Stage 16

South Padre Island

September 26

Grand Finale

With the front forks attached to the bike with my $5.32 bolt I was off to the races! Today was the Grand Finale. Although I would have like to have ridden the full day. If the bolt decided to break the front end would come off causing me to face plant on the pavement. So, I settled for riding Lucille across the start line. Packing her up and transporting her to the end and riding across the finish line.

Sitting at the start line, Doug Feinsod gave his seal of approval on my repairs.

After we crossed the finish line in South Padre Island, we had to keep our bikes on display for a couple of hours. I managed to find a spot to rest that had shade and a couple of fine ladies (Rebecca and Polly – Cannonball staff). You can’t beat that with a stick!

Keegan showing off his Excelsior brakes (his boots with holes worn into the bottom).

Dipping my toes in the Gulf. The trip took us From Canada to Mexico with a brief stop on the Atlantic Ocean.

Sunrise on South Padre Island – time to head to Alabama.

My trusty driver Dorsey. He managed to survive three weeks on the road.

This was my fourth Cannonball and probably the toughest so far. I would have liked to have gotten a perfect score, but it wasn’t in the cards. I can’t complain as Lucille completed all the miles in 2016 and 2018. On this run I think we have had more accidents and encountered rougher roads that have wreaked havoc on this old metal. In the end I would do it again! 

Damage I managed to notice during the ride (I’m sure I will find more once I have time to go over the bike at home):

• Broken front forks

• Control cables (cut to remove forks)

• Missing pedal (if you find it laying on the road send it to me for handsome reward)

• Broken rear stand latch (I had to hold it up with a bungee strap)

• Three broken primary master links (due to new rear chain being 0.05” wider)

• Muffler falling apart (now held together with wire)

Prior to starting the day and after getting the days roll chart, Bruce Redpath (sweep driver and checkpoint operator) added an instruction. It was quite fitting and sums up 3 years of my life getting to this point. During this time Lucille had a full rebuild, road testing, a covid delay of the event, and the actual event. Boom! It’s done!

Stage 15

McAllen

September 25

Today I embarked on my grand scheme to get Lucille back on two wheels. Since I was not riding, I had the afternoon in the hotel parking lot to get to work. Here she is in pieces.

Here is the damage. Both outer fork tubes as well as the center stem broke off. It’s real old metal and the roads were rough, so I am not surprised this happened.

This is my prized $5.32 bolt that will fix all my problems...

So, I merely bolted the forks back on through the center stem. The outer tubes are still cracked but held in place.

Here we are ready to go. I did have one additional problem to address before test riding. I cut all the control cables to separate the forks from the bike when I was loaded on the sweep truck two days ago. So, I had to devise a way to operate the throttle. The quickest and easiest thing to do was to setup a short control cable under the gas tank. To operate the bike, I must reach under to manipulate the carb. It’s a little awkward but it gets me moving forward!

Stage 14

Victoria

September 24

Today was my first day in the sweep truck with Dorsey and a disabled bike. It was quite enjoyable. I did miss riding, but after hearing about the route today I did not mind riding in the van. I was told today was about knocking out miles and they were on 75 MPH road at times with drivers getting angry with the slow bikes.

Here is the view of downtown Houston from the cockpit of the white whale.

That afternoon Steve Klein put on a heck of a reception. He had a car show, a band, and steak dinners. I had a great time hanging out with the crews that evening working on their various bikes. 

From the previous day you remember Juergen wrapped the rod around the crank and damaged his engine cases on his 1911 Harley. He found a guy in the woods outside Victoria that was able to weld up his engine cases. He won’t be on the road tomorrow but intends to ride the last day, Sunday.

Inside shot of Juergen’s case.

He is cleaning up the mating surfaces getting ready for reassembly.

The Henderson team working on the four cylinders. I really like how Loring Hill organizes his tools. That’s efficiency!

