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It felt so good. The 99 miles were easy but the last 10 miles would have been really tough without the police escort through the stop lights and tourist traffic of South Padre Island. Crossing the line means we made all our miles, rider and machine intact. The attrition on this Cannonball has been high as only 33 of the initial 88 entrants successfully got it done. I am throughly pleased with finishing with a perfect score.

A huge congratulations to both Dave Courier on the winning 1911 Harley and Jeff T. on the second place 1912 Henderson…no easy task for either team. This was a tough course to ride and I doubt many of us are going to mount up in the near future. Lydian will get an oil change and a checklist for future repairs and maintenance once home.

After taking a swim in the warm waves of the Gulf, we had an awards ceremony and dinner. You can watch video here: https://m.facebook.com/motorcyclecannonball/

I cannot emphasize how much I appreciate the support and understanding of Nancy. Without her, this would not have been possible. I also need to thank Vern for getting the job done with driving and pit crew work. We are a good team:

With all the great people participating in the Cannonball, I have connected with a few to “do some deals”. I plan to sell some old Harley parts to one guy, pick up an engine from another, swap a Vincent for an Indian on the East Coast, and maybe get a 1928-only exhaust for Lydian. Winter projects!

The last Stage is usually short – allowing for a Grand Entry and Reception. Today will be no exception as we are expected to convene about 9 miles away from the finish line and then get staged for entry, by Class, to the final checkpoint on South Padre Island. Fingers crossed for all bikes and riders to complete the 99 miles in the Texas sun.

The sun was out in a big way yesterday. While the morning was cool and pleasant, the afternoon was harsh. We initially were routed down by Goose Island and Rockport. The waterways and salt marshes were beautiful…the best part of the day. The rest of the ride into Corpus Christi and then on to McAllen were not fun. The roads were flat and straight. The traffic, while not too heavy, was filled with trucks going fast. There was road construction. There were many dead animals on the shoulder. The heat built to uncomfortable levels. But we made it to the hosted dinner at Desperado Harley Davidson. The cold beer once “released” from the parking lot display and back at the van was very good.

Lydian did well…some small items to repair and adjust after running 55-60 mph for 273 miles. The front spring box repair has held up but is now worn to the point were there is a little wobble if going 60 mph. It is something that will get major overhaul once back on Vashon. We cleaned off some road grime so she is ready for the party at the end. It will be great to end early in the day and celebrate with friends.

One of the fellow riders is also a person who I respect and admire. At the opposite end of the age spectrum from the rider I described yesterday (Victor, age 79); Keegan is 22 years old and riding bike number 22. He is riding his grandfather’s 1914 Excelsior 7-SC. The bike has been ridden in several prior events by grandfather Jeff and Keegan had been part of Jeff’s support crew. Not an easy bike to ride, she has minimal brakes and a low top speed but Keegan has been awesome. He was completing every Stage until the 107 year old bike suffered a frame fracture a couple days ago. The great mechanics at the Norton team stepped in and welded it back together so that Keegan could keep going. Here he is:

Wish us all safe riding for Stage 15…it will feel good to complete what we set out to do.

Steve was telling me a story as we stood in the hot sun at a Shell station in the middle of Texas. “Lonnie used to say…don’t talk to me about the Cannonball until you have been riding on day 14”. This is true. By day 14, if you are still riding, you have figured out your bike and made it work. Your body has adapted to the early morning daily ride and physical abuse of an antique motorcycle on bumpy back roads. Your brain has figured out how to keep adding and subtracting decimals. And every night, you get to solve mechanical problems. Yep, day 14 is a good indicator of Cannonball status. As such, the standings are here: https://motorcyclecannonball.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/MC2021-Stage14Scores.pdf#zoom=100

You will notice towards the top of the list, one Victor Boocock on his single-speed 1914 Harley Davidson 10E. This British man is one of my most respected fellow riders. He rides with impeccable style on an ancient HD. The bike runs beautifully. He has done many Cannonball events. He is 79 years old.

Riding across Texas is not the same as doing the twisties in the mountains., Smooth roads? Yes. Curves? No. Long, straight, fast and boring. At least it wasn’t raining! Even the two-lane blacktops we were on often had 70-75 mph speed limits with passing zones every few miles. The dual Chevy and Ford pickups were barreling along at 8o mph and found the 40-60 mph motorcycles annoying to say the least. I did have time to contemplate the “spring extension containment system” some more. What is it you ask? Hi-tech wizardry:

If you look carefully above the critical large transmission nut, you can see the pounding the case took from the spring. It could have unlocked the nut or cracked the case, either a very bad result. The bungee limits extension.

