Beyond the Quarry Labors of Love

by PJ Roup, 33˚, Editor, Active for Pennsylvania

This wasn’t the first time that Vic had done something crazy. In fact, it was the third. The idea first came to him in 2002 when he heard a student with dyslexia talk about how attending one of the Scottish Rite Children’s Dyslexia Centers (CDC) had changed their life. He turned to a friend and whispered, “We have to do something for these children.” That something turned out to be starting a Scottish Rite motorcycle club to raise money for the Centers.

“In order to get members [for Hiram’s Scottish Riders], I decided to do a 49-state ride in 30 days or less,” Vic says. “I was in my late 50s and felt that such a ride would not only increase membership but would raise much-needed income for the Centers.”

He read the book Against the Clock by Ron Ayres who rode 49 states in a week. From the book, he learned the route that Ayres took and used some of that information to plan his own ride. Ayers’ ride was a one-way trip, and he did not return to his starting point. Vic’s was going to be different.

“I planned to do the 49 states with visits to Centers along the route and meet the staff and children. So, I started to lay out the trip with saddle time of eight hours a day or 400 to 600 miles,” he said.

The planning took nearly a year, but in June of 2003, Vic completed the ride. He rode through 13 days of rain and hail, outran two tornadoes, and raised more than $30,000 for the Children’s Dyslexia Centers throughout the Northern Masonic Jurisdiction.

In 2009, Vic got the itch again. He wanted to invite others along so that the ride could continue even after he became too old to participate. This time, he rode with two other Brothers, Tom Gamon IV, 33°, and Sam Wandzilak, 32°. They followed the same trail that Vic blazed on his first trip. This time, they finished in just 28 days, and they only had to outrun one tornado. They raised an additional $60,000 for the Dyslexia Centers.

The success of these two trips encouraged him to make this a recurring event. “The idea was to continue this ride every few years to support Dyslexia Centers,” Vic said. “I wanted to work with the Brothers accompanying me, to teach them the ins and out of such a ride so that when I can no longer do the ‘49 State Ride to Fight Dyslexia’ (he turned 77 in July), others will be trained to continue the event, and the ride will go on.”

Brother Rick’s first job out of college was as a tour manager for a record company, so he had already experienced traveling the country on a bus. “Once I started riding a motorcycle, it brought back that love and I felt the draw to see the country again in the saddle,” Rick said. “When I met Vic, and he shared his previous trips and the experiences that went along with it, I knew it was something I had to do.”

They planned the third ride for 2020, but COVID delayed that until 2022. Vic put a lot of what he discovered during the first two trips into this one. For example, they began the days between 6 and 7 a.m. “You must have kickstands up early,” Vic said. “This helps to avoid the sun as much as possible because with the sun comes high winds out west.”

They also learned to stop every 100 or so miles to fuel up, stretch, hydrate, and grab a snack. They also knew they wanted to take the full 30 days to allow for a little downtime and a few side trips. They followed a similar route as the first two trips with diversions to see some special landmarks: the Scottish Rite Masonic Museum & Library; Hank Williams Sr.’s grave; and Twin Falls, Idaho where Evel Knievel attempted to jump the Snake River in his “skycycle” in 1974.

Technology also played a bigger role on this trip. “I was concerned about the weather since my old eyes cannot see well in the rain,” Vic said. “Rick and Glen were very diligent in tracking the weather on their phones.” Consequently, they were able to avoid many storms. The temperatures were another matter.

In Colorado, they saw the thermometer go from 30° to 104° as they climbed to over 11,600 feet above sea level in less than one hour. Near Needles, California, the temperature was over 110°. “We had to use 80-weight oil in the bikes to keep compression on the motors,” Vic recalled.

Since much of the country was still on edge due to COVID, they didn’t visit as many Centers as they would have liked. Instead, they left a message with each Center along the route asking if they wanted them to visit. “We did visit the Children’s Dyslexia Center in Cleveland and were received by their board and teachers,” Vic said.

Were there standout moments? Of course.

“Practically every day was like riding through a postcard, even in places you would never expect. The photos can't capture it,” Glen said. Some of his favorite memories had nothing to do with the sights. “The moments that weren't recorded are the ones in which a generous individual would pay for a meal or donate money toward the CDC,” he said. “Much too often, we hear and see negativity; but from my standpoint, good people and their actions across the nation far outweigh any bad.”

For all three men, one of the biggest highlights was being able to help a family stranded on the side of the road. They passed a large pickup pulling a trailer and saw a woman crying while being consoled by her daughter and two grandchildren. Her husband was trying to remove a shredded tire from their truck but was having trouble getting to the spare.

The team pulled over and went to work. They helped the father jack up the camper and unhook the truck so he could get to the spare. Once the tire was changed, they reversed the process and were ready to send the

family on their way. “They offered us several hundred dollars for our efforts,” Vic said, laughing. He and the crew declined the offer, saying that they were three Masons on a trip to raise funds for the Dyslexia Centers. The family later sent them $500 for the cause.

The three already shared the indescribable bond that comes with being a Freemason, but traveling 11,785 miles and 49 states in 30 days created something more for each of them—something that will last a lifetime. “There is definitely a bonding that occurs when you do such a trip,” Vic said. “The 49-state ride is not for the faint of heart. Experiencing the daily rigors of weather, time in the saddle, breakdowns, early starts and sometimes late endings, and time away from your loved ones takes a toll on each man. But we always have each other’s back. We are Masonic Brothers.”

“Three Past Masters on the road together; it can’t get any better than that,” Rick added. “We all had our moments of weakness, moments when the pressure got to us, when we questioned ourselves. It was at those times that the Brotherhood shined, how we were there to pick each other up and help each other move forward.”

Glen is excited about the next chapter. “I would be up for doing this trip again and more,” he said. “It was an honor

and privilege to ride with Victor and Rick, some of the finest Brothers and motorcyclists I’ve ridden with! It was a great way to raise funds for the CDC, and there is nothing more rewarding!”

“Will I do it again?” Rick asks himself thoughtfully. “I sure hope so. Never know how life will go or if 49 states is in my future. But riding through this great land on a motorcycle with my fellow Brothers, that I will be doing again for sure...destination unknown.”

Do you have an interesting hobby, event, or recreational activity that you would like to share with us? If so, contact editor@srnmj.org and let us know about it. You just might find yourself featured in a coming issue.