Class II winner Bradford Wilmarth, whose biggest setback was a leaking fuel tank on his 1913 Excelsior Twin that was easily repaired in Tennessee.

Cannonball 2010 is in the books. The cool breeze of the Pacific Ocean was a very welcome sensation to the 30-plus intrepid men and women who spent the last 16 days traversing our great nation on cantankerous machines from another time, often in blistering heat. The talk in Kitty Hawk was that maybe 25 percent of the old bikes would survive the test. To see almost three times that percentage of starters on the Santa Monica Pier this past Sunday was truly a testament to human willpower and tenacity. It was a lot of fun, but it wasn’t just a joyride. One of the toughest days in the last week was Flagstaff to Laughlin, where Cannonballers found frost on their seats in the morning, and 105-degree-plus temperatures as they climbed a steep pass toward the Nevada border. There were more than a few magneto failures that afternoon. Torrential rains a couple days earlier while riding into Gallup, New Mexico, left everyone soggy, and some on the edge of hypothermia. Sleep deprivation was par for the course, and nerves wound tighter and tighter in the last few stages, as ears strained to hear any unfamiliar, unwanted click, whine or growl that might spell disaster.

Meticulous preparation paid off for overall, and Class II winner Bradford Wilmarth, whose biggest setback was a leaking fuel tank on his 1913 Excelsior Twin, easily repaired in Tennessee. Class I winner and crowd favorite Katrin Boehner putt-putted across the U.S. with amazing regularity on her 1907 J.A.P. single (the oldest bike on the run), but her husband Dieter Eckel’s fork snapped cleanly in two at speed in Arizona, sending him to the tarmac, and on the last day he seized a piston in his backup machine. Rick McMaken (#40) came in on top in Class III on his 1915 Harley Davidson Twin. Frank Westfall, on his 1914 Henderson, joked that he was going to turn around and ride home to New York. Every finisher has a great story to tell, but one of the best has to be Alan Travis with his 1914 Excelsior board-tracker. The bike was raced a couple times in the early 1900’s, then mothballed for 90-some years. He started in Kitty Hawk with about 500 miles on the original engine, and the old machine didn’t let him down once in 3294 miles. Erwin “Cannon Ball” Baker would certainly approve. Congratulations to all the hearty souls who can now check off that “cross-country on a pre-1916 motorcycle” box. (more…)

Photo by Barry Hathaway

Yesterday’s 277-mile stage was the longest of the nine run to date. With most of the riders spending at least 10 hours in the saddle (and some much more) in temperatures as high as 95 degrees, it was a challenging day.

Arkansas’ sweeping turns and rolling green hills are now far behind. The day was all about covering ground on the flat, straight backroads of eastern Oklahoma. Joe Gardella (#48) was the first to finish on his 1914 Harley Twin after cruising at more than 50 mph most of the way. Incredibly, many of the sunburned, dehydrated and exhausted riders reported trouble-free runs, and all were thrilled to have passed the halfway point of this cross-country run from Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, to Santa Monica, California.

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Photo by Barry Hathaway

As I write this, Cannonball riders are grinding valves, fixing oil leaks and replacing bushings at the amazing Coker Tire World Headquarters in Chattanooga, Tennessee. In the first four days of the run, minor miracles have been happening. A sheared crankshaft repaired in local machine shop, a replacement piston somehow located…

One rider told me today he’s had eight hours of sleep in four days. Yes, bikes are breaking, but they’re getting fixed. Not a single entry has dropped out of the race completely. Points are lost for some, but every starter is still in the running, and spirits are very high. One rider called this event a death march and in the same breath said he’s having the time of his life.

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Two competitors high-five each other on their way past the Wright Brothers monument just after the start of the 2010 Cannonball. Photos by Barry Hathaway.

The 2010 Cannonball is underway. Forty-four pre-1916 motorcycles posed for a vintage-style panoramic photograph at the foot of Kill Devil Hill in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, this morning before firing up and roaring westward toward the California coast. Only 16 days and 3272 miles to go before the winner is declared on Santa Monica Pier!

A few bikes took to the shoulder of the road with (hopefully temporary) mechanical issues even before the 5-mile mark. Many of the near-100-year-old machines are capable of cruising at 50 mph, but are those main bearings and cylinder walls getting enough lubrication?

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