Grizz's Redneck Express 1966 Chevy Short Fleetside RESTO-GO!

[Grizz1963]

Seems the 4th of July was a good one at my friend Dennis' plac.



ALMOST AT THE 50% MARK

Just got to keep hoping a few more people, well a lot more really, do add in a few coins.



Overnight there was a couple more contributions in my nale.

Thanks to Phil, temporarily in Portugal and Dennis in Missouri enjoying his fridge full of beers.




If anyone else still wants to contribute, please do not hesitate and remember there are various ways to do so.

[Grizz1963]

You guys and girls have made another day end up good, no great for me.

Again, my thanks sound empty, compared to the care and generosity I have seen the last few weeks.

This morning a local donation came in, bringing us closer to the £700.00 mark.

Thank you Sam Taylor. Hope to meet you in person some time, remember the kettle is always on over here.



We also got sent the rules for the day and a map of the ride route was included.




Quick quiz question for those interested in good food..

Ta2don in Searcy, Arkansas sent me a pic of his lunch earlier today.

Care to identify it??




Later we had a good chat on FaceTime, with him sharing his trip out to a golf course where he was stopping in for a sales call.

I do love this technology that puts us all so easily in touch with each other.




Got home tonight and found an envelope with just a £10.00 note in it.

Anonymous contribution from a guy called "Cars"

Then my last lodger came in and added another tenner.

Next up....... MercDan called me to ask for the PayPal details and sent some. Obey for the kids too.

You guys all rock !!!





Thank you very much !!!

We have passed the £700.00 mark now, having made it to £716.00 not including the £35.00 I have contributed already.

Now £750.00 is calling my name.....��

[DakotaKid]

Frog Legs?

[flashed]

Frog Legs was my guess as well .

[Grizz1963]

Originally Posted by DakotaKid

Frog Legs?

Originally Posted by flashed

Frog Legs was my guess as well .

VIRTUAL BEER TO YOU BOTH........!!!

[Grizz1963]

.........







Dilemma time.........






.............. To be. Or not to be ?????







................. That certainly is the question






do i wear a pink or whatever colour tutu ????







........ In order to answer a challenge that offered to triple the £10.00 donation an old friend made.


Is £20.00 enough to lose my remaining dignity for??




Anyone else prepared to have their eyeballs exploded in exchange for a bit more cash?



.

[Grizz1963]

Couple of messages that came in overnight.

I was chatting to Dennis in St Louis, Missouri last night on Messenger.....

Woke his morning to this message.



Also got a PM from Clem Johnson in Fayetteville Arkansas.

More good news, especially as I know e parcel contains Louisiana Gold Hot Sauce. Something very special to go with good food.

Thanks a mil Clem and Kim.





And another one in from Roger and Deb.



Roger built his own lake outside his home.

This is the sunset view over his self built lake in front of his house. You drive over the dam wall on the way out.



Left to right.

Dennis, Debbie with moustache and husband Roger. (They were headed to a "Moustache Party" later)

Car started as a true Barnfind.





FOR THOSE WHO MISSED MY USA ROAD TRIP LAST YEAR.

CLICK LINK.

http://retrorides.proboards.com/thre...2016-best-trip


THANKS AGAIN TO ALL THOSE WHO MAKE MY LIFE SO GOOD.

[flashed]

Rian,you make our lives better more than you know .

[Grizz1963]

Message from ElWoody in Cologne, Germany.

You´ve asked for coin money? Here you are! ;-) Go grizz go! No matter if in sport gear, ridiculously dressed up or barenaked... It´s for something good!

Remember I had asked for any coins

Michael had collected all the coins he could find around him and came up with £8.43

Pretty cool guys !!!!

Whether in the bottom of your sock drawer, under your cars seat or in the office if you pass a coffee cup around.
I really am not proud.

Cash is cash.

Thanks again.

[Grizz1963]

Just over three hours drive......

I am now in Grantham, near where the torture will start at 12.30 tomorrow.

Have never done as many updates in my life.

Tent city has sprung up by the lake, for those sleeping over tomorrow night.



And a few more contributions from around the world.

Again, I am both humbled and thankful for the support you all bring to what in my view, is a team effort across the internet.

Donations from people who have no jobs, are fighting the odds or just want to be part of this effort makes my heart happy......
KARMA IS A LOVELY MISTRESS.

Thanks to ElWoody for his second contribution, made up,of all the coins on his cars floor, behind the couch and anywhere else he looked.
Graham Bull, thank you as well for the support, a quiet guy.
And of course we mentioned Roger, whose beers are always very cold, along with the smoked Game sausage he makes.




