Another Day, Another.....???

Well, here we are at the end of a long week and i can't really describe how i feel. We've done pretty well for ourselves, given the short notice, the hard deadlines, and let's not forget the enormity of the task we are undertaking. Having said that, I am concerned about not having a few key pieces to the puzzle but I am sure we will sort things out on the road. Today was the day that i had to start shelling out money for things like brakes for the motorhome, t-shirts, business cards....you know things that we need to make this trip happen. I am hoping that in the end everything will work out or else i have to sell my house!! We had a great meeting with a key person (who shall remain nameless for now!) and if this sponsorship comes together we will be smokin'! Fingers crossed we can pull this off. We are leaving in just 6 days...that's right 6 days! Until next time...

-jeannie

Canadian Scrapbooker Magazine...New Sponsor!

Sooooooo....we have a new sponsor!!!!! Canadian Scrapbooker Magazine has come on board with a significant cash donation!!

http://www.canadianscrapbooker.com/

Yes, it's true, I said C-A-S-H...this is really going to help us out A LOT!

For those of you who are not familiar with Canadian Scrapbooker Magazine, they are a small but fast growing publishing company based in Calgary. What's truly remarkable here is the value of smaller companies getting involved in a global community. This donation really captures the essence of what we feel is important throughout our journey - people in the community coming together, each giving a small part that together equals the greater whole.

It amazing how support keeps coming from the most unexpected places.

I'm exhausted, so off to bed I go.

-jeannie

So tired... so incredibly tired...

Okay... I know that what we are doing is important - and I am (somewhat!?) confident that we will ultimately succeed... but... it all seems incredibly overwhelming at the moment.

Basically we have one week left, with essentially NO sponsors. (Lots of promises, but very little follow through!) Now, granted, we're trying to pull this thing off on what is essentially an IMPOSSIBLE schedule, but... it has been extremely challenging working through corporate red tape to try and convince companies to come on board and support some of our more basic needs.

We're almost out of time and the only option at this point seems to be to put pretty much everything (airfares, fuel, food, accommodations, etc.) on our personal credit cards (which scares the CRAP out of me).

There is simply no way we are going to get the motorhome shipped out to Newfoundland - no companies have agreed to sponsor the transportation of the RV (the quotes we are getting are for approx. $5000 - one way!), and even if they did, we've essentially run out of time.

This means that we are now going to have to leave from Vancouver 5 days earlier than planned - which creates some challenges on its own - and drive the thing out there - almost 5000 miles - with 20 hour driving days (we're going to alternate driving and sleeping shifts between three of us) - and approximately $2500-3000 in fuel costs!

We also have no precise or definite plans of any kind of how the fundraising is actually going to work, and there is no guarantee that we won't: (a) breakdown; (b) run out of money; (c) kill ourselves on the motorcycle; and/or (d) spend $50,000 of our own money on a cross Canada adventure that nobody cares about or supports (financially) in the form of donations!

If it all seems doom and gloom it's because it sort of feels that way right now. Of course - I also haven't had more than 5 hours of sleep per night in the last 3 weeks - but hey - who's counting. I'm only just beginning to imagine what this is going to be like once we are on the road for what is now becoming 7 straight weeks.

Anybody out there want to volunteer to do this for us!? :) No... really!!! :)

(Oh yeah - the RV is currently at the repair shop - and we haven't even left town yet!) God I hope this works....

-Glen

Motorhome....Home!

Well, it's true...we picked up the motorhome and brought it home last night.

We would like to thank Gord and his wife for generously letting us use their motorhome for the next 8 weeks. They even delayed their trip to Florida just so we could complete our trip as planned. This is a perfect example of people pulling together to help out other people! Now, if only the rest of our plans would pull together as nicely as this one did....only 2 weeks before departure!!

-jeannie

Motorhome at last!

It looks like we finally have our motorhome! There are a couple of details to be worked out but it looks like we have a green light. With any luck we should be able to pick it up this Sunday! Now if we could just get a fuel sponsor on board then we would be cooking with gas (literally)! We only have 2 weeks left until the big send off...fingers crossed that it all comes together!

-jeannie

Third and Final Day! (Slow, Look, Press, Roll!)

Well it's finally here....day 3 and the our motorcycle skills test!

We got up early and donned our gear and set out for the track. We spent 4 hours practicing before the big test. Then we all lined up and one by one we went out and performed various skills while our instructors watched us, scribbled notes on a page and then finally graded us.

We were scared when we got our grading papers back since our scores weren't very high...but in motorcycle school low numbers are key and both Glen and I passed with flying colours!! That's right, we both passed and are now the proud owners of our motorcycle licenses!

