Victory Ride 2008 (Pedaling for the Party)

We arrived at the Grand Canyon campground last night at 6 pm where I donned my Spandex (much to the chagrin of my political director) and rode off to Mather Point on the shuttle bus to get a few photos with my bike at sundown. My travel partner for the first half of the ride is Brett Mecum, our AZGOP Political Director. He is taking the photos as well as driving the RV while I am pedaling. I think he has the best job.

I’ll be glad to get out on the wide open road, because that’s how I see our future both in Arizona and nationally. If we elect more Republicans to the Arizona Legislature and Congress and have John McCain in the White House, America will be in great shape.

The Victory Ride started off at 6 am this morning. After a light breakfast, I followed Barack Obama’s key energy directive and inflated my tires to the proper pressure. No doubt, great advice for my bike, but not so good for American energy independence. So the journey began.

The first leg of the trip to Williams is 60 miles. My recollection from having driven the route is it was moderate hills at both ends with flats in the middle. I can now say authoritatively it is much more uphill. The last 20 miles were almost all uphill.

About half way through the morning ride, I received a phone call from Leo Mahoney informing me that John Rutledge, AZGOP 1st Vice Chair had passed away on Friday night from heart failure. He had been hospitalized earlier in the week due to a fall and a nasty head wound. This was sad news and I stopped the ride to make a few phone calls and issue a press release. It certainly is fortuitous we are in an RV with computers and wireless. John and I had become good friends over the past five years and I appreciated his advice. I will miss him.

We are traveling in a Fleetwood Storm RV (AZGOP Mobile HQ). I am making all kinds of new friends and handing out McCain bumper stickers and buttons at RV Park events. If I were to take a poll at the Williams RV park we are at today, it would be Senator McCain by 30 points. Love those freedom-loving RVers.

Several thousand dollars have already been pledged on our website for “Victory Ride 2008.” You can still take part in this historic event by and making a pledge today.

Tomorrow, the second leg of the ride will start from Williams and travel 19 miles to Ash Fork on I-40. At Ash Fork, I will take AZ 89 to Prescott. The total distance is 69 miles. I plan to arrive in Prescott at around noon where I will drop by Yavapai Republican HQ. After which I will ride to the White Spar Camp Grounds. Most of this ride will be downhill – lucky me.

I hope to blog each day, and if you’re reading this and want to join me for part of the route please let me know at rpullen@azgop.org. Besides the Grand Canyon and Williams, I’ll be stopping in Ashfork, Prescott, Wickenburg, Phoenix, Chandler, Florence, Oracle Junction, Tucson, Sonoita, Sierra Vista and concluding in Tombstone on August 16th.