The PCAP Prostate Cancer Pony Express travels through all 50 states beginning in March 2012, and we need ride leaders for the two legs in each state. We have just 68 Ride Leader positions available.

We have one PCAP Prostate Cancer Pony Express Ride Leader in North Carolina and we now have one in Louisiana. But we need more!

Here’s how to sign up for one of these coveted positions:

1. Visit http://bit.ly/2012ProstateCancerPonyExpress and register to be a rider. Your registration includes the necessary waiver and gives you a lifelong Prostate Cancer Pony Express rider number.

2. Visit http://bit.ly/2012ProstateCancerPonyExpressRouteCard and download the route card. The dates will remain the same but the meeting points may change.

3. Click on the following to be added to our ride information list http://bit.ly/prostatecancerponyexpressriderupdates

4. Visit our forum at http://prostatecancerponyexpress.websitetoolbox.com and create an account

5. Please send me a short paragraph about yourself and what caused you to support our project. I plan to post this on our blog and our Facebook page so that we can begin to tell the stories around prostate cancer. [robert dot hess @29000men dot com]

6. If you use Facebook, please Like the page and and ask your friends and colleagues to do the same

7. Follow us on Twitter – PCPonyExpress

8. If you are a prostate cancer survivor, go to http://29000men.wordpress.com and tell us your story.

Dan Jester, PCAP Prostate Cancer Pony Express Rider Number 39, is the national ride coordinator.

The current ride route is posted on the ride blog at http://prostatecancerponyexpress.wordpress.com . We are still working on identifying the exact locations where the Prostate Cancer Pony Express riders will meet to transfer the saddlebags.

Thank you for volunteering to be a part of the first national prostate cancer awareness motorcycle rally.

Warm regards,

Robert Hess

Prostate Cancer Survivor, Class of 2003

It you can’t ride with us, be at the fence in front of the White House [along Pennsylvania Avenue) at 12:15 PM and be part of our photo shoot.

If you do, you’ll be part of history.

Follow our ride to Mt. Vernon at http://share.findmespot.com/shared/faces/viewspots.jsp?glId=0RZFZ0QqhG2ZBOvnqlcj8zFKDC1axeY9I.

Just another day in Paradise. Warm regards, Robert

Image via Wikipedia

Prostate Cancer Pony Express 2011

Last summer’s Tour de USA® for Prostate Cancer Awareness is now the Prostate Cancer Pony Express™.  Visit the 2011 Prostate Cancer Pony Express website for information.

September 18th, 2011 is the inaugural year of the prostate cancer equivalent of Rolling Thunder, and will pay homage to the 1.2 million men who have died from prostate cancer since President Richard M. Nixon declared the “War on Cancer” in 1971.

Will you ride with me on September 18th?

Most of you following this blog are motorcycle enthusiasts and some of you rode with me last summer on the inaugural Tour de USA.

Beginning in 2011, our prostate cancer motorcycle awareness rides will be “Prostate Cancer Pony Express” rides, part of the Prostate Cancer Awareness Project’s Black Tire Affair® two-wheel event series.

On September 10th, 2011, I will ride from Fairfax, Virginia to Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, in conjunction with the annual prostate cancer awareness program for the incoming Congress.

Why the Prostate Cancer Pony Express™ to Capitol Hill?

Prostate cancer remains a largely unrecognized epidemic in the United States.  There are more new cases of prostate cancer each year than breast cancer, but men’s natural reluctance to talk about the disease lessens the public focus on the disease and, as a result, limits funding for prostate cancer research.

Each September, in conjunction with the return of Congress to Washington, DC after their summer recess, the prostate cancer advocacy groups hold a series of meetings with Congressional members and staff to raise awareness about prostate cancer.

The most compelling way to carry the message is to have as many prostate cancer survivors present as possible, and the Prostate Cancer Pony Express™ can help make this happen.

Moreover, the ride will highlight the importance of knowing the symptoms of prostate cancer and the role and meaning of PSA levels.

How Do You Participate?

You can ride as a participant, contribute as a donor and fundraiser, or both.

Initial event information is available on the Internet at http://bit.ly/ProstateCancerPonyExpress2011. Registration will be open in early March.

To be added to the information list, just send your name to PCPonyExpress@29000men.org.

I have about four pages worth of resolutions covering all the various aspects of my business and personal life.  Just looking at everything I wrote down is sort of mind boggling.

In reality, my resolutions really are noting more than a lengthy list of things I would like to do during 2011.  And it always seems that life gets in the road.

Tops on my list, though, are finishing my book about last summer’s Tour de USA for prostate cancer awareness, training for the Ride of the Immortals at the end of August, and getting the inaugural Prostate Cancer Pony Express organized.

And, of course, getting my weight back down to my ideal climbing weight of 146 pounds.

Losing this weight fits in nicely with my prostate cancer survivor battle plan, since diet and nutrition are implicated as a causal factor in over 30 percent of all cancers.  I expect this to be a major challenge since one of my daughters has finished college and moved back home temporarily.

Having her home is great, but having lots of ‘kid food’ around comes with the package, and that spells trouble.

Can You Believe How Cheap Broccoli Is? [In calories, that is.]

I was reading a book on cycling on the plane today (How to Ride Until You are 100), and one of the facts in the nutrition section was that 8 oz of broccoli has 65 calories, while the same 8 oz of chocolate cookies contained 1,035.  Good grief!

So, my mission is clear; find a means of staying clear of the junk food while creating tasty, healthy (and satisfying) meals that I like.

Stayed tuned for the recipes I discover and even post your own.

Mustard greens anyone?

Warm regards, Robert

PS:  As of 1/6/2011: 154 lb, 5’ 10”. still a cheese lover.

