By now you realize that the event is over!  The 2014 Motorcycle Cannonball Endurance Run is history!  The event was won by Hans Coertse on a 1924 Indian Scout.  Congrats go out to him! 

HOWEVER, Steve Rinker #7 on a 1936 Indian Chief named Rose,  is our winner back home!  He rode the entire mileage of the event and we are so very proud of his accomplishment.  Here's a picture of him crossing the finish line in Tacoma, Washington!

THE FINISH IN TACOMA!

Here are some other pictures of the event over the last two days that Steve sent me.  I was out of town celebrating our grandsons, Landon and Nolan's 1st birthday, so I didn't get to post until I came home!

Speeder friends from California - Buck & Jen     Way awesome to see them in Nevada!

 

 

 

Start up heading out of Nevada and into Idaho

  

 

 

 

Great to see friends, Mike & Linda McCall in Lewiston, Idaho!

Craig signing Steve a shirt

A pink HD shirt for Steve, oh my!

 

 

 The event is over, but the friends, memories and accomplishment will last a lifetime! Thanks to Lonnie and his crew that put on this event!  A job well done once again!  Countdown to 2016 begins........

Bonneville - One Word Says It All

Steve's 1936 Indian, Rose, on the Bonneville Salt Flats -- Sept 17, 2014

             Today's ride was for our grandsons, Landon and Nolan, who turned 1 today!
                                            They bring out the best in our family! 

We've been to the Bonneville Salt Flats before, on our way to The Great Race, Harley vs. Indian in California with our Indians,  and then 3 month old grandson, Karson.  However, we didn't unload our bikes that day.  But, we did make sure that Karson had his hands in the sand to touch a little history!   Today's visit with one of our Indians actually on the salt flats has been inspirational to Steve, I'm sure,  to say the least.  I don't know how many times we've watched the "World's Fastest Indian" movie, but I do know that when it premiered in Lexington, KY at the downtown Kentucky Grand Theatre, we watched it 14 times that weekend as we had some of our Indians on display for its premier.  At the time, our sons, Justin and Jared, were attending the University of Kentucky and took care of all the arrangements for it.  It was an awesome time sharing history with everyone about Indian Motorcycles.

Today's ride went from Springville, Utah to the Bonneville Salt Flats to end in Elko, Nevada for a total of 298 miles.  3012 miles total to date.  Only 28 riders have rode all the miles as of this evening and Steve is one of them!  Unfortunately,  Steve brought Rose in this evening scoring the full mileage for today alone.  His riding partner, Ziggy, was left at Bonneville with a second flat tire for the day!  Tough break for Ziggy and tough decision for Steve to leave him and ride on.  Thursday will be a new day!

Thanks go out to 5th Gear Powersports for the hosted dinner this evening!  Tomorrow's ride will take them 257 miles from Elko, Nevada to Meridian, Idaho.  Ride hard!

Thanks to all the photographers!

A special thanks to all the photographers who ride the cannonball catching the moments in time with all the Cannonball riders.  It's fun to scour the facebook page, the AMCA website, and the Motorcycle Cannonball webpage to catch a glimpse of Steve's journey.  Thanks to all!

Where The Rubber Meets The Road

Well, at the end of Stage 11 today, Steve has decided to go ahead and change out Rose's front tire.  It is still showing abnormal tire wear and it's only a matter of time  There are only 5 more days to go to the Grand Finish, so tonight Rose got a new tire on the front!

           

They ride to the Bonneville Salt Flats tomorrow and will stop for a panoramic picture. Tomorrow's stage will be 298 miles and will end at 5th Gear Powersports in Elko, Nevada.




As I finish this up and Steve calls, he decides to walk out to the motorcycle trailer and sit while talking to me.  Just as he starts telling me about his evening, the front tire blows on Rose.  Yes, the tire he just put on in these pictures.  So luck was on his side that he went out to the trailer to talk to me.  Needless to say our conversation was finished as he had to go to work to get ready for the morning, and fix the flat he got in the trailer just now!    Talk to you tomorrow!

