Newsletters

In This Issue:

• MAD Scout Denis Petrie Rides for Gilda's Club
• Product Spotlight: North & South Carolina
• CONTEST: Where's Jenny?
• Scout's Loop of the Month: Cher the Road to the Forest

Musings From the MAD Hatter

Welcome to our first monthly newsletter! So much cool stuff is happening around here, we wanted to fill you in.

First, MAD MAPS are now NATIONWIDE. By mid-summer, you'll be able to follow MAD MAPS routes from the East Coast to the West Coast! Apologies to Alaska and Hawaii, but we haven't gotten there yet...

Second, you can download every MAD MAPS route to your Garmin GPS! Take us along with you wherever you go! And you get every Point of Interest we've got, even those we can't fit in print!

Third, as you can see to my right, MAD Scout Denis Petrie is off on quite an adventure. We'll keep you updated on where he is and what's happening, but for now, visit Gilda's Club to learn more about this amazing organization.

We look forward to seeing you on the road! Go MAD!

--Jenny Lefferts
Chief MAD Hatter

Did you know? We've Got Tour Packs!

Get four fabulous maps and cover an entire region. Attractively packaged in a heavy-duty nylon case, with individual map pockets, our Tour Packs give you all that a region's got to offer.

Available for the Eastern Central, Atlantic, and Caifornia Regional series. Get more information in our store at www.madmaps.com

Monthly Meanderings
from MAD MAPS

What does 20 + 1 + 66 Equal?
A Once-in-a-Lifetime Ride for A Great Cause:

Denis Petrie Rides for Gilda's Club

MAD Scout Denis Petrie is off on the ride of a lifetime. He's following MAD MAPS routes coast-to-coast across the country and back, riding three amazing roads: U.S. Route 20, Highway 1 along the Pacific Coast, and Historic Route 66. Petrie, a long-time rider who is also a cancer survivor, is riding to raise money for and awareness of Gilda's Club (www.gildasclub.org). Founded in 1995 to provide places where individuals can meet to learn how to live with cancer, Gilda's Club has played a crucial role for many in learning to live with cancer. Petrie sat down recently with the MAD MAPS crew to chat about living, and riding, with cancer:

Q. When did you start riding?
I started riding through the fields and woods around my house when I was 13 or 14 years old, on a Schwinn Wizard that I built and absolutely destroyed in a very short period of time. I bought a couple of motorcycles (a '39 Harley and an Indian) for cheap transportation, but I didn't consider myself a motorcyclist until I met up with a bunch of guys who rode dirt bikes on the weekend in the woods and on local AMA motorcycle race tracks. I joined up with them after I got out of the Navy. That was the beginning; it hasn't ended yet!

Q. Tell us about learning to live with cancer.
I was diagnosed in late 2006; I've had about 3 feet of my intestines removed, and now I'm doing well. Over this past year, I've had the support of my family and friends, as well as my extended family, the motorcyclists and motorcycling community who supported me and who continue to support me. The support I got was critical in keeping myself focused and positive, and planning things like this ride!

Q. What is Gilda's Club, and how did you get involved with it?
My wife is a nurse, and one of her co-workers is a volunteer at Gilda's Club Capital Region NY in Latham, NY (www.gccrny.org). My wife was talking with her about my trip plans, and she suggested I do the ride as a charity fundraiser for Gilda's Club, which has clubhouses throughout North America. Every clubhouse offers social and emotional support for anyone touched by cancer, including family and friends. They have networking groups, seminars, workshops, specialized children's and teen's programs along with social events. I liked the idea because I know how fortunate I am to have a wonderful support network. Some folks don't have support as they face cancer, and there are families who are trying to figure out just how to live with a cancer diagnosis and have nowhere to turn. That needs to change! I also think it's time that the rest of the country learns more about their neighbors who ride motorcycles.

Q. Why this ride? What's your route?
For some time I've wanted to ride the entire length of U.S. Route 20. I've mentioned it several times over the years, and I decided that I would do it in the Spring. It just grew from there. I plan to have a pre-ride kick-off at the Americade rally in Lake George, NY, on June 2, then head to Boston and follow old Route 20 to Oregon. I'll stop in Latham, NY, for an event with Gilda's Club there, then motor off westward. I'll be on Rte. 20 to the Oregon coast, then I'll head down Hwy 1 to LA. I'm coming back on Rte. 66, and I'll wrap up the ride at the AMA's Vintage Days in Lexington, OH, July 25-27. We're planning stops at some of Gilda's Clubs and some AMA events along the way.

We'll keep you updated on Denis's ride this summer. Watch the MAD MAPS website and newsletter for events where you can meet Denis and provide support for Gilda's Club (and perhaps check out a new map or two).

Reader Contest: Where's Jenny?

As you can see from the picture below, Jenny's on the road again, visiting a Point of Interest from a MAD MAPS loop. E-mail us with the correct location, and you may win your very own set of 4 MAD MAPS in a heavy-duty canvas case.

Winners will be drawn at random from all correct entries, and winner will be notified by e-mail. Deadline for entries is midnight on April 30, so send yours today: contest@madmaps.com

Product Spotlight: California Dreamin'

Spring has sprung, so make your dreams come true out on the road with our hot-off-the- presses NEW California Regional Scenic Tour maps! Completely revised and updated, we've added new routes and points of interest for you to explore and see. Check out all 3 maps (Northern California (pictured), Central California & The Sierras, and Southern California & Southern Nevada) at www.madmaps.com.

Now printed on water-resistant and tear-proof paper, you'll find these maps even more valuable than before.

Scout's Loop of the Month

This drive starts in the Los Angeles beach town of Santa Monica, famous for its progressive politics and Third Street Promenade entertainment. After enjoying the beachside attractions, head up the road to legendary Malibu and its 27 miles of coastal beauty. Chumash Indians inhabited this area for nearly 4,000 years, but now you're more likely to see a celebrity resident, such as Cher, driving on the "PCH" in a convertible or jogging on the beach. Once you turn inland, the landscape turns all the more mountainous. Artsy Ojai is always a treat to explore, but so is the forest enveloping 8,831-foot Mount Piños. You'll definitely revel in the nearly two-million acres of the spectacular Los Padres National Forest, which offers a respite from the urban sprawl of the L.A. Basin.

This is SoCal at its best!

Get turn-by-turn directions and points of interest for this and 31 more loops on the new U.S. Regional Touring Pacific Part 3: Southern California & Southern Nevada map.