Our thanks to the many hundreds of you who are visiting this blog.  I hope that it has provided some useful information and possibly some inspiration.

2010 was a great year for the Prostate Cancer Awareness Project, with the completion of the trans-America Tour de USA 2010 for Prostate Cancer Awareness that generated two state prostate cancer proclamations and reached just over 6 million people with the all-important early detection message.

We also launched our vehicle donation program [http://cardonationtopcap.org] that we hope will play a key role in funding our awareness programs.

Prostate Cancer Pony Express Begins in 2011

For you motorcycle enthusiasts – and car enthusiasts, also – September 2011 marks the inaugural Prostate Cancer Pony Express ride to Capitol Hill in Washington, DC to highlight to our Congress the full scope of the prostate cancer epidemic.

We hope you will be part of this first Prostate Cancer Pony Express event. Visit http://29000men.wordpress.com and click on the Black Tire Affairs tab to follow developments.

Message to Survivors and Family

As a 7 year prostate cancer survivor, I’m painfully aware of the psychological tension that all cancer survivors and their families deal with constantly, and I extend my best wishes to all for a joyous holiday season.

New Year’s Resolution – Got PSA?

As 2011 prepares to unfold, the first (of many) New Year’s resolutions is to make certain that I ask as many men as possible, “Got PSA?”  I plan to do that by creating a monthly “Got PSA? day.”  I hope you will join me in growing this program.

Warm Regards,  Robert

Choosing the right helmet was interesting.  I have a full face helmet that I use when I ride without a windshield and I was tempting to take that, but I found some contrary advice on some of the motorcycle groups on LinkedIn.

One of the comments on the LinkedIn groups suggested that the full face helmet tended to fog in rain.  After thinking about this, I elected to go with the HJC helmet shown below.

In light rain, heading for Columbia, South Carolina

This turned out to be a good choice.  While I only experienced six rain days out of the 48, one of them included a two-hour stretch on the Interstate plowing through tropical storm Hermine, south of Austin, Texas.

This helmet has a number of features I found extremely useful: 1) I could raise the face shield for ventilation (the temperature on most days was more than 100 degrees fahrenheit), 2) it has an inner smoked lens that I could lower to increase the level of sun protection, 3) and the ventilation vents worked really wee.

The only downside is that the angles make it look European and very un-Harley.  That said, it functioned extremely well on the trip.  I rate it 5 stars for hot and/or rainy weather riding.

West Texas. 105 Degrees and Very Sunny

Why White?

Again, not very Harley, but most motorcycle police wear white helmets and I wanted motorists to give me that second look.  Just a shot a bit more safety.

For the many of you still following this blog, one quick note:  slip on over to Blacktireaffairs.wordpress.com and pick up the thread for the Prostate Cancer Pony Express.

The second week of September 2011 will begin our annual ride to our nation’s capitol to support the efforts of the various prostate cancer advocacy organizations.  September is national prostate cancer awareness month, and we are developing an annual event to bring motorcyclists to Washington, DC to highlight the critical importance of early detection.

The One Device I Wish I Had Had With Me On The 2010 Tour de USA

Keeping my blog and Facebook page posted during last summer’s ride across the US and back was a constant challenge.  The US is getting better at wireless access, but it’s still pretty spotty in many locations.

McDonald’s now has free wi-fi and it was pretty consistent during the trip.  I also found some Subway stores with free wi-fi, although not too many.  Almost all of the Motel 6 units I stopped at had wi-fi, but they wanted an extra fee and, since this was a fundraising ride I tried to make do with my Verizon data card.

The data card worked very well.  In fact, my Verizon data card and phone worked nearly 100% of the time, whereas my iPhone gave me about 40% coverage outside of the major urban areas.

Verizon MiFi Card

I recently replaced my USB data card with a Verizon MiFi device and it is, uh, fabulous!!  I simply turn it on and it creates a small wi-fi network that allows me to connect my laptop, iPhone, and iPad simultaneous, and it’s secure.

This is a great little device for anyone that travels.  It will allow you to have Internet connection for your iPad without purchasing an AT&T 3G service plan – plus, it’s more reliable.

Next time, my helmet review.

Car Donation to the Prostate Cancer Awareness Project

Remember that we can now accept vehicle donations in California.  For details, just pop over to http://cardonationtopcap.org/about-us for details.

Warm regards, Robert

Image via Wikipedia

Is It Possible to Ride a Sportster after a Low Rider?

I’m here in Virginia for a few days visiting relatives for the holidays and making some initial plans for the September 2011 Prostate Cancer Pony Express ride to Capitol Hill in Washington, DC.

I’ve found a sponsor that is willing to help us acquire a Sportster to use here on the East Coast since I can’t ride across the country every year – although I would love to.

Back to Those Fun, Early Days

So, it looks like a may be back on an 883 Sportster come this spring when I’m here in Virginia and for the Pony Express ride to Washington.  I think I’m looking forward to it.  I just need to keep my eye peeled for gas stations.

I’m in Virginia for a week visiting with family for the holidays and doing some preparation work for our September 2011 ride on Washington, DC for prostate cancer awareness.

I flew on Virgin America, my favorite airline, and watched our flight path on the seat monitor.  As we flew east, I thought back over my motorcycle ride last summer across the US and back – many wonderful memories there and the book is coming.

It took me 24 days to travel from Manhattan Beach to Washington, DC on my Harley Low Ride and only a bit over 4 hours on Virgin with the jet stream tailwind, but what a great time I had wresting “Dave” through the winds of the high plains.

Ride with Me Next September

September 2011 will be the first Prostate Cancer Pony Express ride to our nation’s capitol for prostate cancer awareness.  To be part of the event, visit our event blog at BlackTireAffairs.com.