What a great day it was in Brooklyn for the beginning of The Kindness Bicycle Tour, temperature in the 60s with overcast skies, a cyclists dream. The Atlantic Ocean at Coney Island is where we did the ceremonial tire dip. My sons, Alex and Peter flew into town to be a part of the kick-off ceremony. My daughter Lizzie had college finals and couldn’t make the trip but we had her on the phone as we toasted this 7,400 mile trip.
A local Brooklyn native, Pam, who owns, Journey, a furnishing shop in DUMBO, was a much needed tour guide and took us on all the back roads and short cuts on this 44 mile day. Nathan Reitz, a videographer who drove from Denver to New York to document our Tour will be traveling with us, in his own vehicle for the next six months.
The interest in this tour is already more than I have ever would have expected, as many people praised this mission and several even told of their abuse, some too young to remember.

One of my favorite stops along the way, during my ride, was to get a haircut at Alice Hair on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. Alice is a big supporter and her talented staff added to the enjoyment of the day.

Let’s have a party! What better way to start a 7,400 mile, 6 month bicycle ride than to have a party. Co-host, Lori Sutherland and John Goldfein opened their home, along with co-host, Tara Dixon, to have this beautiful party celebrating the beginning of The Kindness Bicycle Tour. Friends and relations stopped by throughout the evening to this open house. Children of some of the adults came as well, adding to the magical feeling of this very special evening. I was able to give a small talk of past experiences along The Kindness Bus Tour and to let this very interested group know about my upcoming Kindness Bicycle Tour, to raise awareness for Childhood Sexual abuse and Domestic Violence. So many caring individuals are helping with my travels along the way and tonight’s gala was a testament to that statement. One Million Thank Yous to all!!!

Most everyone asks me, “How are you going one way across the United States and it is 7,400 miles?” New York, through Washington DC to San Francisco is only 3,700 miles but I am doing it twice, one way.
Here is my explanation. The Kindness Bicycle tour was originally planned to be a twice cross-country trip with one bus driver each way. Over the period of a few months, a number of drivers said that they would be able to help with the driver duties. All of them had to reconsider, I can’t blame them, it is a 3 month commitment. So I became The Kindness Bus driver and the bicycle rider by default. Here is an example of how I will perform both duties. Every day I will ride my bicycle to the next town I will stay in. I will then turn around and ride my bicycle back to the bus, put my bicycle in The Kindness Bus and drive to the town I will stay in that night. I will do this 180 times from New York, through Washington to San Francisco as both The Kindness Bus driver and The Kindness Bicycle rider by “Doing the Loop.”

A few months ago, during my visit to Millridge School in Mayfield Heights, Ohio, I received a call from Janelle, a mother of one of the students. Her young son Jake, had seen my presentation, including the puppet show, during my visit. Our visit had a big impact on him and he talked about it for quite some time. Janelle wanted to return the favor. She is a member of a group of moms who gets together and knits. One of the items she likes to make most is a prayer shawl. She said that during the knitting and after each prayer shawl is complete, the group prays that the person who receives the prayer shawl will be protected from harm. I received four prayer shawls, one for myself and three to gift to others during my travels. Thank you Janelle and moms, for such a thoughtful gesture of kindness.

I love what the Rotary stands for in individual localities and throughout the world. Groups of people joining together for the needs of others in their communities. Thirty three thousand communities in over two hundred countries.
I had the honor to speak to the Hoboken Rotary by Chris Mackin, the President-elect of this service organization, Hoboken’s oldest. It is such a joy to be able to share my stories of people who have inspired me along my travels and I love hearing about the charities that the local Rotary helps and each individual Rotarian’s passion. Today’s talk was about inspiring each one of them to do something amazing with their life, calling attention to the needs of so many people and the opportunities we have to do something about it, if we just put our mind to it.

The Kindness Bicycle / Kindness Bus Tour to raise awareness for Childhood Sexual Abuse and Domestic Violence is only a handful of days away. There is so much to do before leaving on this 7,400 mile, 6 month bicycle ride. Signage is going to be important to this effort or I will look just like another guy on a bicycle. Attaching two, 24″ x 36″ to the bicycle is a bit of a challenge, needing room to sit, pedal and steer cannot be compromised. I am having some very powerfully worded t-shirts made to promote my mission as well. A motto for the mission has been coined, “Be a man, don’t raise a hand. Stop domestic violence.” That sums it up. It is as simple as that.

Having 8 sisters, I am cognizant of the well known adage, Kindness and Moms go hand in hand. This is something I witness as I travel the country seeing lessons being handed down from mother to child, one generation to the next. The best way to learn lessons as a child, is for a parent being a role model to the child. My favorite demographic is young child / parent, and the conversation which turns to a lesson as child or parent discusses a meaningful, timely phrase written on The Kindness Bus. There is quite possibly a lesson for nearly every teaching moment. The DUMBO neighborhood of Brooklyn is filled with families. I love to anonymously stand nearby The Kindness Bus and listen to parents ask their children what a particular message might mean to them. One such lesson was in response to a mother asking her teen age daughter about the message, “Don’t use words that hurt.” The daughter replied, “That would put an end to all cyber-bullying.” The daughter had given her mom the perfect Mother’s Day gift.