Follow along as Antique Motorcycle enthusiast Tom Banks from Pennsylvania talks about his experience on the 2018 Motorcycle Cannonball in which he rode a 1920 Harley Davidson motorcycle from Portland, Maine to Portland, Oregon

The Motorcycle Cannonball is now accepting applications until January 31, 2019 for the 2020 Motorcycle Cannonball.

People that are wanting to submit can click on the apply tab on the website and fill out the submission form.  New riders will be selected via lottery between Febuary 1, 2019 and Febuary 15, 2019 and then notified via email.

link to entry form

http://motorcyclecannonball.com/apply/

Most of you know that ten years ago, one man set out to become the first person to take a group of like-minded antique motorcycle riders across the United States on machines that were only often seen in museums and private collections. In 2010, Lonnie Isam Jr’s dream and bold sense of adventure took him and his friends from one ocean to the other, forever setting the standard of endurance for man and machine. Since 2010, history has been made and continues to be made; machines are coming out of the woodwork, they are being ridden, they are being enjoyed, and they are being put to the Motorcycle Cannonball test.

Now it is time to announce the next adventure…the next epic journey… the next ride…it will be nothing to take lightly. This next experience will be different from what we have done in the past. It will be again a test of true endurance. It will pit “Man vs. Machine” on some of the best two lane, back roads that our beautiful country has to offer!
 
The Motorcycle Cannonball has now successfully navigated across the United States five times, with the latest run in 2018; in which we managed to take over 100 ninety year old and older machines from coast to coast going from Portland, ME to Portland, OR. Now, in September of 2020, we plan to write a whole new chapter in history with the 6th Motorcycle Cannonball Endurance Run.
 
Qualifying bikes for this event will feature motorcycles manufactured before 1930, including motorcycles manufactured in 1929 and older.
 
This time we will be changing it up a bit, instead of the traditional East Coast to West Coast, we will be starting in the north in Sault Ste. Marie, MI located on the Canadian border and in the Heart of the Great lakes which is considered the 4th coast and making our way to the east coast landing in Kitty Hawk, NC for a 10 year Motorcycle Cannonball Anniversary Reunion. After our day off in Myrtle Beach, SC we will navigate our way through the deep south eventually making our way to the southern most point of Texas touching the Mexican Border near Brownsville, TX and having our grand finale on the island of South Padre Island, TX.
 
We will start accepting applications for the 2020 Motorcycle Cannonball starting on 12/18/2018 stay tuned to Social Media and the Website for further instructions and information.

Take a look back at the 2018 Motorcycle Cannonball with a short documenrtary film that Jerami Johnson “JJ” put together.  Make sure to subscribe to the Motorcycle Cannonball YouTube Channel to see more great things coming up.  

Flashback to 2010 with #80 Shinya Kimura and Yoshimasa Niimi, Team #80 is only 1 of 3 people that has competed in every single Cannonball and they are the only team that has done the Motorcycle Cannonball on the same 1915 Indian. Team #80 was voted the “Best Cannonball Team” in 2018. Will the Cannonball’s favorite team be back in 2020? 

Most people think that the Motorcycle Cannonball support staff is all guys on bikes, but that is not true. Pretty Polly Marinova volunteers to ride the route on her own vintage Triumph to assist the riders who break down along the way. She cheerfully helps out with distributing route sheets in the mornings and during a stop in Montana she even stepped up to be flag girl. She can often be seen smiling on the side of the road while assisting a broken bike and that’s exactly what she was doing when we pulled in behind her to see if we could help.

The rider was upset, cussing and fussing, as Polly was spinning the pushrods to show that the engine was not seized and poured water on the engine fins while trying to assure the rider that it wasn’t as bad as he thought. In her beautiful Bulgarian accent, she tried to explain that the engine was just hot and once it cooled a bit, it would probably be fine. It’s a very common occurrence with the old bikes as they expand from excessive heat. The rider, convinced that his ride was over, walked away to kick at rocks and cuss into this phone as Joe got a squirt bottle so he and Polly could get to cooling the ancient engine down.

The rider eventually calmed some and came back to help tend his machine, so Joe suggested he get the valve covers off. The rider fumbled around with the tools before Polly reached over and handed him the right wrench. Then they moved to checking the spark plugs. Again, Polly handed the necessary tool over as if assisting with surgery: confident and precise. Everything checked out fine and when the old bike eventually cooled down, they gave him a push and the rider continued on to get all his miles for the day. I wondered then if he realized what a lucky guy he was to have Polly pull over to help. Her patience, persistence and experience got him back in the race when a lot of guys would have trusted the rider’s original diagnosis and just let the sweep truck haul him in…

Here are the Final Scoring Results for the 2018 Motorcycle Cannonball.  