A lot of bikes are suffering broken components from the rough roads. Below is rider #22 Keegan Wrieth’s 1914 Excelsior twin getting its forward frame tube welded due to cracking.

Another shot of the welding taking place on the Excelsior. The welder is one of team Norton’s mechanics. That’s the great thing about the Cannonball, everyone helps everyone.

So, I’ll let you in on a secret. I have a rabbit up my sleeve. Lying in bed this morning I had an epiphany. And lucky for me the hotel was next to Home Depot. I now have in my hands a 10” 5/8” bolt. Can you imagine what I have in mind?

Stage 13

Nacogdoches

September 23

Lucille and 9 Lives

Today’s ride out of Arkadelphia was great. We had 50 miles of curvy roads and cool temperatures. Bartek was following me on his Indian as we tore up the roads (at 47 MPH!). Our lunch stop was at a Harley dealer today. Doc Hopkins has a yoga instructor riding in his wicker sidecar. Just before we took off from lunch, she and I did headstands in the grass. I snapped this photo from the inverted position. Life is good!

237.7

This was the mileage on the odometer when I took a forced siesta in the shade next to Lucille. Only 20 miles from the finish line and I had to call it a day

I had gotten gas at mile 208. After leaving the station something seemed out of whack with my handlebars, but I could not quite put my finger on it. After a few more miles I finally figured it out when I glanced down at my right fork leg and noticed a break in it. See the photo below

I nursed the bike to the gas station at mile 238 so it would be easy for the sweep truck to retrieve me. The photo below shows the break in the left fork tube after the forks failed all the way

In the earlier photo when I was relaxing beside my bike at this gas station the forks were attached still. Once the sweep truck arrived and we put our hands on the bike to load it the forks instantly collapsed all the way turning my bike into a 1915 chopper! This is where I used up one of my remaining 9 lives (I think I am down to 4 or 5 now). I dodged a bullet. I had considered trying to limp into the finish line 20 miles away. Shinya was helping to stabilize the bike so I could remove the broken front end.

Front end is removed. If I had been closer, I would have pushed it over the finish line.

Here we are on the sweep truck disabled for the first time in 4 Cannonballs. The van was full of riders. One I was more disappointed to see on the trailer was the Neracar. This would have been the first Neracar to make it cross country since Cannonball Baker rode one almost 100 years ago.

Shinya’s Indian was pulling cylinder studs out of the case. He tried to keep the cylinders attached with vise grips and safety wire but ran out of luck

Juergen Ullrich #66 from Germany bent the rod and busted the cases on his 1911 Harley single

Rod wrapped around the crank.

Stage 12

Arkadelphia

September 22

This morning on my way to pick up my daily route chart I ran into Aaron Loveless #47. He is riding an interesting bike. It’s a single cylinder Harley that he must push start. He did not ride today as he is doing an engine rebuild. Yep, that is a valve head embedded in the top of his piston!

As usual, what I expect to be an easy day gets out of control quick. Here I am at mile 47 of a 243-mile day. Yes, in the background is a sweep truck along with Cannonball staff. Behind me on the ground is Bill Page #10. He lost exhaust valve function on one cylinder and ended up on the sweep truck for the day. Me, I was turning into the gas station and my primary chain broke again (this is #3 in two days). So, I did the repair with the sweep team waiting to load me up and was out of the parking lot before they got too serious.

In Arkadelphia we were treated to quite a show by the mayor (he is rider #25 Scott Byrd). They had a show on main street and a fabulous meal at the fire station. Dorsey snuck in my photo on Main Street (in the mirror).

The local police like 1915 Harleys! I told him if he could start it, he could have it. I still have the bike…

The fix I did at mile 47 today was to reverse the master link on the primary chain. I suspected the rear chain was contacting the primary chain when things lined up just right knocking out the master link and stopping me.

