Laura Klock: Day 8 - Motorcycle Cannonball Run

LAURA ON THE ROAD WITH TEAM EFFIE – “Cris & Pat’s Anniversary, Ozark National Forest and MILES FOR MATT (Day 8 - September 18)”:

DAY 8 - CRIS AT THE START OF DAY 8

The Motorcycle Cannonball spans 17 days over 3,294 miles and concludes in Santa Monica, CA on September 26 with entrants from all around the world. Today is Day 8 - Hot Springs, Arkansas to Fort Smith, Arkansas…a mere 145 miles or so, which probably seemed like a piece of cake to the riders after averaging close to 200 miles a day previous. Truly what it should be called is “shake down day” after the day of “rest” which involved tweaking, tightening and a whole lot of maintenance to prepare for days 9 and 10, which will be the longest days of the entire trip. While much of the terrain is straight and flat, it will surely bump this test of endurance up to the next level for rider and machine. It’s hot out here, and tomorrow riders face 276 miles that will take them from here in Fort Smith, Arkansas to Lawton, Oklahoma. Day 10 is even longer. From Lawton to Clovis, New Mexico is some 293 miles. Effie and Cris are ready for the challenge, but having never traveled this road before, we really don’t know what the distance and the heat will do to either our rider or bike. The Team Effie Van will be running sweep again tomorrow, so we may be challenged as well.

Today is Cris and Pat’s Anniversary! They started their day with the crowd singing to them! I think it’s safe to say it’s an anniversary that will be in their top 10 of the best anniversaries. One of the most unique anyway right? That probably sounds strange to some, but to be a part of what we are doing, and for them to understand what they are doing together as a couple on this Anniversary, well, I say that’s pretty special and will be hard to duplicate or to ever forget.

DAY 8 - HAPPY ANNIVERSARY Cris and Pat

DAY 8 - THE CROWD OUTSIDE THE HOTEL AT THE STARTING LINE OF DAY 8. They sang to Cris and Pat for their Anniversary today

Effie started on the first kick this morning. This had us feeling pretty good right away because she got her new pushrods and primary chain yesterday, along with a whole bunch of TLC and extra care. Cris took off with riding buddy Jim Petty, #55, back with her after finding needed parts for his Indian yesterday. Things were looking real good! And then I got a text. The pushrod had loosened up again. Are we going to have a repeat of day 7?

Off we went. We are sweeper again today and were bringing up the rear, so were allowed to stop. Thankfully, we were able to make the repair roadside! JOE Sparrow (I called him Tom in my last post sorry!) pulled in once again and assisted. I’ll include the roadside photo, but if you’ve been following these notes at all, it looks pretty familiar huh – whether it’s roadside assistance on Effie or another rider’s bike, we’ve sure had some experiences on the sides of the back roads of America.

DAY 8 - Roadside Assistance. A familiar site on the Cannonball. We were able to Effie back up and running!

The adjustment held. Apparently Effie just needed a quick break and one more hug…but she and Cris ran like a pros the rest of the day! Because she had fallen to the back of the pack due to the repair time, we got to ride closer today and admire as she maneuvered that 1915 through some beautiful roads with wide sweeping turns. Unfortunately, Jim had trouble that he wasn’t able to fix on the road today. We sure hope to see him tomorrow. This left Cris riding alone, but she had conquered that fear on Day 6, and now it seemed like it didn’t bother her one bit.

We enjoyed real home cooking for Lunch at the Danville, AR community center, because we made up time and got there in time to eat today! Sure was welcome after being on the road for as long as we have been. Effie and Cris cooled down a bit (it’s hot here again today! 95+) and took off to face going over Mount Magazine. It was funny because one of the locals said the mountain was pretty steep…and the roll chart map said “steep climb for 8 miles, 16 mile descent”…yet Cris had “no problem!” attitude because Effie was running so good. That was so reassuring! They TAMED that mountain – it was hardly a challenge for Effie and Cris at all. Pat was pretty proud of his wife. What special moments to share on their anniversary.

I’ve continued to be the navigator and am happy to say that we didn’t get lost today. Pat drove, giving Athena a much needed break, which she took full advantage of and slept. Since the distance shorter today, and it’s Saturday, there were a lot of bikes out on the road. Sure was cool to be greeted everywhere we went and to see people stopped at the pullouts on Arkansas Scenic Byway 309, taking pictures, waving, honking as the Cannonballers rolled by. Those little moments make me smile and remind me how blessed I am to have the opportunity to be a part of this.

