Of course there were countless people who insisted on taking the time to lend assistance & kindness to me on our FreeWheelchair Mission Wheels4wheels Florida Trek.First and foremost were the Warmshowers host family's who followed my every move on our blog in anticipation of offering their homes and a bit of themselves when my cadence brought me into their cities and towns.These folks who provided lodging,food,conversation & at times SAG support are listed below:

Joan & Brenda Gladwell(Big Pine Key Fishing Lodge P.O.Box 430513 Big Pine Key,Fl 33043-0513) Who provided me lodging and companionship when I rode in past Dark to Big Pine Key with no pre-determined place for the night. Their normal rate was $50.00 and hearing of FWM and my ride charged me $0.

Blake & Emallie Daveis (1615 Michigan Ave.Apt.#8 Miami Beach,Fl 33139) Blake & Emallie hosted me in their Miami Beach home,Prepared me a wonderful Cuban Dinner and late in the evening we all mounted our bikes and toured Miami Beach at night seeing all it had to offer.What a delightful young couple with a zest for life !! Thanks guys!

Scot S. Toski and his wife hosted me on New Years Eve in their Boca Raton Home and I will never forget the food,drink,conversation,and kindness of this family as well as Scot's personal escort to and from my A1A route,upon arrival and departure. I could have taken you, Scot with me, You are a hardcore cyclist & are cut from the same cloth as I. Thanks Brother,I will be back ! (4484 Brandywine Dr. Boca Raton, Fl 33487-2175) and thanks for finding me a place in Jupiter,Fl. Since Ms.Tiger Woods was unavailable to receive guests!!!!

Lynn Daniels & Paul opened up their cozy home with virtually no notice, they are serious Warm Shower hosts and rotate a multitude of traveling cyclists into their lives. Thanks Paul for the awesome meal, and I felt like a kid in a candy store admiring all of your bikes kept neatly hanging from the walls of your home. Keep up the Great work you do for the cycling community! Jupiter, Fl 33477

Anne Paine (Hickory Street Melbourne,Fl 32904) Thanks for receiving me as I arrived late in the night, and who could forget wine and soup,what an awesome way to end a 100 mile day,other than the Warm Shower and comfy bed. Keep cycling in Melbourne!!!

Owner Conrad Matt & caretaker Chris Calf of The Pirates Haus Inn (32 Treasry Street St. Augustine, Fl. 32084) Thanks for taking me in and donating a room ($50.00 Value) in Beautiful Old Town St. Aug. & for your inside assistance steering guests to the best places in town, and who could forget Pirate Pancakes Chris, You are a culinary artist. Expect me and my family back, Keep the Pirate Suite available.Max & I will sword fight with you guys!

Sallie & Bob McDonald (3523 First Ave. Fernandina Beach, Fl 32034) Thanks for your constant communication and help navigating from Jacksonville Beach to your home on beautiful Amelia Island. It was not an easy feat, with the Mayport Ferry closed in front of me and the skies opening up with buckets of rain.You, hands down have the worlds best Spaghetti and particularly sauce in the world, nothing like a great meal with Merlot to sooth away the challenging day.I am very proud of you and your brothers travels by bicycle, you make the planet seem more at peace, keep up the great work!

Don Borgman & family( 221 Jasmine Dr. Summerville,SC.29483)Your help getting to your home and back on route was priceless! A stranger cycling in town needs a local friend, and you proved you were just that! And what awesome accommodations. A fully stocked camper/with heat! Remember I told you I still want that camper! Keep the gate locked!!!

Heather L Jordan (Sleep Inn 3345 Church Street Conway, S.C. 29526)A big thanks for reducing your room rates by a big % to help the FWM ride. I am sure it was at least a $50.00 savings. And you need recognition from your employer , your help with mass transit to and from Myrtle Beach was invaluable to a guy with a bicycle and a sliced tire and no bike shops anywhere around. And I hope you ordered more bananas, my consumption was over the top, sorry! Also tell the gal working with you on the breakfast bar, I said thanks again and keep up the outstanding work!!

Lisa Edwards,Kim Sutton and Jim Mincher of the (TWO WHEEL DEALER Bike Shop 4408 Wrightsville Avenue Wilmington, N.C. 28403) You took the time to give me $100.00 worth of new tires with installation to support my FWM ride and literally get me back rolling again. What a great shop,and what two awesome employees(Lisa & Kim) who go that extra mile for any walk in customer! Please give them a raise!