It just like our instructor said - "slow, look, press, & roll!"

Woo Hoo!

-Jeannie & Glen

Day 2 - quick stop, power walk, and the art of dressing in layers.

We finally got to ride today!!! We started out in the pouring rain learning how to power walk and finding our friction zone. Then in the blazing sun we got to lay rubber and find 3rd gear! One classmate, who shall remain nameless (you know who you are) tried to kill our instructor by mowing him down with his cycle. Later in the afternoon we put in some more class time followed by our "celebration of knowledge". Glen and I have bragging rights for getting 100% on said "celebration of knowledge"! Tomorrow....the skills test!

-jeannie




booyah!

Contact & Donation Information

Just thought we should add a little contact and donation information for those who might need it!! You can email us at documentingcharity@gmail.com. For donations, please visit http://www.alsbc.ca/ and click on donate to documenting charity.

-jeannie

Day 1 of Motorcycle School (squeezing balls with men!)

Well, we made it through day 1 of motorcycle school! No riding today, just bookwork and videos and learning all the fun stuff like the difference between the clutch and the front brake! (A very important distinction!) All kidding aside we learned some pretty cool tips, like the sqeeeeeeeeeeze technique for braking -who knew you could have so much fun squeezing balls in a room filled with surly looking men. :)
Our instructor, Rick, is very cool and patient and extremely helpful. We both feel as though we have learned a lot today and look forward to getting out and riding on the course tomorrow!! Fingers crossed for no rain, cuz it was pouring out!!!

-jeannie & glen

Desperately Seeking Motorhome!

We are still in desperate need of a motorhome to make this trip happen! Anyone who either has a motorhome, knows someone who does, or has a contact at a rental place please let us know. We would need use of it for about 2 months (6.5 weeks on the road, 1 week of prep, and 1 week for shipping or driving out east). The private owners would also be eligible for a charity tax receipt equal to the cost of a rental, corporate sponsors would receive nationwide recognition and advertising. Please contact us at documentcharity@gmail.com. Thanks for your help!

-jeannie

Addressing Safety Concerns

We would like to thank everyone who has contacted us regarding our safety and riding this motorcycle across Canada. Although it may look like fun and games, we have all sat and discussed the very real potential for danger including weather, distance, and stamina. For these reasons we have signed up for in-depth rider training with an accredited motorcycle safety school during the coming weeks. Due to the risk involved, we have scheduled our trip with a maximum of 2.5 hour daily rides during daylight hours only (x2 drivers for a total of 5 hours on the road). In addition, we will have a police escort for a good part of our ride, and a support vehicle (Motorhome with trailer) if any part of the ride simply becomes too dangerous. ( i.e. the motorcycle will go on the trailer!). Rest assured we have our safety as a top priority and we truly appreciate your concerns.

-jeannie

The Team is Coming Together

We are proud to announce that our cross Canada team is coming together. In addition to our original members (Glen & Jeannie Tedham, Aaron Beckum, Megan Bodaly) the following people have agreed to make this journey with us: Robin Kupfermann & Lisa Whitten. This is in addition to the many "behind the scenes" individuals who are helping promote and create this amazing journey.

Thanks to everyone for all of their support so far!

-glen

Jeannie, Glen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance

We are about to undertake a significant cross-Canada charity fund raising tour – “The ALS Ride Across Canada” This tour is inspired by a short documentary film – ‘Documenting Charity (and the art of street shaving)’ we worked on this past May.

The original 5 minute documentary was about what people can accomplish in one day. (We raised $530.62 for the ALS Society by selling hugs on the street – since people with ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, usually lose the use of their arms in the early stages of the disease, and therefore can’t hug for themselves!)

The documentary was entered into competition at the Cannes Film Festival this past May and won first prize! As a result of the overwhelming media coverage and support of our win, an additional $7000 has been donated.

Through this process we have truly discovered what ordinary people can accomplish if they set their minds to it. We have been so inspired by what we accomplished in one day that now we have committed to continue our fund raising efforts for this disease – which kills more Canadians every year than AIDS, and yet has almost no public awareness or funding – by riding a Harley Davidson (with a sidecar!) across Canada.

If you would like to see the original 5 minute "Cannes Film Festival" award winning documentary please go to...

http://www.vfs.com/blog/2007/05/24/doc-team-winnes-cannes-contest/

If you would like to see some of the media coverage please go to...

http://www.vfs.com/blog/2007/05/29/cannes-doc-in-the-news/

For more information on ALS please visit…

http://www.als.ca/