Lamonster
SpyderLovers Founder
I want to clear the air in my own words and let you all know what my plans are for the Road Warrior F3 raffle bike that I won.
First let me say I have a special place in my heart for all those who serve our great country. I was born in West Germany to Army parents and even though I did not serve I do have two boys who served in the Marines right out of high school and another son who is active duty in the Air Force now. My boys made the decision to serve the day of the terrorist attacks on 9-11. I told them as their father that the world as we know it had changed forever. They all joined while we were still at war. Here's a pic of them 9-11-2001 on the front porch of our home in San Diego.
When my oldest son Lance joined the Marine Corp I could no longer watch the news. When I heard "3 Marines injured" or "5 Marines killed" in Iraq I couldn't help but think one day that may be one of my boys. Then I would think that was someone's son or daughter. Those of you who have loved ones in the service know what I'm talking about. These men and women are so brave to leave the comfort of home to fight in a country they know nothing about other than they hate us and plan to take away our freedom and way of life. I have so much respect for these folks and try and help whenever I can to show my support.
BRP and Can Am surprised me when I saw they made a commitment to support the Road Warriors by loaning them new Spyders to drive cross country to raise awareness and raise funds to support out vets. Both Craig Anders and Steve Berger have taken the time out of their lives to make a difference and to pursue their vision. It's one thing to say you want to help but to put boots to your words is what it really takes to get the job done. These guys and all who volunteer to the Road Warriors make it a reality including a Canadian based company (BRP).
This year BRP gave the Road Warrior foundation a brand new Can Am Spyder F3-S to do with as they please to raise money and awareness. They decided to customize it and put up a raffle for it. The only rule was that they (the Road Warrior Foundation) could not win it. When I saw Craig in Daytona we got to spend some time together and share a booth together. They had done a great job doing what they could to customize the F3 but were disappointed they couldn't get everything done in time for Daytona Bikeweek. I know how that feels because I didn't get everything done either on "Triple Threat." To be honest, one of the things that really bothered the Road Warrior guys and me was they had blacked out everything they could but didn't have time to black out the chrome foot peg mounts. Being OCD like me, it drove them a little crazy.
Fast forward to Spyderfest in Springfield MO. 2015
Craig and Steve were far short of their goal of selling the amount of tickets they needed to support their upcoming ride they were taking the Vets on and they knew they had a better chance of reaching that goal if they could get their F3 in front of more SpyderLovers' eyes who knew what a great opportunity this was. Their effort to get the F3 to Spyderfest paid off as they almost reached their goal in ticket sales.
As I walked into the Fairgrounds the night of the drawing, I was challenged by Len from Pitbull Powersports over the loud speaker to buy some tickets to close the gap. I hadn't bought any tickets prior to this because I was showing my support by marketing and getting the word out for them here on SpyderLovers forum. I did want to support them with my pocket too but just never got time to stop by the booth so this was perfect timing. I dug into my pocket and pulled out $300 and handed it to Craig. He handed me my blank tickets as I didn't have time to fill them out but he knew where I was going to be so it was no big deal. I never bought the tickets to win anything, the only reason I bought them was to publicly show my support and to encourage others to buy tickets so they could go ahead and raffle off the Spyder at the event. It worked. They reached their goal and the show was on.
All the tickets were dumped in the front trunk of the Spyder and mixed up. Len's son Colton picked out the winning ticket. Len then told everyone to stand up and as he read off the numbers those who didn't have the number had to sit down. I didn't even bother to stand up as I didn't feel like I was playing the game. As he got down to the last two numbers my wife Joan kicked me to stand up. I looked at my tickets and sure enough I was in the running. When the last number was called I was in shock. I never win anything and I sure didn't expect to win the Road Warrior F3. When I walked up and handed them my ticket I still couldn't believe what had just happened. I honestly felt a little sick. They handed me the microphone and I said a few words I guess but I wasn't really there in my head.
I know from the outside looking in you might think this was rigged but I can assure you it was not. I will say I thought about declining the win but for some reason that didn't feel right either. I decided I needed to talk it over with my wife Joan, pray about it and sleep on it. Before going to bed we had decided the best thing to do was to finish the project Craig and Steve didn't have time to do, add my Lamonster touch to it and then give it back to the Road Warrior Foundation to auction it off to the highest bidder. From that moment on I knew why I won the F3, it was so I could give back in a bigger way for the Vets and also for my boys. I felt at peace with myself from that point on and the decision was my own and not public opinion. I trusted God to give me direction to do the right thing and He did. I woke up with the verse about the parable of the talents and how God gave the most to the ones He could trust and took away from the ones He couldn't trust. He said He would double the return on their investment and I pray the Road Warriors will be able to do the same after I get done doing a little custom work at Lamonster Garage.
I have the F3 at Lamonster Garage now and I will begin work on it this week. Craig and Steve will be working on the auction and paperwork side of things and I hope we can get this to auction in time for Sturgis. We're thinking that might be a good time and place to put it up for auction. One hundred percent (100%) of what I put into the Spyder and what it sells for will go straight back to the Road Warriors Foundation.
So stay tuned my brothers and sisters...........this is NOT the end of the story!
On a side note. This is the very Spyder my wife Joan rode on the Daytona Speedway just a few hours after we got married in Daytona. That was the one reason I thought for a second that I might keep it but I had already surprised her with a new F3 I just bought from Pitbull Powersports that week so there really was no more room at the house for another F3 but that's pretty cool that the bike she rode was the bike we won.