And that warm fuzzy feeling continued as we rolled into Old Fort Harley Davidson. There were several hundred people there, just waiting for them to arrive. An announcer was calling out their names as they passed the finish line that marked the end of Day 8. And Old Fort was kind enough to open up their service area to the riders that needed tools and space to make the more major repairs. This has been a common theme…people helping people reach a goal. It helps them to feel like they are a part of this coast to coast ride. Absolutely they are. I’d even say that for some it wouldn’t be possible WITHOUT the generosity of the people we’ve met along the way sharing their time, tools, talent and service areas.

DAY 8 - Old Fort Harley Davidson opens the service department for the Cannonballers to use to make repairs

Be sure to go to the http://www.motorcyclecannonball.com/ site and read Felicia’s Ride Reports. She’s a great writer and it’s a great place for you to see the stats and learn more about the other riders in the event also. Buzz Kanter of American Iron Magazine is one of the riders, but he’s also been doing some reporting. There’s video about #44 Jon Szalay. Jon’s one of those guys in this event that just doesn’t give up. He’s been inspiring to watch. He has a lathe in the back of his van! Watch the video and you’ll know what I mean. I did see #44 bike on the trailer today, but when we saw him at the lunch stop, he knew what he needed to fix, and looked excited to have that information from riding for a bit this morning.. I’m sure we will see him out there tomorrow.

Today, Buzz actually caught Cris for a few words, and he recaps the bikes that completed Day 8.

As we traveled through the Ozark National Forest, which covers 1.2 million acres, mostly in the Ozark Mountains of Northern Arkansas, and over Mount Magazine, which is the tallest mountain in the State of Arkansas, (had to get some trivia in there for you!) I was once again struck with that sense of wanting to take a mental picture and hoping that I will never forget all that I am seeing and experiencing out here on the road. I hope that I can open the big scrapbook of the roads I’ve traveled some day, with my grandchildren or great-grandchildren on my lap, and share the stories in hopes that they too will go out and explore! See the world. Meet people. Challenge themselves. Walk through the doors of opportunity even if it seems impossible to do so at the time or even if they’re afraid. I’ve watched Cris overcome fears on this journey and step out of her comfort zone. I’ve watched Athena grow in confidence in herself, and gain the respect of some of the vintage industries’ greats. I’ve learned a lot about myself, about old bikes, about people in general and it’s so refreshing to see people just encouraging and helping each other. Not feeling bad that they aren’t the rider or the one even making the journey, but just SHARING in it in any way shape or form even if it’s serving lunch, or riding with the group for a few miles, or waving and honking as a rider goes by, or the guy that has spare parts out on his farm that offers them up for free to a team that is broke down, AND lets them use his tools, or reading about it and telling someone else. Or reading about it and looking within, finding inspiration and that little bit of “I can do it!” in them too. Today at lunch Pat spoke with one of the women serving and she said that being a part of this was her husband’s dream, and they started organizing that lunch stop today. He passed away before today came, but she hung in there and continued because it’s something that meant so much to him. She told Pat she was so glad she did!

There’s stories like that everywhere. We just need to share them with each other. Talk about the roads you’ve traveled.

OH – I can’t believe I didn’t write this sooner. Bill Nugent, #27, is riding his 1913 Sears, which is the same year and kind of bike that Matt Olsen, #85, was riding when he crashed. Actually Bill had helped Matt during the build of his Sears. Bill will be running Matt’s number next to his on his Sears for the rest of the event and had the idea of “MILES FOR MATT”. We would like to get people to pledge .25, .50, even 1.00 per mile to a fund that will help Matt get back on his Sears. If you’re interested, please facebook me. Bill asked if I would help get people involved. Of course I will. Matt is a fellow South Dakotan, and very special to all of us. I know personally how much this event meant to him and how hard he worked to get here. His trip wasn’t meant to be this time, but we sure can help him get back on his feet. Who knows…maybe we will see him at the finish line?

More tomorrow. Wish us well for the first really long day…Day 9!
(On a final note…the Merkel made it half way under its own power today!)