What a great town with some of the friendliest people. Just to the northwest of Phoenix, Surprise is packed with many retirees from around the country. There is such a huge interest in The Kindness Bicycle Ride for Heroes. I can hardly get a half mile down the road before I am stopped to have conversation with those showing interest.
The miles come easy in the flat terrain throughout the town. The serpentine sidewalks are empty and wide and they are great fun to ride on. It’s nice to be off the actual road and I try to do this every chance I get.
This town is packed and while out riding I ended up at a spring training ballpark. I just have to catch a game, tomorrow will be the day.

I talk too much!  With a long drive ahead of me, I planned on leaving Kingman early this morning, but it took until noon until I headed out of town. I talk too much, with good reason.  Sharon, who has a child in Kingman Middle School, stopped by The Kindness Bus to take photos for her family and friends. Sharon has a passion for children and started a foster care non-profit. She now has a passion for One Million Acts Of Kindness. She is convinced that the Kindness Certificates can make a huge difference in children’s lives.
Bogart and I made a quick stop to Kingman Middle School. We were met at the front desk by Mrs. Mesa, the school nurse. She has a Boston terrier and loved Bogart. She loves the Kindness Certificates and is going to present them to the entire school. She is a firm believer that positive character traits such as kindness can keep the body healthy, 98% of the time.
In Sun City for just a short amount of time, many people became fans of The Kindness Bicycle Ride for Heroes. Deborah, a FastSigns franchisee was very grateful and generous in her support of my mission.
Joan and Jan who are big supporters of Eve’s Place a Domestic Violence shelter in Surprise, Arizona were very interested in my ride across the United States this summer.  I had the pleasure of meeting Paul Ellis and two very caring women he was with, at a local restaurant. He is an Outfitter from Bozeman, Montana and takes Wounded Warriors out on his private ranch. Just being in the great outdoors is a big help for these Heroes.
In every town I visit, people are so interested in the Heroes I ride for. Most everyone has a friend or loved one who is represented by The Kindness Bicycle Ride for Heroes.

On July 5, 1973, Kingman was the site of a catastrophic BLEVE (Boiling Liquid Expanding Vapor Explosion) which killed 11 firefighters. The explosion occurred following a fire that broke out as propane was being transferred from a railroad car to a storage tank. This explosion has become a classic incident studied in fire department training programs worldwide. It is for these eleven firefighters that I rode through many of the streets of Kingman.
Ahron Sherman and the photographer from the Kingman Daily Miner met me at the Firefighters Memorial Park to help to spread word of this ride throughout their hometown. Their interest in One Million Acts Of Kindness was refreshing. As I rode today, the applause, waves and horns were a continous sight and sound.
Roger Dixon Battalion Chief Fire from Station 1 talked to me in great detail of the tragedy. It is amazing to me that a training seminar about fighting this type of fire was on the schedule to be taught to these men six days after the tragedy.
Stopping at City Hall, Debbie Francis, retired Police Officer and now City Clerk in Kingman was very appreciative when learning of The Kindness Bicycle Ride for Heroes.
At day’s end Fire Chief Thomas O’ Donohue of Golden Valley, Arizona and his wife stopped by The Kindness Bus and Kindness Bicycle as they were parked and I was writing this blog. A connection he has, is that he worked with and is friends with International Fire Chief Al Gillespie. This is amazing to me as I am hoping to hear from the Chief, some words about Heroes that I can take to children in classrooms across the country.

Henderson Fire Chief, Steven Goble extended an invitation for me to visit Firehouse 82 and the Firefighter Training Center at the same campus. I arrived at the Center to find a test fire extinguish in progress. Departments from all over Clark County use this facility to stay caught up on all of the new equipment and firefighting techniques.
Scott “Nubs” Dakus, the Engineer at Firehouse 82, met with me and was great to talk with. He is an avid cyclist and gave me all kinds of pointers on riding long distance and many other nuances of cycling. Scott gave me a tour of the facility and talked me into being the hood ornament on the truck in today’s picture.
The remainder of the day was spent heading south into Arizona. I took a small detour and drove The Kindness Bicycle across the Hoover Dam. I arrived in Kingman, Arizona late in the afternoon for a two day stay and a powerful ride tomorrow.

My friend, Spring Hope, of Santa Monica, California has created a “perennial” event called Spring Kindness Day. It is an awareness campaign of One Million Acts Of Kindness and a lifetime goal of kindness. Spring got the attention of many individuals as she held the daylong event on the Santa Monica Pier. People from all over the world stopped by to talk with her and to pledge their support. She had a map of the United States and by day’s end it was filled with push-pins of people’s hometowns. Thank you Spring for all of your great enthusiasm and hard work to make this day a huge success.
Today was a near perfect day for riding, as the temperatures were finally back in the 70s. Much got accomplished with contacting various educational groups about schools adopting Kindness Certificates in their classrooms.
I received word that International Fire Chief Gillespie is out of town and won’t be back for another 10 days. I will set up a phone conversation in the near future. Students hearing about Heroes from the Chief will have a great impact.

This morning, I placed a call to the United States Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan, I didn’t reach the Secretary but found a sympathetic ear when I told his assistant about how a lifetime goal of kindness will have a huge impact on bullying and cyber-bullying in our nation’s schools. I later sent an email asking for his help in spreading word to education professionals across our country about the goal of One Million Acts Of Kindness. Great things are going to come of this, I am convinced.
Celia, is a very dedicated teacher of children with autism. She spent a great deal of time taking pictures and asking questions about The Kindness Bus Tour, to take the message of kindness to her students. A very generous Erica, who works at a nearby restaurant, caught me as I was just getting back from my ride. She was excited to let all of her friends know about my mission. Another great day on The Kindness Bus Tour.

Tomorrow is the 1st annual “Spring Kindness” Day. Organized by Spring Hope of Santa Monica, California, this day is designed to create awareness about One Million Acts Of Kindness and for everyone to embrace a lifetime goal of kindness.

One Million Acts Of Kindness is a lifetime goal for each child. Our Kindness Certificates are having a huge impact on children’s lives. These free certificates can be found on the upper left hand corner of thewww.onemillionactsofkindness.org