What Really Helps: Bike+RV+Dog=50 States

Episode 1: Thank you, Fort Drum & Watertown & Tupper Lake!

October 07, 2020 Deb Lewis Season 1 Episode 1
What Really Helps: Bike+RV+Dog=50 States
Episode 1: Thank you, Fort Drum & Watertown & Tupper Lake!
Show Notes Transcript

In this week’s podcast, we bring you up to speed on the three-and-a-half week period between the Wisconsin Ironman, held Sep 12th, and the first day of the Duty, Honor, America Tour on Thursday, October 7, 2010. Listen to the story of great support we received as we make the final preparations for the start of the 18,067-mile journey and the day the tour commences, leaving Watertown/Fort Drum, New York and cycling toward Tupper Lake.

SCRIPT

What Really Helps: Bike + RV + Dog = 50 States

Episode 1

Script v2

 

Episode Intro

DEB: This is What Really Helps: Bike + RV + Dog = 50 States, episode one, “Thank you, Fort Drum & Watertown & Tupper Lake!”

 

[Series Intro

[Intro music – 12 sec then turn lower for Doug reading]

DOUG: You're listening to What Really Helps: Bike + RV + Dog = 50 States, how a veteran wife and husband team thrived against the odds to make a difference. Now your host, Deb Lewis. (About 14 sec)

[Music fades- 10 sec]]

 

Episode 1

DEB: Aloha all, and welcome to episode 1. This episode is “Thank you, Fort Drum & Watertown & Tupper Lake!”. Now let’s hear from the 50 State Cyclist himself, my husband Doug Adams.

 

DOUG: Thanks darling! In the prelude episode we told you that each week we will be describing our year-long tour by bicycle and RV, during which I cycled over 18,000 miles through all fifty states and Debra drove our RV over 26,000 miles, all to bring attention to the issues facing veterans, military and their families.  In this week’s podcast, we plan to bring you up to speed on the three-and-a-half week period between the Wisconsin Ironman, held Sep 12th, and the first day of the Duty, Honor, America Tour on Thursday, October 7, 2010.

 

DEB: (Intro to discussion)

Sep 12 2010

•           Doug completes the Wisconsin Ironman, the culmination of his training for the Duty, Honor, America Tour

Sep 13 – Oct 5 2010

·       Post-Ironman/Pre-Tour: 

o   Travel from Madison Wisconsin to Washington DC

o   Visit classmates in Milwaukee, Chicago, Indiana, Maryland

§  Milwaukee: Dinner with Darrell & Francoise Lewis and son Dawson

§  Chicago: lunch with Al Duff

§  Granger, Indiana: stayed with Drew & Kim Shearer and daughter Taylor for a few days

§  Walkersville, Maryland: stayed overnight with Erin & Jeff Misner

o   DC & NY

§  Visit family in DC (Dad & Mom)

§  Attend Academy Women’s Symposium at WIMSA Memorial at Arlington Cemetery

§  Doug visit family in NY (practiced cycling in hills)

§  Attend family friend’s wedding (Lauren Boten & Eric Matthaey (Patti, Dan & Jessica Boten)

o   Install RV and towcar with Duty Honor America Tour wrap

§  Keith Vu of Savage Wraps (Milpitas, CA) & Rudy

o   Troy Rolan

Oct 5-6 2010

·       Watertown/Fort Drum:

o   Media

§  Froggy 97 Country w/Bud Green

§  Z93 Classic Rock w/Jay Donovan

§  790 WTNY News Talk radio w/Al Walts & Nathan Lehman

§  TV 7 (WWNY) w/Stacy Lange

§  Advice from a Squirrel t-shirt (Stephens Media Group)

o   Fort Drum Tour

§  Mike Plummer

§  USO (Director Karen Clark and 68-year volunteer Mary)

o   Dinner with Mike & Miriam Plummer (Italian Restaurant)

Oct 7 2010

·       Morning of…

o   RV travel to Watertown

o   Website up!

o   Doug’s cycling kit arrives!

·       Watertown Public Square

o   Fort Drum support (COL Kurt Ryan)

o   Media coverage

·       …and they’re off!

o   Cyclists accompanying Doug out of town

o   First thoughts

§  Support from everyone

§  Beginning of tour

§  All the work to get to this point

o   Cycling stats (90.3 miles, 5:24, 3400 elev gained, average 16.7mph)

o   Jim and Jason Harris: veteran discussion with Debra

o   Lunch together

o   Finishing near Piercefield

§  Weather

§  Terrain

§  Summer cycling kit from JL Velo

·       Tupper Lake

o   Chief Tom Fee

o   Municipal Park

o   Newton Greiner (Tupper Lake Free Press)

o   VFW-hosted dinner at Park Restaurant

§  Phil & Fran Smith, post cdr Leon LeBlanc, Walt Mallon and others

 

DOUG: This first episode of the podcast carried us from the day after the Wisconsin Ironman (which you can hear about in our episode zero podcast) to the first day of the Duty, Honor, America Tour, from Sep 13 to Oct 7 2010. We’ll end with a 14-minute extract of the commentary that Debra recorded on that first day. Bear in mind, she’s recording this while driving an RV with a lot of rattling going on that sounds just like you might guess - what driving your house down the highway would sound like. The entire recording will be available at a later date, but enjoy this initial story from Debra as she drives the RV in upstate New York on October 7 2010.

Add Audio Recording

· Day 1 10-7-10 extract.mp3

————————

Episode Outro

DEB: That's all for this episode one, “Thank you, Fort Drum & Watertown & Tupper Lake!” of our podcast What Really Helps: Bike + RV + Dog = 50 States. As always, we hope you learned something about helping others and about the thoughts, emotions, and challenges that we encountered on our journey. We’ll be back with Episode 2, from Piercefield, New York to Portland, Maine, next week. We’d love you to join us! 

DOUG: You can find this series wherever podcasts are played. You can also find us on Facebook @DutyHonorAmericaTour. Our website is www.DutyHonorAmerica.com.

DEB: For those who have been eagerly awaiting access to all of our unedited original audio recordings and photos, those details will be coming soon.

DOUG: Thanks for listening! 

DEB: Aloha!

Series Outro

[music]