Let's see what happens overnight........

Fingers crossed.

[Grizz1963]

Been to dinner, carbo loaded (not that I need it, as I am no pro.) and then back to hotel for tonight.

Glad to be sleeping in a hotel, rather than a tent tonight.

Earlier on Craig and I,were chatting by text, he was out having after work drinks with colleagues, so I challenged him to see if he could get any loose change from them......... nope, did not happen.

However, he was up for supporting my challenge frommSharon to wear a tutu tomorrow.



While out at dinner there were a couple of donations that came in?

Thanks to good friend Dave and his wife Helen.

And then also Steve AKA "Mucky Helmet" who added a large chunk of change into the mucky bucket. Thanks mate, that was lovely.



13 hours approximately before we take off tomorrow.

So still some time to contribute your small or large change please.

I am pretty sure this Just Giving account will stay open after tomorrow as well, in case people still want to,make a donation.

Bed time now I guess, this room has no air on, and is like an oven.

Later guys, gals.

[flashed]

Good luck Rian.

[Palf70Step]

Good Luck Rian!

[Grizz1963]

Originally Posted by flashed

Good luck Rian.

Originally Posted by Palf70Step

Good Luck Rian!

Thank you very much guys.


It should be a great day.


It has made me feel really good, being able to make a difference.



.



Thank you for posting up Dan, and Michael for the IT magic link.


This fund raiser has become quite a personal battle for me.


Every mental target I have set myself, you guys have broken.


THANK YOU ALL SO FAR !!!


Of course these fund raisers do lose impetus and importance very easily, and unless you have a child who has a rare disease and is dying in front of your own eyes, it will never be important enough to even consider donating the coins in your wallet, pocket, behind the couch or whatever you can collect in just coins in your local office, sport group or wherever people gather.


I have said from day one with this effort that I only ask for what people can afford or think worthwhile.


That will be good enough.



I have no children myself, or even children I know and care about........... but if nobody makes an effort to support these smaller charities that make a difference to families and communities, then who will??


So it became a personal quest.



Later on today I will be cycling as a Me,beer if a triathlon team to raise funds.



It seems I will be wearing a fetching combination of Lycra and a ballet TuTu as this challenge has been ramped up


So my ask is that if you have any coins, cash to spare, to help me try get this to the magical £1000.00 mark.

We are at around £850.00 in tracked donations so far.




This was the action overnight on the Just Giving site.







Have a good day all, I certainly will.

Despite my attire.

[65sub]

Good luck today Rian

[Palf70Step]

Are your legs in the same condiytion as those frog ones yet, fried?

Hope you had a good one.

[Grizz1963]

Originally Posted by 65sub

Good luck today Rian

Thank you Dale.

It went very well, was hot and humid, race started at 13.00 in the heat of the day, but good nonetheless.

Originally Posted by Palf70Step

Are your legs in the same condiytion as those frog ones yet, fried?

Hope you had a good one.

Thanks Bill, not bad, in fact not fried at all.

Maybe a bit of training helped.

Day was great.

[Grizz1963]

[quote author="@grumpynorthener" source="/post/2333948/thread" timestamp="1499413838"]You know what Rian - you sum up quite a lump of the folks on these forums, by being for want of better expression a 'petrolhead' but you are also very decent bloke, obviously hard working, honest, caring and generous with your time - we all do our bit for the forums by writing our blogs / threads and encouraging / entertaining other fellow forum members - you also obviously have a sense of humour and as being proved today are very determined - more importantly you very much have 'SOUL' man - in fact I might has well big you up all the way and call you bit of a 'legend' and because you are now upping you game and going 'TUTU' I am going to up my game and double my original donation so there is another £30 sat in your paypal account from me.

Have a great ride and we all look forward to your report once you have recovered from your feat- Chris [/quote]


Hi Chris, and all the other forum members from around the world on the various forums I contribute to ( There are 9 forums daily)

Thank you very much for your comments, they are much appreciated and I am again humbled if perceived that way, and even more so for the extra/double donation you added to what is a worth charity. The TuTu did not get caught in the spokes, thankfully.
It is one where the work is evident in the lives they touch every day.
Unlike some charities with big names, support and yet more scandal and less action for their causes.

I always tend to just do what I feel is "right" and to be honest, Karma is a strict mistress to keep satisfied, but she pays back double your money every time.

Life is after all more good than bad.