I did measurements of my older rear chain and my new replacement. Turns out the new rear chain was 0.05” wider. This may not seem like much but both chains are very close. I have run the narrower chain for at least 17k miles on Lucille and never had a problem. It’s just since the rest day that I have had issues. The earlier chain I was using is no longer available, so I was using the replacement. I spent this evening putting my used rear chain back on and really looking at all the clearances. It is what it is as I don’t have anything else to work with. We have completed 2478 miles and I am hoping this setup will get me to the end. We will see.

Stage 11

Trussville and Tunica

September 20 and 21

This report covers two days as yesterday was called off before we launched. Lucille was out and prepped to go when we received the message below. It was disappointing as I was going to ride my home state and had a handful of people that wanted to come out and cheer me on. Dorsey and I loaded up and headed south in the White Whale. We did encounter some very heavy rain and saw the potential for near term flooding in a couple of areas we travelled in. It was probably a good call.

We arrived in Trussville mid-afternoon and setup camp in the hotel parking lot. It was a relaxed afternoon where many were fixing last minute issues. I helped one rider by soldering up a crack in his gas tank and gave my two cents on a magneto problem another rider had. Cecil and Wes showed up to see the circus. 

The ride from Trussville to Tunica was the longest to date at 282 miles. We were lucky enough to get about 100 miles of this ride without rain. Today is the closest I have come to ending up on the sweep truck. We were riding a state highway in Mississippi at about mile 200 when all the sudden I lost power. Turns out the master link on my primary chain failed. I replaced the link and it failed within 50 feet of taking off. I was sweating bullets as the sweep truck was probably 20 miles from me. I happened to have a complete primary chain I had removed earlier in my saddlebag. I swapped it out and made it to the end. I believe the master link failure was related to a problem with the chain I removed so I discarded it.

This little piece of metal can cost you a perfect score!

Stage 10

Canceled due to flooding.

R&R Day

Murfreesboro -Rest Day

September 19 

The Cannonball Day of rest is typically really a day of work. Of course, it also decided to rain all day.

My task for the day is making sure all is good for the sendoff tomorrow. I changed the spark plugs, primary and rear chain, adjusted the valves, checked the magneto points and various other items.

Dorsey, Kent, and Mike spent time trying to solve my missing pedal problem. Zeke found bicycle pedals and adapters yesterday. Turns out the adapter is what I needed but the pedal was a bit too large. The bigger issue was my pedal crank was cross threaded and needed to be fixed. That was where all the time was focused. We were lucky that the Norton team had the specific tap we needed. Team Mike-Dorsey- Kent spent quite a bit of time getting the threads correct. They were really a big help. Tom Banks had a spare pedal he loaned me.

Below you can see the finished product. The black piece is the adapter.

At the end of the day, we saw a hint of sunlight and a double rainbow. Hopefully this is a good omen for what’s to come.

Stage 9

Murfreesboro

September 18th

Wow! Today was a crazy day. About an hour or so after departing Cherokee the rain let loose! It was heavy rain until the very end. We even had the rare combination of rain and fog at the same time which made it real interesting. My waterproof boot was full, my rain suit let the deluge in soaking my shirt. I mean it was heavy. Below is a closed gas station where the riders sheltered out of the rain hoping it would decrease in intensity. It did not. Lucille made it through the entire day not missing a beat.

Our hosted stop for the day was Bumpus Harley Davidson. I don’t know the exact number, but we might have had half of the riders cross the finish line that day. Funny enough once I got into Murfreesboro the rain decided to stop. I don’t know the exact details, but the remaining riders were brought to the hotels by the sweep trucks and their support teams.

Zeke Smith my driver from 2018 showed up to make sure Dorsey was taking care of the White Whale. I think he gave him an A. During the day I lost one of the two pedals that you use to start the bike. Zeke assisted in trying to come up with a field replacement. He found a bicycle pedal that might work but the original pedal crank was cross threaded at some time making it hard to screw in the replacement. So that is a task for tomorrow which is our rest day.

Carnage for today. Rider 112 Dennis Peterson was involved in an accident totaling his Harley Davidson JD. There could be other victims, but information is spotty at this time since all the riders did not show up at the hosted stop. That’s usually when we hear what happened during the day.

