Team Joe’s is once again participating in the 2017 Wish a Mile three-day journey to grant wishes for kids. Throughout the trek, riders and team captain and CEO Rob Casalou will be posting pics and sharing journal entries on this blog. If you want to support Team Joe’s ride to grant more wishes, please click on WAM Team Joe’s.
Here is Rob’s first entry from “travel day,” when riders board buses to the starting line in Traverse City.
Day 1 – Thursday, July 27th
Team Joe’s assembled 37 riders for the WAM 300 and 9 for the WAM 50. We have many repeat riders but also a few rookies. Most of the 37 decided to take the buses from MIS Speedway where the Wish-A-Mile tour ends up to Traverse City where the event begins on Friday morning. Some of our riders decided to check-in up in Traverse City. It is always fun to see the excitement on the faces of our new and veteran riders because. This is a special event that will bring us close with wish children and wish families who are those we ride to support.
The Make-A-Wish teams do an awesome job of managing registration, check-in, wrapping and storing bikes on trucks, lining up very large and comfortable coach buses and we begin our travels to Traverse City at 10 a.m. sharp. The ride up is fun and it gives us time to talk about what to expect, things to know and talk about rider safety. The WAM is not only a special event for who we support but it is also the safest event I have participated. In addition to multiple SAG vehicles and Red Cross emergency vehicles, we have 4 Michigan State Troopers on motorcycles that escort us all three days. How awesome is that?!!
After a lunch stop at the Clare Rest Area, we head into Traverse City and to the East Traverse Middle School where we set up for the night. We rolled into the school at 3pm and then the preparation began. First, setting up the bike is important and giving it a home along a fence or wall for the evening. All our bikes were shipped up ahead of us so they were waiting when we arrived. Then, it is time to head to the hotels on a shuttle bus so we could check-in and get back to the school for a great dinner (need carbs the night before).
The staff put on a great ice cream social and have live music with keyboard played by a former wish child. It was great. Then it was off to bed because alarms are set for 4 a.m. … I get tired just thinking about that!
