like not taking the challenge to ride around with the world when I was laid in a hospital bed in Belgium in 1998. As it is with not seeing our new Health for All motorcycle project through. I take this challenge and responsibility seriously and you shouldn’t start things you are not prepared to finish. For me, it's a question of quality. And I am proud to work on it with my American brothers and sisters, so many of whom have been so helpful to me and this project. Thank you all.

Here is a report from Willy in Flores.

Simon

----------------

Dear Simon, I just arrived from visiting Flores so I am really late answering your last mail. When the mail arrived I had left and in Flores there is no access to internet. HfA mail account currently doesn't work well so use my personal yahoo account.

Practical Report Networking:

From March 31 - April 6, 2002 I and Frans Pantur, Field Officer went to Flores visiting Public Health Centers and to talk with the persons responsible (MoH in subdistrict lvelels)in order to make sure how many people can or want to drive Yamaha YT 115. We were also able identify the places (branches of public health centers) that have to be supported with m/cycles for health deliveries. With regards to the discussions with MoH personnel in district levels, they expressed their thanks and feeling of gladness for being supported by HfA in their works. They articulated that indeed one of the main problems is the lack of means on transportation that can be used to reach out the villages. Beside meeting with MoH personnel, we also had discussions with several individuals, members of regional NGOs. They said that most local NGOs in East Flores and Lembata districts where HfA is working are involved in other kinds of fields, such as agriculture and income generating. However, they are willing to involved in HfA program in the form of their participation in the evaluation and monitoring activities. Care International also just implemented its program of nutrition and food supplement in the region where we're working and talking with its Program manager, he said that we could work out how to collaborate. I'll see him again in a couple of days.

In the national level, HfA has become a member of Community Development Forum and of Eastern Indonesia Women's Health Network. Some other NGOs and institutions that I have met individually also promised to support HfA in the form of staff development and sharing materials.

Motorcycles:

Motor cycles are sent directly from Yamaha Factory in Jakarta. Mr. Bachtiar of Yamaha Jakarta assured us that those bikes will arrive soon (by March) but until now tbey haven't arrived yet. He further said the bikes will be given symbocally from Yamaha agent in Kupang to HfA once they arrive in Kupang. During our last visit to the field, Frans and I were able to identify local repair shops for the future sevice of the motor cycles. Knowing that there are not much work to be done yet, presently we are only 2 people managing the program. I myself as program manager and Mr. Frans Pantur as Field Officer. Before joing HfA, Mr. Frans has been involved in IOM, Tananua, a local NGO. Prior to that he has been working in the Philippines for 2 years.

For financial matter, presently I still manage it assisted by Mr. Tony Kleden, treasurer of Board Members. Simon, so far is the report. If there is something lacking, kindly informed me, please.

Take care and God bless.

Warmest regards, Willy