Friday, September 7                                   Official Start, Prologue (10 miles)

            12:30 PM EDT                                  Riders depart Portland Marriott At Sable Oaks
            1:15 PM                                          All motorcycles in place, Bug Light Park, South Portland, Maine
            3:00 PM                                          Official Start Time; Bug Light Park, South Portland, Maine
            3:10 PM                                          Photo Op, Portland Head Light, Fort Williams Park, Cape Elizabeth, Maine
            3:45PM                                           Finish; Portland Marriott at Sable Oaks, South Portland, Maine

Saturday, September 8                               Stage 1 (145 miles)

            9:30 AM EDT                                    Official Start Time; Big Moose Harley-Davidson, Portland, Maine
           11:15 AM                                         Harley-Davidson Shop of Rochester, Rochester, New Hampshire
            4:00 PM                                           Finish; Best Western Plus, Keene, New Hampshire
Sunday, September 9                                 Stage 2 (251 miles)
             7:30 AM EDT                                   Official Start Time; Best Western Plus
             9:30 AM                                         Hemmings Motor News, Bennington, Vermont
             4:45PM                                           Finish; DoubleTree by Hilton, Binghamton, New York
Monday, September 10                              Stage 3 (227 miles)
              8:00 AM EDT                                  Official Start Time; DoubleTree by Hilton
              9:45 AM                                         Finger Lakes Harley Davidson, Cayuta, New York
            12:20 PM                                         Arkport Cycles, Hornell, New York
              4:45 PM                                         Finish; Harley-Davidson of Jamestown, Jamestown, New York
Tuesday, September 11                              Stage 4 (273 miles)
               7:30 AM EDT                                 Official Start Time; Holiday Inn Express
               4:50 PM                                        Finish; Buffalo Wild Wings, Bowling Green, Ohio
Wednesday, September 12                        Stage 5 (260 miles)
               8:00 AM EDT                                 Official Start Time; Hampton Inn
              2:30 PM EDT                                  Kersting’s Cycle Center & Museum, Winamac, Indiana
TIME ZONE CHANG
               4:15 PM CDT                                  Finish; Holiday Inn Express, Bourbonnais, Illinois
Thursday, September 13                            Stage 6 (229 miles)
               8:00 AM CDT                                 Official Start Time; Holiday Inn Express
             12:00 noon                                     Workman Harley-Davidson, Rock Falls, Illinois
               4:00 PM                                        Finish; National Motorcycle Museum, Anamosa, Iowa
Friday, September 14                                 Stage 7 (274 miles)
               7:00 AM CDT                                 Official Start Time; Marriott Cedar Rapids
             11:30 AM                                        Harley-Davidson of Mason City, Mason City, Iowa
              4:15 PM                                         Finish; Indian Motorcycle Factory, Spirit Lake, Iowa
Saturday, September 15                             Stage 8 (314 miles)
               7:00 AM CDT                                 Official Start Time; Ramada
               5:00 PM                                        Finish; Steamboat Park, Pierre, South Dakota
Sunday, September 16                               Stage 9 (294 miles)
                7:30 AM CDT                                Official Start Time; ClubHouse Hotel & Suites
               TIME ZONE CHANGE
                4:00 PM MDT                                Ceremonial Finish, Harley-Davidson Way, Sturgis, South Dakota
                4:45 PM MDT                                Finish; Glencoe CampResort, Sturgis, South Dakota
Tuesday, September 18                              Stage 10 (299 miles)
                7:00 AM MDT                                Official Start Time; Baymont Inn & Suites
                5:15 PM                                       Finish; Beartooth Harley-Davidson, Billings, Montana
Wednesday, September 19                        Stage 11 (248 miles)
                8:00 AM MDT                                Official Start Time; Red Lion Hotel
                4:10 PM                                       Finish; Big Sky Harley-Davidson, Great Falls, Montana
Thursday, September 20                            Stage 12 (242 milee)
                7:30 AM MDT                                Official Start Time; Best Western Plus Heritage Inn
               4:30 PM                                        Finish; Red Lion Hotel, Kalispell, Montana
Friday, September 21                                 Stage 13 (254 miles)
                8:30 AM MDT                                Official Start Time; Holiday Inn Express
               TIME ZONE CHANGE
               4:20 PM PDT                                 Finish; Lone Wolf Harley Davidson, Spokane Valley, Washington
Saturday, September 22                             Stage 14 (303 miles)
               7:00 AM PDT                                  Official Start Time; Mirabeau Park Hotel
             12:30 PM                                        Rattlesnake Mountain Harley-Davidson, Kennewick, Washington
               5:00 PM                                        Finish; Federal Street, The Dalles, Oregon
Sunday, September 23                               Stage 15 (51 miles); Grand Finish
              10:00 AM PDT                                Official Start Time; Fairfield Inn & Suites
               1:30 PM                                        Grand Finish; Skamania Lodge, Stevenson, Washington

