It’s hard to believe that we have made it to the last overnight stop before we make the final 99 mile route to our objective; that just 15 days ago seemed like forever! I can tell you what time stands still when you are on the Cannonball, if you ask any of the riders, staff, or support crew, no one knows what day, date or what time it is. If you ask any of the group, they can’t even fathom that tomorrow is the last day. We have all been through so much, been stimulated more than you can even imagine, and have made lifelong friends. As we roll into the last day 88 riders made it to the starting line, and we still have 33 with a perfect score. Dave Currier, rider #64, on his single cylinder is still trudging along, even though he makes it looks easy he has had his share of problems just in the last few days including electrical issues, belt issues, and out of nowhere his motorcycle keeps vapor locking. He is cool though, he handles the problems with a calm demeanor, and symptomatically like he has done it 200 times. You can witness that at night with him and his crew as they methodically go over every nut and bolt of that machine and a long checklist to make sure everything is completely perfect. Dave is ready but can his bike hold up another 99 miles? We will find out tomorrow when we land in South Padre Island.
You can literally see the physical fatigue starting to set in among the Cannonballers. A before picture would show glowing skin, clean clothes, and bright smiles. An after picture would show scruffy faces, dirty nails, weight loss, a little bit longer hair, and bags under their eyes from the constant stress they have been putting themselves through over the last fourteen days. But, on the other hand, emotionally they are getting stronger as we are now only approximately a day and a half away from the finish in South Padre Island!
Today’s route was 280 miles that took us from Nacogdoches, Texas to Victoria, Texas with robust ranches in every view. Tonight was one of our largest stops to date, hosted by Steve and Joan Klein and the City of Victoria. Along with riders arriving at the destination there was also a local car show, and we were serenaded with a live band. We were treated to Texas style steaks hot off the grill. An amazing treat!
Support crew repair pits are set up right along where the hosted stop was at the Victoria Mall which means we have a ton of onlookers and enthusiasts watching weary riders wrench for one of their final nights before making the last push towards South Padre Island. Tomorrow will be the riders last big test as they will make their way South along the coast to McAllen, Texas which will be home to our last night before crossing the finish line.
Stage Thirteen of the Motorcycle Cannonball takes us into Texas, our final state of the journey. And you know what they say, everything is bigger in Texas and that proves true as we had our biggest loss of perfect point bikes.
Today was tough on the old machines as five bikes with perfect miles were loaded on the sweep trailer. Rider #8 Joe Gimpel, followed by #28 Joe Burch on his 1928 Harley-Davidson JDH; #34 Ben Pierce riding the Ner-A-Car; #79 Jody Perewitz who had been leading Class Five wound up on the trailer with a broken motor mount. Topping it off is #63 Erik Bahl, who up to this point boasted perfect scores on all previous Cannonballs, experienced a devastating fail when his 1915 Harley-Davidson front fork broke and left him stranded on the side of the road with no possible fix.
The route today almost immediately put us over the Texas State line with the first stop in Texarkana at Texarkana Harley-Davidson where the gracious staff fed riders a good Texas barbecue for lunch. The weather has warmed up considerably which may be taking a toll on the riders and their machines but for the lucky ones who stayed off the trailer, we arrived in beautiful downtown Nacogdoches, Texas for check-in. We were greeted by our friends at Lumberjack Harley-Davidson who were set up there and provided tools and airlifts to riders that needed to make adjustments on their bikes. Rider # 64 Dave Currier is still holding tight onto the First Place in Class One and as Overall leader. Will his 1911 Harley-Davidson be able to stay tough the last few days? We will soon find out… follow along as we will be in Victoria, Texas tomorrow.
