In nearly every Domestic Violence Coalition and Children’s Advocacy Center I visit, I ask the person I talk with at the end of my interview about 1 or 2 stories of hope that they have seen while working with people in need. The look on their faces change immediately as they go from talking about stories and statistics that are a challenge to deal with, to a story or two of hope that their agency has brought to someone’s life.
Just 2 days ago, Bud Scharfetter of the Chillicothe Coalition Against Domestic Violence told me of one of his stories of hope. A woman who had so many things going wrong in her life, drug addiction, domestic violence, alcohol abuse and was at the end of her rope as she was about to lose her children to social services. Bud stepped in to get her life turned around, including her being able to keep her children. Today she is in a better place than she has ever been in her life. This is one of the many of Bud’s success stories. It is a story of hope, of good hope.
Today I rode a much longer ride than planned. I rode 88 miles for these stories of hope. There is hope for everyone’s life, you just have to want it more than not. At the half-way turn around of today’s ride, the path ended so I decided to ride up an empty country road for a couple of miles. When I turned around to head back, I noticed the road sign where I posed my bike in today’s blog. Amazing coincidence!!
My longest ride of my life was the ride today. It was very rainy and wet during most of the ride, what was Bogart doing back in Cleveland? He is one lucky dog!

The mileage on the sign sounds too good to be true, and is. We have a little over 5,800 miles to go on this 6 month Kindness Bicycle Tour. Time and miles are flying by. We are about to begin our 8th week and have logged over 1,600 miles. My point A to point B to point C original plan has been traded in for safety sake. Frankly, I have no clue how bicyclists travel cross-country on Route 50 in areas where the bike lane is barely the white line on the edge of the road for hundreds of miles. Blind curves and blind hills are the norm where cars and trucks travel 55mph just a few inches off your handlebars. I have been riding in and near cities and towns and getting huge visibility and press as I press-on westward. As of today I am over my mileage by nearly 50 miles, with many more to add to that total, as I ride on relatively flat terrain for the next 2,000 miles.
Today I received a great response while riding because of the interview which was played this morning on the Dan and Mike Show from 1490 WBEX Chillicothe.
Most offices were closed today for the long holiday weekend, adding thousands of more cars on the road than usual, giving the Kindness Bus Tour added exposure.

An early morning phone call to the Ross County Coalition Against Domestic Violence, set into action a most amazing day. Bud Scharfetter, Director of the RCCADV agreed to meet me a half hour after I cold-called his office. How could he say no to a guy pedaling 7,400 miles for a cause that is his life’s passion. Bud allowed us to interview him and he talked with us about the work his agency does for the residents of Ross County. His office is busy; one thousand new cases are referred to his office every year, of a total of only eighty thousand residents. Bud is an “out on the streets” kind of guy when it comes to doing his job, meeting and talking with those in the community.
Bud arranged for us to do a taped interview with Mike Smith at radio station WBEX 1490 AM. Mike has a popular morning show, The Dan and Mike Show. Mike is also a very big proponent in the fight against Domestic Violence. I also had an interview with Heather Cory of the Chillicothe Gazette, this too, was arranged by Bud. Heather was very professional and concise in her job. She called back late in the day to say the newspaper was going to make it a front page story in their Sunday edition. Thank you to everyone for the big welcome to Chillicothe.
Today’s ride of nearly 50 miles was a breeze as we cruised the streets and a sensational bike path in this friendly town.

The picture today is of a quilt which hangs in the reception area of the Ross County Coalition Against Domestic Violence. It contains the names of 16 women who died in Ross County, in a little more than a decade.

Brian Namey of the National Network to End Domestic Violence recently said to me that the amount of women who die each year in the United States from Domestic Violence is “Like three jumbo jets crashing.” Can you imagine if that such an aviation disaster were to ever take place? It would be front page news in every newspaper. Programming on every television station would be immediately interrupted. Investigations from every related governing body would be done. There would be public uproar! Sadly, there is no public uproar over Domestic Violence. Life continues on as usual and the victims are just a number.
Today, as it is every day, as I pedal my way across the United States, I encounter many people who share there stories with me. Today a woman named Erika told me she was one of the lucky ones. She thought she was going to be 1 of those 3, on a day where her abuser almost took it too far; she was smart, she got out.
Kindness is the answer to Domestic Violence and Childhood Sexual Abuse. I am convinced that any individual with a lifetime mind-set of kindness in their heart, would never be an abuser.  We need to teach kids this attitudinal belief when they are young.

Taking time to meet us at the Athens County Children Services offices, Executive Director, Andrea Reik, Public Relations Director, Sherri Oliver and Deputy Director of Finance, W. Otis Crockron Jr. helped me to better understand the needs of so many in their community. The services provided by this agency are many, among them are; feeding the hungry, helping to overcome illiteracy, finding homes for children in foster care, training to help oneself and teaching parents how to be better role models. Two of the projects created by this agency I was impressed with are The Garden Project and Kidsfest. Both of these projects raise awareness and teaching visitors to the center about healthy life choices. The Garden Project donates produce to local groups throughout the growing season.
This agency deals with many of the everyday issues with children and family needs. It also addresses abuse and violence issues, which seem to happen far to often. I asked Andrea if she could tell me one of the successes of her agency and what gives her hope in her day to day dealing with all of the issues she has to face. Andrea showed me a picture of a young couple who adopted 5 siblings who were in her foster care; that is what brings her hope and makes it all worthwhile.
Today the weather was perfect for riding and I decided to “bank” 25 miles for future rides. We head for Chillicothe, Ohio tomorrow. Here’s to cool weather, as we head into the 2 hottest months of the year!

On the side of The Kindness Bus, there are 3 places to hang signs. One of the signs says “Fan Mail For Bogart” another says “Bogart Needs Biscuits” and a third says “Please Donate For Fuel.” There are slots that are cut in the side of The Kindness Bus above the areas where the signs hang. Bogart has received all sorts of gifts and interesting items which people have left on, near or in The Kindness Bus. Chew toys, bones, food, a DVD of “Lady and the Tramp,” thousands of pieces of fan mail, etc… Today he received a box of biscuits, weighing nearly 5 pounds. I’m thinking Bogart is good until the end of the year.
Today was a big day for The Kindness Bicycle Tour, big in total miles, 76, and big in great connections and conversations.
The day started early with an interview with Joe Higgins of the Athens Messenger. Joe wrote a wonderful article about One Million Acts Of Kindness a year and a half ago on our last visit to Athens. Cam, a very complimentary young man from Melbourne, Australia told me the message signs on The Kindness Bike were the best signs he has seen in a year. Although Athens is primarily a college town, home to Ohio University, hundreds of students were still out on the streets and in the shops early this Monday morning. Parents with young kids on summer vacation loved the thought of someone addressing these 2 issues in such a public way. The Kindness Bus has been on the busiest corner in Athens and is a lesson in itself for those who view its messages.

Today was one of those days when I knew the moment I woke up, there was no way I was gonna get all of my miles ridden, so I did my 2nd favorite thing as it rained, my laundry. Visiting the laundromat is always something I look forward to doing as I have a captive audience and undoubtedly someone wants to talk about The Kindness Bus and my mission. One person even asked me how I got my shirts so white: “Ancient Chinese secret.”
My ride today left me wet on a few occasions and it wasn’t until the late afternoon came that the rain finally stopped. The streets filled as the weather improved with people wanting to get in some outdoor time before the weekend came to a close this Sunday evening.