As a "private" figure- I can say and do anything I pretty much want in the confines of the law.

As of yesterday- I have sacrificed that freedom to do something really wonderful.

I, along with two others, will be racing from Prudhoe Bay Alaska to Ushuaia Argentina, trying to set the world record for this trip in under 21 days.

We just recieved word that we will be sponsored by Unicef, or rather, we will be raising funds for them, and one other local charity (with national offices everywhere- check your locale!) called "teams in training" to help families with children with Luekemia - helps them by paying for as much out of pocket expenses as the charity can provide- as you know, disease not only devastates the family emotionally- but also financially.

We have just set up a myspace account, and completeed the "not for profit" paperwork so we can solicit donations and make public appearances under the auspicies of the two charities.

Why do such a thing anyway is the first question we get asked!

Well, it goes like this- you have all heard of the "midlife crisis"- there is an element to that here- however, we don't want a corvete, or a trophy wife.

And what is a man measured by anyway? I think, ultimately, more than anything else- it is his success as a father, to his own children, or, for someone like, say, Dr Suess- father to all the children of the world, where the father's actions benefit children everywhere. There is no greater goal for man than feeding children in need.

So how do folks like D and I go about that- how can we have an impact? Well, by doing what we do best- and trying to make it benefit children along our path.

So that is what we are doing- we are headed for the border(s) as fast as possible- and hoping our trip benefits children every mile of our way.

So, I am no longer allowed to express my opinions, lest they be construed as a political statement by my charitable organization that sponsor my team.

As of now, I have no politics. There is no person I will not meet or shake hands with, as long as they are commited, when I meet them, to make sure the charity is paramount in the discussion.

I am a public person as of now, and I must behave as one, and my opinions and expressions, with the exception of humourous one liners- must reflect my mission, not my inner thoughts or dialogue.

It has been fun, on occasion, in these debates, and I will miss them, and my opportunity to act as a devil's advocate and gadfly, but that MUST be put behind me now, if my mission is to be effective.

That doesn't mean I won't read or lurk on the board- I just can't engage in some of the debates here.

Wow Cruising Ram. You're going to have an amazing adventure. I understand about you not being able to make political statements while you're doing this, but is it just for the interim? You'll be able to come back and debate with us eventually, right?

In the meantime, keep us up to date on your trip through this topic. And of course, feel free to jump into any of these casual conversations any time.

Best of luck to you!

Gonna miss you, man.
Best of luck with all endeavors. The wind be at your back, and Smooth sailing.
Now get out there and break a few records, in both fundraising and time!

Thanks for the hospitality. My travels throughout my life, well, they, of course, have shaped my world view and are the reason I started to develope my interests in politics, as someone that wanted to be informed, rather than have my views dictated by various entertainers and big heads -

I will be filming this entire trip, and hope to get a TV show or something documenting the trip- it is very, very exciting of course.

In the past, these trips have been for my own vanity and relaxation. This time, we have a greater purpose, and have to act like it!

Hey CR, you said you were racing, but you didn't say what. I'm hoping for motorcycles.

I'm sorry to see you bow out (for now), but I think you're doing something fun and rewarding. Enjoy!

Motorcycles, ya, this time LOL- we are racing motorcycles to beat the current world record of 21 days and change.

It will be filmed, if all goes well, so you will see more than you need, probably , of my ugly mug! You will also understand why the two dudes named Don are suited to this trip- we are both hyper-manic, or nearly so LOL- sleep is not something either of us relishes or enjoys. 16 hours in the saddle is a good day, 18 great, and 30 hours straight is a slice of heaven!

Good luck, man.

Damn, CR, I'm happy to see you're going to do something very, very significant, but I'll miss you're commentary. I'm anxious for some more debate when you get back. Good luck.

CP

Sorry to see you go CR. You have at once been a serious poster and the "King of Outrage." You have brought weighty opinions, but have also been our resident "shock-jock" on occasions.

Best wishes for anything you undertake.

You can take the boy out of the DJ booth, but you can't take the DJ booth out the boy BOF LOL

It is hard to convey emotion, really, accurately, across the internet- for me, it is the absurd that makes me funny in person, and sound more serious than I am on the net.

