The 2012 Cannonball run starts today. You can follow along at http://www.motorcyclecannonball.com/ or find them on facebook. If you aren't familiar with it all motorcycles are pre 1930 and they will be traveling from East coast to West coast. There is an Austrailian sidecar rig entered with a wicker sidecar to watch for. Also as a side note Steve Woodward our membership guy is driving the support van for Darryl Richman and you can also follow his blog. Best of Luck to all riders.
I am going to the first night stop in Wellsboro Pa about 3 hours from me, I will look for Steve
This is WAY COOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Well I left this morning at 4 am to get there it's a 3 hour trip from my house and just got home as it stands the sidecar is out of the ride for today Chris did manage to get 50 miles in but the clutch issues got the better of his rig not to mention that rt 6 cuts through the Alleghaney mountans.
They will be running through some nasty weather today as it meets them along the northern part of the state on rt6 storm is coming from the west with 40 to 60 mph winds at times down pours (not good for magnetos)
Didn't see Steve Woodward but did see Gary Haynes come up the pass in his chase sidecar rig he had built for the 2010 cannon ball run.
Photo #2 and 3 there was a near collision when a Excelsior-henderson stoped runing, if you look in the backround of the second picture that guy on the JD missed hiting him by inches. I don't know what the problem was but we pushed him out of the road and it fired up first kick and off he went 🙂
So cool! TY for getting up so early and sharing these pics with us hdrghack! They will be rolling through Michigan tomorrow, but I have to be on the other side of the state. GRRRRRR!
I think I see the sidecar chase vehicle you mentioned in the background of pic #6
Thanks Me like pictures.
OldSchool_IsCool - 9/8/2012 4:57 PM So cool! TY for getting up so early and sharing these pics with us hdrghack! They will be rolling through Michigan tomorrow, but I have to be on the other side of the state. GRRRRRR! I think I see the sidecar chase vehicle you mentioned in the background of pic #6
No problem I would prefer to be with them but........ no can do.
I grew up 1/2 mile from the south east side of Detroit Downriver, Yes that sidecar was fabricated two years ago for the first cannonball run by Gary Haynes it is hooked up to a BMW with leading link front end the bike platform is set up with tie down hooks spare gas cans,first aid and a couple of fire extwingshers that is Gary in the background by the guard rail
A couple more
Ther'll better weather on the left coast.
There is also coverage at http://www.wheelsthroughtime.com/motorcycle-cannonball/
Joyce - 9/7/2012 10:17 AM The 2012 Cannonball run starts today. You can follow along at http://www.motorcyclecannonball.com/ or find them on facebook. If you aren't familiar with it all motorcycles are pre 1930 and they will be traveling from East coast to West coast. There is an Austrailian sidecar rig entered with a wicker sidecar to watch for. Also as a side note Steve Woodward our membership guy is driving the support van for Darryl Richman and you can also follow his blog. Best of Luck to all riders.
Our past editor Steve Woodward in the top right side of the photo doing what I wish I could be doing right now.
Great Picture Chuck! I've been trying to follow along and it appears Daryl is in first place after 3 days. I need to check what happened today. What an interesting thing to follow.
Joyce,
Last that I knew Daryl was first in standings, and there are a couple more BMW's also holding top positions. it is amazing to see the amount of support vehicles involved in this event some of the trailers are nothing more than machine shops on wheels stocked with antique motorcycle parts while others are going it alone.
A guy by the name of Doug from Alabama rode his 1927 Indian sport scout to the start no trailer,support crew just himself with clothes,tools and minimal spare parts. He also a few years back rode his 1962 harley panhead chopper around the world.
This is the latest report as od this morning and Daryl still leads. Also Chris Knoop the only sidecar rider this time around is still trying but at the bottom yesterday he did finish with 157 miles highest amount since his start he only completed 57 I believe on saturday when I followed him.