Click Here for Stage Final Results

Not every Cannonball story is about great success and overcoming hardships. Some are just heartbreaking and the struggles for the husband and wife team of #95 is one such case.

Early in the morning outside Kalispell, Montana we rounded a corner to find #95 off to the side of the road. Steve is a Nebraska farmer and, after hearing all the great Motorcycle Cannonball stories from friends and fellow farmers Dave Volnek and Jeff Lauritsen, Steve and his wife Robin had gleefully spent the winter getting their 1914 H-D ready for the Cannonball. Robin came along as his crew and the couple were excited to experience life along the backroads. Unfortunately, the cantankerous Harley had different plans.

“Ever since Ohio we’ve been trying to piece it together and today, I think it’s just done,” Andreasen told us. “We’re out.” As we stood and watched the sadness sink in, we saw a cloud pass over him as the discouraged rider shook his head. Rather than expressing anger or frustration at not being able to finish the ride, Steve’s voice grew soft as he considered what his wife would feel as he waited for her to come fetch him and the broken bike. “Mostly, I feel sorry for Robin. She’s worked so hard, she’s going to be so disappointed.”

The 2018 Motorcycle Cannonball Endurance Run is over. At least for most. A small group of dedicated riders have chosen a route to the coast of Oregon and will continue on with their own unofficial Cannonball for an additional 179 miles today, proving that the road does go on forever and the party never ends. For the rest of the Cannonballers, the road home offers the opportunity to reflect and digest the great, historical adventure they’ve just accomplished.

Last night’s celebratory banquet and awards ceremony was enlightening as Director of Operations, Jason Sims and his wife Lee Ann, honored the group while filling the Cannonball family of riders in on details of life experiences on the road over the past two weeks. A record setting 50 riders achieved perfect scores during the course of their 16 day journey across this great nation and, for the first time, first place was won by a single cylinder machine that is more than 100 years old. Dean Bordgioni, four time Cannonball rider #13, took home the Jeff Decker original bronze for his perfect score on the simple 1914 Harley-Davidson motorcycle that chugged its way across 3,441 miles of American back roads. By comparison, rider #19, Mike Gontesky, was awarded a “Frequent Flyer” award by the sweep crew for his equally impressive 905 miles over 6 days spent on the sweep truck. The evening was topped off by 23-year old rider #47, Aaron Loveless, taking a knee at the podium to propose to his fiancé, Madalyn Price.
“I guess the next Cannonball we’ll be having a wedding,” Sims quipped as he announced that the 2020 Motorcycle Cannonball is already in the planning stages. Stay tuned race fans, the excitement continues….

Saturday was a grueling combination of blowing winds and dust, hight anxiety and anticipation topped off by elation and gratitude for the exhausted riders. With 99 riders still in the game, there was concern over the possibilities of break downs over long, steep grades and the stretch between gas stops had riders pulled over on highway shoulders for roadside top-offs.

Cannonball crews pulled over to help rider #120, Dave Minerva, after his bike crapped out along the Columbia Gorge. Turned out he’d gotten a bad batch of gas and had water in the carburator. Just as they were getting things straightened out, the sweep crew drove up to load the bike. They gave Dave the calculations on the speed he’d need to maintain in order to make it to the finish line on time and to maintain his  perfect score, which sent Minerva into a panic. He jumped on his 1916 H-D and flew like the wind. Dave arrived with full miles and held his 17th place in the rankings.

Riding through the farmlands during harvest in the onion fields outside Walla Walla, Washington caused dense dust clouds to engulf the group and by the time they arrived for the street part in The Dalles, Oregon, everyone was spent. The energy from the locals helped to elevate the mood and riders were served hot-off-the-grill smoked salmon and chicken and all the fresh salad and desserts they could eat. A live band kept toes tapping and the feeling of celebration for a job well done permeated the place. The cool little ferris wheel added a bit of nostalgia to the festivities and the warmth of the crowd would have made Cannonball Baker just as proud as we know Lonnie Isam, Jr. Motorcycle Cannonball founder, would be.

The group’s last ride will leave The Dalles from the Fairfield Inn at 11:00 and arrive at Skamania Lodge in Washington at 2:30. Come on out to watch riders waved in by the checkered flag and congratulate the weary warriors on an amazing, arduous journey of accomplishment.