And a Facebook quote that may resonate with some.



Back to the business at hand.

The Try-Athlon





I had an academic meeting to present to on Thursday afternoon and by 2.30pm that was done, so I hit the road from Woolwich as I had packed my car on Wednesday evening so that I did not need to drive an hour home and then pack and leave.

As expected, traffic was rubbish and at times stop start, so the 150 miles took me almost 3.5 hrs to do, getting to Grantham just before 6.00pm
It was hot, the hotel cheap and no air conditioning. So after unpacking, I went off to meet my boss and colleagues at their hotel, a beer later we went out for an Italian dinner, paid for by the boss (thankful for that) and at my hotel by 11.00pm and bed by midnight..... it was hot, so sleep was a bit patchy.

In the mean time, more donations came in overnight and as mentioned by Chris above, also Adrian Lee (make yourself known)
And my old riding friend from Cape Town and Bromley, Kent, Peter, known globally as Goose. We have done some good miles together in Africa and Europe on our bikes and he introduced me to Bike to Bike Comms, which changes long distance riding totally. Thanks Boet.



Robin Williams made an appearance too.

Thank you.



Adrian Long, with a working Chevy C10 truck....... thank you.



More generous donations and more doubling up for the TuTu challenge, thanks Mr Lowery, Mr Zog (Gary) and Dean Smith in Kent.... you guys rock !!



Another more than doubling effort for the TuTu challenge from Craig, thank you very much, that is again generous of you mate.



A deposit into my bank account by Miaspa, thank you for the support mate, I am certain a kids life will be made just that much better, through your donation.

And my very good friend Steve "Bib Overalls" in Jonesboro, Arkansas...... Last year you blew my mind with the visit to George Poteets Car Farm, and then meeting Elvis' Harley Davidson mechanic, Paul, later the same day on my road trip......
Massive thank you for the support, on behalf of the kids.




This was not a long or difficult road, but certainly one where every one of you showed your mettle and standing by me in a charity drive that I believe will make a difference in lives beyond where we are.

Thank you all, you did it !!

At my last count the numbers collected by "The Forum Members" globally, was £1070.00 and pennies......

This could be more, or possibly less, but I know there were some anonymous contributions that I cannot add in.

You have all blown me away with both generosity and also the fact that from the first £200.00 we just kept on going.


The road we all walked together the last three weeks, I also cycled some of it.




The real photo update will be along a bit later, it's 5.00 pm now and I need to start a fire to sacrifice some spicy chicken wings and lamb chops. Katy's request.

[flashed]

Congrats Rian and thanks for riding for the Kids .you are a classy dude .

[Grizz1963]

Originally Posted by flashed

Congrats Rian and thanks for riding for the Kids .you are a classy dude .

Thank you very much John.

I think in a way many of us were in it together......


Guys like Clem, sending cash in the post, others like you helping and motivating.


Certainly a team effort.

[Grizz1963]

Post race update no 2

Friday morning I was at the venue by 10.00am to help set up out Regional team table and helping where I could.

Our regional team..... minus a few, off sick etc.

Team London




It was not long before the swimmers were set off at 12.30 for a lap around the castle lake.

Then cyclists took off in a tag team type of launch.

My swimmer, Richard did his lap, then set me off, waiting patiently in my Latex, TuTu and Cammo shorts, topped by a team T-Shirt. (TuTu supplied by colleague Francesca)

The team thought I was mad, going out in the TuTu but all were very pleased for the extra funds it brought to the teams honour.

Thanks to those who felt it right to add some more cash for me to dress silly.



I took off with the bike, we had to push or run them out of the site for about 400 meters as the road was too rough.

I cannot understand what the whole health and safety thing is about...... if a war presented, would it be stopped till the H&S assessment was completed?

I forgot to start my own timer, so was actually on the road a bit longer and further than the tracker shows.



The route was reasonably challenging and there was a brutal hill that took me about 8 minutes to walk up it, pushing the bike.

Then back on and pedal as hard as I could.



Total route.......



21.3km which is a bit further actually. Done in 1hr 16 minutes.



Further break down





Back in the festival grounds I was happy to be done, parked up my bike, grabbed a drink and bought two pieces of drizzle cake from my team cake sale table..yes, having my cake and eating it.





LASTLY.....

I WANT TO DEDICATE THIS MEDAL TO THE INTERNET FORUMS AND MEMBERS (Simple as it is) AS A TOKEN OF THE TEAM EFFORT THAT WENT INTO THIS FUND RAISER.