Truman & Moya Parmele (Ashland Coffee & Tea Shop 100 North Railroad Avenue Ashland ,Va 23005. When it was discovered that my Warm Shower host was out of town you took me into your coffee shop and your home on Sunday afternoon,fed me,lodged me and kept the coffee in my veins. I am sure you could have easily told me go get a hotel, but trough your actions I learned ''what kind of stuff you are made of" and IT'S GOOD STUFF!. Thanks for your human compassion. Keep the coffee hot, I will be in one day!!!

Steve & Terry Lynn Bailes ( North River Mills/Capon Bridge,W.V. 26711) What an idyllic way to finish a journey, Tucked away in the mountain hideaway with a couple of West Virginians. An Awesome Evening, that's all that needs to be said, You are the hosts of hosts and I envy your little corner at the "End of The World" Believe me "you have arrived"...... I checked and you are only 200 miles from my house. Keep the hot tub warm ......

Also lets talk about Travis Reed from (Cycle Spectrum Jacksonville Beach,Fl.) I kept pinching myself, Your help and support seemed unbelievable, I really felt like I was the President or some VIP. You REALLY need a raise! You also need to be recognized as the nations most customer friendly bike shop employee on the planet. Thanks for the Free Tune up on the bike and the help getting around the Mayport Ferry. You exemplify the meaning of above and beyond the call of duty! And you impressed me as being the only one who knew what that canister strapped to my front fork was. Many have looked in confussion and asked what the heck is that? You announced to your co-worker , thats Bear Spray! Keep up your mind -boggling attitude!

Michael Beaver !!! Are you sure you aren't an angel ???? You posses all the traits, and then some! A Wheeling boy gone south, but still remaining a guy from the "Friendly City" I don't know where to begin, you did it all ! Your Concern and help getting off of The Truck Thruway Rte 17 safely into S.C. Was really the right help at the right time. And thanks for buying me Georgia's best noon buffet. I think they had to close after you and I wiped out the food ! Your constant emails and calls throughout my journey became something I relished and expected! Someone owes you something big ! Look for it,I am sure that you will be rewarded greatly for all you give of yourself! If you were the only Friend I made on my 1000 mile ride it would have been worth every mile. Don't ever change, if you do the world will get a bit sadder. Thanks Mike!!

One other outstanding couple who literally saved my cycling butt ! Charlie & Amanda Irwin (1434 Pleasant hill Drive Hemingway,S.C. 29554) After screaming down Pleasant Hill Drive trying to make Conway S.C. before nightfall I ran over a broken glass bottle smack dab in front of your home. You went out of your way to cram my gear and bike into your yellow mustang and drive me 25 miles to Conway, took me to a tire shop and Walmart in search of a new tire, when that failed you helped me find a hotel. You did all of this because of who you are, and you should be proud of that, you are what we as human beings are expected to be, there for one another, you spent 4 hours of your own time helping a stranded cyclist. You have earned a place in the human compassion book at the beginning of chapter one !! Your reward is in heaven . THANKS !
Thanks also to Gig Meredith for the emails and concern, it meant alot.. And thanks to Gary Loh for your contact before my ride and for all you do to make this a better world.

This is just a small list of those who proved that we are all in this "ride together" we call life. You deserve a huge pat on the back and I am sure you already felt your reward for helping me. You all most definatley enriched your lives and without a doubt enriched mine. My Helmet is, and always will be "OFF TO YOU"

As a final note, I spoke with many, folks on the road and shared my cycling and FWM story with them, and they all presented the Face of God to a stranger and they all know who they are and how they made me smile, warmed my heart and allowed me to Cycle with Confidence. Till the next tour ....Keep on enjoying the ride because:
LIFE SHOULD NOT BE A JOURNEY TO THE GRAVE WITH THE INTENTION OF ARRIVING SAFELY IN AN ATTRACTIVE AND WELL PRESERVED BODY,BUT RATHER TO SKID IN SIDEWAYS,CHOCOLATE IN ONE HAND,LATTE IN THE OTHER,BODY THOROUGHLY USED UP,TOTALLY WORN OUT,AND SCREAMING, "WOO HOO, WHAT A RIDE!"

Special Thanks to Wendy Scatterday with FWM is Wheeling,W.V. Ashley Herron and Don Schoendorfer FWM in Irvin, Califirnia and all his staff for giving me the ultimate reason to cycle. You have enriched my life and I hope in some small way I have helped your cause to lift people off of the ground and give them mobility.
"Keep the Cycle going" John