More New Stuff!

Hello all once again! Thanks so much to everyone for the kind words, and thoughts, about this project. So far, everyone has been really great, and I wanted to say a heartfelt thanks to all who have donated to the cause. A little goes a very long way, and by showing your support, you are truly helping to realize this dream.

I'd also like to say a special thanks to Sid's BIkes in New York City for being my first and most important sponsor! Check out the website at www.sidsbikes.com when you get a chance, two locations in Manhattan 235 E 34th and 151 W 19th!

In addition to all of this great stuff happening, I've got some even better news! I will be ordering my bike tomorrow! It should be here by next week, and I'll be doing the primary assembly asap. I've got several training runs in the works, the first being an overnight trip to Bear Mountain State Park north of Manhattan. I'll be posting pics and stories as I go, so tune in for frequent updates and other fun stuff!

Again, thanks to all and, until next time, keep riding!

New Stuff!

Hello!

I've spent the last couple of days beginning a training program for myself, sifting through badly scanned morning reports from World War Two, and making notes of my route this fall. I'm basing the exact road route directly from Grandpa's unit history. I intend to "drop in" to the route at the same place he joined his unit in October 1944, around Meijel, Holland. From there, it will be over to the Roer River Damns just east of the Hurtgenwald, down to St. Vith, Belgium, and back northwest to Holland again, finally ending up crossing the Rhine River at Remagen, Germany. Here is where my research has yet to catch up to my planning!

I've got a lot of just plain primary source work to complete, not only to determine exactly where I'm going, but also to get a feel for what it was like at that time and place. I'm hoping to contrast this with today, nearly 70 years later. Is the brutal past concealed beneath the veneer of modern buildings, shopping malls and suburbs?

A heartfelt thanks to all who have contributed a donation! Really any amount is a great help, as my expenses on this trip are to be kept at a minimum. I'm biking and camping, making my own food and likely doing my own repairs along the route. This is not only to keep costs down, but to hopefully give me a sense of what it is like to live close to the land and more fully inside the places that I will visit.

With all of that said, any amount that you feel you can give to the cause is great, and very much appreciated!

Thanks to all, and until next time, good night!

P.S. I'll have some New York training pictures up next time!