Stage 8

Maggie Valley

September 17th   

Today our hosted stop was Wheels Through Time Museum in Maggie Valley NC. We covered 135 miles, which by Cannonball standards was relatively short. I thought it was going to be an easy day. Boy, was I wrong. halfway through the day we started climbing. For the most part this went on for 70 miles. I spent a lot of time in 2nd gear going 30, glad that I was making forward progress. We ended up on the Blue Ridge Parkway for at least 40 miles. We reached an elevation of 6000+ feet which means I lost horsepower in my carbureted Harley. To top it off the parkway was shrouded in heavy fog and rain most of the day. It’s the Cannonball! Below is a photo at the highest point on the parkway. Doing an oil change on Lucille.

There were a few casualties. A couple were Indians. Rider #107, Kanjana Kankhuntod is riding a 1929 Indian Scout. Coming out of a very dark tunnel on the Blue Ridge Parkway she ended up in the guardrail. Luckily the bike took the brunt of the damage. If you are reading about the Cannonball on the internet there were several other wrecks in this tunnel.

The second Indian casualty was #97 Kevin Nasar on his reliable 1917 Indian Powerplus. He missed a tricky turn and ended up crashing his bike bending the forks up into the frame. He is OK but is no longer riding.

Below is the display at Wheels Through Time. Probably one of the biggest crowds so far.

Here we are in the hotel parking lot getting ready for tomorrow. Lucille is getting the once over to include readjusting the chains. After tomorrow we get a rest day which I am looking forward to. The fatigue is setting in.

Stage 7

Spartanburg SC

September 16th   

When we left Myrtle Beach it was very humid. Once we got through the beach traffic the ride to Spartanburg was pretty nice. You can tell we are in the South. Below is the gas stop/lunch stop at a little local place out in the middle of nowhere. I had a great egg salad sandwich. Eating with Bryan Bossier #106 and Bartek Mizerski #48

A typical stop in the rural south.

When I mention how humid it was, that normally also means rain. For the first hour it was a light rain which actually cooled me off and felt really good, it did not justify putting on the rain suit. However eventually it got heavy, and I had to pull over to put on the gear. You know you are riding an old Harley when an oil slick forms under the bike within a couple of minutes of parking.

At our evening stop I had a surprise visitor. It was my friend Tim Young from about an hour away. He and his wife came by to see what this Cannonball thing was all about.

Lucille ran well and only required chain adjustments and checking the valve. Smoky Mountain members are showing up. Mike McCloud, Kent Bennett and Liz showed up at this stop. Of course my trusty driver Dorsey was here as well.

Stage 6

Myrtle Beach

September 15th   

A note from yesterday and the support crew experience. A tractor trailer flipped on the interstate and the support crews were stuck for three hours. Dorsey said it was the worst wreck he had ever seen. While they were stuck in the traffic, they noticed a truck driver had a monkey for a passenger. The monkey was swinging on the mirror and apparently kissing the driver occasionally.

The run to Myrtle Beach went well. Another day getting all the miles. We hit rain for the first time on the run. It lasted about 20 minutes. Below is a photo of the bikes at HD of Myrtle Beach which was our check in for the day.

Here is a photo of the beach from the hotel. Nope – I won’t get a chance to check it out. There is much to do to get Lucille ready for the road tomorrow and we are out early in the morning.

Shinya is rebuilding his 1915 Indian again – he missed the ride today. This is the action in the garage tonight.

I decided to replace the primary chain as it had stretched a bit. Pre-emptive maintenance.

Stage 5

Danville VA

September 14th   

Today  we covered 261 miles bringing the total to 1160. The first ¾ of the day was the best riding to date. We got into the mountains. It was cool and foggy with twisting roads. At this point 51 out of 88 riders have a perfect score.  At a gas stop we have Bartek Mizerski #48 from Poland rasing his arms in victory as we just conquered our first serious climb.