Off to McAllen, Texas today…one and one-half days left to South Padre Island. I will treat Lydian well today (not like yesterday when we road with the bad boys of Team White Trash).

Leaving Arkadelphia on a cool morning brought many smiles as we wound our way through twisty, smooth and empty “blue highways”. I had fun riding with Tim and Joe on their JD Harleys…kept the speed up and moved ahead of the pack. Tim and I arrived 1st and 2nd at the finish checkpoint.

The day got warmer but not too hot and we had a great reception in Nacogdoches. This is one of the oldest towns in Texas with historic storefronts and a plaza set up to receive the Cannonball bikes and riders:

The repetitive vibration and heat cycles are causing trouble for some ancient machines. Several of the “perfect miles bikes” went on the trailer for Stage 13. Crank pins seized, primary chains broke, gas tanks cracked, etc. None of the failures were as monumental and potentially dangerous as that which Eric experienced with Lucille, his well-loved HD. He noticed that the handling was a little odd when stopping for gas. While thinking he could nurse things along for the last 20-30 miles, fellow Cannonballers talked him out of trying. Good thing…because when he attempted to load the bike onto the sweep trailer, this is what happened:

The metal fatigue (age + four Cannonballs) resulted in fractures of the tubes and the front end literally fell off. Thankfully, Eric used good judgement and was not actually riding when this happened!

Lydian required an extra dose of nut and bolt tightening with several bits needing service, valves adjusted and oil changed. My seat spring extension limiter device (ie, bungee cord) is working at preventing contact between seat spring and engine case. Not a factory item, but effective. We are going deeper into Texas today…should be fun.

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!

OK, that was some rain..and mud…and potholes (hiding under the water, too). A full 282 miles on the roads of Northwestern Alabama and across Mississippi. We were traveling through the land of red dirt and pine needles. Small towns with friendly people. Lots of churches. The churches must be busy because there were caution signs pointing out potential traffic delays when church was in session. Methodist, Baptist, Evangelical, AME, and even some one-of-one Ministries operated out of double-wide trailers. Compared to Western Washington, I felt as if we had entered a foreign country!

The ride started under heavy clouds and humidity. I worked to get separated from the pack as solo riding is more enjoyable. There were many opportunities for directions to go askew as the paper scroll was 8 feet long! Fortunately, diligence and patience paid off as no errors were accrued and I did not get lost. We went through Civil War battle sites which are now quiet woods. I reflected on what we have gained and lost over the 160 years since. The rain started with fierce lightening and heavy cloud dumping. Today I put the rain suit over the Aerostitch and actually stayed dry. When the sun came out for 2 hours mid-day, I baked. Of course once I took off the rain jacket and put on sunglasses, the rains returned. Again we rode into a deluge with standing water on the roads. Aggressive wind gusts required careful steering. Lydian was happy…cool, powerful and free of surprises. Lights worked, seat was OK and gas mileage remained about 35 mpg. The rear band brake does require one or two applications when wet before it actually slows things down but the modified Norton front wheel/brake combination did its job nicely.

Attrition was evident yesterday as the field of 88 starting bikes and riders is now less than half of that: only 42 have perfect scores. The top ranked riders are all in Class I and II with pre-1920 bikes. Henderson is well represented!

We are going to Arkadelphia, Arkansas. I have never been but the Mayor is a Cannonball rider and will welcome us to his town:

The hosted dinner tonight is in the historic district so this should be fun.

After adding to yesterday’s blog update, the Cannonball Staff announced that the Stage from Tennessee to Alabama would be cancelled due to weather and road flooding. So we loaded up the van and headed south on I-65 through some heavy rain. After about an hour of downpour, the sun peaked out and temperatures rose into the upper 80s with corresponding humidity. We got to Trussville and set up camp for more maintenance activities. My partner in keeping Lydian going is Vern. A hard-core motorcycle enthusiast, Vern has ridden in 2 prior Cannonball events including 2018 when he and I rode Detroit Hendersons together for most of the way (he was on a Model Z from 1918 and I was on Blue Bird from 1917). This time he and Nancy are running the Sprinter and the two of them give me great support. Thanks to both!

