Hi!  This is my first of many blogs of my coming adventure to move to my new home at Burpee Museum.  As you can see from my picture, I have a new helmet.  My friend Alan Brown, the Director of Burpee is doing most of the work to get us to Rockford.  We are making lists of whaat we need to take on the trip in order to get here safely.  So far, we have a new first aid kit, in case I fall off my bike, sun screen to prevent sun burn and chap stick for my lips.  We are also taking along a lot of water in order to keep from getting dehydrated. 

Alan has tried to  lose a lot of weight and so far about 50 pounds.  This will make it easier for him to go up the hills and he will be in better shape for the ride.  This is very important so we can finish all 1100 miles and get to Rockford in good health.  We announced the ride today at a press conference and it will be on TV tonight, channels 13 and 17.  There will also be an article in the Rockford Register Star tomorrow giving more details of my ride.  If you miss the news, you can go to their web sites and do a search for the Homer Ride. 

If you would like to help us come to Rockford you can pledge by downloading the pledge sheet at burpee.org.  It can be as little as a penny per mile, $10.00 or as much as you can afford.  If you pledge you can come to our arrival party here at Burpee at noon on Saturday, August 27th free to everyone.