After we won the F3
On the race track the day of our wedding. She had only been Joan Bryden a few hours here.
First let me say I have a special place in my heart for all those who serve our great country. I was born in West Germany to Army parents and even though I did not serve I do have two boys who served in the Marines right out of high school and another son who is active duty in the Air Force now. My boys made the decision to serve the day of the terrorist attacks on 9-11. I told them as their father that the world as we know it had changed forever. They all joined while we were still at war. Here's a pic of them 9-11-2001 on the front porch of our home in San Diego.
When my oldest son Lance joined the Marine Corp I could no longer watch the news. When I heard "3 Marines injured" or "5 Marines killed" in Iraq I couldn't help but think one day that may be one of my boys. Then I would think that was someone's son or daughter. Those of you who have loved ones in the service know what I'm talking about. These men and women are so brave to leave the comfort of home to fight in a country they know nothing about other than they hate us and plan to take away our freedom and way of life. I have so much respect for these folks and try and help whenever I can to show my support.
BRP and Can Am surprised me when I saw they made a commitment to support the Road Warriors by loaning them new Spyders to drive cross country to raise awareness and raise funds to support out vets. Both Craig Anders and Steve Berger have taken the time out of their lives to make a difference and to pursue their vision. It's one thing to say you want to help but to put boots to your words is what it really takes to get the job done. These guys and all who volunteer to the Road Warriors make it a reality including a Canadian based company (BRP).
This year BRP gave the Road Warrior foundation a brand new Can Am Spyder F3-S to do with as they please to raise money and awareness. They decided to customize it and put up a raffle for it. The only rule was that they (the Road Warrior Foundation) could not win it. When I saw Craig in Daytona we got to spend some time together and share a booth together. They had done a great job doing what they could to customize the F3 but were disappointed they couldn't get everything done in time for Daytona Bikeweek. I know how that feels because I didn't get everything done either on "Triple Threat." To be honest, one of the things that really bothered the Road Warrior guys and me was they had blacked out everything they could but didn't have time to black out the chrome foot peg mounts. Being OCD like me, it drove them a little crazy.
Fast forward to Spyderfest in Springfield MO. 2015
Craig and Steve were far short of their goal of selling the amount of tickets they needed to support their upcoming ride they were taking the Vets on and they knew they had a better chance of reaching that goal if they could get their F3 in front of more SpyderLovers' eyes who knew what a great opportunity this was. Their effort to get the F3 to Spyderfest paid off as they almost reached their goal in ticket sales.
As I walked into the Fairgrounds the night of the drawing, I was challenged by Len from Pitbull Powersports over the loud speaker to buy some tickets to close the gap. I hadn't bought any tickets prior to this because I was showing my support by marketing and getting the word out for them here on SpyderLovers forum. I did want to support them with my pocket too but just never got time to stop by the booth so this was perfect timing. I dug into my pocket and pulled out $300 and handed it to Craig. He handed me my blank tickets as I didn't have time to fill them out but he knew where I was going to be so it was no big deal. I never bought the tickets to win anything, the only reason I bought them was to publicly show my support and to encourage others to buy tickets so they could go ahead and raffle off the Spyder at the event. It worked. They reached their goal and the show was on.
All the tickets were dumped in the front trunk of the Spyder and mixed up. Len's son Colton picked out the winning ticket. Len then told everyone to stand up and as he read off the numbers those who didn't have the number had to sit down. I didn't even bother to stand up as I didn't feel like I was playing the game. As he got down to the last two numbers my wife Joan kicked me to stand up. I looked at my tickets and sure enough I was in the running. When the last number was called I was in shock. I never win anything and I sure didn't expect to win the Road Warrior F3. When I walked up and handed them my ticket I still couldn't believe what had just happened. I honestly felt a little sick. They handed me the microphone and I said a few words I guess but I wasn't really there in my head.
I know from the outside looking in you might think this was rigged but I can assure you it was not. I will say I thought about declining the win but for some reason that didn't feel right either. I decided I needed to talk it over with my wife Joan, pray about it and sleep on it. Before going to bed we had decided the best thing to do was to finish the project Craig and Steve didn't have time to do, add my Lamonster touch to it and then give it back to the Road Warrior Foundation to auction it off to the highest bidder. From that moment on I knew why I won the F3, it was so I could give back in a bigger way for the Vets and also for my boys. I felt at peace with myself from that point on and the decision was my own and not public opinion. I trusted God to give me direction to do the right thing and He did. I woke up with the verse about the parable of the talents and how God gave the most to the ones He could trust and took away from the ones He couldn't trust. He said He would double the return on their investment and I pray the Road Warriors will be able to do the same after I get done doing a little custom work at Lamonster Garage.
I have the F3 at Lamonster Garage now and I will begin work on it this week. Craig and Steve will be working on the auction and paperwork side of things and I hope we can get this to auction in time for Sturgis. We're thinking that might be a good time and place to put it up for auction. One hundred percent (100%) of what I put into the Spyder and what it sells for will go straight back to the Road Warriors Foundation.
So stay tuned my brothers and sisters...........this is NOT the end of the story!
On a side note. This is the very Spyder my wife Joan rode on the Daytona Speedway just a few hours after we got married in Daytona. That was the one reason I thought for a second that I might keep it but I had already surprised her with a new F3 I just bought from Pitbull Powersports that week so there really was no more room at the house for another F3 but that's pretty cool that the bike she rode was the bike we won.
After we won the F3
On the race track the day of our wedding. She had only been Joan Bryden a few hours here.
