Can Charley Barnes Really Ride 10,000 Miles in 10 Days [POLL]

Many have asked if it's even possible to do my Honor Flight Northern Colorado Endurance Ride. One thing I do know; it's the most difficult thing I have attempted.

I was recently asked why I was doing this ride and my answer was simple and has never changed. It's a way I can give back to the Veterans who paved the way for the rights my family enjoy today. I'm not a rich man by any means but thanks to my job, I can reach a lot of people and together, we have done some amazing things.

I am doing this 10,000 mile in 10 days endurance ride largely on behalf of my Dad who died in 1993 and never had a chance to take an Honor Flight. He graduated from Annapolis in 1946 and served during the tail end of World War II. I can vividly remember growing up as a young lad in Colorado Springs when Navy came in to play at Air Force, we would house a couple midshipmen for the weekend. I am doing this for him and everyone who served before and after him. I love you Dad...

That brings me to the endurance ride I am going to try and pull off starting June 4 by first riding the Border to Border Insanity Iron Butt run followed by the Coast to Coast Iron Butt run. Why would I do this I have been asked. How is it even possible they say. Can it even be done? Of course it can...it's all in the head. If you are going to do a fundraiser, do something your good at and endurance riding is something I crave. It all comes down to being a 6 year old with your buddies and seeing if you can jump across a ditch. Many of us want to know what our limitations are and find that threshold.

June 4 through June 14 I am going to find out. I have no doubt I will reach that threshold and when I do, I will remember all the war books I read as a kid and I will remember the stories told to me by Colonel William R Suhre, Ret-Vietnam and Colonel Stan Cass, Ret-Vietnam. As irony would have it, as a 13-15 year old, I read every book I could on Vietnam and the two things I most admired and was fascinated by were tunnel rats and helicopter pilots. Here's some irony: I'm 51 years old and these two guys who call me a friend, were a tank commander/tunnel rat and a chopper pilot. What are the odds?

It cost $1,000 to send a Veteran to Washington D.C.to see his or her memorial. My goal is to raise $1 per mile and raise $10,000 at a minimum. My personal goal is that we can all raise $50,000 and fill half a plane full of local Heroes to Washington D.C. this coming Fall but I can't do this without your help. Please sponsor a few miles or a few hundred miles when you are done reading this and together, we can do something really big.

Click on the big red link directly below for ways on how you go about sponsoring miles and make sure to like our Facebook page by clicking right here. All the miles being sponsored are listed on the Facebook page only. If you're ready to sponsor some miles, just go directly to the Facebook page and send an email or post it. If you don't do Facebook you can click the link below for other ways to donate and sponsor miles. If you have questions please email me directly.