D2D Ride For Wet Noses

As April nears, the D2D team is working hard on several important things, the foremost of which are accomodations for the nights of the 9 stops that Bill and his team will be making. We are writing letters to some major motel chains hoping that they too will join the Ride as corporate sponsors.

Larry and the ImagePro Team are making final preparations for signage of our Enterprise Rent A Car Van which will be Bill's support vehicle and from what we've already seen, that wagon is going to look FANTASTIC!

Jason, Bill's son, head Team member and bike mechanic is finalizing HIS part of the Ride: Mainly making sure that Dad is well-equipped with spare parts and most of all .... SAFETY. Bill says that Jason has thought of things he (Bill) never would have considered, and is very happy to have Jason aboard. Looks like a father-son kinda thang! :)

One little "snag" we've run into is with The Natchez Trace Parkway. Apparently one must have official permission since it IS a federal park, and Bill is glad he called the Rangers and spoke with Lynn Stanton who filled him in on all the requirements which are now being attended to. Thanks Lynn! *Whew*! We're glad we checked with her!

One thing our supporters might want to help us with is choosing some TOONZ for the RIDE. Bill is currently loading his MP3 player with HIS faves, but invites all of those supporting the Ride to submit their choices as well.

Finally, the "mascots" are ready!!!!

The mascots are 5 teddy bears dressed in a smaller version of Bill's team jersey which will be presented to each shelter be visits. Bill rides with Club Hypoxia and those little jerseys were donated to us by "Deadhead Biker" and we appreciate him and "BikeBum" of Club Hypoxia for their participation in the Ride!

Thanks for your continued support!

Bill & Michelle

With less than 3 months until D2D, here's an update on preparations and a welcome to a couple of new sponsors:

1. Bill is currently in "indoor training" mode, meaning he has the TREK 1000 mounted on a trainer and is getting his miles in while pedalling and not actually going anywhere. Yes, that can get boring, but he has the bike parked in front of the television and also has a couple of DVD's that show bicycle travel from the rider's point of view, so it's not all THAT bad.

2. We had a first "organizational meeting" a week ago during which we discussed items still needing attention (such as overnight stays for the Team) and those tasks were graciously accepted by those attending which included: Melise from Paulding Humane Society, Leah from Critter Magazine, Mark and Martin from Paulding Networking (one of our new sponsors) and "Quazar", Bill's friend and supporter of the Ride. Other meetings are planned before the event and those interested in making it a success are cordially invited.

3. Our new sponsors are (as mentioned) Paulding Networking, and A Better World Club. Paulding Networking is Bill's choice for computer maintenance and repair and Mark and Martin Momtahan will be using their marketing skills for The Ride's public relations. Better World is a unique auto club that Bill recently joined and it is a great alternative to AAA. They also are the first auto club that also covers bicycles, and we invite you to check out their service on the Sponsor page. Just click on the logo to visit their site and become acquainted.

Speaking of our sponsors, we are of course very grateful to all of them and hope that you will utilize their services. Bill is proud of the fact that he is a customer of each one as well.

4. Bill plans another visit to the shelters in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama in mid February to finalize the details for each one of his stops.

5. Once the overnight stays are arranged, posters will be printed and sent to each shelter, so look for these and support your local shelter and humane society.

Questions? Send us an e-mail by clicking on "CONTACT US" at the bottom of the D2D homepage and we'll get back to you.

Thanks for reading and thanks for supporting D2D!!!!!

Bill & Michelle

As planning and training for The Ride for Wet Noses continues, we wanted to take a moment to thank all of you for continued support of our effort and, of course, of saving the animals - which is what it is all about.

Other "D2D News": I am proud to announce that my son Jason will be joining the Ride as my bike mechanic! Jason has had a lifelong romance with the bicycle and I am very fortunate that he will be keeping my "ride" road-worthy!

All the best to you and your loved ones for the holidays and the New Year.

Bill & Michelle

It can now be told!

For the past several months, Bill has been planning a new "publicity stunt" to call attention to the Ride for Wet Noses next April, and on Tuesday November the 20th, we pulled it off successfully: A climb up the Paulding Humane Society Billboard and pictures made up there with Bill and His Trek 1000 bike!

The perpetrators of the "crime"

Bill Craig: avid cyclist, animal welfare advocate and local nutcase

Michelle McKee: Photographer and Bill's web-designer

Andy Durden: of A Premier Painting and Home Repair who provided the ladder and moral support. (I believe that's called "aiding and abetting")

Witnesses to the "crime":

"Pubby": Proprietor of Paulding.com, a local community news and bulletin board web-site

"Satellite": Assistant to Pubby and interested observer.

The Details: At a little after 2 pm on Tuesday afternoon November the 20th, on Business highway 6 near Dallas Tire, two men were seen approaching the Paulding Humane Society billboard at that location.

One of the two was seen carrying a ladder and the other was rolling a bicycle.

Said ladder was leaned against the billboard and the first of the 2 men climbed up to the ledge to test its strength. When the ledge was deemed to be safe (in certain areas) the bike was handed up and leaned against the canvas of the billboard and person 2 (the principal perp) ascended and postitioned himself with the bicycle. (A bit nervous, due to the possible illegality of the act itself)

Photographs were then taken as evidence,and a video and interview were then filmed to be shown at a later date on Paulding.Com.

The parties then left the scene of the crime with the authorities none the wiser, or perhaps they knew of the good intentions and decided to turn a "blind eye" to the "heinous act".

My sincere thanks to everyone who helped make this possible, especially to Andy, whom I had only met in the parking lot of a local grocery store and who gave his assistance right away to our cause.

It was a lot of fun y'all, but I am very happy to be back on solid ground!

The Holidays are here again!

Seems like they come faster and faster as we get older, doesn't it?

I am happy to announce that D2D has once again made the pages of Critter Magazine with the article entitled "Hey! What'd I Do?" (question asked from the standpoint of a pet about to be euthanized).

Our friend Leah Robinson has really proved to be a wonderful D2D supporter and we thank her for the space she gives us in her magazine for pet lovers available free in and around the metro Atlanta area.

Here is the link to the November issue and this month's D2D article:

http://atlantacritter.com/default.aspx

Please read not just our article, but the entire magazine and support Leah by visiting her advertisers.

Training for The Ride continues, and we have some things "up our sleeve" as far as promoting it goes. Keep it here for more info!

In keeping with the Thanksgiving Holiday, my partner Michelle and I would like to wish all of our friends and supporters a peaceful and enjoyable day with your families.

See you next month!

Bill & Michelle

D2D is now on the front cover of Atlanta Critter Magazine, folks!

Leah Robinson's magazine for animal adoption and education was one of many print entities which were sent press-releases introducing D2D to the animal-loving community, and although we knew that Leah would run the article, we never DREAMED we would make the cover!!!!!!!!

The following is a link to the online version of Atlanta Critter Magazine which also contains info on where you can pick up a copy in the metro Atlanta area.

http://atlantacritter.com/MonthlyMagazine.aspx

With apologies to Dr. Hook:

"Critter Mag
Wanna see my picture on the cover
Critter Mag
Wanna get five copies for my mother
Critter Mag
Wanna see my smilin' face
On the cover of the Critter Mag"

Thanks, Leah for being the first magazine to feature D2D!

Bill and Michelle