Some of the riders got to visit the Barber Motorsport Museum yesterday and really got their fill of vintage motorcycles. Others worked on fixing lingering problems…success came to an Indian Scout whose magneto finally got sorted out by re-indexing the pinion gear. Lydian got some adjustments to the brake light bulb socket (vibration had loosened causing intermittent contact) and we went for a leisurely ride around the neighborhood. The range of engine designs and conditions is remarkable and looks don’t always indicate quality of performance. I have been taking photos of other bikes along the way and here are two:

We should be starting off under heavy clouds this morning and riding into rain in Mississippi with temperatures in the 70s and 80s. Stage 11 is 288 miles so fairly long day. Rain suit ready. Oil, air and gas set. Odometer working. Let’s go!

Stage 10 is set to go from Murfreesboro, Tennessee to the outskirts of Birmingham, Alabama. The flooded roads are now supposed to be open but the rain is forecast to continue through the day. We spent the rest day working on projects. By far and away, the hardest was getting a replacement cell phone as it took several valuable hours of the afternoon. (I realize that a cell phone is not essential but it is a good safety device if stranded and it allows me to take photos). We worked on Lydian late in the day giving her fresh oil, checking and adjusting the valves, tightening nuts and bolts, lubing the chain, etc. All good. For some of the fellow Henderson riders, there were surprises like water in the magneto, loose rear sprocket, and other maladies which needed attention. We helped each other with advice, shared tools and running commentary. At the end of the day, this is what we saw:

The rainbow was a nice reward for the day’s labor so we had some beer and got a good night sleep. Today will be wet…hopefully not crazy like yesterday. Did I mention that the floorboards going through standing water make it feel like you are a boat on plane?

The weather app predicted 60-70% chance of rain in the afternoon during Stage 9 to Murfreesboro, Tennessee. What we got was 100% of craziness. The ride was through torrential rain and fog with massive sheets of water in the air and on the road. Can’t see much of anything when its coming down that hard. Aerostich can’t keep the rain out. Clothing soaked like a sponge. Cell phone soaked and non-functional. The good news? Lydian loves cool and wet…she wants to run long and hard. That proved to be a good thing because we completed all the miles of the Stage in good time.

The bad news: no photos (phone dead) and controversy among Cannonball staff and riders. The weather was so bad that some sections of road had flooded, particularly for riders going slowly and arriving at later times. There were two check points set up to provide emergency instructions. The first indicated that a shorter, safer route should be taken (shaving 5 miles off the total). The second indicated that bikes and riders would not be penalized for ending early, getting picked up by the sweep truck or their own support vehicles. This information did not make it to all participants. At the final checkpoint (Bumpus Harley Davidson in Murfreesboro), confusion and frustration were apparent among riders. For those who completed the course despite the hardships, it did not seem fair that those who didn’t would not be penalized. At the time of this writing it appears that riders who completed at least the first 161 miles (of the 260 total) would get those points. We will see what has transpired once the point standings are posted.

Meanwhile, a good sleep, some good Asian delivery food and a hot shower puts things to right. We will use the rest day to park Lydian under the van awning and attend to maintenance tasks, Now if I can find an Apple store and take advantage of my phone warranty…

Stage 8 was to be a short day. No problem. But it was tough. Climbing into the mountains of North Carolina was stunningly beautiful but steep, twisty, wet and cold. We worked our way up the switch backs through dense forest to 6000 feet. The “Smokey mountains” loved up to their name with fog thick in many places. Occasionally we would get a peek at the valley below…here we are at about 4500 feet elevation:

After the picture was snapped above, I changed out of my sunglasses and into regular glasses….it was a good move. Also, note that my headlight is working while Vince’s was not. These two factors played a roll in what happened next. Several bikes and riders found visibility extremely limited as they entered a curving pitch black tunnel in the mountain side. This resulted in some minor bumps and bruises as bike and rider bounced off of the tunnel wall. Here is the scene at the tunnel exit once we put some flares in place for safety:

We continued down the mountain and arrived in Maggie Valley to a great reception at Wheels Through Time museum. Great spread of food, museum open for viewing and lots of enthusiastic fans to mingle with…excellent! Matt Walksler and the team at WTT went all out:

We are off to Tennessee today….and tomorrow? Rest day! This will be much appreciated by weary bikes and weary bodies.