Good for you CruisingRam. I am jealous, one because I haven't had a bike in 15 years, and two because I've always wanted to get down to Ushuaia. I used to get down to Argentina and Chile for work, and had a couple of close calls where we just couldn't quite make it work out to get all the way down there. Ditto for Easter Island. Enjoy the ride and glad you're competing for a worthy cause. Be safe.

Thanks- that means alot. You guys really have no idea what a speed demon I really am.

After a 200mph pass in a rail dragster once- I had to say "that was cool- how do we make it go faster"

You know Talledega nights, Will Farrel as a kid, kept chanting "go faster, go faster" etc?

Ya, that would be me, without the redneck-iness.

You can still vote in the polls and nobody will ever know.

I've heard the Alaska Highway is much, much, much better now (ie...paved) ...is that true? Because the way it used to be, that could end up being a very short trip on a bike.

But best of luck to ya...sounds like a lot of fun!

Well, I'll sure miss your participation around here, but I'm glad you are involved in such a worthwhile endeavor.

Best of luck to you, and please be careful. Motorcycles scare me.

Be safe, CR. Come back without a hospital bill.

Maybe it's the journalist in me but unless your Christian name is "CrusingRam" I'm kind of scratching my head over why you won't be able to participate in the debates. If anything it appears it's your free time that isn't going to be so free.

In my everyday life I write a column with my name on it. I appear on a public TV show and on occasion I speak to groups. None of that has any impact upon what I do here.

I hate to see a good and passionate debater go, but ya do what ya gotta do I guess.

Good luck in your adventure, CR. Happy is the man who follows his heart's desire.

Good luck CR. Just remember, it's against the rules to create another name to protect your anonymity.

Just a reminder, it's against the rules to create another name to protect your anonymity. And just so you don't forget, it's against the rules to create another name to protect your anonymity.

Stay safe and keep the bugs off your teeth.

Well, paved is fine and dandy- but I will be riding it in the snow, in the winter LOL- we leave Sept 15th, figuring it is better to conquer the part we know with the worst weather- we start above the arctic circle, and it shouldn't be TOO far below zero, and no more than a couple feet deep in snow, so we figure we would have a pretty good hard snow pack, and we start out with studded tires, heated snowmachine suits- the whole shebang. We figure we will throw the studs out of the tire, just by virture of the miles, before we hit the canadian-US border in Washington state.

I have done the Alcan, before long sections were paved- on a rigid springer harley- that means NO suspension in back, and the front end bounces like a basketball. You only have some bicycle springs under the seat for cushioning your bum! Took me like, 4 days from Chiliwak to Tok, maybe even longer, I forget. I threw a couple temper tantrums along the way, I wiped out 4 times, just in one 35 mile section of the road- and I had 10 "get offs" at around 30mph. Not fun at all.

A dual sport in winter, after that, is no big deal!

NT- my name, my real name, is already linked with my 'net" name, so it will take no sluething to find out which is which, and, if someone dislikes Unicef, or me, or just is a psycho with an axe to grind, but doesn't want to be "physical"- I really don't want this to become a debate about me or my viewpoints- it is too much of a distraction. If I stop now, that I have already signed a sponsor, at least i get to answer "those comments were my personal thoughts and feelings when I was a private citizen. When I became a public "ambassador" if you will, for a cause, My private and personal feelings need to be put away to keep focus on the cause- NOT the person. I am no celebrity with a cause de'jour. I have meager financial resources, and no "pull" with anyone. I will be going to countries whose goverments do not agree with my country of birth. I don't want those goverments to believe I have any agenda other than the stated one."

You are a journalist- I am somewhat of an Ambassador. Journalists can speak i editorials and can report the truth as they see it- an Ambassador may very well have to shake hands with the devil himself, and smile while he is doing it. And, on this team of three very, very rugged and individualistic folks, well, I am the only one that can really pull off that portion.

You see what I am saying?

And no one on this board- even if Mike and Jaime (such fine southern hospitality they give to this board ) played along, just for me, no one would doubt who it was, due to each of us having a unique net "accent" in our writing styles.