Chuck
Bill Wood is following the cross-country Motorcycle Cannonball Endurance Run for machines made before 1930 from its beginning September 7 in Newburgh, New York, through its conclusion 3,950 miles later in San Francisco on September 23. Here's his latest report from the road:
OK, I have to admit it––this year's Cannonball Endurance Run has had an explosive start. And frankly, it's been pretty tough to keep up with it. The coast-to-coast ride for motorcycles made before 1930 passed the 1,000-mile point today, with nearly 3,000 miles still to go before it concludes in San Francisco on September 23.
The past two days have been as demanding as any we've ever faced as part of the sweep crew supporting the riders. On Saturday, a long, 320-mile course, heavy rain and a collection of traffic disasters in Cleveland combined to keep us on the road until after 9 p.m. Yesterday, a tight schedule to get everyone on a ferry ride across Lake Michigan resulted in the need to haul one rider around the south end of the lake, then up to the finish in Milwaukee, pushing our arrival time to after 11 p.m. Central Time, on a day that began on Eastern Time.
So today, when we were able to bring the sweep truck into the parking lot at the National Motorcycle Museum in Anamosa, Iowa, our overnight destination, by 7:15, it felt like mid-afternoon. We even made it in time to get a late serving of the dinner offered to riders by the Museum staff (thanks!). That schedule finally allows for a little bit of catching up on how this year's Cannonball is unfolding.
First, a bit of perspective on the pace of the event. In the original Cannonball two years ago, riders spent a full seven days on the road before crossing the Mississippi River. A little after midday today, 3½ days into the 2012 Cannonball, we crossed the mighty Mississippi in Dubuque, Iowa, on the way to Anamosa. That hectic pace is reflected in the scoring sheet, where the number of riders who have covered every mile of the course (1,044 so far) is now down to just 30.
That's out of 70 riders who actually showed up at the starting location in Newburgh, New York, last Friday, meaning that 40 riders have already had to give up some miles on at least one day. On the other hand, we're seeing the development of the same “never-say-die” attitude that marked the original Cannonball in 2010. In the past couple of days, two riders who recorded 0 miles Friday and Saturday managed to get their bikes road-worthy and have been able to join the competition in mid-Cannonball. Kelly Modlin finished 180 of today's 214 miles on his 1929 Harley, and Steve Simpson has been perfect for the past two days, picking up the full 300 miles yesterday and 214 today.
Today also offers an opportunity to answer a few questions about the way the ride works that have accumulated in these first days. First, as you'll see on the results sheet below, there are three riders listed near the bottom with a score of “NS” in the “Total” column. Those riders are participating in the Cannonball, but for various reasons aren't eligible for any awards. They include two riders, Dale Stoner and Paul Bessade, who are riding 1931 Hendersons, which may be classic motorcycles in every sense of the word, but don't meet the “pre-1930” rule for this year's ride.
So, while they're riding as hard as everyone else to accumulate miles, you won't see them listed in the standings when it comes to awards. One example of just how hard these “Not Scored” riders are working is revealed by Dale Stoner's day. Stoner suffered a flat rear tire at about 50 mph this morning. Fortunately, he was able to bring his Henderson to a halt without crashing, and he went on the sweep trailer. But when the ride stopped at a Harley dealership for lunch, Stoner got the bike off the trailer and repaired the rear tire, then completed all the afternoon miles. That meant he arrived last tonight, rolling in just at dusk. But he added 157 miles to his unofficial total.
