ROAD TALES

As Told By THE IRON COWBOY

TRO Pub Runs

Fun rides w/ Smaller Groups

It’s a Thunder Roads PUB RUN!

For 2022, Thunder Roads Ohio will be hosting PUB RUNS throughout the riding season all across Ohio. These will be smaller, organized runs hitting smaller stops that might not be able to accommodate larger rides. Each ride will have a cap of 30-50 riders max, depending on the specifics of the ride and designated stops. The rides will primarily be held on Wednesday or Thursday evenings, although there will be a few Friday and Saturday rides to compliment other events such as Bike Shows the next day. We are offering these up as a sort of “Motorcycle Therapy” – just what the doctor ordered for stressful days and a world that seems to have gone crazy. A chance to ride with friends and meet new Brothers and Sisters. Hit some favorite stops and discover new destinations. All in an easy going, informal, fun format. We will be looking to partner with local riding organizations and clubs to host rides in each area. This will be a great opportunity to connect with other riders and showcase your group. Each ride will cost approx. $20 - $30 and include a t-shirt, snacks along the way, and a meal at the end. Proceeds from the rides will go towards supporting local charitable partners or a designated cause such as Toys for Tots, Special Olympics, or select Veterans Charities. Tentative dates are being announced for some of the rides at this time, in order for us to begin planning stops and arranging partnerships. All dates and locations are subject to change as details are finalized. The following Pub Runs are being proposed:

Geauga Thursday, May 12, 2022

Toledo Sandusky

Thursday, May 26, 2022 Wednesday, June 1, 2022 Zanesville Friday, July 15, 2022 Cochocton Thursday, July 28, 2022 Columbus North Friday, August 19, 2022 Marietta Wednesday, August 24, 2022 Geneva Thursday, September 8, 2022

Other areas being considered: Cincinnati West, Cincinnati Southeast, Cleveland West, Cleveland East, Columbus South, Dayton, Buckeye Lake, and Warren. Facebook events will be created and posted on the Thunder Roads Ohio facebook page and all rides will feature online advance registration – powered by ReasonsToRide.com For more information on the rides, follow us on Facebook. If you’d like to host a ride stop – or possibly you’re part of a riding organization that would consider helping to host or escort the ride, email us at ThunderRoadsOhio@gmail.com It’s going to be a blast!

Access EVEN MORE TRO even EASIER!

New QR codes provide easy links with your smartphones.

One of our goals the last several years has been to make our magazines more interactive for our readers and integrate more digital aspects into our print pieces. This is more than simply a marketing thing or appeal to younger generations. The idea is to create an easy means of accessing the videos, photos, means of ordering and simply more information that we have stored online. We have an amazing website, and new content is being added almost every day. Our social media pages are a great resource and forum for discussion for over 200,000 riders and motorcycle enthusiasts. For years, we’ve included invitations for everyone to “follow us on facebook”, “visit us online”, or simply “check out our website” in order to access our digital aspect. Now, though, we are going to make this even easier through the use of QR codes. A QR code is that black and white image – usually a square – made up of black square, dots and white spaces, that you’ve seen on packages and marketing materials for years. Essentially they work the same way as a barcode at a supermarket. It is a machine-scannable image that can instantly take you to a website or provide you more information on your smartphone. It’s not only EASIER than typing in a lengthy link or website address – your phone doesn’t store the information to your search history.

Most current smartphone operating systems have QR code scanners built into the camera app, so you simply have to point the camera at the QR code and let the phone scan it. In most cases a notification will appear that you simply have to tap in order to open. And instantly – you can access the information!

We have created, featured, and printed a lot of cool stuff over the years – and the vast majority of it is all easily accessible online. With a QR Code, it’s now even easier to go directly to the page or location online that has what you’re looking for.

So, grab your smartphone and scan some of the QR codes to access even MORE Thunder Roads!