Im so jealous. Im in Argentina right now and I cant make it down to Patagonia (its expensive!). Gr. Have fun. And how are you getting back? Do you get to race all the way back up too? Or can you chill in Argentina for a little bit?

I am sorry to see you go, CR. If I have learned anything on this site it is that I can ultimately respect another despite the fact that their political opinions run so contrary to my own. You, virtually more than anyone else, illicit so much frustration in me.

If I had not experienced the more human side to you however I might have harboured a grudge indefinately. None-the-less, your raw honesty thoughout trumps any disagreement I might have with you. For this, I wish you God ("gawd")-speed. I will live vicariously through you as you seek to help out the kiddos. Just remember there are many who remain consigned to keeping tabs on their own though they wish they could expand their horizons as you seem to be doing.

Stretch toward you God-given capacity, CR. You can do much good.

If I had it my way- ya, I would ride back- but this time, my woman with me, seeing the sites a bit- not so fast and all- but no such luck. They will fly us right on back.

ohhh! Pooh! I was hoping you'd be my arch enemy... best of luck on your sled dog adventure

Sled horse- as in many HPs LOL

Best of luck to you guys. Three weeks on the road is perfect -- you'll be a changed person, regardless of the charitable focus. I'm getting flashbacks of the biker high, the point where all the concerns of the usual life fall away and a sense of immense freedom or something like that takes over. It's hard to describe. There really isn't anything else like it.

Also thinking about my time in Memphis and meeting the kids with bald heads from the St. Jude's hospital nearby. There's nothing like that either. My apartment building shared an open-air pool with the hotel where the families stayed. We mingled.

Lots of memories coming in, too many to mention.

What makes/models of dual-sports are your rides? I'm partial to the KLR650, but for something like this I might choose a Beemer or KTM. Besides studs, how aggressive are the tire treds? Figure on hitting dirt passes along the way? Anything special to combat monkey-butt?

Happy trails!

Well, it will be sad to see you go, Dear Man . I'm certainly jealous. It's been a couple of years now since I've done something like that... (though not really anything like that at only a fraction of the mileage). I walked from Dublin to Glenbeigh in Ireland - roughly 350 miles in 23 days... alone. It's an amazing feeling.

Are you taking the Trans-Americas expedition route?

I also understand the necessity, as unfortunate as it is, to keep your political opinions to yourself now that you are a public figure. I know a gifted actor who worked for 9 years at a shakespeare festival in Canada who was let go solely because of what he posted on the internet. I, like you, have some barrier between my real identity and my net identity... but not much.

In hindsight, do you feel that was naive? To create an identity on the web that could be traced back to your real identity?

Good luck CR. You'll be missed.

I'm happy for you. Its good to get out and do good.

Ya, that biker high is the thing that binds all guys like you and I (not leaving out the ladies here- the "guys" is generic for both sexes ) together in that "bikerbrutha/sista hood-

I have done this stuff before, just as vacation and personal adventure- it is much more satisfying to do it for a cause, of course.

At this point we are in negotiations for the bike- as soon as I made the marketing report, got Unicef as a under-writer- I decided to go ahead and start acting like this was a for sure deal.

But it looks like Suzuki DL650s at this point- I had advocated for the DL 1000, being the speed freak of the bunch, but calmer and wiser heads prevailed- and we will be going with them, anyway- we don't have the green light on that one yet, but it appears forthcoming.

We stud our tires ourselves, looks like we will be using TKCs.

BTW- BMW is very interested in sponsoring us as well, but we had a relationship with Suzuki already- so if the 'Zuk deal fall through, we will go there next.

KTM is the hardest bike to get sponsored on- they have a very limited view of that kind of thing- oddly enough.

KLRs have a problem with being horribly underpowered and over wieght compared to , well, everyone else at this point. One of the best dual sports- but really anemic in passing gear- a real problem sometimes, can really kill your miles per day figure.

We do figure on a great deal of dirt roads, though not neccesarily the "off road" variety- we have most of the distance on very good roads actually.



The "Pan-American" hiway is a bit of a figment of imagnination- just a loose collection of (barely) connected roadways between countries.

