Daytona, 8:30, 2700 N. Atlantic Avenue. 100+ antique bikes taking off for Tacoma, WA. I think I'll be 'sick' in the morning so I can view the bikes and watch the start ceremony. Should be amazing.
Chattanooga Sunday wearing my Doug supporter shirt ,then follow along to Red Boiling Springs shooting Go-Pro. I'm looking forward to this weekend, I need to get off the farm.
They let the bikes do a lap on the speedway yesterday - very cool. I saw a few on my way home from the office - each has a number plate. Spoke to a few from Oregon #96,97,98? That were parked in front of Bucks Gun Rack - I pulled in to shoot the shit. Real nice guys. Said the humidity here at the beach was kicking there butts. Later in the evening I went over to the hotel to check out the machines. Very cool and lot's of character. Sorry no pix - it was after dark. I even saw a few side car rigs that would fit a bike in-case of a breakdown. Lot's of planning involved. They said you have to make road fixes and can only use the support truck for help at the evening stop. An article from todays local rag - Daytona Beach News Journal. http://www.news-journalonline.com/a...torcycles-start-4-000-mile-cross-country-ride http://daytonanewsjournal.fl.newsmemory.com/ They started pulling out this morning at 8:30 and their first destination is Lake City - the first and last days are the shortest and they have an off day after their two longest days.
Actually, they started out at 1000 in three waves. But I digress, While I was trying to catch up to rtwdoug (unsuccessfully) I overtook the first of the stragglers stopped here and there on Old Dixie Highway to make "adjustments" or repairs and passed by one of those sidecar rigs that looked like it was for rescuing a broken bike. Pretty cool concept.
As someone who drove 500 miles to meet up with the 2010 Cannonballers and was at the 2014 start on Friday, I'd say it's definitely worth it!
I'm thinking of either meeting up with them in Lewiston ID or Tacoma - whichever fits my schedule best.
I'll be on a bike trip from PDX to Santa Fe on a schedule that puts me in Leadville, CO on the morning of the 15th when they pass through! Should be a great place to see the action.
Rode down to Chattanooga yesterday with Jimbozini to see the bikes. Most had arrived by the time we got there. One guy was just finishing a rebuild in the garage as a shower passed through. Lots of people around to welcome the riders and look at the bikes. Had a great time ! We were shooed out of the museum as dinner was being served for the competitors. Doug had not arrived by the time we were ready to roll back towards home. We did wait out another shower in the parking lot in front of Doug's chase rig prior to hitting the road. Well worth it if you can make one of the stops guys. Mike
Everybody has work. Some worked inside. Some worked in trailers. Big Buck RTW Doug style. Some had awnings. And #103 from Italy wasn't bothered by the rain in the least.
I had the chance to see them come into Cape Girardeau, MO last evening. It was cool to see what I had only seen in magazines before come to life. Riding, in at least one case, a 100 year old motorcycle across the United States.....Wow! No more than some of the bikes arrived and parked, there were numerous tool kits rolled out getting ready for the next leg. One of my friends said something about the motorcycles being something you'd typically only see in a museum. My reply was, Thank goodness they aren't! Godspeed, Cannon Ball riders and crews Lynn
I rode with Paco from Spain for a couple of hours Monday. He rides hard, 60 + uphill ,close to 70 downhill. Great attitude !
I seen this group yesterday afternoon when they stopped in Cape Girardeau, MO. It was great seeing the old bikes and talking with the riders and others like me that came to see them. waves and says hey to Lynn, wish I had known you were there as it'd been nice to meet you. Tony
I caught the start on Daytona Beach last Friday. The deep sand between the beach and the pavement was ridiculous. They started as far east as you can go: Period attire: There were two 36 Knucklehead choppers like this: Unlikely choice: Neracar He's been struggling.
They rode through hellacious rain here in central Missouri today. The bikes sounded great and looked amazing. The riders seemed to have handled the long ride better than I would have expected given the conditions. These are some tough, experienced people. Thankful for the opportunity to see these rare motorcycles. According to Eldomike, the BMW's are doing very well. RTW Doug may be back on the road tomorrow. Kevin Honda CB1100 Honda CTX 700
I lifted this pic from Shinya Kimura's blog. He had a cylinder bolt loosen yesterday and made a temporary fix with Vice -Grips. I wonder if Shinya was a farmer in a past life ? It's a farmer type fix. He's on a '15 Indian Powerplus and it's been in all 3 Cannonballs. So far the indian is perfect on miles, though the team took a 100 point penalty for switching riders. His friend is riding with him.
I know the guy riding this one! Sorry he's not doing better. He deserves some extra points just for trying it on that weird damn thing.
I don't know if you've read the piece on the Cannonball site about the Neracar. There's a story in the History of the Cannonball telling about Erwin Cannonball Baker taking a shine to the little bike and proveing that it too could cross the continent. And do so extremely economicly. And he did on a 1923 Neracar in 1922. He rode 3364.4 miles on the same tires and at a cost of $20.00. <TABLE class=pill cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0><TBODY><TR><TD class=pill_l></TD><TD class=pill_m> </TD><TD class=pill_r></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE> <FORM method=post action=index.php> </FORM> <TABLE class="nopad user1user2"><TBODY><TR vAlign=top><TD> <!-- JoomlaWorks "Simple Image Rotator" Module (v1.2) ends here --> </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE> <STYLE type=text/css><!--a { text-decoration: none;}a:hover { position: relative;}a span { display: none;}a:hover span { display: block; position: absolute; top: 0px; left: 100px; /* formatting only styles */ padding: 5px; margin: 2px; z-index: 500; background: #8D762A; border: 1px dotted #c0c0c0; /* end formatting */}--></STYLE>
