Danny’s Ride

1,000 People
$30 Donation
$30,000 Closer To A Cure
Danny’s Ride has set a goal of raising $30,000 for cancer research by June 6th,2009.  This is a big goal but we have a big challenge – finding a cure for cancer.

Sponsors names will be presented on a certificate with the check for the total amount of money raised.

Please be one of 1,000 people who have had enough with the hurt and destruction cancer has caused.  Thank you.

FACT: Cancer is now the leading cause of death in the United States.

Miles: 83.51 Total
Biking Time: 7 Hours, 24 Minutes, 27 Seconds

Total Trip Miles to Date: 1,686.05
Flat Tires: 18
Drew: 14
Danny: 4

We got up early and it was a good thing we did.  As I got my bike out of the motor home around 6:20 a.m., I found my back tire flat.  It was a little low when I had finished biking last night and I had filled it with air before putting it away for the night.  So, I took the tire off and discovered a small wire hair sticking out.  I took it out and checked the rest of my tire.  Danny helped change the tire as I received a call from the CBS affiliate in Shreveport.

We planned on meeting the reporter, Liz, from the CBS station across the street at the Iron Skillet.  We arrived there shortly after 7:00 a.m.  Liz was extremely professional and made Danny feel more comfortable than he had ever felt during any interview he has given.  Which is saying a lot because Danny has given a ton of interviews!  In fact, Danny’s interview went so well, he called the station manager to complement her on the great work.

While Danny was interviewing with CBS, I received a call from ABC requesting to interview Danny around 9:30.  Then as Danny finished with the interview with CBS, I received a call from Melody Brumble with the Shreveport Times newspaper.  She wanted to do an interview with Danny for the newspaper and planned on meeting us at the Iron Skillet for breakfast.  She arrived a couple minutes later and Danny sat down to talk with her as Ken and I started in on the buffet.

As I put together my first plate at the buffet, I began talking to an employee of the restaurant, Sandra Smith.  I told Sandra Danny’s story, background on the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society and the goal of 1,000 people donating $30.00 to end cancer.  I could tell by talking with her that fighting cancer held a special place in her heart.

After eating with Ken for ten minutes, Sandra came back to our table and handed me $30.00.  “Here.  This is my donation,” she said as she handed me the money.  Both Ken and I were thrilled.  We took a picture of Sandra, our waitress and another waitress at the restaurant.  We thanked Sandra several times for her donation.  Sandra – your picture will be up tomorrow.  We are working to transfer it from a different camera.  Thank you again!!

As I finished my breakfast, one of the waitress came over to our table.  “What’s your name?” she asked.  “Drew,” I replied surprised at the question.

“Oh, we thought you were Neil Armstrong,” she replied.  “His name is Drew!” she yelled back to the other waitresses.  After some thinking, I realized she meant Lance Armstrong.  Now that is a first!

When Danny finished his interview, he grabbed breakfast.  When he was finished, we went to pay at the register.  Sandra was working the register and told us the breakfast was on her.  Not only had she become one of our 1,000 donors, she paid for our breakfast.  Thank you so much Sandra.  We can’t tell you how much we enjoyed meeting and talking with you today.

We got on the road around 9:30 and biked nearly 10 miles before stopping to interview with the ABC affiliate in Shreveport.  Tre, was the reporter, and he did a terrific job.  He even gave us his number and told us to call him if we had any problems or questions.

After the interview, we again hit the road with no real destination in mind other than heading east on Highway 80.  At nearly 3:30, we stopped at a Huddle House for lunch.  We were only 36 miles into the day and it was slow moving due to the high traffic in and around the Shreveport area and the tight shoulder on Highway 80.  The shoulder forced both Danny and me to be more focused on where we were biking as we were much closer to the traffic as it sped by.

Inside the Huddle House, we told our waitress what we were doing.  She then told all the customers about our story – all four of them.  They were regulars and were extremely friendly to us newcomers.  Everyone in the small towns we have passed so far, have been extremely friendly and interested in our trip.

One of the men in the Huddle House grew up in Columbia, South Carolina.  He spent 20 years in the Air Force and now was a truck driver.  He told us the Ruston, Louisiana was 40 miles from where we were.  We decided this would be a good place to aim for.  The only problem was the time.  It was getting to be late in the afternoon and we risked the problem of running out of daylight.  We decided to shoot for Ruston and see how it went.

As we continued on Highway 80, the shoulder all but disappeared.  We were forced to bike in the traffic.  We were blessed with good, cautious drivers.  We had no real close calls other than a couple dogs chasing after us.  The highway goes through small towns and we have seen more barking and chasing dogs than we wish.

We arrived in Ruston just as the sun was setting.  We were exhausted and had travelled 83.5 miles.  We called Ken and gave him the address of the gas station we had pulled into.  He came and picked us up.  We got a room at the Sleep Inn in Ruston and enjoyed watching the close Lakers – Nuggets Game 5 on tv before going to sleep.