My name is Ted Walters and I am honored to be rider #50 in the 2018 Cannonball. I live in Sierra Madre, California and am an Engineer for the Sierra Madre Fire Department. In my spare time I like to work on 100+ year old old cars and now, motorcycles. Thank you for giving me this opportunity, and thank you to my wife Raquel for giving me her support.

I grew up spending most weekends in Wrightwood, California. As a 6 year old I would ride my Honda 50 and then transitioned to a bigger bike and dune buggy as I got older. I didn’t have a bike again for several years until the year my wife and I found out we were having twin girls and to celebrate I got a 2001 Harley Davidson Fatboy. I always wanted to replace it with an older bike and did that when I got the frame, motor and luggage rack (literally that was all) to a 1928 Harley Davidson JD. For the last 4 years I have been getting the parts and putting it together. However, I still wanted something older. Then, late last year I was able to find the body of the bike to go to the 1916 Harley Davidson motor I had displayed in my house as ‘artwork’. This will be the bike that I will put together and ride in the 2018 Cannonball.

I have already received a lot of support from other Cannonballers and it is great to feel part of the family.

Born in Grand Island Nebraska got my first motorcycle at 13 so I guess I’ve been riding about 54 years. This will be my first cannonball as a participant , I was on Vic Hugas crew in 16 and had the best month of my life !

I have no doubt 2018 will be even better.

I will be riding a 1912 Excelsior single belt drive. Cant wait to be back with my cannonball family.

My love for motorcycles started nearly at birth, but got serious at age 15. I couldn’t afford a motorcycle back then so I built my own. I bent up a frame & fork out of tubing & built a chopper minibike with a 5 horsepower Briggs engine. I got it licensed by local Police Dept. in Algoma, Wisconsin located on the shores of Lake Michigan. I put 3,700 miles on that little bike around my little hometown. I took it to our hometown cinema & saw the movie “Wild Angels” starring Peter Fonda. Later that summer, I sold the minibike & bought my 1st Harley from a local farmer for $2, a 1939 Flathead ULH 80ci. That started it all.

In 1979, I started my own HD repair shop. Back then, my rent on that small ½ stall garage size shop was $75/month. By April 1st, 1983, I became a Harley-Davidson dealer. The dealership has grown to a 72 acre complex with a restaurant, 2 antique motorcycle & classic car museums, 128 animal zoo, & an antique mall. The unique dealership is truly a destination “Like No Other.” I couldn’t be more proud of my 2 wonderful children & their spouses that all work at the family-owned dealership & restaurant. My son, Steve, is instrumental in our service department as a technician. I built my business on outstanding service & I’m proud that my son has carried on that tradition with his amazing technical skills. Steve’s wife, Tammy is extremely dedicated to her job as General Manager at our restaurant, Timeline Saloon & BBQ. The restaurant was built around family heirloom recipes & is home to our 24 ½ foot long, 7 engine motorcycle that seats 10 people, the Timeline Motorcycle. My daughter, Kersten & her husband Shannon manage the HD dealership together. Their professionalism & business acumen are invaluable to our growth & success. Kersten also drag races nitro Harleys & is riding in the Cannonball this year on Stewball 2.

I’ve always had an insatiable need for speed & I began building & drag racing Harley drag bikes in the 70’s. I started on gas, then alcohol, & then moved to nitromethane. I couldn’t get enough of it. In 1994, I set a world record that held for 3 years. I still occasionally race my 900 horsepower Top Fuel Harley that will run well into the 6’s at over 200 MPH. After 37 years of drag racing, the bear sleeps within me. Time to slow it down to 45 MPH & take pride in riding Stewball; a 1916 J Model Harley-Davidson with a 1913 wicker sidecar. I’m thrilled to introduce Lyn, my sidekick & love of my life. She is a lovely lady from Cincinnati with a thirst for adventure. Her desire to navigate & enjoy the ride at my side in the wicker sidecar makes me overwhelmingly excited & proud. She shares the same “sickness” that I have been afflicted with in our love & appreciation for these old dinosaurs sculpted of massive obsolete castings.