YOU ALL KNOW WHO YOU ARE, AND I THANK YOU EACH AND EVERY ONE.


LIFE IS GOOD.

LETS KEEP IT THAT WAY.





LETS HEAR YOUR COMMENTS.

[Grizz1963]

Just a bit of a random update.

Yesterday went by quite fast, I had a load of stuff to do.

Katy did ask for a BBQ and who was I to say no if she wanted spicy wings and lamb chops, with some crazy good caramelised onion flat bread, cooked on the side of the fire.

She had come over on Friday evening, thinking I would be needing all the comfort and care a nursing matron can give....... naahhhh. I was good.



While getting the meat cooked, I texted Dennis and his other half as we often chat on Messenger.

Deb sent this reply when I shared my love of Bud Light, which I did learn from Dennis last year.




Katy was off to Hampton Court Flower Show with one of her best friends today, seems Sawdust Steve was there too.....

Anyway, she went home at 8.00pm last night and then took a train to the show today.

My good morning greeting while I was at the bootfair, was this pic.



Not sure if there was any subliminal message in there.

Later this morning Sharon who had challenged me to the TuTu ride, was chatting,with me and this was part of the message

To say I was both blown away and even more thankful, is an understatement.



Bootfair was exceptionally good, I found loads of stuff, as always, clothes that still,have their labels in, unused and new appeals to me, quirky stuff and tools as well.

Managed to get mate CraigRK three heavy haulage straps n ratchets for £5.00 each.



I also got him three rolls of cotton towel for £5.00 these were the ones used in restrooms where it continues to change when you pull down on it

Perfect for garage duties and any other use you may think of.



Got Katy some brand new large screwdrivers, unused in original packaging for £1.00


Maybe the weirdest buy of the day were these King Edward cigars, 3 for £1.00 and I got 6 for Mickey next door, he likes a smoke.



When I got home from the bootfair, via McDonalds and a Galaxy caramel McFlurry, Mickey was cutting his hedge, which meant I needed to cut mine, and then I ended up doing the second one too........

Not at all a trade, but coincidental to the cigars, his wife Wendy gave me what I had been asking for....... cons.



Once sorted and counted, it was £13.87 toward the charity collection as well.






So it looks like his is still not quite over.

And we will go over the £1100.00 mark, do I now raise my target again???


Time for a cuppa tea and Digestive biscuits I think.

Weekend almost over too.

[Grizz1963]

I am amazed.

At the weekend there was 50% of the target collected.

Tonight it is 80% albeit only just.

I think with the stragglers and final numbers still to be made up it could be close.



Miss Katy LOVES PINK and commented on our team T shirts.
So I asked her if she wanted mine.
Now washed and ironed, it will be way too big for her, but she is happy.

Kind of a token too, that the race is over but the fund raising carries on.



Blessed with another lovely sunset.




Of course typically there is always one.

Originally Posted by sparkplug

yeah - you need to raise your target Grizz.

I've not had a chance to contribute yet so set a number and let's see if we can reach it.

Honestly the way this place has been recently it's your thread that keeps me paying my subs more than anything else so it seems only fair to chip in after your efforts

So, based on promises made and monies offered, I thonk that £1200.00 is doable if all honour their offers.

I thonk £1250.00 is not an unrealistic target.


Anyone still up for collecting the small change around the office?

Deposit directly or even PayPal

Its all good.

[Grizz1963]

Mind comprehensively blown this morning.

This does not in any way reduce the value of every single contribution received.
As mentioned before, it's the pennies and pounds that add up, and it's all about what individuals see as appropriate.

Thanks to Fil "Sparkplug "

Looks like £1300.00 is an attainable target now if the other promised funds come in.



Have a good day all.

And thanks again

[Grizz1963]

Yesterday was a good, no, GREAT DAY.

Just the day alone brought in another £155.00 to our Internet total.

Thanks to Spark plug and then followed by SkinnyLew and a few others.

I also offered my manager the £10.00 toward the team T-shirts, but he declined and said to put it into the donations. So my shirt was paid for twice I guess.



Another donation that came with a short explanation also hit home more clearly than what I could have described.

From Temeraire




Thank you to Lttledumptruck for adding another £20.00 to the total as well.

We are now at £1245.00 according to my calculations and adding up, it could be more as there were a few anonymous contributions and currencies I just did a rough conversion on.

This is just awesome !!



Lastly, I had to go book a restaurant for a function yesterday afternoon and they had a load of old cartoons on the walls......

This made me smile.





Have a good day all.