Cannonball, Chase, 1911 Excelsior, 1923 Harley J tales

Blog

  • Stage Two

    Wow what can I say. We knew we would be heading for a storm.

    6 am this morning. Getting prepped.
    We are the blue dot. A torrential rain. NOT FUN!

    Waited it out for about an hour. Then continued on in a light rain for about an hour. Skies cleared and we made it in with five minutes to spare.

    Last gas stop and oil change.
    Got “all the miles”. A good day.
    So the nightly work begins.
    Still working as the sun sets. I have no crew.
    Still at it.
    Charging up my lights and speedo.
    Riding in tonight.

    And that’s it for tonight. I’m beat. Later.

  • Stage One

    An excellent day today. Started out at 5am and departed for Neptune Park to gather before the run today.

    Ready to leave this morning.
    After the Prologue.
    Ride with Pat all day. Perfect scores for both of us today.
    Three on this sweep truck.
    Three more on the other sweep truck.

    Moved up to 9th place.

    All good. Did a lot of work on the bike: daily maintenance and chain adjustment.

    All good! 225 miles tomorrow to Concord, NC. Over and out.

  • Prologue

    Today is the first official day of the scored event. started out in the morning to do the daily inspection on my bike. All good. Glad I made the checklists. Then we moved into a meeting room at the hotel for the mandatory rider meeting. Jason and LeeAnn presented all materials with a Q&A session and rider introduction.

    Had a few minutes after this to go back to the bike and button things up. We will be riding 2.5 miles to the fishing pier for a social for 90 minutes. Then the official scoring starts when we leave the pier (by class) to the dinner and group photo. It will be a 35 mile (35 points) day.

    We lined all the bikes up on the fishing pier for a couple hours.
    Then the prologue ride. Made all the miles. Perfect score so far.

    So it was a good day. Brutal heat!! Over and out for the day. 165 miles tomorrow to Greenville, NC.

  • Registration Day

    Started the day again watching the sun rise.

    Registration began at 8am. I was first in line to complete all the paperwork.

    Tech inspection was next. Staff inspects the bike looking for anything that may be out of place. I passed with flying colors.

    Loading up the practice run map. Taking some of the new guys out to get used to navigating with this map.
    Explaining some nuances of the map instructions.
    Leading the pack on the practice run.
    A nice little ride to get re-aquatinted with the scroll map.
    I have a little free time to hang out at the pool. I also took a dive into the Atlantic ocean. Can’t remember the last time I was swimming in an ocean. Will do in the pacific in a couple weeks.
    PROUD of this badge.
    PART of the lineup. Millions of dollars here.
    Part 2
    And a nice healthy dinner with Bartman to end the night.

    That’s it for today. Tomorrow the actual event starts with points being awarded for completing the Prologue run. Over and out.

  • Day One in VA

    Woke up this morning to see a great sunrise from my room

    Our hotel
    #60 Bartman and #9 Tribbey
    The four Ugly MC members: Tribbey, McMullen, Lujan, and Micah
    Deep conversation with Micah.
    A little joke on my buddy.

    Over and out. Thanks for following.

  • Arrived in VA Beach

    We made it here by 4pm yesterday. A smooth ride in with Bartman and the guys.

    Met up for a late afternoon with others while waiting for rooms.

    Beautiful location.
    Sunrise this morning.
    Toes in the Atlantic. soon will be toes in the Pacific.

    We are off today. Going for a little ride this morning then back here at the hotel to enjoy each others company. Over and out. Thanks for following along.

  • 400 Miles to the Starting Line

    We loaded up everything for me (#9) and John Bartman (#60) this morning at Skeeters Saloon. On the road at 9:15am.

    These photos look like they could be an album cover, eh!

    I’m thrilled to be teaming up with #60 with Bartman, Dolan, and Casey. We had a beautiful uneventful ride through IL, IN, OH, and PA to Somerset for the night.

    A nice steak dinner with rider #62 and his crew.

    While riding we had a good conversation on all the helmet laws along our CB route. we also talked about the Royal Gorge suspension bridge we will be riding over. Will be epic.

    I also received word my spare engine will be waiting for me in VA.

    Excellent workmanship by Pocket Valve Performance in Kansas. If I have it I hope I won’t need it!

    Tomorrow will be an 8:30 departure to Virginia Beach to meet up with all these old bike fanatics!

    More tomorrow. Over and out. Thanks for following along.

  • On The Way

    Left home at 10am today. Everything loaded in the van and off to meet up with a John Bartman at his establishment, Skeeters Saloon.

    Arrived around 1pm to unload the van and load up on John’s trailer. John’s crews, Casey and Bill, we’re there to help.

    We had a surprise visit from Fly all the way from Wyoming!

    Tim Burns and Connor (Team Shit Show) also made a surprise visit.

    On the road at 8:30 tomorrow morning to somewhere in PA for the night. All good!

    That’s it for today. These posts will get more interesting as the week progresses.

    Over and out.

  • One More Day

    Well one more “free” day before I depart Milwaukee. Another day with great results.

    Rear wheel back on after new tire and brake service.
    Sometimes you need to fabricate a special tool. I needed a thin 1-1/4” wrench to tighten the brake anchor plate. Not pretty but got the job done.
    Next is to remove the front wheel for spike tightness check and bearing repack.
    Looking good.
    I installed new ball bearings and plenty of grease.
    Snugged up the neck bearings a bit also.
    Back together! Time to ride.
    A nice 24 mile ride. All great!
    Nightly charging of the accessories.

    Tomorrow will be to button it all up! More to come each day. Over and out.