The real issue is the "Darian Gap" in Panama- the only stretch you can't go by bike- 17 miles in the air. We have to get someone to fly us and the bikes from customs to customs.

I believe by divorcing myself from my private vs public persona BEFORE we start this would blunt any type of thing like what happened to your friend- that is precisely why I have done this- I have other examples locally of this- and was advised that it would be a good idea to do what I have done here.

Hi, CR...best of luck on your trip, again. Sounds like a total blast, and all for an excellent cause! I am curious, how are you managing to get away for so long? What arrangements do you have for your kids? Will they be able to join you on any part of the trip?

Looks like they will meet me in Buenos Aires and take a bus to Tierra Del Fuego to meet me- a small vacation for them as well- but the first three weeks they will be with my ex. I have plenty of vacation time saved up, but my CEO is making noises that if I get some publicity in state, they may try to make a case for me using administration leave- but I don't think it would be ethical for me to lobby or advocate that for myself at all- it will have to be something they do for me out of the kindness of thier heart- I believe me trying to ask for it would seem, well, a bit, um, tasteless?

CR,

God bless, and good luck! Ultimately we are defined by what we do, and this is a very inspirational act of adventurism and good will.

As an adventure seeker myself I want you to stay well and hurry back because I'm going to have a lot of questions for you. We want the whole story when you get back!

You can just follow it as it happens here:
http://www.myspace.com/teamd2d

It is in the earliest stages of construction, and very vague, as we will announce milestones, and have pics, well, that will be the link for now- we will get a webspace later this next week or two.

We will have full video and photo blogging, to be sure!

God Speed, CR!

It sounds like an incredible opportunity.

Have a safe trip--keep us posted.

Heh, right CR, except the KLR is designed to pass by the deer and the antelope and climb the highest mountains on the crappiest roads. But that's not your mission, so the low-end torque isn't all that important. My mule-kaw hates asphault due to the knobbies, but it hauls enough gear to be out for weeks at a time. Seldom does it break 40 mph on these excursions.

Thinking along these lines, I'd be real careful not to get into a forest road-like place with the DL650. It's peak torque comes on at 7,400 rpm. I can smell the clutch burning now. I can feel the tire spinning out from under me on a steep hill, and at a dry weight of 427 lbs., I'd not want to swing it around for another run. Don't have to do that with the KLR cuz it gets the job done the first time.

Getting spring fever here -- might play hooky and take a ride today, weather permitting. No rough forest roads! It's still spring runoff season, and I have bad luck with that.

Oh, the thing about Panama got me to thinking, how about a ferry boat? Too slow? You probably know about this, but White Horse Press carries a ton of books about rides like you're planning:

Trans-continental enduro/touring books

Maybe someone has encountered the same problem and has solutions to it other than getting up in the air with some guy who has to bang on the plane engine with a hammer to keep it going (Never Cry Wolf).

WOW, CR, how cool is that! I'll miss you around these parts, but what an adventure! I will definitely check out your Myspace page.

Ride safe.

Hey CR, I'm looking forward to reading more of travels on your MySpace page -- great cause. Sorry you don't feel you can participate in the debates here. I can't see how PMs would be harmful though.

Wow- we keep picking up some support here and there- and a major producer for TV shows you might have seen has approached US, insted of the usual way around, and he wants a layout and itenerary of the trip, and a promotional/marketing report- and if it fits what he wants- and he told us what he wants and it seems do-able- he wants to run a chase vehicle, and with live satellite uplink for news broadcasts etc!

This very well make news!

Here is the insider secrets if this goes public in a big way- which we hope it will very much

The ACTUAL official world record is 36 days- two up on a BMW GS, the well known record- but unofficial- is 24 days. Because we want no controversy - we have to beat 24 days, that will be our publically stated goal. However, we thnk we can do it in 16 (all three of us have 20 hour straight rides, with one 15 minute break off hte bike eery 2 hours)

The customs issues will be the real hold up, and we will broadcast and record "face shot interviews" (think the big brother one person in the room thing) at those times.

We will have alot of news by the end of next week, I am hoping!