Day 7 of the Motorcycle Cannonball began at the Isle of Capri casino/hotel in Lula, Mississippi and ended in the really hot (99 degrees) Hot Springs, Arkansas. Another close to 200 mile day. Cris and Effie took off like another other day, full of energy and ready to face the open road. As soon as she was gone we went about our normal routine as well. Go get our luggage, load it into the Team Effie van, wait for the last bike to leave (we are running as a sweeper again today), and head out on the same route as the bikes.
Beginning of Day 7! From Lula, Mississippi to Hot Springs, Arkansas. Each morning I tape and tie 2 leather gloves around Cris' leg to protect her from the heat of Effie's rear cylinder.
Athena and I were in the hotel room gathering our things when I received the text. Effie's pushrod came loose. Cris was about 20 miles out on course. So we headed out, scheming in the van on the way, planning our strategy. Effie's valves were adjusted the night before...so who knows, maybe a bolt wasn't tight enough, we couldn't really speculate until we saw it. Pat rode on with a different support crew today so he could get to the hotel sooner. We waited to text him until we had more information.
We came up on Effie and Cris and another sweeper, Mondo. If you've read the updates you might remember that Mondo crashed his sweeper bike and sidecar the day we ended at Coker Tires. Well, they stayed up until the wee hours of the morning and straightened and welded, borrowed a tire and wheel and go it rolling again. That's the power of giving up not being an option. Anyway, he was gracious enough to stay with Cris until we arrived. The motorcycle sweep rigs are there to assist and get rider and bike off the highway to a safe place to work. Then they can help make repairs.
When the pushrod came loose it slapped against the fins of the head and was damaged, but that wasn't so bad. We could work with that. The bad part was it bent down in the threads where it needed to be tightened up, and therefore, wouldn't tighten up. Tom Sparrow - he's kind of one of the legends on this ride - stopped by and suggested we try adding a nut so we could tighten on a different part of the thread. We didn't have a nut that matched, so put some washers in there. This worked, and Cris and Effie took off, however, it hadn't left enough thread to hold tight for very long. Another 10 miles down the road we found her and Effie again. We had to load them up.
Effie on Day 7, riding in the van with the girls with a bent pushrod. Oh well. She enjoyed her girl time and we enjoyed having her. She just needed a break to rest up for the 290 miles days coming soon!
Note to self. On a 95 year old motorcycle it is customary and perfectly acceptable to carry spare pushrods in your saddlebag, along with the tape and wire, gas, and oil, first aid kit, trail mix, water, and sunscreen.
When something like this happens you have a few choices. You can get upset and let the rest of your day be wrecked, or you can celebrate the fact that it just happened to be our van that was sweeping, our van that loaded her (we don't follow her close when we are sweeping and we help ALL the riders) and enjoy the time we now get together that we wouldn't have gotten otherwise. Effie sure went to a lot of trouble to spend some time in the van with the girls.
We traveled on to Stuttgart Arkansas which was the lunch stop - but we were too late for lunch. Here I did get to finally witness something I'd been hoping to see though. The German lady, Katrin, was there and about to take off. Now, I've heard this take off, which she has to do every time she stops the bike, is like poetry, ballet, a bird taking flight, but I hadn't seen it yet. Every description I heard was true. It was beautiful. I took a video of it and will try to upload under my videos today.
The lunch was hosted by the Stuttgart Chamber so Athena asked them what's a good local place to eat. They told her the Sportsman's Drive in. It's fun when you're in a small town to find out where the locals eat - and trust me, it's not every day out here that we get to have lunch. We drove up to the place and it looked, honestly, scary. Cris and I agreed quickly, "no way", but Athena said "come on, let's be adventurous." We were ok with that, as long as SHE WENT IN FIRST. So she did. She went in, checked it out and waved us in. We had some of the best burgers we've ever had. Thank you Athena for your fearless spirit.
The Team Effie Van in front of the Sportsman's Drive-In in Stuttgart, Arkansas
Written by a cow maybe? At the Sportsman's Drive-In in Stuttgart, Arkansas.
Further down the road we found our friend #39 David Bettencourt loaded on the trailer. What a bummer. He has not missed one mile so far on this journey. I've been cutting, rolling and taping David's roll charts each day for him, so when you see a friend on the trailer, your heart goes out to them. He was pretty sure it was his condenser and there wasn't much he could do about that roadside.