Keegan Wrieth #22 is a young first timer riding a 1914 Excelsior 7SC. This bike only has a rear brake which is a simple band in a pulley as shown in the red box below. It does not offer much stopping power. Doug Jones knows a lot about band brakes from previous Cannonballs.

So, when you are in the hills and your Excelsior brake is barely functional what do you do? You use your shoes. He wore through the soles of both boots. At the end of the day Keegan picked up a new set of boots at our hosted stop at the Harley dealer. So he is ready for another day.

Tom Banks #21 on a 1912 Harley belt drive single made it up our first serious climb. That was quite a feat!

Stage 4

Charleston WV

September 13th   

Today  was a bit shorter at 209 miles. It started out nice and slowly heated up to a comfortable 90 degrees. It was a great ride this morning but after lunch was a bit challenging as we ended up on 50 – 80 miles of 65 to 70 MPH roads complete with semi trucks. Not so much fun…

Since you might want more photos of corn.

Below is a photo at the last gas stop of the day.

Lucille’s 106-year-old muffler decided to come apart towards the end of the day. Dorsey helped me come up with a fix and we will see how it does tomorrow. It was also time to change the rear tire. 

Working on the muffler in the hotel parking lot.

Stage 3

Dayton Ohio

September 12th   

Today we travelled 240 miles. It started out comfortable and quickly got very warm. Lucille carried me to the end with no issues.

Buck Carson #3 celebrated his 30th birthday today. Here he is with Dorsey after getting some life advice. (Note: Victor Boocock #56 – The Godfather – celebrated his 79th birthday today we believe, although he won’t confirm the actual date).

The Cannonball is a very difficult and dangerous event. One of the first casualties was yesterday. #110 Brianna Meisinger in one of the youngest riders we have. This is her first Cannonball, and she is riding a 1929 Indian Scout. She was involved in an accident that ended up sending her to the hospital. The photo below is the Xray of her leg. The rumor is that she is doing well, and we may see her before the Cannonball is over.

Here is the second casualty I am aware of. #192 Matt Lyman smashed up the front end of his 1918 Indian Powerplus. He suffered a concussion but is doing well.

Now on to Lucille and the Children of the Corn – Ohio has the corn, and I could not resist a quick tour of it.

The hosted lunch stop was at Napoleon Harley Davidson. Come to find out they have been using an image of yours truly to advertise the event for over a month. Here is a screen grab off of their website. This photo was taken during the 2016 Cannonball somewhere in Arizona.

Stage 2

Battle Creek Michigan

September 11th   

Today we covered 254 miles. Lucille carried me to the end again with no major issues. She’s getting nice and oily! Tonight did a basic service and adjusted the chains.

I think Dorsey took some lessons from Zeke my last support driver as he has sunk right into the routine. Keep the stress level down and keep moving forward.

Todays surprise check point. It was a good time to do an oil change. 4 ounces out, 4 fresh in.

The Victor Boocock “The Godfather” and his 1914 Harley Davidson single speed twin. Time for a quick parking lot service.

End of the day routine. Bartek working on his Indian Power Plus. Fixing a gas tank leak and then moving on to an intake leak.

Next door Shinya was working on his 1915 Indian.

Stage 1

Traverse City Michigan

September 10th   

Today we finally hit the road. The total mileage was 184 miles. It was a gorgeous day with great weather. Some of the best riding of the day was 30+ miles along the lakeshore. It was a twisty turny route that went through a tunnel of the forest – you never saw the sky and occasionally glimpsed the lake. Lucille ran great and left plenty of oil on the road.

Below is the sendoff in the SOO! Everyone is itching to go.

This is a typical scene at the gas station. Especially when everyone is running on fumes. Gas and oil changes here are the norm.

Two sweep trucks contained nine bikes that suffered various issues.

Unfortunately, Tom Banks had both of his single cylinder Harleys on the trailer. Below a motor is torn down awaiting diagnosis.