My Girl, Rose

                       





         
























                                             Just love this picture that Michael Lichter caught of Steve and
                                                 his 1936 Indian Chief -- ROSE, near Green River, Utah,
                                                    on the 2014 Motorcycle Cannonball Endurance Run.
                                                                             THANKS!

Things Are Starting To Get A Little Crazy

This is the picture that Steve texted this evening after completing all of the miles in Stage 11, all 289 miles today, to let me know that he was in!!!! They were getting ready for the hosted dinner and   Parc Ferme' at Legends Vintage Motorcycles in Springville, Utah. Thanks to them for tonight's meal.  Also, the guys had a hosted pit stop today at Jeff Decker Studio.  Thanks to Jeff and his crew!

Here's some random pictures that I've been sent in the last two days.....

Good morning Utah

  Good morning, Utah!   Steve and Ziggy are ready to take on Utah today as they leave Grand Junction, Colorado and head to Springville, Utah for a total of 278 miles today.  As of yesterday, they have ridden all 2,425 miles to date and are in the top elite group of only 32 riders who have accomplished this task on the 2014 Motorcycle Cannonball Endurance Run!  

Here are some views of the morning ride

Then they stopped at lunch and spied a fruit stand and couldn't pass up the cantelope and watermelon....only problem - how to haul it.   A little duct tape and problem solved

 Here are some views from the afternoon's ride........

If you can't run with the big dogs (or should I say knuckleheads).....

Steve says that he and Ziggy triumphed Loveland Pass at 11,990 feet.   With no guardrail, developing the shakes in  the cool, no cold air,  and the realization that those drops were 1-2,000 feet or more to the bottom, once they got to the top with no problem and riding like the wind, the pucker factor rating of about 7 (according to Steve) hit and they SLOWLY worked their way off the mountain and into Grand Junction, Colorado.    They did it!!!!  Others, didn't even try and opted to trailer their bikes over the mountain just to save their bikes for the days to come instead of torturing their bikes with the climb.

He says they were minding their own business and were on a piece of interstate reminiscing about the climb when they were passed like they were tied to a stump.  Apparently, some of the '36 Harleys (Knucklehead boys) have formed a pack of sorts and they've been hassling (in good fun) the '36 Indians about just "what they got"...... HA!  They found out on Monday.   Steve laughs as he tells the story that the knuckleheads rolled by, lined up across the highway and proceeded to fist pump each other looking like the wave at a stadium.  He couldn't take it and caught the one on the edge and proceeded to try to fist pump him and nearly scared him right off his bike.  I would liked to have seen that!  Anyway, "Alpha" Carl seemed to take it up and proceeded to "show him what his knucklehead had" and Steve hung right with him and then proceeded to show him what the old hillbilly from West Virginia had in his beautiful Rose!  At the next gas station when the knucklehead boys finally rolled in, Carl wanted to know just what Rose had!  Guess they won't be making fun of the Indians anymore!

Here are a few pictures of the tire change from yesterday on Ziggy's bike in the 7-11 parking lot.  At least they were in town when they had to make the change!

At Leadville, Colorado for the lunch stop

Rolling into Grand Junction, Colorado on Monday evening

Thanks to the Elks Lodge in Leadville, Colorado for the lunch stop on Monday and then thanks to the Grand Junction Harley-Davidson in Grand Junction, Colorado for hosting the supper on Monday!

Views from the Road

Pit crew looks a little whipped this evening!

Steve and Ziggy are still in the count of the 41 who have completed all the mileage again. Today's fun included riding through the Garden of the Gods in Colorado Springs, Pike's Peak, the Rocky Mountain Motorcycle Museum and the David Uhl Studios to end the day, along with the start of the mountain views!  Thanks to both the Rocky Mountain Motorcycle Museum and David Uhl Studios for feeding the masses!

Thankfully, both problems today were fixable enroute with parts that were carried with them.  Ziggy had a flat tire, but he had a tube.  So they broke down the tire, installed the tube and got it up and running again.  However, the time the repair took let them arrive just as lunch was finishing up, so onward they rode.  Then Steve fried a battery some how.  He was carrying a spare, so they swapped it out and were "on the road again."  They went through the bikes this evening and are ready for the run tomorrow. 