The best news of the day, though, was that Bill Buckingham completed every mile on his 1927 Harley. That's truly remarkable, because less than 24 hours before today's stage started, Buckingham was involved in a crash that could have left both him and his bike in need of serious repairs. Buckingham was rolling through a small town in northern Ohio Sunday morning when an oncoming car driver turned left in front of his machine. He swerved, but couldn't avoid the crash, which wiped out the front fork and fender. Buckingham himself was transported to a local hospital by ambulance, but doctors determined that his injuries consisted on bumps and bruises, with no broken bones. It appeared that his Cannonball was over, though. But the Cannonball is an amazing event, and last night, Buckingham wandered through the support vehicles in the parking lot, coming up with a fork that would fit his machine. The owner loaned it to Buckingham for the rest of the ride, with the understanding that he would return it once he reaches San Francisco. So Buckingham and his crew worked overnight to repair the damage, and this morning, limping a little from a knee injury, he climbed aboard the Harley again and set off on the route. By late afternoon, he had racked up the full 214 miles for the day. Also enjoying a strong comeback today was Buck Carson, the rider who went off course, then suffered a mechanical failure on his 1927 BSA 500 single yesterday, causing him to miss the ferry to Milwaukee and earning him the longest ride in the sweep truck so far, from lower Michigan around the bottom of Lake Michigan and then up to Milwaukee. At just 20 years old, Carson is the youngest rider in this year's Cannonball. But he says he has 14 years experience working on old bikes, starting at age 6 with the important job of handing wrenches to his dad, Mike. Overnight, the Carsons worked out the ignition problems facing the BSA, and today, he got in 186 miles, boosting his total so far to 953. That puts Carson in the midst of a close, three-way battle for third place in Class I (for motorcycles displacing less than 750cc) with Claudio Femiano of Italy on a 1926 Sunbeam (964 miles) and Jim Crain on another 1927 BSA (948 miles). At this point, the smallest Cannonball class is still led by Darryl Richman, who has completed a perfect 1,044 miles on his 1928 BMW. But everyone is wondering how these smaller machines will handle the challenges ahead, particularly the high passes in the Rocky Mountains. For now, though, Richman holds onto the overall lead in the Cannonball standings, thanks to a scoring system that awards ties first to the rider in the lowest class, then to the rider on the oldest motorcycle and finally, if a tie still exists, to the oldest rider. That scoring system also means that second, third and fourth places are being held by riders who are veterans of the 2010 Cannonball. Brad Wilmarth, who scored the overall victory back then on his 1913 Excelsior, is on the same machine this year, as are Joe Gardella (1914 Harley) and Steve Barber (1915 Harley). The age of those bikes gives those riders an edge over other competitors in Class II (for motorcycling displacing 750cc to 1,000cc). And although Barber's '15 Harley would appear to have the advantage of a three-speed transmission while Wilmarth and Gardella are on single-speed bikes, Steve says he's given himself a bit of a handicap to even the odds: “I'm the only guy here on a 2010 Cannonball bike that hasn't been apart since it raced two years ago!” he says. The fourth rider competing on an older, 2010 Cannonball machine is Shinya Kimura, whose 1915 Indian was out of action with a mechanical problem yesterday, bu
t came back strong to finish all 214 miles today, giving him a total of 694 miles so far. Meanwhile, the standings in Class III (for motorcycles over 1,000cc) nearly saw a major shakeup today when the Henderson pack being led by famed engine builder Mark Hill pulled over just one mile into the course when Steve MacDonald's bike coasted to a stop. It turned out that the jerking suffered by the drive chain over bumpy roads in Ohio and Michigan had sheared the key on the transmission sprocket. The entire Henderson group was stopped for more than an hour, but in the end, everything worked out well. Since the group hadn't even left Milwaukee, Hill was able to locate an auto body shop just a block away where he made repairs and got MacDonald back on course. In the end, the entire group maintained their perfect scores as Hill continued his one-man mission to demonstrate the superiority of the Henderson four-cylinder design over the Harley twins of the '20s. Tomorrow looks like another good day for Cannonball competitors. The 279-mile course takes us from Anamosa to Spirit Lake, Iowa, home of the plant where Victory is now turning out motorcycles under the resurrected Indian name. Clear skies are forecast, although temperatures are expected to edge into the 90s and high winds could hurt the performance of some of the smaller, Class I bikes.–Bill Wood
Message from Steve
We are all wiped out. We think we have a handle on the gasket issue, but we broke a piston today in Yellowstone. It was 30 degrees at the time. We tried fixing it by replacing the piston in the existing cylinder, but it didn't work. Tomorrow we will miss the stage from Jackson to Mountain Home. We will trailer to Mountain Home and then spend the afternoon replacing both cylinders with new(er) ones and new(er) pistons. Then Darryl will have to spend 100 miles on break in so we will be ready for the Mountain Home to Burns stage. The "crew" (Don Cameron and me) have decided we will be busy in a couple of years if Darryl wants to do it again! 😉