Stephen “Doc” Hopkins & Lyn

I’m Kersten Heling, the one & only daughter of the spectacular Steve “Doc” Hopkins. My lineage is deeply rooted in motorcycling. My Mother tells me I was born with a grease rag in my hand making vroom noises. I’ve been testing the limitations of various vehicles ever since. Following my Dad’s lead, I developed a fond love for drag racing nitro Harleys. At the ripe age of 4, I professed that I would one day ride one of these fierce machines. In 1995, at 16 years of age, my Dad helped me put my tenacity to the test & I was licensed as the youngest Nitro Harley pilot in history. To present, there are still very few women to have ridden a nitro Harley & no one 16 or younger. For over 23 years I’ve indulged my passion for Nitro Harleys at various drag strips across the country acquiring a personal best ¼ mile of 7.55 seconds @ 178 MPH.

In addition to drag racing, I have dedicated my life to the family business, the greatest dealership in the world, Doc’s Harley-Davidson of Shawano County, Wisconsin. I’ve worked my way through every facet of the dealership & I’m proud to say that I currently serve as General Manager. It was through the dealership that I met my amazing husband, Shannon. Shannon began working for our dealership in 1989 at 15 years old. He has dedicated his life to learning every aspect & co-manages at my side. We are a great team at home, at work, & at the drag strip.

In 2016, I had the honor of assisting in sharing my Dad & Dawn’s Cannonball Journey with the World. Although I was only able to accompany for about a week, I was deeply inspired by the Cannonball experience. When the opportunity arose to participate alongside my Dad in 2018, I knew it was an opportunity of a lifetime. I am absolutely thrilled to get out & bond with the 1922 Harley-Davidson that my Dad has so thoughtfully built for me to ride. Most of my endurance run experience has taken place in a minivan full of kids. “Perfect days” in that setting are far & few between & I rarely get a sticker at the end of an arduous day. With that said, my greatest love & pride in life are my three boys, Ethan (7), Aksel (4), & Aidan (5 months). I believe one of my greatest challenges will be the time spent away from my precious boys. I will do my best carrying the #53 plate on “Stewball 2″ in Cannonball 2018 & perhaps one day my boys will aspire to do the same.

For more info on Doc’s Harley-Davidson visit WWW.DOCSHD.COM
To follow our 2018 Cannonball journey visit our Face book page: www.facebook.com/Docsmotorcyclecannonballjourney2016

I started riding motorcycles in 1968, and bought (with lots of saved newspaper money) my first bike in 1971 – a used Honda SL70. I started wrenching for BMW in 1979 in Medford, Oregon, and remained there for 6 years. I then attended graduate school and became a registered nurse, and put 150,000+ miles on a 1967 R60/2. I met my wife Sue in 1994 and we moved to Yosemite where I worked as a heavy equipment mechanic and paramedic for the National Park Service. Since then, I’ve returned to my prior profession of BMW mechanic, starting up my own BMW vintage repair and restoration shop. I participated in the 2016 Cannonball on a 1913 Shaw Motorbicycle, putting miles on every day with the Shaw’s mighty 1.5 horsepower engine and my legs over every hill. Not being one to rest, I rode a vintage bike from California to Alaska in 2017, and am looking forward to using the 12 horsepower engine of my 1926 R42 to its full capacity. This is the oldest BMW to ever participate in a long-distance race – should be fun!

1973 – Reedly California. Practicing for the Cannonball

2018 – Same bike, Same rider

Wishing everybody a great ride on the 2018 Cannonball

When Landon, a new graduate of The Motorcycle Mechanics Institute in Arizona answered a help wanted ad on KSL, he never dreamed it would put him on the fast track to success. Most Harley-Davidson service departments won’t even let you touch a Harley or work on any serious motors until you’ve done your “time” so-to-speak. Not Rick Salisbury, he did the exact opposite, he pointed to a completely disassembled motor (bike?) and told him to put it back together. Landon, who was handed an unprecedented opportunity could have cowered, but instead rose to the occasion. He now has more expertise than technicians with far more years under their belt. Landon has a passion for vintage bikes and enjoys the challenge they present (most the time). “Vintage bikes are terrible to work on,” Landon quips. “Something is always breaking and it is difficult if not impossible to find parts. It’s a lot more challenging but we are lucky and have “Rose,” so if we can’t find it, he makes it for us.” He smiles, as he tweaks on a 1995 Evo Top End.

In September 2018 Landon will ride with the Legends Motorcycle Team in his very first Cannonball Run.