[Spits] Jonmac is Stateside bound!

[John Macartney]

Well, not just yet - but definitely in 2009. This is now official, though its already appeared in 
November's Triumph World. It'll also appear in November's The Vintage Triumph.

After the better part of a year emailing Glenn Merrell, Blake Discher and Fred Thomas, the Triumph 
Trans-America Charity Drive 2009 really is going to happen and I'm so looking forward to meeting as 
many of you as I can.

I've set aside three months to do the trip as this is the maximum amount of time that Uncle Sam will 
give me a visa - and I intend to visit Canada as well, so don't you of Her Majesty's 'colonists' 
north of the border start getting upset about being left out :)

So here's the story.

If you click on www.triumphtransamerica.org.uk you'll read almost everything there is to say about 
the event at this stage. We've got a *provisional* Start point in Maine (which may have to be 
changed and a definite Finish at Triumphest/North American Triumph Challenge on 30th September 2009 
at San Luis Obispo, California. Where we go in between those two places is anyone's guess and this 
is something that has to be worked out pretty fast as there is much else to do. Two 'Works' cars 
will be taking part. One will be a Stag that Glenn Merrell is currently trying to source in the 
States and the other will hopefully be my own 2.5PI that will be coming all the way from this 
mudpatch on the eastern Atlantic - and will then come home at the end, providing it doesn't get 
totalled! I know its daft bringing my own car - but she means so much. After all, we've been 
together now for eight long years and 2009 will be her 39th birthday! I just hope the 
non-compensatable altitude injection system will cope with the Rockies. We'll have a Bosch fuel pump 
down at the back doing the work - and no, I don't have any AC in the car either.

When you go to the website (which is really a 'Blog') click on STAY INFORMED and this will open a 
mail list you can subscribe to. This means that once your subscription is in and registered, I can 
keep everyone updated with progress on different fronts by email which saves you going back to check 
the web.

For the record, I'm undertaking this Run entirely to raise funds in equal parts for one American, 
one British and one Canadian Charity specialising in helping those with post traumatic stress 
disorder (PTSD). I want to raise at least US$100,000 for each charity and I really hope that as many 
of you as possible will join in with me to try and make this a reality. Its important to stress that 
I don't plan or intend to make a dime out of this. All I want is to have fun.

Please look at the site because I hope it will answer a lot of FAQ's but if not, please email me 
direct and off-list.

Heaven help you guys and gals. Macartney is finally preparing to hit North America after too many 
years of declined invitations.

Cheers, Jonmac