There are no wrong turns

The end of the day has brought me to a decision.  Tomorrow I ride for El Paso. I really want to be there. I have a very close friend in El Paso, and I am excited to see him. But I am tired. Between the traveling on a bike, and the hours I need to invest to make the fundraiser a success, it takes a lot out of girl. We ride for a large part of the day, and then I stay up I to the wee hours of the morning working to make the fundraiser a success and I want to continue to write well for you, at least to the best of my ability.

Odometer reading for the day

I'm starting to pressure myself about my rate of travel. I feel like we should be able to go further in a day than we have been, and my brain likes the idea of the challenge of getting to El Paso in one day.

 The road from where we are now and El Paso is... well, challenging. First of all, its through the desert. The gas stations are few and far between (This is dangerous because while  motorcycles are great on gas mileage, they only hold a few gallons at a time.) so we can only go about 150 miles without refueling. And my ass can only go about 100 miles before I need to get up and walk around. Also, its near the US border with Mexico... it has a reputation as a dangerous area. This is America though,  not to discount the danger, but I'm a tall, strong, white chick riding a motorcycle and I have a bad ass traveling partner... Do I have time for an aside?

  Chose your traveling partner carefully. I can't tell you how amazing it is to have a strong, independent, and powerful female as a sidekick. I don't have to worry about her at all. She carries her own weight, and then some of mine. To John (her husband)- you are a lucky man :) I couldn't have gotten this far without her... well I could have (probably) but she has saved my ass, and made the trip much more enjoyable. Thank you Margie.

 So, El Paso tomorrow? Mateo, the man who has generously lent us his spare bedroom tonight (more on him later), told me something that helped me understand. After everyone else that has expressed concern, this really spoke to me. His father, a motorcycle traveler, told him -when driving across the southern United States and you leave Los Angeles...you drive through southern California... and then through Arizona and Tucson... across New Mexico on 70... into Texas... and finally,... when you arrive in El Paso... you are halfway to Houston.

There is also a meteor shower tomorrow night, and it is supposed to be epic. Talks of a meteor "storm." Can you imagine watching it from my hammock? How cool would that be? Also, I heard that there is a great town on the way to El Paso called Marfa that I need to check out. Maybe we could find somewhere to camp in Marfa or Alpine?  Who knows which we will do, camp or push through?

We had a photo shoot today with Margie's family, Shon. This former scout in the

 Army produced some awesome pictures of Margie and I with our bikes. He put us up last night in Killeen, and for that I am grateful.  The man runs a successful photography business, has a beautiful fiance and daughter and has opened his home to foster kids. I admire him, and am grateful for the time we spent with him. You should check out his other work on his website www.frame1or2.com. He is quite talented.

He also pointed us to Meno's Mexican Grill, where I ate Chicken Mole (which I chose because of my chemistry class). Its chicken drenched in a CHOCOLATE BARBQUE SAUCE. And served with tortillas, pico, guacamole, and rice & beans. I really enjoyed it. Really really enjoyed it. I want this in Athens. Does someone know where I can find it there?

  The chicken mole filled me up and put me into one of those oh-I-overate-and-now-its-snooze-time moods. I only got four hours of sleep last night, so I wasn't far from there anyways ;) I napped. We packed the bikes, and we were off.

Crash

The traffic in Austin SUCKED. An hour of ten miles an hour or not moving. We hit Austin right at rush hour too, so that didn't help. If you're making the drive, pay the toll to take 130, it's well worth it. We missed a turn on the way to Victoria,  but the resulting detour took us through some beautiful hill country of Texas. I think we got some gopro video, I'll try to get it uploaded tomorrow.

 We arrived late at the bingo party :( I'm telling you, these guys and gals are serious about their bingo. I watched for a little while and I don't know if I could keep up! I still got to meet some really engaging people, and collect donations. I want to specifically thank VFW Post # 4146 for their donation. I didn't get to talk to many people today about The Wounded Warrior Project,  but it's mostly because I hung out with vets all day... and they already know all about WWP :) I also feel like I should check out the VFW Post when I return home, and see what they're up to.

