Day 12 - Motorcycle Cannonball Run

LAURA ON THE ROAD WITH TEAM EFFIE – “A Ducky Day” (Day 12 - September 22):

DAY 12 - JUST DUCKY! Ducky is our little yellow traveling companion and rides right on the dash of the Team Effie Van. Today Ducky was especially excited because this is his type of weather! The riders didn't agree, but he cherished the rain anyway. Quack

I've never traveled down Historic Route 66, so I was excited about that today as we started out. We are headed from Albuquerque, NM, to Gallup, NM. The weather started out cool, which is positive, but as we traveled, we headed right into rain. Not fun for the riders of really really old bikes that have total loss systems that dump oil onto chains...well, they get oil everywhere actually. Mix that with some rain water, and you're creating a surface much like a skating rink. Please Lord keep everyone safe today.

DAY 12 - We are on the home stretch and still putt putt putting along.

We came up on the Thompson Brothers right away. Magneto trouble. But they had it covered, so we moved on. Next stop, Dieter Eckel, #32, with a completely broken front fork. It snapped on him and he went down. He was ok thank God, but his bike was trailer bound. As we continued on the rain persisted and when we came up on the lunch stop, most of the riders were gathered there. Using the same creativity they use to hold their bikes together, they were fashioning rain gear from garbage bags, and plastic covers for parts that didn't work well with water in them. Determined to carry on.

DAY 12 - Second Team Effie Van sweeper stop of the day. Unfortunately #32, one of the Germans, Dieter Eckel's front forks simply broke. Dieter did go down, but was not hurt. They measured the skid and it was I think I heard 160'? I asked him if he was ok, and he said "just a few bruises". Katrin had to go on without him and she finished her day. Tonight they were searching for material to weld into the forks to get him up and running again. Quit? No way. Not in the vocabulary of the riders here.

The group was waiting to hear about a route change. Seems there was some road construction started that wasn't started when the route was mapped out. Then the re-route ended up being a road that was closed. So, ultimately, the riders had to be routed to the interstate, which is an endurance challenge in and of itself. But everyone made it in safe and sound, trailered or under their own power, all are accounted for.

Effie complained a little about the altitude and the water and did some spitting and sputtering today, but wouldn't you? We cut her some slack, and the team made some changes and adjustments, and prayed for clear skies tomorrow so Effie can get back out there and run like the wind, carrying Cris closer to the finish line. Cris and Effie are holding strong at #22 in the rankings with 2,146 miles officially logged. From the beginning we've stated a finish in Santa Monica is a win, and now that we are getting close to that finish, each day we just hold tight and keep running.

Buzz Kanter didn't get to ride today due to a motor issue, neither did Bill Nugent. When they heard of the road conditions and the rain slick surfaces, I think they felt a little better about not being out there if you can feel better about it. Buddy wasn't running either, but we expect to see all of these riders out there again tomorrow. Jim Petty slipped on a cattle guard and tipped, but picked his bike up and kept going, only to get a flat tire a little further down the road. Cris and Effie were riding with him and I'm sure could feel his pain as Effie had a rear go flat just a few days ago. Not much you can do but get it back to camp and fix it up for the next day. Just glad he was ok!

DAY 12 - Jim Petty #55 head a rear tire blow out today and had to be hauled in. So what do you do when you've worked for 2 full days to get your bike back on the road, and then once you do, your rear tire blows you? If you are a rider in the Motorcycle Cannonball, you FIX IT and get ready to ride again tomorrow!

One of Athena's favorite movies is CARS, so she shared some of that with me as we traveled down Route 66. She's been sure a great team member. Just imagine how well two women have to be able to get along to not have killed each other by now which is the 14th day we've been on the road, together, in the van, sharing rooms. She's truly my sister from another mother and we are both so proud of Cris and honored to just be here. There are no coincidences. I think we've solved most of the problems of the world...so if you have any questions, just let us know. hahahaha kidding.

I did a radio interview today from the somewhere along the road that will be posted on http://www.callingallsportssd.com/ if you're interested. It's always so fun to share the stories of the adventures we've been blessed with.

So, as the end of this journey nears, I'm wondering what it's going to be like to not navigate through my day with the roll chart maps and atlas in hand. I hope my family, friends, and employees will cut me a break when I return as I wonder around aimlessly trying to get re-adjusted to the life I left a few weeks ago. When I wake up in the morning and start to pack my suitcase to move to the next stop, I hope my husband will be gentle and say honey, you're home now you can stay here again tonight. :) I miss home and my husband and family and my pets for sure. Yet, to miss this would be to miss a trip of a lifetime and I think what I bring back with me will only make home even better and more cherished!

DAY 12 - Ok - I'm all for shameless plugs, but I don't think I could have planned this Klock Werks logo placement even if I tried.

DAY 12 - Riders today faced rain, rough roads, closed roads, re-routing because of the closed road, and then re-routing again, to the interstate, yet, you still see this. Sean Brayton #98 and Jeff Decker #21 have faced mechanical difficulties, injuries, tire issues..and they are still smiling, still finding creative ways to have fun..and here, creative ways to stay dry and warm!

DAY 12 - In the rain, towards the end of the day, on a very rough road, we found #36 Pete Young and his 1913 Premiere. If you've read any of my notes of the journey, you know that Pete and the Premiere are on our list of faves. Pete continued to try to get his bike running as the rain began to fall harder. We were last bike and last sweeper out on course. I got a call from Norm and he told me we had to load Pete in the van because they were closing the course for the day due to conditions. Pete looked at me as I told him, and said "let me try one more thing..." We've seen this out here. It's a look of I can't stop trying. It's a look of I know I can figure this out. It's a look of I don't want to fail. But nothing out here is a failure, that's for sure. We had to load Pete up...and we ended up having a nice conversation with him in the van that may not have happened otherwise. Everything is for a reason, and today we were supposed to spend some time with Pete and the Premiere. Athena is saving up money to buy it from him. She's smitten with the Premiere :)

DAY 12 - This was really something special to see today. Wayne Stansfield #3, who's held one the of the top spots throughout the motorcycle cannonball had a helper today. Willa Rodencal, one of Bill's daughters, in eager to help and learn.

DAY 12 - End of a long weird day. Ok for some, not so ok for others. At the end of the day, we all shared the shelter of the hotel entry as we did our maintenance to prepare the bikes for another day!