It’s Friday evening and the the riders for the NY ride are in. Coming into the hotel I was met by the fluorescent yellow shirts of the Muddy Angel Wingmen and women. It’s the first time I had seen the shirts and thought the design was pretty sweet. Oh, and in case you didn’t know it, the Wingmen are the heart and soul of the ride. We’ve already had the discussion of someone saying “I’m just support”. Nope, there is no “just”…heart and soul of the ride.

This evening has been dedicated to getting all of the riders registered and giving us a chance to get acquainted. Our VP Dave Page spent the afternoon orientating new and old riders on the different aspects of the ride, along with some basic safety rules and we got to see a slick video that we hope to get up on the website.

Despite some rain this evening, and a chance of rain tomorrow, spirits are high and and the group is excited to get on the road. Stay tuned. I’ll be updating the blog nightly, hopefully with best of breed pictures taken during the day.

It’s On! Check out the links below to find out where are…or at least where we should be!

2008 Ride at a Glance: This is a basic itinerary for the New York to Roanoke leg.

2008 Maps: This link will bring you to “Map My Ride” where you can see Google maps for our intended routes. This includes both the New York and Kentucky legs.

GPS Data Points: If you’re a real geek, nerd or dweeb (as is moi) then you can download GPS data that can be imported into your Garmin, Google Maps, or Google Earth.

Part of the mission of this ride is that we want to raise awareness regarding EMS, LODD, and work related safety/injuries in EMS. We will have events in New York, New Jersey, Philadelphia, Annapolis, and Washington DC. In DC, we have teamed up with Advocates for EMS to create a special event. This required Rep. Oberstar to actually pass a bill to allow us to be on the grounds of the US Capitol!!

Please help us!

Talk to your Members of Congress DC Office about the bike ride special event at the US Capitol.

Letters of invitation have been delivered to the members of congress from the states that each rider is coming from. It works best if you can follow up directly, and if the Member cannot attend ask if a staffer would be willing to.

Thanks!

This is the letter of invitation they received:

On behalf of The National EMS Memorial Bike Ride (NEMSMBR) and Advocates for EMS, we would like to invite you to participate in an event on Tuesday, May 20, 2008 in Upper Senate Park from 12:00-1:00 p.m. honoring emergency medical services providers who have become injured or who have died in the line of duty. Advocates for EMS is a not-for-profit organization whose purpose is to educate elected and appointed officials as well as the public at-large on important issues affecting the EMS community. The NEMSMBR is a
non-profit organization that started as a grassroots effort in Boston, MA in 2002 as a “ride to remember” to the Annual National EMS Memorial Service in Roanoke, VA. This year the event includes riders from 24 states and Ireland.

From May 17 - May 23, 2008, 110 participants will bike from New York City or Lexington, KY to Roanoke, VA, the location of the National EMS Memorial. The riders’ stop in Washington on the 20th is primarily focused on raising public awareness about those who have lost their life or suffered a debilitating injury in the line of duty, as well as to voice their support
for H.R. 3822, which broadens the Public Safety Officer Benefit Program death benefits to nongovernmental and volunteer firefighters, ground and air ambulance crew members, and first responders. We would be honored if you or a member of your staff would attend the event.

To RSVP or for additional information please contact Lisa Meyer at Cornerstone Government Affairs at (202)448-9522 or lmeyer@cgagroup.com.

We hope you will be able to join us!

David Page MS, NREMT-P
Vice President
National EMS Memorial Bike Ride
Cell: 651-341-0111
E-mail: dpage@ehs.net
Web: www.muddyangels.org

Below is a list of EMS providers who died in the line of duty. By clicking on the name, you will get to see some information about the person along with pictures in many cases.

Please note that this is a work in progress and is by no means complete. If you have knowledge and/or information about others, please shoot us an email and help us complete the list. If you notice any errors in the list, let us know that as well. Thanks.

Charles D Allen
Tommy Allred
Joe Alvarez, Jr
Charles “Mac” Atteberry
George Beeler
Heidi Behr
Allan W Bragwell
Christa Dawn Burchett
Tennille Annette Davis
Darcy Lynn Dengel
Dana Dedman
Kline Dewire
Jarrett Dixon
Craig Dorsey, II
Diane Elaine Efaw
Brien Patrick Eisaman
Brian Ellicott
Paul J Erickson
Lynn Ethridge
Cruze Fernandez
Dale Francis
Billy A Gafford, Jr
Nadar Hammett
Lisa Hansen
Jeffrey Lynn Jeans
Joe A Jones
Timothy Keller
Niciole Kielar
Matthew Lamb
Michael James Latta
Ron Laubacher
Wilford Livingston
Kimberly Madison
Jerome C Marion
Heidi L McDougall
Maureen Mary McGee
Chastity Miller
Peter A Miller
Joseph E Murawski
Deanna Palmer
Allan D Parsons
Paul Patterson
John Pittman
Richard H Powers
Kelly J Rager
Deborah Reeve
David Aaron Sauder
Mandy Takeshi Shiraki
Wayne Topping
Rick Seiner
Joseph Shaefer
Neal Sherman
Sammy Ray Smith
Joe Snow
Joseph Daniel Villiaros
James J Vincent, Jr
Carl Weiss
Karen Woods
Marlena Lee Yomes