The Motorcycle Cannonball crossed the great Mississippi River this morning after a green flag start in Tunica at the Horseshoe Casino. Many smiles as riders were greeted to completely clear, blue skies, something they haven’t seen in over seven days. They were even happier to know that there was 0% chance of precipitation on today’s route of 243 miles ending in Arkadelphia, Arkansas. It just so happens that Rider #25 Scott Byrd is the Mayor of our host city tonight. Byrd, a veteran Cannonball rider was contacted almost 2 1/2 years ago letting him know that we will be coming through the area. Almost immediately, almost even without consent of the City Council said “weee in”!! Arkadelphia was a great host city, riders entered on Historic Main Street greeted by many locals to see exactly how their Mayor has held up during the toughest run on earth. They treated riders, support crew, and staff to a great meal and even showered riders with gifts. Next stop Texarkana Harley-Davidson for a Hosted Lunch and a celebration in downtown Nacogdoches, Texas for the end of Stage 13. See you there!
The Motorcycle Cannonball is back on after having to call off Stage Ten. Weather has been harsh on the Southeast with storm after storm plaguing the area. This isn’t the first time the event has been forced to make such decisions; a day has been called off due to weather concerns in every event except 2012.
Some riders reveled in having an extra day off to tinker with their machines and many of the riders used the down time to visit the Barber Motorsports complex in Birmingham AL just a few miles from our hotels. It appears that Mother Nature will start to clear up and play nice for the last part of our journey, but she sure did let us know that she is in charge she put out a roar this afternoon as riders made their way to Tunica, Mississippi battling another series of rain storms along the way. Officials had to work quickly as part of the route was under flash flooding and debris from the rainstorms that were ravaging through Western Mississippi. An emergency checkpoint was set up and disaster diverted with all riders checked in safely at the Horseshoe Casino. Weather looks great for tomorrow which should put smiles on all faces! Next stop Arkadelphia, Arkansas!
After consulting local authorities and the DOT, today’s course from Murfreesboro, TN to Birmingham, AL was cancelled due to flash flooding and impassable roads to most vehicles. This area has seen an extreme amount of rain, up to 9” in some places. Riders loaded in support vehicles and safely travelled to Trussville, AL where they will start Stage #11 tomorrow.
The Motorcycle Cannonball is the hardest antique motorcycle endurance event in the world and yesterday proved that point. Over the past ten years and on every single event, riders and machines have endured all kinds of elements from severe heat, extreme cold, winds, snow, rain, and yesterday’s dangerous flash floods. Yesterday brought flashbacks of past events like in 2010 while in New Mexico, 2014 in Lakeland, FL, 2016 in Wichita, KS and 2018 in Jamestown, NY where the event has had to be shut down because of weather. The event was on high hopes of not having to make such a decision, but with torrential downpours, a true act of God, Cannonball staff were scrambling from the start. It started early when officials who leave one hour prior to riders to sweep the course got to about mile 179 and was informed the mountainous pass that featured long 9% grade climbs and an even longer descent (and one of the hardest and most technical parts of the entire route) was getting pounded by the stationary storm. Cannonball officials quickly set up an emergency checkpoint to divert what soaked riders reached that point to a different route avoiding the potentially dangerous course. It was not much longer that calls were coming in to event promoter Jason Sims that roads were being closed due to dangerous flash flooding. Sims quickly contacted staff for situation reports and after consulting with county emergency officials he sent an emergency text that stated the day was done. Sims, driving a sweep truck, along with other sweep staff were holed up at mile 162 at a closed Co-op station with approximately thirty riders looking for shelter. The road was completely impassable at mile 161 and detours going in that direction were also being shut down by county Search and Rescue personnel. Luckily both sweep trailers were virtually empty and they were able to load as many motorcycles and riders as possible. There was also a Cannonball enthusiast that happened to see the crowd of motorcycles huddled under the canopy and offered to take a few motorcycles and riders from our location in Pikesville, Tennessee into Murfreesboro. Officials were on phones and set up another emergency checkpoint at the hosted stop at Bumpus Harley-Davidson to make sure that everyone was accounted for. It was discovered that rider #35 Jon Dobbs had electrical malfunctions at mile 169 which was just past the road