In the past, Arkadelphia was called the City of Rainbows (according to Wikipedia) because of the rainy, humid summers. We got lucky; no rain. The temperatures were in the upper 50s leaving Tunica, MS and gradually rose to 80 as we worked our way into Arkansas. The sky was brilliant blue as we crossed two massive rivers, the Mississippi and the Arkansas. The importance of these giants for Native people and early American development cannot be overstated. Unfortunately neither State has kept the roadways up to smooth standards. Many riders and bikes suffered from the pounding – however only 4 ended up on the sweep trailer. The scene when we arrived was great…small downtown main street closed off for our public display, fish and chicken dinner at the firehouse, ice cream at the Mayor’s shop and a good turnout from the local residents. Thanks Scott (dentist, Mayor and Cannonball rider)!
The Cannonball brings out a variety of bikes from 1911 to 1929. Most are American made including the big three: Indian, Harley Davidson and Henderson. We also have less common American manufacturers including Excelsior (two this event), Thor, Sears, Militaire and others (prior events). The rest-of-world entries are not common but include British and German. This year, the Queen was well represented by North Texas Norton Owners presenting a striking set of matching 500 cc single cylinder Nortons from 1925-1926 era. Richard has gone to great lengths to get these rare machines up to the challenge. Here they are en masse at the start of Stage 12:
Another British bike is the Ner-a-Car (“nearly a car”). This unusual sit-down machine foreshadows modern scooters and was sold in England and the US with two different engines. In a prior Cannonball, Ben rode the American version with the underpowered two-stroke engine. He could barely finish the miles of any Stage and often was fixing things on the side of the road. This year Bob and Ben went full out…they entered the English version with a 350 cc four stroke engine. Massive! While challenging, Ben has been doing great and getting all his miles on each Stage. Here he is at the start of Stage 12:
We are off to Texas for the last 4 days of riding. Heat and long straight roads seem to be in my future…wish Lydian fortitude!