Here is the frame that motor came out of. Tom is looking pretty sad in the background…

Prologue

Lucille at the SOO Day 2!

September 9th   

Today was the official start of the Cannonball.

First was riders school where they go over various items such as navigation, first aid, etc. Turns out we have 88 riders who have shown up for the run. Dorsey and I prepared Lucille for the Prologue which is the official start to the Cannonball. This is a short ceramonial sendoff where we gather for a group photo as well as a short local ride which gives the riders a taste of what they have signed up for. We thought we should get a photo while my clothes and Lucille were actually clean…

Dorsey is manning Lucille at the staging area for the start. It was a gorgeous day. The BMW next to Dorsey is Joe Gimpel’s.

George Banks and me. During the 2018 Cannonball George was support for his brother Tom. This time he is a competitor on a 1913 Harley Davidson twin. 

Here I am with my good friend Victor Boocock. He is riding a 1914 Harley Davidson 10E twin that he has owned since the 70’s. In a few days he turns 79.

So the official start was a pretty short run. However, in typical Cannonball fashion there is attrition. 5 riders have already lost their perfect score. Juergen Ullrich from Germany is our only foreign rider. He is riding a bone stock 1911 Harley Davidson single cylinder. He made it one mile before he lost his front wheel bearing.

Arriving at the Cannonball

Lucille at the SOO!

September 8th

After a day and a half on the road Dorsey and I arrived at Sault STE Marie Michigan (also known locally as the SOO). If you throw a frisbee north over the Saint Mary’s River it will land in Canada. It was Dorsey’s first time in Michigan, and he said it’s a lot prettier than he thought it was going to be. But we probably don’t need to worry about him moving north as I don’t think he likes snow too much…

The sign below says, “Michigan’s Upper Peninsula”, we just crossed the Mackinaw bridge. If you look to the left while crossing the bridge you see Lake Michigan and looking right it’s Lake Huron.

Below Dorsey is gazing over the top of the enormous ship in one of the locks in Sault STE Marie. On the Saint Mary’s River. This river connects Lake Superior with Lake Huron.  Looking over the top of the locks you can see Canada. Nope – we could not see Mike Podger our only Canadian member waving and wishing us good luck!

Big C is everywhere. Yep at the local burger place they had a burger named in his honor. I think even in the SOO they know about Cecil “Big C” and his success on the 2021 Cross Country Chase.

Dorsey and I got through registration and tech inspection. Notice there are two guys going over the bike. They are looking for loose spokes, fasteners, leaking gas tanks and a myriad of other things. The inspection process took about 20 minutes, but Lucille passed with flying colors.

Cole Deister (left) and Joe Sparrow (right) giving Lucille a good going over.

The Beginning

2021 Motorcycle Cannonball Run

Team Smoky Mountain

by Erik Bahl

Two weeks from Today my 1915 Harley Davidson 11F “Lucille” will be on the road again for a border-to-border run. This time we are going from Canada to Mexico, with a brief stop on the east coast to work on our tans and stick our toes in the ocean. Initial feedback from the Cannonball staff indicates this will be ~3718 miles (at 48-50mph…). Dorsey Uptain has volunteered to pilot the White Whale in support of this crazy endeavor. I have heard rumors that Kent Bennett may join Dorsey for the Myrtle Beach to Birmingham section of the ride. Roy Chapman also said he and Pam may show up for the stop in Cherokee NC. This year our rest day is on Sunday September 19th in Murfreesboro TN (staying at the Clarion Inn 2227 Old Fort Pkwy, Murfreesboro, TN 37129). We arrive on Saturday September 18th at Bumpus Harley Davidson in Murfreesboro. Below is the current list of our stops. When compared to previous Cannonball’s I expect this one to be a true endurance run for the riders. We are entering peak storm season and as you all know as soon as you step outside the heat index is off the charts! My plan is to post daily updates on the Smoky Mountain website so you can enjoy the fun from your air-conditioned living room…