closure. Sweep trucks were unable to get to him as all roads between sweep and Dobbs were closed. Sweep had to divert almost 100 miles making a loop to get back on or near the route to pick up stranded Dobbs that happened to be in between two flooded roads. For Dobbs his day was extremely long as he was at a spot with no shelter and was stuck in place getting rained on for almost 6 hours straight until the sweep truck piloted by Morgan Williams and Jeff Boris along with eight other people that were onboard made the detours and finally found a way to get him picked up. Accounting for all detours and waiting, the sweep trucks started rolling into our host city at approximately 8:30 pm with the last sweep van getting there at 9:30pm. The weather doesn’t look like it’s going to let up for a few days but luckily riders have a scheduled day off on Saturday to do much needed repairs on their machines, rest, and get themselves prepared for the second half of the event. With the lingering rain they will have to get creative of how they will get this done before tomorrow’s start where we head to Trussville, Alabama….. but hey, that’s Cannonball
Dale’s Wheels Through Time Museum was the perfect ending to today’s incredible 135 mile journey from Spartanburg, South Carolina to Maggie Valley, North Carolina. From Spartanburg it was only 30 miles to the North Carolina border; riders who were chuckling that we only had 130 miles today soon realized that the easy, quick day suddenly surprised them with off and on lingering rain showers and 9% grade long, curvy climbs up the mountain to the Blue Ridge Parkway. The sights were unbelievable and around every third corner or so the sun would shine through the dense fog. I’m sure everyone was wondering how #64 Dave Currier, the lone survivor in Class 1 and current leader, on his 1911 Harley-Davidson Single cylinder would make the near impassable climbs that sometimes reached 10 miles at a shot. Currier is determined and said that it was one of the toughest days of riding he has ever endured. He got a few extra miles today because he had to turn around and go back down the hill to try the grade again. To all that doubted, he surprised everyone coming in with a perfect score and well before the class end time! Riders were greeted to a great crowd at Dale’s Wheels Through Time Museum where we were treated to a great meal and opened the museum for riders, support crew, and staff to view. People loved the Motorcycle Cannonball exhibit the museum put together that includes bikes, memorabilia, history of all the Cannonballs from 2010 to present. We are now down to 45 riders that still have perfect scores and we will see if that changes tomorrow as riders head out on a 263 mile route to Murfreesboro, Tennessee where we will be hosted by Bumpus Harley-Davidson. I know riders are excited to reach this destination because Sunday is a much-needed day off for rest before we finish the second half of the 2021 Motorcycle Cannonball.
Thirty minutes prior to class start times riders get their daily route maps for the day. There is always chatter amongst everyone but today was especially and peculiarly different when people were grabbing cell phones and searching various weather apps. It appeared that we were going to run into the remnants of Tropical Storm Nicholas. Nervousness was felt as most people that ride antique motorcycles don’t often let their machines near the elements let alone ride in it. But riders set out on the road bundled and wrapped in the appropriate weather gear knowing they would have to get going to make it to the next stop, 264 miles down the road. They know in the back of their mind that Cannonball movement can’t stop even for weather. We were lucky and the Weather Gods were excited for the Cannonball to visit and gave riders an open window to cruise into Spartanburg, South Carolina virtually unscathed from any of the lingering rain.
As of this morning 74 riders crossed the starting line and by the end of the day 66 riders successfully made it through without the assistance of the sweet trailer. Rider #61, Bob Zeolla, riding a 1925 Harley-Davidson, who up to this point has perfect miles, was plagued by intermittent problems. It appears that the coil was overheating and after diagnosing with only minutes left to spare with the assistance of fellow riders and sweep truck staff, a solution of keeping the coil cool seemed to help and get Bob limped to the finish line. Tonight’s Hosted Stop was sponsored by the Antique Motorcycle Club of America Legends Chapter and The Wicked Wrench. Riders enjoyed a good southern home-cooked meal with entertainment by a live band! In the parking lot you can see fatigue starting to set in with some riders and support crews, tomorrow should bring boosted spirits with a shorter day of only 134 miles to our destination at Dales Wheels Through Time in Maggie Valley, North Carolina, which is one of the biggest highlights for a lot of us on this trip!
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