Diary & Travel Report by Simon Milward

Hello from Lake George

June 9th 2002

FUNDRAISING

Since returning from my brief visit to the UK I've been running all around Virginia, Maryland, New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania on the dollar trail in NE USA. We've collected $7,000 in this time bringing the total raised to about $73,000. A very big thanks for $1,000 donations from Deutsch Financial Services (serving motorcycle dealers) in California and the Theo B. Bean Foundation of www.GoMotorcycle.com (providing internet shop fronts) based in Connecticut.

Other new Corporate Sponsors are Shore Riders MC (MD), BMW Bikers of Metropolitan Washington (www.bmwbmw.org), www.RamapoMC.org, www.BMWbobs.com, Hudson Valley HOG and Americade. Presentations also took place at Ocean Thunder HOG and Nassau Wings MC who said they would probably become Corporates.

Presently fundraising is directed mostly towards Health for All. This:

• places motorcycles in the positive role of delivering crucial health services,
• discovers the potential of motorcycles to help fellow human beings throughout Asia,
• has highly experienced staff trained (for free) with Riders for Health in Africa,
• spends all money raised in the name of it in the field.

But most important is the leverage. Donations create leverage on the big bike producers and importers to take it seriously and contribute meaningful funding. They'd then have a tool to improve the image of motorcycling. I refuse to believe the motorcycle industry cannot see this as a positive opportunity.

The most important leverage is on the disgraceful squandering of international development aid. Over $100 billion is spent each year by the likes of the UN and the World Bank on developing nations. All of us around the world pay it in taxes, our governments give it to bodies like the UN and the World Bank. Why is there no improvement after decades? Because aid bureaucrats squander away the money. Because governments give the cash only on condition it is paid back to their country in contracts. So poverty, hardship and discontent continues. I for one am appalled and ashamed.

Let's do something about it. If bikes really can so cheaply and effectively perform out in the field where it's needed, we will be able to expose the aid industry disgrace. It is our money, it is our vote, let's sack the lot of them.

So donations are worth a lot more than their face value. Thank you donators and sponsors. We are looking for people to help raise some more cash, we still haven't enough to run the project for the second year yet, let alone the third. Please contact me if you can help, like get me a venue with 30+ people in riding distance of my US schedule, see www.millennium-ride.com, or sign up some individual sponsors yourself.

Recent news stories in major US bike magazines like Rider, Motorcycle Cruiser and Cycle World will hopefully help with all this.

ROLLING THUNDER was a 250,000 strong bike ride in Washington DC in May, riders from all over the country converged at the Lincoln Monument near to the Wall. The Wall lists the names of those who gave their lives in the Vietnam War. The rally was staged in support of efforts to find Prisoners of War thought still to be alive or the remains of those missing in action. What struck me most about the Vietnam War here are the current psychological injuries of the soldiers, in particular how the government and many of the people used them as scapegoats for their own failings. I'll stand with those veterans, it was my pleasure to party with them the day before the Ride.

BIKE - is going fine. Odyssey gave me a new battery recently, I picked up a new fuse box in the UK and some sprocket sets from Talon Engineering in Yeovil. My latest drive chain has only managed to come from Florida, it is about the fifth.

UK - I didn’t want to return home until my ride was over, going home halfway through is for whimps I thought. But I had no choice, having to sort out my house problems and put it on the market. If it sells I should be able to stay on the road for another 10 or so years! No, I'm not seriously thinking of that. It sure was weird being home though. It was all a bit unreal, reality for me now is being out here somewhere in this beautiful world. I like the British and Britain though. Getting lost on country lanes, the spring flowers coming out, the ancient stone churches and thatched roof cottages. Great to see my parents and new nephews and other kids being reared by my three brothers and their women - made me feel a bit broody I must admit.

Seeing John T and the workshop where my bike was built was like going back into the womb. John's still making weird and wonderful suspension systems and frames, busy engineering freedom for some lucky folks. The debate on the War on Terrorism is different in the UK where people more openly question all aspects of "the Middle East problem", in the US there is still a vast lack of understanding by the people. The UK media was refreshing..

I was sorry not to get the time to visit my friends at FEMA in Belgium nor the FEMA meeting in Sweden.

Well, I've got to get up early tomorrow, must be in Worcester Massachusetts at Noon and it's at least a four hour ride.

It's midnight.

Bye for now

Simon Milward