Labonte

With NASCAR taking its customary Easter weekend break, everyone's been asking me what I did with my "weekend off."

Weekend off? There's no such thing, but I'm not complaining.

There were no weeds to pull, trees to plant or grass to cut, although I was able to finish fencing the ranch in Texas. But what really kept me busy Thursday, Friday and Saturday was a labor of love. Whoever it was who first coined the phrase "It's much better to give than receive" really knew what they were talking about. We staged the second annual Terry Labonte/Ronald McDonald House "Roam For a Home" across South Texas and after riding nearly 600 miles on a motorcycle, I'm happy to report that I'm hardly sore at all.

But I'm even happier to report that we raised a bunch of money for Ronald McDonald House, had a chance to meet some of our old friends in Austin and San Antonio, and even made some new ones along the route.

There were so many things that stood out during the ride, but let me hit some highlights:

We started with a rally at the Ronald McDonald House in Corpus Christi on Wednesday evening, where everyone was briefed on details of the trip. I have to tip my hat to Preston Douglass and Randy Hicks, who were instrumental in putting the ride together, and to the team of volunteers they assembled. We had nearly 100 riders participate, including Preston's father Sam (he's 70-something years old!), and those guys kept us on -- or ahead of -- schedule all weekend.

The weather was perfect. Last year, we had some rain that put a damper on things. This year, it was smooth sailing all the way, including our ride into Austin on Day 1. We wound up on the steps of the State Capitol on Thursday afternoon, where the plan was to pose for a group photo ... or so I thought.

Instead, they surprised me with a special presentation from state representative Vilma Luna. To commemorate my 25 years in racing, I received a Texas state flag that actually had once flown over the Capitol.

Friday morning, it was on to San Antonio. Hard not to get a lump in your throat watching 92 motorcycles roll away in formation, each carrying an American flag. What a powerful show of support for the men and women of the United States military who are working hard around the world to preserve the freedoms we enjoy here at home.

We not only stopped along the way to fuel the machines, we stopped to fuel the riders, too. Lunch on Friday was in Luckenbach. Then, it was on to the Ronald McDonald House in San Antonio for an open house and fund-raising auction that evening. The red carpet was out and they really made us feel special.

Saturday morning was a good news-bad news situation. We were all a little sad that it was the final day of the ride, but the good news for me was that we would be riding back to my hometown. I'm still a little too modest to spend much time talking about Labonte Park in Corpus Christi, but the city did dedicate a public park in the name of my brother and me a couple years ago and that's where the ride carried us Saturday.

We finally took that group photo in the park (no surprises, this time); fired the bikes back up and rode across town for closing events at the Executive Surf Club. In addition to a live auction, we raffled off a motorcycle that was identical to the one I'd been riding for three days. It was a Harley-Davidson Road King, and we had commissioned artist Nick Pastura to customize the paint job. Last year during the first ride, one of the guys from Corpus Christi who I have to say probably is my biggest fan was a big supporter of the "Roam," took a lot of pictures he later shared with us and helped make that first ride a success. Well, guess who won the motorcycle raffle this year? It was David Pena.

Now, it's time to get back to work in Fontana, Calif. Just what I need after riding 600 miles on a motorcycle -- a trip to California! But hopefully, the results will be as rewarding for our racing team as those 600 miles on a motorcycle were for me.

Terry Labonte drives the No. 5 Kellogg's/got milk? Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports. He will be providing a biweekly diary to ESPN.com throughout the 2003 NASCAR season. Labonte's personal Web site can be found at www.terrylabonte.net or go to www.hendrickmotorsports.com for team information.