Follow us on Facebook at THUNDER ROADS OHIO for updates, photos, and more - updated DAILY. www.facebook.com/ThunderRoadsOhio

Thunder Roads Ohio Offers EXPANDED ON-LINE Ride Registration and Ticket Sales

Powered by ReasonsToRide.com

NOW SCHEDULING 2022 EVENTS

ReasonsToRide.com (RtR) and Thunder Roads Ohio is now offering the ability to include RIDER REGISTRATION as part of your online event listings and magazine ads. This allows riders to simply and easily sign up for your event without ever leaving the website – and without having to register on-site the day of the event. Pre-registration allows you to more accurately plan for your event by having a listing of participants already committed and invested in it. Pre-registration also helps protect your ride from cloudy days that might also have people staying home, but will choose to still come out since they are already pre-paid. RtR is also able to offer RIDE SHIRTS and PATCHES as part of the process as well. Shirts are a great way to promote your event and offer more value to those participating. With advance sales and riders indicating what size shirts they need – you’ll also avoid having to invest in unwanted shirts. You’ll have exactly what you need. RtR can also help develop graphics and promotional materials – including posters and cards to professionally represent your ride. This helps with sponsorships and encourages ride participation.

PRO TIP: You can add QR codes to your posters and event ads that take riders directly to YOUR unique registration page through Thunder Roads – even on the day of the event!

Plans are underway for 2022 and expectations are SKY HIGH!

We would encourage everyone to email us with their event information and dates as soon as possible, especially if you’d like us there. We are excited to announce a RE-VAMPED Bike Show program w/ new SPONSORS and even MORE PRIZES / TROPHIES! We are also doing more HOT ROD / CUSTOM CAR / BIKE SHOWS as well – with new partners on board! We are looking to host more of these shows in combination with RACING events and RALLIES all across the MIDWEST. We will also be hosting more TATTOO CONTESTS and MORE PHOTO OPS’ at Bike Nights and other stops in Ohio and surrounding states. For a limited time, special COUNTDOWN to 2022 RATES are now being offered on events and even print / digital ads for next year for as little as HALF THE STANDARD PRICE. before they go up in 2021. Email Events@ReasonsToRide.com for more information.

THUNDER ROADS EDITORS

We are looking for Feature Editors to focus on particular areas of interest that we feature in the magazine and online.

Vintage Motorcycles Adventure Bikes Motocross Firearms Motorcycle Safety / Training Cigars Long Distance Riding Ohio Craft Beer and

You can also create signs with these QR codes to display on-site the day of the event. For Iron Pony’s RIDE FOR THE RHINOS – event organizers were able to use display stands with the QR codes and easy instructions for riders to register online even on the morning of the ride. This expedited the process incredibly and allowed well over 1,000 participants to easily check-in with possibly half as many volunteers involved.

Micro-Breweries And Veterans Affairs aka “Service Notes”

If you have a passion for any of these areas, we’d love to hear from you. You’ll have expanded opportunities within the industry and amongst those that share your interest as you represent over 250,000 readers every month! These are not directly compensated positions in terms of salary; however, you are able to make money as you develop various aspects within the magazine or online. If you’re able to use a computer and have reasonable online skills, we’d love to hear from you. Just email us at ThunderRoadsOhio@gmail.com

On Sunday, August 25th; Thunder Roads Ohio announced our intention to help support Sam Childers – The Machine Gun Preacher – and his missions around the world. As part of an event with Armored Disciples Motorcycle Ministry and other riding ministries in the Cleveland area, we welcomed Sam to Cleveland for an afternoon at Rocky River Baptist Church. While there, the Machine Gun Preacher shared his own personal experiences and looked beyond his own missions in life to challenge us all to make a difference. If you’re not familiar with Sam Childers and the work he’s done – it’s a story that you need to hear. In the simplest of terms, he is a biker from Pennsylvania that traveled to Africa back in 1998 and witnessed atrocities that ended turning his world upside down. He has since literally saved the lives of THOUSANDS of children that in many cases had been simply left to die. That’s not dramatics or an overstatement. These were orphans that had lost their parents to the violence that has ravaged Sudan, Uganda, and the region for more than 50 years. In this part of Africa, there were no governmental social services for children. And the violence and horrors were

