The 2018 Motorcycle Cannonball route. September 8-23, 2018 Portland to Portland

Grand Departure, September 8: Portland, ME 
Stage 1, September 8: Keene, NH 
Stage 2, September 9: Binghamton, NY 
Stage 3, September 10: Jamestown, NY 
Stage 4, September 11: Bowling Green, OH 
Stage 5, September 12: Bourbonnais, IL 
Stage 6, September 13: Anamosa, IA 
Stage 7, September 14: Spirit Lake, IA 
Stage 8, September 15: Pierre, SD 
Stage 9, September 16: Sturgis, SD 
Rest Day, September 17: Sturgis, SD 
Stage 10, September 18: Billings, MT 
Stage 11, September 19, Great Falls, MT 
Stage 12, September 20, Kalispell, MT 
Stage 13, Septmeber 21, Spokane Valley, WA 
Stage 14, September 22, The Dalles, OR 
Stage 15, September 23, Portland, OR

#29 Ryan Allen from Sante Fe, NM will be back for his 3rd Motorcycle Cannonball Adventure on his 1916 Indian Powerplus. Will Ryan make it the distance? Will he get all the miles? You be the judge.

Jason Sims, owner of the Motorcycle Cannonball in Sturgis, South Dakota, has announced that the historic transcontinental event scheduled for 16 days in September has its roster full and the route is set. Though held on U.S. soil, the international line up of riders from 5 continents certainly makes the 2018 run a global event.

According to Sims, this remarkable endurance ride for pre-1929 antique motorcycles will get underway in Portland, Maine on Saturday, September 8 and will include riders from around the world. With 100 entries from 32 states and 10 countries, this extraordinary event will indeed be watched world wide as motorcyclists on all marques tackle an arduous coast-to-coast route across America. From the lighthouses of Portland, Maine to the snowcapped mountains Portland, Oregon, the entire route will include less than 10-miles of interstate roadways. A week into travel, riders will have a day of rest, repairs, and some festivities in the motorcycling mecca of Sturgis, South Dakota on September 17. After a total of some 3,649 miles, the ride is slated to conclude on Sunday, September 23 in Portland, Oregon.

During the MCR event, participants will ride vintage pre-1929 motorcycles such as Henderson, Indian, Triumph, Harley-Davidson, Norton, Excelsior, BSA, Thor and others. Among the more remarkable marques will be a Brough Superior, an Ace and an American Single. A 1926 Rudge is also expected to line up in Maine, as will a Reading Standard and an Ariel. This is the fifth biannual transcontinental Cannonball, and as with runs of the past, the event is a timed test of both the rider’s endurance and the roadworthiness of their respective vintage machines as they navigate America’s back roads through some of the most scenic areas of the country.

“This route is going to be a challenge, we’ve never taken such a northerly route. The terrain combined with the range in ages of the bikes is going to make for an interesting run,” Sims shared. “We’ll cover some of the best riding areas in the country. It’s going to be a difficult trip and we’ll have a lot of long days and hard riding.”

Sims said that, while he and MCR Course Master John Classen are still working out the final details, it’s clear that the second week of the event will be grueling as riders make their way along the Rockies and into the Pacific Northwest region. Throughout the run, according to Classen, the spectacular scenery will awe participants as they pilot their time machines along several picturesque national parks, monuments and museums.

The 2018 Motorcycle Cannonball Run’s roster includes new riders from South Africa, New Zealand and England as well as returning rider Ciro Nisi from Italy, Harry Verkuil from Scotland and Juergen Ullerich from Germany. World traveling rider personality Doug Wothke is returning, as will Cris and Pat Simmons, Victor Boocock and several other United States riders. Southern California bike builder Shinya Kimura will also be at the starting line. He is the only rider who has navigated all five runs on the same 1915 Indian motorcycle. Each entrant has their own amazing story to tell and is anxious to tackle this year’s route through 13 states to arrive at the Grand Finish in Portland, Oregon.

In order to truly understand the spirit of the Motorcycle Cannonball, you have to first know the man who initially struck the spark of interest in the antique motorcycle wildfire that has burned its way around the world. When Lonnie sent out calls to antique riding friends to join him for a run to traverse the nation on their ancient machinery back in 2010, he’d planned to do so from the springy seat of his personal 1916 Harley-Davidson right alongside the 45 riders who had signed up for the first-ever Motorcycle Cannonball Run. Applicants for the endurance run could ride any marque of their choosing, but machines had to be 1916 or older. The excitement of the coast-to-coast ride captured the imagination of motorcyclists everywhere as the group prepared for their fall departure. Lonnie and his crew laid out the course, booked events, arranged hotels and made ready while he watched his bank account dwindle. The event was never designed to make money; it was just a grand plan to get geriatric bikes back to their glory days of life in the wind. Lonnie loved old motorcycles and felt it was shameful that machines were tucked away in stodgy old museums instead of chugging along the countryside. He felt they long ago earned their right to live as they were intended, being ridden.