Stage 10 is 278 miles and will take them from Golden, Colorado over Loveland Pass to finish the day at Grand Junction, Colorado.  They have a lunch stop hosted by the Elks Lodge in Leadville, Colorado and the hosted dinner will be provided by the Grand Junction Harley Davidson!

Ride into the mountains and stay safe Cannonball riders!

Pike's Peak almost into view

 L-R:  Dottie, Steve, and then Ziggy's bikes on display in  Burlington, Colorado on Saturday evening  As of Saturday evening at the end of Stage 8, these are three of the only 41 bikes left that have endured ALL THE MILES in this Endurance Race!  Go Indians!

.Getting the bikes warmed up Sunday morning  for today's ride across the prairie and into Colorado Springs for a lunch stop at the Rocky Mountain Motorcycle Museum.  When I talked with Steve this morning he said that the bikes were running "Sweeeeet!"  The cool air and gorgeous weather are a much needed moral booster today after the previous days of riding.  They were looking forward to seeing Pike's Peak!

Here they are at the start of today's ride.  Little did they know that Ziggy would get a flat tire today and Steve would end up with a bad battery.  They are currently working on the bikes at of 9 pm EST this evening and I will post later or in the morning more news of today's run.  However, both bikes did make the full mileage again today.  HURRAY!

Looking for the sun

The guys left this morning at 7:30 am from Junction City, Kansas after a day of rest to travel the 311 miles, the longest yet, to arrive in Burlington, Colorado this evening.  It was a brisk 36 degrees and everyone was bundled up as they rode into the fog.

They stayed hidden in the heavy fog until about 10:30 before the sun finally pushed its way through and the riders enjoyed a cool journey across the plains into Colorado.

They arrived at the Old Town Museum, who hosted this evening's meal.  Thanks to the fine folks in Burlington, Colorado!  After the evening's event was over, Steve worked on replacing the points in Rose and gave her a once over.  He says that the day of rest has given her a chance to seat in her rings and she's getting a little hard to start.  However, once she's up and running, they can ride like the wind and says she's running absolutely great!  He and Ziggy completed all of today's mileage and are looking forward to tomorrow's ride.  They will head to Colorado Springs, Colorado for a hosted lunch at the Rocky Mountain Motorcycle Museum and then finish the day at Golden, Colorado where David Uhl Studios will host the dinner for the evening.  The mileage for tomorrow will be 249 miles. 

All Repairs Made Here!

Today was the rest, aka as "Fix it while you can" day on the Cannonball.  It also marks the last of the flat land. They will start their ascent into the Rockies over the next 9 days before ending up in Tacoma,Washington on Sunday, September 21st.


Steve texted this picture with the caption, "All repairs made here!"  Looking at it, I would say so.  They are not his boots, so I don't know whose boots are getting an overhaul, but I assume that they need it as much as some of the bikes.  LOL


Ziggy and Steve serviced their bikes and resolved any minor issues.  Steve is still looking at his odd tire wear, but is going to hold off changing out the front tire until he absolutely has to.  However, he's got one ready to go!  He checked into his front forks and discovered that he was a neck bearing short, it is in the frame rolling around somewhere.  (being that I helped him put it together, I will take the hit on that one. HA!) He added another bearing, made sure it didn't fall into the frame, and put it back together.

Here's Dick holding the handle bars

Then Steve worked on Dottie's bike.  He serviced it, adjusted the valves and gave it a once over.  She's got some racket in the motor, so Steve fears she's only got a couple more good days with it, but is hoping it holds out longer.


Even on their day off, it rained and was cold.  Dick kept the group in hot chocolate all day and they were headed out for a meal at the local Ryan's Steakhouse.

Scores for the end of Stage 7 show the count is down to 43 with full mileage for all seven stages.  The guys are settling in for a good night's rest and some heat tonight before they head out at 7:45 a.m CST in the morning for their longest day of the race, a total of 311 miles.  They will leave Junction City, Kansas and end up in Burlington, Colorado.  Snuggle up guys and get ready for the cold!

  Here's Michael Lichner's panoramic photo of the start.  Can't wait to get one for the shop!