BORDER RAID 2010

WE ARE BACK........ Just like in the Shining and we may be a little crazy, but we are never dull...... Join us for the 6th edition of the Border Raider Bicycle and History tour............... You can snail mail or use electronic online registration to let us know you are coming..... We will leave the porch light on for you.......

Hooray, our snow is gone and we may be able to actually ride a bicycle really soon...... but a little more winter is on its way, besides it is still January.........Dang it. Anxious to see my old buds and to make new ones.....
Train well, ride well, eat well and we will see you soon. Rubber side down.
Jim

JERSEYS ARE HERE!!!!!!!

To All,

You are probably sitting down as you read this, so don't fall off your seat. THEY ARE IN!. Yes the Border Raider jerseys are in and I mailed them out late Saturday evening. For some reason they were hung up at one of the mail delivery drop offs for awhile - the company has no idea why. They were delivered Thursday and I got everything labeled and mailed last night. You should get your jersey by mid-week.

Sorry for the delay. We hope to see you next year on Border Raiders. We are looking at tweaking the ride a little with the possibility of stopping at Indian Cave Park and having a River Boat meal. Look forward to more details in January 2010.


Thanks,
Paul Corcoran
785-842-5273

Sunday August 16th Border Raid Jersey

Hey all you Raiders that have emailed about the jersey's, they are in the pipeline and should be here around the middle of or late in the month of September..... Paul sent you a little note explaining the delay.... and here is hoping we have no delays from the manufacturer.

We all appreciate your patience and understanding. Paul has been busier than a duck chasing a June bug. Between getting ready for the new school year, our Death Ride and the local bicycle club's ride he was a man with too many missions..... and there are precious few who can and will do what he does in terms of registrations.... I won't even pretend to entertain the notion I could pick up the slack.

Thanks to all who sent the kind emails after the Border Raid was over, hugs and kisses right back at you..... we will see you next year and hopefully it will be cooler during June 19th to the 26th, 2010.

So mark down that week on your calendar. Get your time off request in and we will do the rest......
You might want to ride a little before next June, too.

Keep the tread side down,
Jim

July 20th Border Raider Wrap Up

This year several things about the ride will be with me for some time to come.....

We have two empty saddles and two fellows from the Border Raider family will not be returning. We lost Dale L. last September and Earl J. this June. Dale succumbed to lung cancer and tragically, Earl was hit by a car on Highway 73 off route while he was on his way to join us the 2nd day of the ride this year. We will have a short memorial for both of these guys next year in Atchison.

Yes it was HOT and yes it was HUMID, but after losing Earl the second day, nothing else was really that hard. The ride did go on and the folks did a wonderful job of coping with the heat. It really felt like August in June. Gradually the heat took a toll on the riders and we had some cases of heat exhaustion to take care of. Some riders had to abandon the ride. One other casualty was the Long Rider Century, 42 folks had signed up, but with a weather forecast with a heat index of 115, we pulled the plug on the Century. They still got the lunch and t shirt, just no chance to ride 120 miles in triple digit heat.....

We are exploring some exciting possible changes for next year, they are in the discussion stage at the moment.
So keep an eye on the website and this blog, I will try to update it once a month or more if there is something to report....


Keep riding and keep that rubber side down on the road and hopefully your state will not decide to pave your roads with what appeared to us to be glass shards....... (In Missouri this year we had to reroute riders because they were experimenting with using crushed slag from coal fired plants in the asphalt mix, for bike tires, it was a disaster!!!!!)

Jim Turner

Memorial Service for Earl Johnston

My apologies for the somber post immediately following the tour this year, but I wanted to make sure to share the information about the memorial services for Earl Johnston for those of you who may be interested in attending.

Earl Ryan Johnston, 51, of Surprise, AZ passed away on June 21st, 2009 as a result of a bicycle accident. Earl was born September 13th,1957 in California, PA. Earl and Sally Johnston lived in Olathe, KS for 27 years and moved to Surprise, AZ in 2005. Earl was an active member of Horizon Church in Surprise, AZ. Earl was a senior manager in the aerospace division of Honeywell and had been employed there since 1978. He was an avid cyclist and had ridden his bicycle across Kansas, Arizona, and several other states. Surviving family members include his wife Sally and son Ryan Johnston of Surprise, AZ; daughter Amy Johnston of Olathe, KS; parents Harry and Nancy Johnston; sister Carol Tymoczko of Washington, PA; sister Cathy Runyan of San Jose, CA; four nephews and two nieces. He was preceded in death by his brother Paul Johnston of San Francisco, CA.

• VISITATION:
  Thursday, July 2, 2009 / 6:00 - 8:00 pm / Porter Funeral Homes & Crematory, 8535 Monrovia, Lenexa, KS, (913) 438-6444)


• FUNERAL SERVICE:
  Friday, July 3, 2009 / 10:00 am / Mill Creek Community Church


• CONDOLENCES:
  Please visit PorterFuneralHome.com

The cross memorial shown above was constructed by Micah Bicker who runs the Hiawatha Cyclist blog.

June 15th it is almost Raider Time......

Many of you may be getting excited and ready to leave for Lawrence, Kansas for the RAID....... Paul and I will be at Free State High School at High Noon to 8 pm for early registration and check in. Feel free to sleep in the school or camp outside....

One note about adult beverages, we have nothing against them personally, but WE CAN NOT have them on ANY School Campus.
All 4 states have a no tolerance policy for drugs, alcohol and firearms, so please abide by this rule for the entire week.

We are all excited too, and I have the weather under control, for now. So air up those tires and we will see you soon.
Keep the rubber side down.
Jim

A few updates...

If you're having trouble viewing and downloading the 2009 Get Ready Guide through the links in the previous post, CLICK HERE for a good old fashioned PDF.

Also, we've received a few requests for the addresses of the overnight facilities. Here they are for your records:

• Free State High School
  4700 Overland Dr, Lawrence, KS 66049
  Friday, June 19, 2009


• Atchison Middle School
  215 N 8th St, Atchison, KS 66002
  Saturday, June 20, 2009


• Falls City High School
  1400 Fulton St, Falls City, NE 68355
  Sunday, June 21, 2009


• Kimmel AG Expo Center
  PO Box 385, Syracuse, NE 68446
  Monday, June 22, 2009


• Marnie Simons Elementary
  309 S Street, Hamburg, IA 51640
  Tuesday, June 23, 2009


• Maryville Senior High
  1503 S Munn Ave, Maryville, MO 64468
  Wednesday, June 24, 2009


• Savannah Middle School
  701 W Chestnut St, Savannah, MO 64485
  Thursday, June 25, 2009


• Weston High School
  931 Washington St, Weston, MO 64098
  Friday, June 26, 2009