With The Kindness Bus up on the lift for more repairs, I set out on The Kindness Bicycle on this full day of riding through the far eastern suburbs of Cleveland, Ohio. I knew this was going to be a special day when a teacher from Hawken, a local private school, flagged me down. At the end of our wonderful conversation, she thought a great end to the school year would be to make copies of The Kindness Certificate to send all of her graduating seniors into the world.
On today’s ride, I encountered scores of men and women from every branch of the service, Firefighters, Police Officers and their families. It was a true honor to have so many powerful conversations.
Late in the day, Lieutenant Andy and Dave, a Firefighter from Chesterland were finishing up tending to all of their pieces of equipment when I rode up to them. They were excited to hear many of the great stories of my travels and of my upcoming visit to all 212 Firehouses and 76 Police Precincts in the five boroughs of New York City beginning in two weeks.

It was another “full dance card” day on The Kindness Bicycle Ride for Heroes as I headed into the downtown area of Cleveland, Ohio. I tried to get as many views as possible and make as many stops as possible in this crowded downtown. The Indians had a daytime game, filling the streets with tens of thousands of parents and children. Today must have been Student Appreciation Day as hundreds of school buses pulled up to drop off their charge near the ballpark. One of my favorite groups was Keith, Bill, Tim and Bill’s two children who were coming out of game. All three men are Firefighters in Mayfield, Ohio. Bill said there is some information in their station about The Kindness Bicycle Ride for Heroes posted on the wall. I visited their station in January before I began my ride.
Today I paid many short visits to as many local organizations and landmarks as possible in the time I had. One of my stops I look forward to once a year is the renewal of my license plates for The Kindness Bus. These great women at the Shaker Heights License Bureau have supported my missions for several years. They got a stack of stickers and flyers for their “new digs.” What a great reception The Kindness Bicycle received in this friendly city.

Macedonia, Ohio was my start for this long day of riding The Kindness Bicycle and doing kind acts. I stopped at the fire and police administration buildings to visit the “brass” in this town. I had great success as both departments agreed to post information about The Kindness Bicycle Ride for Heroes in their buildings. Detective Sergeant Ken Turley was particularly interested as this small department just observed the anniversary, line of duty death of Patrolman Gary Paster.
This morning I had a great reunion with many members of my family. Thank you to all of them for their huge support in so many ways. I almost had cousin Norm convinced that he was a “natural” for traveling on The Kindness Bus Tour as he took The Kindness Bicycle for a spin. It is always so much fun getting together with family.
I then headed to the town of Chesterland for a long distance delivery of a package I picked up in Boulder, Colorado. Derby, the manager from Snooze, a restaurant in Boulder told me she moved from Chesterland to Boulder and knowing I would be heading through this town, I volunteered to deliver whatever package she wanted to put together for her mom. I visited with her mom and dad and celebrated this long distance delivery of love.

Today was a day of reflection on what has been accomplished thus far on this Kindness Bicycle Ride for Heroes and what more can be achieved for the remainder of the ride, in the coming 3 1/2 months. Much of the time I feel I need to do more for those who have given their lives, or so much of their lives, to protect our liberties and freedom. There is always one more stop I can make at a Veterans Medical Center or one more homeless Veteran I can talk with. There is so much each and every one of us can do for Veterans and do in honor of a Hero who has made the ultimate sacrifice, may today be the day we start.

It is great to be able to travel through my hometown on The Kindness Bicycle Ride for Heroes. Every year, the Sunday before Memorial Day, the Jaycees of Chagrin Falls, Ohio have the Blossom Parade. Tens of thousands watch this parade every year, it is an incredible way to have The Kindness Bicycle Ride for Heroes viewed by people from all over the Chagrin Valley area.
The Kindness Bicycle was applauded the entire length of the parade route with many standing ovations. My son Peter followed closely behind driving The Kindness Bus and was a huge hit with every one of his friends in the crowd.
The connection with Memorial Day and this ride for Wounded Warriors was was apparent to everyone, especially to the Veterans in the crowd. Once again it is such a thrill to see so many smiling faces of these Heroes.

The Kindness Bus made its way into western Ohio this morning, keeping up with the schedule needed to make it in time for the Blossom parade in Chagrin Falls, Ohio tomorrow. Shannon, a local resident, requested The Kindness Bus Tour stop in this town if we were ever in the area. It happened that we were passing by and were able to make this short visit possible.
Early this afternoon, I made it to Lakewood, Ohio with a kind offer by my niece and nephews, Collin, Lauren and Mason, to wash The Kindness Bus, it was great to have six extra hands available to wash off the travels of these past few months. Thanks to my sister MJ for all of her much needed help as well.
I will spend the better part of this upcoming week having The Kindness Bus serviced while visiting as many Heroes as possible.

Chicago has been on the radar of The Kindness Bus Tour since this mission started. Finding myself 40 miles to the south, I couldn’t pass up the opportunity  to make the trip to have this huge audience get a look at The Kindness Bicycle Ride for Heroes. What a great move it was. Chicago attracts people from all parts of the globe and I made it a point to have conversations with as many as possible. I found a great parking spot for the day near Michigan Avenue, where tens of thousands walked the Magnificent Mile in this perfect weather. The Kindness Bicycle was applauded and praised all day long. I will, without a doubt, be back to this fascinating city for at least a week’s stay in my coming travels.