Well, I admit, the last couple of years I have been very lax in posting my rides and thoughts. I will do better this year and will try to check all my past documentation for challenges the past two years to see if I can recreate posts of previous rides.
As of today, I am not sure how I will be doing the posting. Why not ride along and let’s see how it works.
So, let’s start with some information about the various challenges in which I participate.
Tour Of Honor (tourofhonor.com)
The purpose of this group is to draw awareness for veterans and first responders; and to raise funds for various charities which support veterans and first responders. Check out the site to learn more about the purpose.
This challenge runs from April 1 until October 31. Most states have 7 specific memorials (a few have 4, but the state is considered part of a region). The goal is to visit the site, then take a picture of the motorcycle and the memorial.
In addition to the specific sites, there are bonus sites. These bonus sites fall into a couple of categories: Veteran Cemeteries, Doughboys (WWI statue), K-9 (service dogs), Hueys and Cobras, 9-11 memorials, Gold Star Memorials, and “Sea to Shining Sea” (these are the 12 Madonas of the Trail across the country). Though these do not count toward the scoring for the top 10, it does add some variety and additional places to ride during the year.
The main sites for each state change each year (with a few exceptions). Each state has a sponsor who recommends the sites for each state. I am the state sponsor for Alabama and Mississippi. My job is to visit and recommend ten sites. I submit seven sites with three alternates. I usually have six of my seven recommended ending up being used. The sponsors have to have our recommended sites submitted by the end of November. The state sponsors are told which sites have been selected for their state(s) by the end of December or first part of January.
Once the state sponsors know the sites, we can contact people in the local community. I try to get in touch with the city officials, police, and owner of the location to give them advanced notice.
Some towns have set up signs welcoming Tour of Honor riders. Once location even set up a mailbox which had a sign-in book; they wanted riders to sign in so they would know when people came by. There have been a few places where a business would give a discount for riders. We do tell the local people that the riders will NOT know the various locations until April 1.
Many times, there is a specific theme for the year. Two years ago, the theme was the Vietnam War. Last year was for “local heroes”. This year, the theme is first responders.
I could go on and on about the Tour of Honor. I am excited about this and take my job as a state sponsor very serious.
As for me as a rider. I am rider #46 for the motorcycles. This year they are also allowing cars to participate. I am driver #3006. I will do most of the site visits with the motorcycle and #46. But there may be times I take a car or the truck, so I can still get points for them.
America’s Ultimate Long Distance Rider (AULDR)
This is a challenge that is based on Facebook. The creator of this challenge is Rob Carlo. This challenge starts on January 1 and goes through December each year. There are many ways to earn points. Whether it be visiting sites in each state, riding routes in each state, completing IBA rides, and other riding challenges. None of these are designed to put anyone at risk. the challenge is to simply give people a reason to ride.
Scoring is verified by other participants. If there is a disagreement, Rob has the final say. A few tend to take this a bit more serious than others. I have been in the top 20 the last couple of years. I do it to enhance my other rides.
Now that I have shared a little about the two main challenges, let me tell you about a few other riding activities in which I participate.
I support Mile Monsters. This is a charity which raises money to support a few boys who have DMD (Duchenne’s Muscular Dystrophy). Some of the stories will cause your eyes to tear. Whether the group is raising money for a handicap accessible van or taking one of the boys we sponsor on the ride across the country, we do things that will make these boys have a better life.
I am considering to apply for the Hoka Hey Challenge in 2026. Applications open the first week in February, the ride will be August of 2026. This is a unique challenge. The goal is to go from the starting point to the final stop. Simple, right? A few kinks. First, the motorcycle must be an American V-twin (limits motorcycles to Harley-Davidsons, Victories, and Indians). The rider must sleep with their motorcycle. No sleeping in hotels along the way. okay a few weird rules that can limit riders, but nothing serious, right? Oh, the major challenge… the route is given as turn by turn instructions, on a sheet of paper. No GPS are allowed. I have seem a few examples from previous years. You have to pay attention, for 10-14 days! Usually about 200 people start. This year about 175 finished.
I also participate in MS-5000. This is a 50 day riding and fund raising challenge. Funds raised go toward Multiple Sclerosis. This challenge was started by Paul Pelliard after he was diagnoses with MS. His personal goal is to ride 1,000,000 miles. The goal of the challenge is to get 5000 points to be a finisher. You get 10 points for each dollar raised and 1 point for each mile. You have to earn at least 2000 points from donations. You can also get bonus points for things, these are spur of the moment bonuses and riders don’t know in advance if or what will earn them bonus points. I don’t remember how many points I earned this last year, but I think I came in 5th.
Because of the various rides and challenges, I will not have a category for 2025 Tour of Honor. Instead, this year will be 2025 Rides. Yes, from April through October I will be focusing on Tour of Honor. This year, I might also do a longer ride that isn’t during the Tour of Honor timeframe or may not be the main focus of the ride. For example, what if I do a ride across country? Maybe on Rt 50 or Rt 66?
I hope that I will be doing more Iron Butt rides. As the year starts, I have earn the Mile Eater, Mile Eater Bronze, and two Mile Eater Silver awards. I am short three rides from earning Mile Eater Gold. After that is Mile Eater Platinum. The Platinum level could be earned this year, but it will take a lot of miles alone on the road.
In 2024, I rode 24,555 miles. 2023, I rode 30,059 miles. I don’t remember if I kept records of my miles for 2022, I am sure I could check for previous years since I tried to keep the mileage in notebooks.
For 2025, my goal is to ride more and often. I have hear that if you don’t write down a goal, it is only a wish. So, here goes, let’s see how I feel on Dec. 31, 2025.
I will ride 40,000 miles in 2025. I will ride to Key West, FL. I will visit 100 Tour of Honor sites (not counting the bonus sites). I will visit 50 Veteran Cemeteries. I add five new states in which I have ridden. Lastly, I will compete at least 5 Iron Butt Rides (this will get me past the Mile Eater Gold level).
I hope to see you down the road.