The 2012 W.T.H.I.M Round the World Ride Sticker is here....

I just picked these up from the printers today,so they are now available.


I thought long and hard about how to distribute them,so this is what I came up with:
As many of you know,my "give back" organization is Team Red,White and Blue,a non-profit organization set up by Maj.Mike Erwin to help reintegrate returning vets from the war back into "normal' life again through the medium of exercise.I was introduced to them by my friends Mandy Miller,who is heavily active and a huge part of the TeamRWB organization.
She also is the friend responsible for getting me into re-hab 3 yrs ago and helping me to become a sober and productive member of society.


Over the last few days i've been seeing a tremendous amount of support for TeamRWB in many forms,and yesterday I saw the Paula Broadwell Video.
Not only is Paula donating 25% of the proceeds of her new book "ALL IN" to TeamRWB,but Jon Stewart jumped in the fray and donated $20,000 and put a "Donate to TeamRWB" button on the The Daily Show Page.
So I got to thinking about how I could contribute to my cause,TeamRWB,and I decided to donate to them from the proceeds of the sale of my stickers.


So,pictured above is the sticker package that is up on sale.


WHAT YOU GET:you get 1 large 5" wide by 3" tall sticker,1 medium 3" wide by 1 3/4" tall sticker(the one that is blank,not finished printing yet)and a 5" by 1/2 sticker,all mailed TO YOUR DOOR.
You don't even need to get in the car for this one,I mean JUST HOW EASY does it get PEOPLE !!!!.


30% of the proceeds are going to be donated to TeamRWB,and 20% will go to an as yet undecided cause.So basically i'm going to donate 50% of the proceeds of the money I get from the sale of the stickers.
The package is priced at $10,which includes shipping anywhere in CONUS.
My goal is to get TeamRWB at least $1200,and $600 to another cause(as yet to be determined).
Once I get my printing costs covered i'll be happy,if not,i'll still be happy.


I never set out to try to make a profit on these stickers,but now i'd like to try and make a profit to help some others,as there are many many people who make regular donations to help me and continue to be a constant source of support.
I may need to make an extra run of 500 if they take off and sell,I really hope so.
I do intend to make a WTHIM World Ride sticker each year,with just the year on it changing,who knows,they nay become collectible!!!.


So there you have it,I hope that you all find this a worthwhile reason to spend $10.
I have a very limited run of these made,I couldn't afford to get 1000 made,but maybe if this batch all sell,i'll get some more done.


SO C"MON people,show TeamRWB some support.......pretty please.


Murph.


TO PURCHASE STICKER SETS PLEASE GIFT PAYPAL $10 PER SET TO:


WHERESMURPH@GMAIL.COM


Buy as many sets as you can afford please,the more you buy,the more I can give to TeamRWB.

Europe and Points East.........

I've been treated to some absolutely spectacular sunrises in Boulder,these ones straight out of the camera,no need to mess with these already beautiful colors.


I'm spending a little extra time with me Mum before I leave for Europe and my Round the World trip,to return in 2,maybe 3 years after traversing continents and countries i've yet to see,people i've yet to meet,customs and rituals I have only read about in the journals of other travelers or National Geographic shows i've watched.On the other hand,i've also been thinking that the world has become so small today,as I thought to myself,well,what if something were to happen to Mum,what would I do if i'm in Russia or India or japan or Australia?.
There's not too many places on the planet that aren't accessible by plane anymore.The "far off and remote" areas are not so far off and remote anymore,thanks in part to the fast forward march of technology.

Wanderlust set in at an early age for me,I remember the first time I left home for a trip,I decided to on a backpacking trip to Europe.Earlier that year I had met 3 germans shopping at our local supermarket traveling around Ireland on bicycles,we chatted,they asked for directions,and ended up staying a couple of nights at our house.Naturlich,habe ich nach Deutschland eingeladen,so of course I went.

It was December of '76,2 months shy of turning 15 the following January.
In '79 things were a bit different,there were no computers,no GPS,no cellphones,I think we just got an answering machine at home,and I remember it was the size of a VHS player and it took cassette tapes to ecord the messages.Travel was a little different too.
My old man had a friend who worked for a large department store in the  end of things,he knew all the truckers,so he got me a ride on a truck that was passing through Germany en route to Denmark with drill bits that were 6 feet wide,used in the mining industry there.

So off I went in December of 1976 on a truck to Germany.I couldn't speak German,was never there before and didn't have any maps,I just went.

Today,we have the GPS taking the place of the map,which in turn takes the place of the interaction needed when you have to ask a real person for directions.I was reading another motorcycle travelers blog the other day(the name escapes me now)and he mentioned that he makes sure to never turn on the GPS unless absolutely necessary,and on many trips he never brings the GPS at all.
I mean,how did we ever get around before the GPS?.We just did.We asked people for directions.
When I was dropped off in Germany by the truck driver,I had to get to the town of Essen from where I was at.
"Essen" is also the german word for "eat".
It took me all morning to find someone who spoke English to point me in the direction of the town of Essen,and not tell me where to go to eat.

Sometimes,you need to take a step back,sometimes going backwards is a good thing.Sometimes,if you're too close to something,you can't see the whole picture.

I have a ballpark idea of where i'm going,Europe and Asia.That'll do for now until I get there.

Murph