#39 Dave Bettencourt and our own Cris Sommer Simmons - both their bikes were loaded today. Riders who are not able to make repairs roadside have their bikes loaded into a sweeper vehicle. They get points for the miles they traveled until the breakdown
A little further down the road we found Jerry Weiland and Tim Yeates trying to push and pull behind the sidecar start #82 Paul Ousey on his 1913 single. Paul's been fun to talk to on this trip because he's so energetic and these guys on the singles, they pedal and pedal. When their bikes get under 15 mph, they pedal. To start them, they pedal. Anyway, he looked at me and said "I ain't got any more pedal left in me!" It was HOT out and he was drenched in sweat. We went up under a gas station canopy and took a look. Athena had an idea and it was spot on. Check his magneto. Sure enough it was sticking. After some emery board cleaning (of course we had emery boards in the Team Effie van - we are the only all woman team!!), Paul pedaled Mable again, and she started! He was able to finish! Now THAT is what is cool about being a sweeper. You're hot, sweaty, tired, and it can be frustrating, but when you can help in any small way even if it's just handing that rider a bottle of water or giving them a hug, it's all worth it...you are PART OF THE TEAM.
Athena of Team Effie and other sweepers helping #82 Paul Ousey with his 1913 roadside.
There's a video on the front of the http://www.motorcyclecannonball.com/ website today where Dale Walksler describes 2 tire failures that happened to his buddy Wayne Stanfield #3, one sending him off into the ditch. And Buzz describing that the Hot in Hot Springs is because its 99 degrees here. Vince Martinico also had a tire blow out today. We stopped to assist and there was a crew already working to replace it on the side of the road. Oh, and Buddy Stubbs, darn it, had to load up again, but he's sure chipping away at the miles. The miles traveled are ultimately what will determine the winner, but if you asked any one of these riders, I'm sure you'd hear...just finishing is winning!!
#53 Vince Martinico and sweeper help changing a tire on Day 7
We finished at the Convention Center in Hot Springs, Arkansas and tomorrow is the one and only rest day on this whole journey. So, to have a problem on day 7, well, it's actually to best day to have a problem if you could pick a best day. All day Friday to do repairs, and a little extra time for REST and recovery for bikes and riders. At the convention center they allowed us to pull our vehicles and bikes right in so we get to work inside in the air conditioning for a change. That's pretty darn cool. HaHa. The public will be able to walk around to meet the riders and see the bikes. The welcome that we have received at each of these towns is really heartwarming. It adds to the whole feeling of camaraderie around this historic event. Wouldn't it be cool in life if at the end of every day, there were people waiting there cheering, and clapping and truly wanting to hear about your days accomplishments and struggles? Some sort of life lesson in that I think.
I'm going to let the photos tell the rest of the day 7 story.
Oh - I did look up some history on Hot Springs and I found that the water in the hot springs comes from rainwater that fell 4,00 years ago. It percolated deep into the earth, where it became superheated before rising and emerging from the area's 47 hot springs at 147 degrees Fahrenheit and nearly pure. While no one knows when the first human visitors came to what is now Hot Springs, authorities believe Native Americans were using the springs as a gathering spot as long as 10,000 years ago. The Native Americans called the area "the valley of the vapors", a place of peace where various tribes could put aside their differences and gather to enjoy the relaxation and rejuvenation of the springs. Oddly enough, this concept of Hot Springs as "neutral ground" was echoed in the 1930's when mobsters from Chicago, New York and Los Angeles came to Hot Springs to get along and get away from it all. (I got all that from the Hot Springs guest guide in the hotel room!)
Appropriate to be here on a rest day I guess.
Athena and I with Bean're at the beginning of day 7 in Lula, Mississippi
Me and Jeff Decker. Jeff is riding today, day 7! He's had a run of challenges - but as with all the riders here, has the spirit and doesn't quit. Jeff is #21 and according to the stats, he finished Day 7!
#98, Sean Brayton, is trying a WHEELCHAIR TIRE out on the back of his 1911 Indian single cylinder today.
Oh the Flying Merkel. I have a special place in my heart for this bike and rider. #25 Edward Zolanski. Every morning he's out there thinking today he will ride...every night working on the merkel. He's got 113 miles under his belt, but he doesn't give up!
Bean're with some new glasses that Athena found for him today in Stuttgart, Arkansas, in the bathroom at the Sportsman’s Drive In
No comments:
Post a Comment