After bingo wrapped up we headed to our new friend Mateo's residence where he poured us a beverage and showed us around his shop. This retired seaman  has some really cool stuff here. I wish the time wasn't going on 3am, because I would love to go through and share several of his that were really cool, but it is 3am, so I'm only gonna cover my favorite.  It is a 1985 Suzuki GSX R1100.  The bike that started it all known for its power, handling and relative lack of weight. This bike is the one that made crotch rockets popular. I was shocked (and a little overwhelmed) when Margie and Mateo explained this GSX R'S history. You know that feeling you get when you realize you were in the presence of something true great.

And it was fun expanding my motorcycle knowledge, hanging out with two really cool bikers. Joe- thank you for introducing us to Mateo.

Until tomorrow,
~Amanda Terranova

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Read more about why I chose The Wounded Warrior Project

everythings more texan in texas

~Amanda Terranova

Follow me on G+: Amanda Terranova
Facebook: FromTheRefuge
Twitter: FromTheRefuge
Youtube: Amanda Terranova

Read more about why I chose The Wounded Warrior Project

MotoChicks Coast to Coast for Wounded Warrior Project

 I have been overwhelmed by the response for The Wounded Warrior fundraiser from my friends and family. I started collecting donations at NPRDucati's Monster unveil party (Thank you Paul :). For those of you who are new to my posts, I've been planning a coast to coast trip for a while. Only recently I embraced the opportunity to raise money for veterans.

My parents, both veterans, and myself

 I was raised by two Army Military Police Officer veterans. As a result, I have a healthy respect for any family or friends that serve my country. A few months ago I was telling a friend about this trip I was planning across the country on my motorcycle. They mentioned (since I had started a blog about my adventures), that I use the opportunity to raise money and awareness about the needs of veterans. After asking around, I found out The Wounded Warrior Project helps a lot of retired military.  I don't have the space (or your attention) enough to list all that The Wounded Warrior Project offers. Overall, they provide veterans with visible, mental and emotional wounds with tools needed to transition back to civilian life. Specifically, the Project helps veterans with physical injuries resume active lifestyles, grant financial assistance, and arrange job opportunities. My box of WWP buttons, sticker and other promotional material arrived earlier this week and I am looking forward to passing some stuff out to some of those who have already donated. (So if you gave to me last weekend, then expect to see my smiling face again soon :)

 Okay, so my goal is to collect $10,000 to donate to Wounded Warrior Project this trip. I have calculated my costs for the trip to be about $2000. This includes food, fuel, and the other necessities. I am trying to do as much couch-surfing as possible to keep my costs down. (So I may be hitting you up-- if you are following me from outside of Georgia ;) I am donating $2500 of my own money, to cover all of my costs and then some. This ensures that all the money raised goes to the Project. There are several ways to contribute.

 

 Pledge to donate per mile. Upon completion of the trip I will announce my total miles. You can sign up for this option in person, or email me. I am working on finding a way to show easily my miles every day. Margie and I haven't worked out a specific route, but it is around 3,000 miles depending on how you slice it... (and Margie and I have been known to follow a wild hair or two ;) so keep that in mind.

 You can also make a flat donation. Thanks to the party at NPRDucati, I have already collected several hundred dollars- some checks, gear, gas card, and lots of emails for people interested in more information. I hope to connect with a few businesses across the country, blogging and picking up donations if you know anyone out west that wants some promotions---and for a good cause! I have set up an Paypal account (click here or follow the familiar donate button below) if you choose to support my cause, but cant attend the kickoff party. Oh yeah, there is gonna be a party... a kickoff party on May 16th (more details to come!) where a donation box and pledge sign up will be found. Also hopefully, beer, food and (I'm certain) good times and laughs among some great people as well ;)
I am looking forward to this new adventure. Thank you for taking the time to read my posts, and please consider giving.  I will readily provide access to my records if you are interested so feel free to contact me with any questions.... or suggestions.... or jokes. Because I like to laugh :)

 ~Amanda Terranova
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