3674 Miles from Portland, ME to Portland, OR.  The Challenge between Man vs. Machine is fastlly approaching!!!

When will you publish the actual routes and roads that the riders will take?

We never publish the actual route and roads that the riders will travel on. Even the riders do not know until each morning when we hand them the route for the day. One of the main parts of the competition is for the rider to navigate themselves with our directions.

We are having an unusually high number of people telling us they intend to ride along with entrants during this fall’s endurance run, which is problematic. Besides the obvious issue of registered riders who have paid their fees to traverse the country on their antique bikes safely during this unique run, is the issue of having the difficult journey further complicated by concerns of modern riders sharing their lane and congesting the route.  Antique motorcycles to not handle the same as modern machines, sometimes requiring all of a lane to make a corner and extra time and distance to slow or stop. The reaction time of ancient machinery is slower and while antique riders are skilled at handling their machines, modern riders are not as familiar with anticipating an unpredictable antique motorcycle’s performance.

Additionally, there is the competition factor. There are rules outlined to ensure a fair competition that do not include non-registered riders tagging along, interfering with the race. The Motorcycle Cannonball has staff along the route, including trained medical personnel, who are experienced in handling situations that may arise and tagalong riders who are not part of the Cannonball make it more difficult to access a rider/motorcycle if anything should happen while on course.

For these reasons and more, we ask that the public please do not try to join riders on the course. Rider safety is always first and foremost in the actions of the Motorcycle Cannonball, just as we know it is for all of you. So please, don’t add to the risk factor by trying to follow along.

We have outlined our evening stops and morning departures schedule online and will be posting more detailed locations where riders can be met and their magnificent machines can be viewed as our plans are finalized. Riders are as excited to meet you as you are to see these incredible antique bikes, so we encourage the public to come out and see the Cannonballers when they stop to visit. Check the website often for up to date information. www.motorcyclecannonball.com

Want to stay with and experience the allure of the Motorcycle Cannonball?? We currently have some surplus rooms in both Portland, ME for the official start and in Portland, OR for the Grand Finale!!! Rooms are on a first come, first serve basis. To reserve click this link:

http://motorcyclecannonball.com/hotel-signup/

Preperations are well under way for everyone on the Motorcycle Cannonball!!! Take a quick look into “Team RS” #58 Norm Nelson riding  1911 Reading Standard and see how they are preparing for the 2018 Motorcycle Cannonball where we will travel from Portland, Maine to Portland, Oregan with over 100 pre 1928 Motorcycles.

1912 Henderson 

Hailing from Syracuse, New York, Frank Westfall is well versed in competition rides. Having competed in the famous Great Race long before the Motorcycle Cannonball was launched, Frank shares tales of rebuilding his motorcycle in a hotel bathtub while entered in the cross-country races that included cars as well as motorcycles so it was evident that he was fully aware of what he was in for when he signed up for the very first Cannonball. Little did he know, however, that he’d be forever bitten by the Cannonball bug. Westfall is one of only three riders who have been on the roster for each of the subsequent MC runs since 2010 and will be again in 2018.

