One thing becomes more and more apparent as I travel the country and visit with Wounded Warriors and Veterans, freedom is not free. A huge sacrifice has been made by every Hero I talk with. It is so easy to get caught up in living life and take for granted the freedom and liberties we have. We are free to do and say what we want because of those who gave so much. If you have any spare time you are looking to donate, visit www.va.gov to find a Veteran’s group you would like to help. The time you spend, is needed in a very big way and is as rewarding as you will ever experience.

Today’s ride was I only a short distance, but was along one of northeast Ohio’s busiest roadways in Woodmere, Ohio. I stopped at the Police and Fire departments here, leaving these Heroes information on The Kindness Bicycle Ride for Heroes.
I met David and his daughter Lindsey as I was finishing for the day. David owns apartment communities. He has been promoting kindness programs in the apartment communities he owns and loved the mission of One Million Acts Of Kindness. To me this is one of the greatest ways to grow kindness, an individual at a time or a small group at a time.
I met Army Sergeant Mike who talked with me about an organization formed in northeast Ohio called www.wags4warriors.org which pairs service dogs with warriors coming back stateside. Help spread the word about this wonderful organization.
A few days this week I traveled through Chesterland, Ohio along a stretch of road renamed to honor Chief Warrant Officer Christopher R. Thibodeau who fought to protect our liberties and freedom, paying the ultimate price in his helicopter over Pakistan.

Today’s ride took me to the memorial for Twinsburg, Ohio Police Hero Josh Miktarian who was killed in the line of duty nearly four years ago. It was because of this senseless act, that I decided nearly one year ago, I would ride these 4,000 miles on The Kindness Bicycle Ride for Heroes.
On this ride from Chesterland, Ohio to Twinsburg, I had so many great conversations with many people.
Carla and her daughter Claire went out of their way to turn around and catch up to me in their car. Carla served in the Army and is a very proud American.
Amanda and Gia, two local realtors, have family currently serving in the military.
Orange, Ohio, Assistant Fire Chief Dan Fritz was out in his truck and was thrilled that I was in his town. I stopped at his Firehouse a mile down the road as I passed by. Good friend, Mike Shubert, took me out to lunch to catch up on the past year. The remainder of the ride was in a steady downpour which at times was accompanied by gusts of wet wind in my face. It was one of the biggest rainstorms I have ridden in to date. I was met at the memorial by Emily Canning-Dean, reporter at the Twinsburg Bulletin she asked so many great questions and is eager to get the story in her newspaper.
I got back to Chesterland very late in the day to find The Kindness Bus still being serviced. Joe Tranchita, Advanced Auto Clinic owner loves taking personal care of me when I am in town. He also loves when I call for mechanical advice on the road and tell him this is “Bob with the bus.” he did various repairs over the last two days and I almost flipped when I asked him for the bill and he said, “no charge.”
That was a HUGE act of kindness Joe. Thank you!!

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.