GRAND FINALE – MIAMI FLORIDA TO KEY WEST FLORIDA
Earlier in the run I received a good omen. In the change I was given at one of the gas stops I found a wheatback penny. The best thing about it was the year, 1947, the same as my bike!
In the morning we took our last quiz – boy were these a challenge. Over the entire event I ended up with 41 of the possible 100 points. This was 11 over my goal of getting a 30. If you go to the chase website they have scoring posted. Generally, the scores were in the range of what I earned.
As expected, the day started off very humid, we broke into a sweat walking from the room to the bike. The temperature rose all the way down to Key West where we proceeded to bake again. Luckily no rain today.
At the finish Tom Banks and I can’t believe we made it all the way. Wow, what a ride!
Here is old Blue – we made it all the way with several bandages. Here is a short list of the issues I had. Some of which still need to be addressed.
The top motor mount bolt fell out, so I ran without it part of the way
The rear intake spigot developed a leak which lead to plug fouling and rough running
Water in the carburetor
Short in the lighting wiring circuit. I tried to track it down in the parking lot with no luck. So I just ran with no lights on the bike for several days.
Bikes lined up in Mallory Square
That evening we had the closing banquet on the beach. It was a lot of fun. Hard to believe it’s all over.
A big thanks to Team Smoky Mountain! With your help old Blue probably had the greatest adventure it has ever experienced.
