March 10, 2005; Rod and Greg

While stopped at a light on my way out of Daytona Beach, a random the biker next to me started up a conversation. Maybe 2,500 miles of road grime made me stand out in a sea of polished chrome, who knows. This guy’s name was Rod (pictured on the right) and after a few exchanges he invited me out to have a couple beers with him and his buddies. I followed Rod a couple of blocks to Sign-0-Saurus, a business his buddy Greg (pictured on the left) runs. We talked for a bit and made loose plans for the night. Before I left to go see Adam before his first day of competition, I gave Rod the website address. A couple of hours later I got a message with the specifics of where to meet. Rod also mentioned that he had made a couple of stickers for me- which was mildly intriguing.

When I arrived at the bar, Rod was standing at the end of a booth with a stack of stickers. He waved me over and explained to the table that this was the guy he was talking about. By the looks on the faces at that table I knew there was something I missed. Then Rod handed me the stack of stickers. On the left was a picture of dad that Rod and Greg had pulled from the site. On the right were the words “In loving memory of David Pruess. A loving husband and father. Memorial ride 2005.” I was dumb-struck. I just stood there with a slack jaw and teary eyes for a couple of seconds trying to process everything. Then Rod handed me a wad of bills. He had been asking for donations in exchange for the stickers so I could continue riding. There I was again, stunned, speechless, and teary. I managed to shake the hands of the people at the table and thank them before I once again clamed up and just stood there stammering. Then Rod sent me over to the bar where Greg was waiting for me with a beer.

Keep in mind that I had met this guy about six hours ago and really had no idea who he was. I had less of an idea who Greg was. The only thing I could do was thank him several times over the course of numerous disjointed sentences.

Rod came back after being told to stop soliciting by the management. Even though he had told me, I asked him why again. He said it was the least he could do for the motivation I had given him and the message that I was sending. That baffled me even more. What I was doing was just what I was doing; it was nothing to too special or extraordinary in my mind. Then again, perception and opinion belong to everybody individually.

Rod was going through some stuff of his own. He talked about dropping everything and taking off to ride with me for the next month. Even though I was out of money, I would have taken out another loan to get me on the road for another thirty days; Especially after this incredible gesture. Rod and Greg are just two of the many Nicest People that I have met throughout the course of my journey. The least I could do is trade him a favor. He contends that I have already, but I disagree.