The rough-around-the-edges but heart-of-gold New Yorker is known to pepper his conversations with cuss words and spew F-bombs, especially when he ends up in a ditch or he and his bike happen to come in contact with a truck, like he did during the 2016 endurance race. But the inwardly sensitive guy is also known to take shut-in seniors out for adventures and to treat America’s veterans to special outings. He’s a craftsman by trade, making beautiful handmade leather goods like the riding boots he wears during the run as well as the custom saddlebags that grace his tried-and-true Hendersons. Known to other Cannonballers as part of the “Wolfpack” riders who are faithful to the Henderson marque, he’s been known to morph into a sort of busker and sell T-shirts off the back of his motorcycle to fund his trip across the continent, shouting to crowds to come support the effort. Above all, however, Frank Westfall is known to never give up. He is one of only three men who have participated in every one of the Motorcycle Cannonball Endurance Runs and they have all been grueling, which is one of the reasons it was so exciting to see his dedicated efforts rewarded as he was celebrated for winning the coveted bronze statue made by sculptor Jeff Decker in 2016. Frank was elated as he accepted the award for scoring perfect points in Class II, having successfully ridden each of the 3,306 miles in the required time despite the various mishaps and engine failures along the way.

For 2018, Westfall will square off on the Portland, Maine, starting line next to the rest of the Cannonballers in September. He’ll be aboard a 1914 Henderson Four and we’ll be there to report all the trials and tribulations he’s sure to encounter while battling across the northern route to prove himself and his beloved marque to the world once again. All the best, Frank. 

Originally published in Thunder Press http://thunderpress.net/cannonball-characters/cannonball-characters-frank-westfall-49/2018/05/25.htm

#63 Erik Bahl
1915 Harley-Davidson

A repeat contender who hails from Alabama, Erik Bahl is one of the more enthusiastic riders of the Motorcycle Cannonball. With a constant smile and a kind word for everyone he meets, Bahl made his first attempt at crossing the country with the cavalcade of madcap Cannonballers in 2014. His motorcycle choice for that year was “Black Beauty,” a 1929 BMW that had actually seen military service during World War II. However, despite the Beauty’s magnificent history, fate had a different story twist in mind for the pair and by Stage 6, the beautiful bike was done in. Bahl returned home with a mere 1,139 miles of the possible 3,938. But that was not the end of the story for the determined rider. By the time 2016 rolled around, there was new girl in his life and Erik cheerfully signed back up to try it again.

“Lucille,” a 1915 H-D lovingly named after his grandmother, was a seasoned veteran of the Cannonball and took her place at the starting line in New Jersey with an air of sophisticated confidence. Erik had purchased the Model 11F from 2010 alumnus Rick McMaken. Rick finished the inaugural run with a perfect score and Bahl was sure she could perform just as well for him. But there’s more to the grueling Motorcycle Cannonball endurance run than just engine performance.

No one has ever said the Cannonball was easy and that point was made perfectly clear by day two of the 2016 run. Erik found himself in a bit of a dustup and ended up at the bottom of a ditch with Lucille on top of him, Lucille leaking fluids from every orifice. With the help of fellow riders, Erik managed to get the bike straightened out and finished the day’s miles despite being a tad scuffed up himself. He persevered and by the time he rolled across the finish line in California, he and his lovely gal had covered a remarkable and hard-fought total of 3,306 miles. A perfect score.

For the 2018 run, Lucille’s been given a bit of sprucing up and is ready to tackle another demanding coast-to-coast adventure. Her always-smiling owner has gone through every crevice, cleaned and fine tuned the aging gal and Erik is confident that she has another perfect score in her future. As a machine that has seen the challenges of the very first Cannonball, the Century Race, and now the first northern route run, we’re excited to watch her prove herself out once again. Best of luck, Erik!

Originally published at: http://thunderpress.net/cannonball-characters/cannonball-characters-63-erik-bahl/2018/05/04.htm