simply so overwhelming that many traditional missionary and aid organizations simply withdrew from the region. It was a situation so bad that news organizations and even the worlds governments simply looked the otherway. But along comes Sam Childers, a BIKER from Pennsylvania, and he took it upon himself to make a difference. One man on a mission to save the lives of children. Instead of being overwhelmed by the challenge – he SIMPLY DID IT. He did what nobody else seemed capable of doing – and he’s been saving the lives of children ever since. For more on Sam Childers and his organization – Angels of East Africa, googgle them online or visit their Facebook page (www. Facebook.com/MGP) @MachineGunPreacher. You can also visit our websites and follow our social media pages for updates on his work and how YOU can help. Back when we started Thunder Roads Ohio in 2011, we first crossed paths with Sam and learned of his work. I was already aware of the atrocities in Sudan after meeting a war refugee from the region while I was in school years before – so I felt a calling to help however I could. We supported a few appearances and helped share his story. But as happens in life, we became distracted with the realities of our own lives and we lost touch. Then it just “so happened” that Sam would be in Florida this past Spring while we were in Daytona for Bike Week. And then “coincidentally” it turned out that Sam would be in Ohio this Spring for a Bike Blessing with the Kingdom Knights Motorcycle Ministry in Akron.

I had the opportunity to catch up with Sam and do an interview – which you can find on our facebook page and website. In doing so, we had a simple question – “What’s going on with the Machine Gun Preacher – ten years later, what’s happened with your mission?” To which his reply was even simpler – “I never stopped.” We will share more of his story and work over the coming months and you can find more online, but the simple truth of his life and all that he’s accomplished was exactly what we needed to hear after all we’ve been through over the past year. It was the inspiration for a new charitable initiative and focus for our organization – Mission 2022.

MISSION 2022: And the Machine Gun Preacher Bike

Mission 2022 for us is all about launching a new initiative that is focused purely on making a difference. It’s not about politics, race, past history, or any other drama or excuses that might overwhelm or distract us. This isn’t JUST about saving the LIVES of children in Africa – it’s about waking us up and inspiring us to make more of our own lives. Sure there’s A LOT of craziness going on in the world – but we CAN NO LONGER simply leave it to others to fix. We all can’t travel to Africa, nor should we. We have plenty that we can do in our own corner of the world – or even just here in the United States. But in supporting SAM’S WORK – we can help energize change in our own communities.

Our belief is that MISSION WORK and helping others is inspiring and can fuel change in our own lives.

We’ve partnered with Sam’s organization – Angels of East Africa, LLC (a 501c3 organization) and Western Reserve Charities, Inc, to launch a campaign to not only support their work in Africa and organizations working to make a difference in our own communities right here in Ohio and the US. A central piece of this effort is a campaign to raffle off Sam’s own personal bike – a Harley-Davidson Street Glide that he had customized in his Pennsylvania shop. It’s one of the original MACHINE GUN PREACHER motorcycles and really a cool bike with a unique look and history. We are now helping to collect donations which give you the chance to win this motorcycle – while helping to both support the work of SAM and his organization AND local charities right here in Ohio. Over the next several months we are going to share more and more about both Sam Childers and his work – as well as local individuals and organizations that are working in our own communities. Through the Bike Raffle and other initiatives you can help support these efforts and be a part of the change we need.

We can NO LONGER simply wait for others to fix our communities and consequently our NATION as a whole. We need to step up ourselves.

You can find out more and get your tickets online at

ThunderRoadsOhio.com.

Thanks to David Eggert, NEO Pro Imaging, for photos.