As the Grand Start grew near, the rookie promoter realized he didn’t have the resources to make the cross-country journey. The overhead of two years of organizing the ride was much more than he’d budgeted for and Lonnie came to a hard realization: he’d have to sell his motorcycle to fund the expedition. He quietly sold his antique and made arrangements to ride the route on a modern bike so he could be available to help riders on the difficult course. He alternately traveled with sweep vehicles to pick up disabled motorcycles along the route and worked to keep riders on the road, enjoying the ride he’d always dreamed of making. Lonnie liked walking the pits at night, visiting with riders, hearing about the performances of the individual bikes. He loved the camaraderie of the riders and the smell of grease and old iron as test laps were made through parking lots. He’d help with advice, twisting wrenches, lining up tools or parts for trade while keeping an eye on the daily scores and fretting with staff over weather patterns or tricky terrain. The dutiful organizer stood with an umbrella over riders as they worked on cantankerous machines and listened to road stories from struggling jockeys. He was selfless in his commitment to riders and even though he was sleep-deprived and exhausted, he thrived. By run’s end, riders were discussing the next ride. Lonnie had intended the Cannonball to be a one-time event, yet after arriving home broke and worn out, the phone was ringing off the hook. Riders wanted to follow him across America again.

By 2012, there was a second run, and another in 2014, after which it was a foregone conclusion that there would be a 2016. Then the unspeakable happened. Lonnie was diagnosed with cancer. Doctors predicted he wouldn’t live to see the next Cannonball. He arranged to turn the enterprise over to Sturgis resident Jason Sims and focused on treatment. By the time riders began arriving in Atlantic City for the 2016, however, Lonnie was taking shakedown laps through the parking lot on his original 1916 Harley. He had bought the bike back from the guy he’d sold it to where it had been sitting, untouched, since Lonnie parted with it in 2010. His father, Lonnie Sr., helped his namesake get the machine roadworthy and, six years after the first run, the founder of the most difficult antique motorcycle endurance ride in the world would finally get to ride with his friends on a 100-year-old bike during his own Motorcycle Cannonball Run.

In poor health, no one was sure how many miles Lonnie Jr. might make, but it didn’t matter. Following along as support, his parents were by his side and ready to go the distance. If Junior was up to the entire 3,306-mile ride, so were they. He rode 71 miles in triple-degree oppressive heat on the first day, spent some time helping the sweep vehicles with disabled bikes and hung out in the pits for a few days before returning home to watch the run play out through social media and online reports while tending to his declining health. Proving doctors wrong, Lonnie fought hard for 31 months after the initial diagnosis and showed us all what class, determination and endurance really means. The Motorcycle Cannonball Run will continue on in his honor.

Texas native Mike Bell has been up on two wheels for 66 years, bought his first Harley in 1957 and has owned his 1957 Panhead for 50 years. His Cannonball bike, Alice, came into Mike’s life back in the 1980s and he got her running in the early ’90s even though he didn’t really ride her much. “She spent a lot of time sitting around looking pretty at the Grace Museum in Abilene, Texas. I just rode her a couple of times a year,” Mike shared. “She wasn’t old enough to get in for the first Cannonball, so I just loaded up and went anyway. I hung out at the Wheels Through Time Museum and rode to Kitty Hawk with Dale Walksler, then when the race started I went back to Wheels Through Time and cooked for the Cannonballers.” Afterwards, Mike returned to Texas, but a week later rode out to meet Cannonballers at an overnight stop in Oklahoma. When the riders rolled out for California, he moseyed on home. “That was the end of that love story,” Mike tells us. “But the thought of the next race stuck in my head and has never left.” The love affair continued on, however.

The charming and personable Bell has taken Alice to the starting line of each of the last three coast-to-coast runs. He makes friends easily and has made himself an integral part of the tightly woven fabric of the Motorcycle Cannonball family. He is known for his generosity in sharing his knowledge, skills, parts and, most importantly, his friendship. At the end of the 2016 run, the septuagenarian mused that he might be getting too old to do any more Cannonball runs, which we viewed as a load of crap. Just this past September he hit a deer doing 90 mph on his way home from a five-day ride to the Smokies. He was 15 miles from home when the 2011 FLHTC he was riding went down and skidded 180 yards on its crash bars. Mike managed to stay on until the last flip, which sent him sliding on his back. After coming to a stop, he got up and walked around, took a trip to the hospital for stitches, and the next day he was fine. Now we ask you, does that sound like an old guy to you? We’re pretty sure we’ll be seeing Mike Bell again in 2018.

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Dave had heard about the Cannonball for some time and was interested in the run, but when he found out the start would be less than 40 miles from his house, he decided there was no way he could skip riding in the 2016 Century Race. His family gathered at the starting line to wish him well and the sendoff included the youngest member of the clan, five-month-old granddaughter Sophia, though she seemed less than thrilled with the whole affair. The Minerva clan waved goodbye and Dave set off in the heat of the muggy New Jersey morning alongside the rest of the pack of anxious time travelers. The autumn temperatures reached the triple digits as the group navigated their way through five states. And that was just day one. By the time they reached the Pacific Ocean, Dave was awed by the closeness of the riders, who had become a sort of family. “Everyone was so supportive, and encouraging. People just bonded.” When asked what he felt was the most challenging part of the entire 16-day run, it didn’t take long for an answer. “It was the weather, and the conditions. You know that guy who needed oxygen going over Wolf Creek Pass in Colorado? That was me. And the day when it rained so bad that everyone trailered their bikes? I had to ride it out. That was the hardest part, really, just the weather.” When asked if he would be riding the same bike again for the 2018 run, he said he’s trying to get the 1916 H-D back in shape. “I have a bum leg from a motorcycle accident about 30 years ago, so I have to have a transmission, I can’t do the single speeds, and that bike did pretty well so I’m working on getting it ready now.” When asked what he does for a living, Dave chuckles and gives a flippant, “I sell old motorcycle junk.” Sounds like a conveniently appropriate vocation for a guy who rides around on a 101-year-old motorcycle.

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