Well here is my official attempt at blog entry. Bare w/ me, as I get wordy w/ my descriptions and stories. Yeah some say I always have a story to blab. Well, its true, life is full of stories. As my friend, PJ says there has to be a sermon in there somewhere.

First let me say a HUGE THANK YOU TO MY WIFE, NYOKIA, AND DAUGHTERS KIRSTYN & ASHTON. For allowing me to participate in such activities. Nyokia had know idea what seeing that first Tour DeTrump would eventually cause.

HONEY THANK YOU YOU’RE THE BEST !!!

To my kiddies, Kirstyn sorry I missed part of your birthday day, glad we got to celebrate before I left. Ashton, see those 16 days were not that long after all.



After a few days in Chicago participating in annual kickoff meetings and social gatherings – see a bit of fun from the Chicago Auto. Yes, it is truly a gigantic Auto Show. Gotta love a 4 door Dodge Superbee. Ron, I found a few team car possibilities. Also, why would one want mini financial assistance? If you needed help, why not go big? What amazed me was the frequent use of the word HYBRID. Oh, for the love let it go….. Dig for oil in Alaska and move the owls to Oklahoma. Save the bats from H*&# and build the windmills in VA. Oh, sorry wrong blog.
Then Ford speaks of the H word and then creates a monster of a truck called the Super Chief, lets just say I don’t think of hybrid on this one. Seems it is modeled after the Santa Fee - Super Chief Locomotive that ran in the Midwest. I spent a mesmerizing 3hrs there and could have stayed for more. But didn’t want to dare miss the 10:40 train back to Glenview as that would be one looooong cab ride from downtown Chicago. Gee, I could have taken one of those Dodge’s for a real test drive had I missed the train.

Now it was time to travel west, gotta love those mountains. No not our Appalachians, I mean the real mountains.

Arrived in San Francisco safely after adding an hour onto the travel time due to a 500mph head wind. The pilot mentioned something about the jet stream for anyone traveling west that day. These guys were less than amused when we arrived so late and their phazers were not working properly. I presume the Engerizer bunny had it's share of jet fumes that day and was no longer jumping about.

Found my way thru baggage claim, moved onto the host hotel to meet the team, collect all the necessities for the week – Clothes, Manuals, Credentials, Vehicle, and the next assignment. Ran into an old pal Brooke from Dupont days. These events are often like a family reunion; we caught up and ended up working close during the week. These events are like family reunions surrounding the bike. You do not see faces for a year or more, then suddenly they appear and you feel at home. Speaking of running into folks yeah ran into these fellas later that afternoon. Therefore, I took advantage of the down time, as I knew the next few days would never allow for this encounter. No, that is not Tommy Firebaugh in the middle!

That’s all for now…………