Oh yeah, it’s coming fast! We had a lot of inquiries, so here is the itinerary for the NY to Roanoke ride:

• 5/17: We all head to Jacobi Station at 7am. Benediction and kick off at 8am. We will have a rest stop at Perth Amboy at approximately 2pm to honor inductee Joe Murawski
• 5/18: 9am, Garden of Remembrance. 1pm City of Philadelphia where they plan to roll out the GOLD Carpet. We’re expecting the Governor, Mayor, Fire Chief and roughly 500 EMS Providers. We’ll be riding by Collingdale Fire and Rescue who has been on of the ride’s greatest supporters and end the day in New Castle/Wilmington Dinner. Its a busy day and we’ve got about 100 miles to cover!
• 5/19: At the end of this day (6pm) we will load into buses to cross Chesapeake Bay Bridge into Annapolis, to the Memorial with a ceremony and dinner at W. Annapolis FD
• 5/20: Washington DC – pass through PG county with a rest stop at Six Flags (10am). 12 pm We hit DC for a big service with many officials. Get some chow from the CC Fire Canteen, Ride by the White House with a rest stop at GWU (2pm)
• 5/21: With the pomp and circumstance tbehind us, we can focus on riding. Skyline Drive, VA will give us some beautiful scenery and a change to reflect on those that we’re ridng for.
• 5/22: Lots of riding through the beautiful Virgina countryside. Rolling hills and smooth roads make day 6 a lot of fun.
• 5/23: We join up with the Kentucky riders in Salem, VA. We take a break and then the two groups ride on into Roanoke. Be prepared for a nice ceremony and lots of tears. Make sure you get out and meet the families and loved ones of those we’ve come so far to honor.

On April 27 2008, our own Steve Berry recently spoke at the “Continuing Concepts in Pre-Hospital Emergency Medicine” conference. While there, he accepted a generous donation to the Bike Ride from the attendees and sponsors of the conference. Everyone from the National EMS Memorial Bike Ride owe y’all a big debt of gratitude. Thanks!

It’s worth noting that this was just a day before many of these good folks again went above and beyond, this time helping their neighbors after a massive tornado ripped through their communities.

Pictured is Steve Berry with conference coordinators Laura Walker and Rusty Hundley.

The Austin bike team scored a nice interview with their local media. Good job team!

By: Amy Hadley, New 8 Austin

For Travis County EMS paramedic Mark Hawkins, the thought of riding 600-miles in seven days doesn’t produce even the flimsiest shred of doubt.

“I’ve been riding a lot … and this could be seen as training for other things I’ve been doing,” he said.

There certainly will be enough motivation for the Austin Paramedic Cycle Team. It consists of EMS workers in Travis County who will take part in the ride.

They are riding in honor of Eric Hansen, a Marble Falls paramedic who lost his life on Highway 71 back in 2006.

The National EMS Memorial Ride is a six-day, 600-mile trek from New York City to Roanoke, Va., from May 17-23.

See the full story with video!

The National EMS Memorial Service has posted their list of the people we lost in 2008. Unfortunately it’s a long list this year.

2008 Honorees

If you are planning on attending the National EMS Memorial Service on Saturday Evening, May 24, 2008 in Roanoke, Va, it takes place in a church and is a formal/semi-formal affair. You should plan on wearing (in order of preference) a Class A uniform (if you have one), an appropriate suit or dress, or your clean EMS uniform.

I encourage everyone to attend as it is an extremely memorable experience. We have registered our group with the National EMS Memorial Service and will have seating together.

The service starts at 6pm. We will most likely start shuttling folks over starting at 5:15pm or so.

All National EMS Memorial Bike Riders,

So as not to be overly wordy here it is, brief and to the point:

STATS (as of 5/2/08):

• NY 81 riders, 21support
• LA 25 riders
• KY 10 riders
• 73 Inductees to the EMS Memorial

_______________________________________________

Things to Remember or Do:

Read the website, especially the FAQ, and check the NEWS page regularly.

Registraton payments are due prior to the ride’s start.

Please complete the survey if you haven’t already done so.

Be Prepared for any Weather/Conditions!

Be sure your hotel reservations are complete (if applicable)

Train, Find your happy attitude, Have fun

It is a ride to remember, not a race - be safe

Call or email if you have any questions.

Thank you for riding/supporting this event!