Bill writes:
The 2007 Long Reach Long Rider Charity Motorcycle Ride has come to a close. All of the riders that were going home have done so safely and the rest are on their way to points unknown.
By all accounts this was the best ride ever. We had great weather. None of the bikes broke down and no one got hurt. A couple of bikes did get dropped but hey, it wouldn't be an LRLR ride without a bike or two hitting the pavement. The scenery was great and we rode more than our share of decent bike roads. Personally, I want to get back to VT. Rt. 8 and give that road another try.
But more than good weather and roads and bikes, this ride is about people. It's about the riders who take time out of their very busy lives to go on this ride year after year. It's about the new riders that trusted us enough to spend their summer vacations with us and hope that it would be worth it. And this year it was also about the people we met on the way. For the first time we rode in an area where we had a chance to stop and meet theatre folks (and civilians) along the way and actually spend some time with them. They cooked meals for us. They took us out to dinner. They stopped and talked with us.
And finally, it was about the charities. There are thousands of worthy charities out there and they all need our support. But Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS and the ESTA Foundations's Behind the Scenes program are the two that hit really close to home. These people are doing great work for our brothers and sisters, colleagues and co-workers. It is an honor and a privilege to raise money for them.
The last order of business then, are the thank you's.
First and foremost are our donors, corporate sponsors, service providers, challenge grant participants and raffle prize donors. For a full list of these folks please go to our Sponsors Page
Then there are the folks that donated their time and energies (and money) to support us along the way.
In Philly: Ida and Emma Sapsis. (Emma makes a mean guacamole)
In Ithaca it was Adam Zonder and Matt and Harmony Farrow.
In Syracuse it was Marilyn Larsen aided and abetted by Barbara Lucas. On hand to make the dinner a special event were, from USITT, Monica Merritt, Carol Carrigan & Michelle Smith. The JR Clancy contingent consisted of Eric McAfee, Tom Young, Bill Knapp, Bill Jones and Anthony Seifritz. Bob Theis led the entourage.
In Ottawa it was Dave Ship, Ron Muise and Scotty, all from the National Arts Centre. Dave gave a great tour of the NAC and Ron and Scotty allowed the out of towners to beat them at pool.
For lunch we stopped at SUNY/Potsdam. This is where Dennis Gill-Booth went to school and he had arranged a lunch for us. Our hosts where Dave Britt, Kim Bouchard and Robin.
Middlebury Vt. had Jim & Trish Dougherty, Kathy Walker, Felipe Pruneda-Senties manning the grills and providing excellent food.
Lunch in Burlington came to us courtesy of Production Advantage. The nice folks over there are Angie Meltzer, Deborah Butt, David Schraffenberger, Bob Kieran, Neil Burgess, Rocky Harlow, Tony Tambasco, Juls Rozhon, Robert Kenyon, Sally Camm, Mark McDonnell and chef extraordinaire...Brian Sterling. Oh, and I can't forget the Good Humor Ice Cream truck guy.
The folks at the Fairbanks Museum in St. Johnsbury stayed open late so we could come and look at all the cool stuff. Many thanks to Betsy Millmann, Peggy Pearl and Lisa Emerson.
Dinner that night was supposed to come from Susan Terry and Stephen Parker at the High Reach Tree Farm, but a medical incident took precedence. But that doesn't mean their hearts weren't in the right place. Thanks for thinking of us. Can we have a rain check?
A few nights later the folks at Dartmouth put out a lovely spread for us. What was really cool was that all the food and condiments and stuff came from local producers. The butter and sour cream were hand made. How cool is that? Muchas Gracias to the Theater Department at Dartmouth College The Costume Shop: Sycha, Lonnie, Joanie and Carla. The Scene Shop: Carl Choquette, Scott Silver. Ellen Putnam and Winsome Farm. Upper Valley Ambulance. Doug Phoenix
And last but certainly not least, Lori Rubinstein and John McGraw, with the help of the ever popular Frances Thompson, laid out a feast for us at their house in Lakeville. What a way to end the ride. Thank you, thank you, thank you.
Many thanks to our web guru Sarah Gowan and to our pinch hit web person Lori Rubinstein. (she stepped up to the plate for Sarah for a couple of days when Sarah was unexpectedly called out of town).
Lori Rubinstein is our contact for Behind the Scenes and Joe Norton is over at Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS. There help and support has been invaluable.
This ride wouldn't happen if it weren't for the motorcycle folks. Here they all are in no particular order.
Greg Williams, Alice Neff, Matt Williams, Moe & Christine Conn, Cris Dopher Wayne Rasmussen, Jim Neisel, Mark Heiser, Jonathan Duell, Richard Gagliardi, Neil Mazzella, Frank Stewart, Scott Henkels, Mike Cucciarre, Rob Hamilton, Scott Miller, Jim Dougherty, Bill Forchion, Mike Sapsis, Bill Sapsis, Dennis Gill-Booth. And Aaron Smith and Carl Allen, who joined us for a few miles in Brattleboro, VT.
My thanks to one and all. It was a great experience riding with you, one that I hope to repeat next year.
And finally, our thanks to you, the people sending in the dollars. As of this writing we have collected over $64,000.00. Pretty darned awesome, yes? Please note that we'll be taking donations for this year's ride up to September 1, 2007
Next year's ride starts in Las Vegas. See you then.
Be well
Bill