Saturday, February 27, 2010

PETE'S GARAGE

Canadian Motorcycle Cannonball rider, Pete Gagan, has a great video clip up on youtube called "Pete's Garage" that is well worth the watch. Entertaining, interesting, and educational, you can get a peek at the machine that we've heard might be accompanying Pete to the states when he travels to Kitty Hawk to participate in the Cannonball. While Pete will be riding his Zenith this September, he might also bring along this magnificent vntage machine to display. When was the last time you saw an 1896's steam powered motorcycle that works? Take a peek at:

Monday, February 8, 2010

Check out these links for stories and information regarding the Motorcycle Cannonball:

Watch this news piece about the Harleys and Hollywood display at the Harley-Davidson Museum, featuring Cannonball rider Bill Rodencal
http://www.fox6now.com/videobeta/?watchId=88f49de5-2cc6-4907-9e2d-9a38b656e636

Go to www.allaboutbikes.com to read an article about the Motorcycle Cannonball's only female American rider in the event, Cris Sommer-Simmons. You can also follow her thoughts and adventures as her bike journeys to the states (it is currently on a boat to Honolulu, then air-bound for California) for TLC and repairs by checking out her blog site at:
http://crissommersimmonscannonball.blogspot.com/ Cris can also be found on Facebook.

Follow along with Joe Gardella's progress on his 1914 Harley Davidson twin cylinder build by going to http://www.antiquemotorcycle.org/bboard/showthread.php?t=15247

Dale Walksler's Wheels Through Time website has a couple of stories posted. Dale is both a rider and a sponsor and you can keep track of his bike build entry for the ride on his web site. http://www.wheelsthroughtime.com/dales-blog/

Matt Olsen's build is progressing nicely and you can view the play-by-play action on his Sears by going to http://www.pre1916scramble.blogspot.com/


Hot Bike magazine's April issue is on the news stand. View them at http://blogs.hotbikeweb.com/6591595/harley-davidson-events/motorcycle-cannonball-run/index.html

Keith Ball, owner of the bikernet.com website, has a new blog spot and you can keep up with current news as well as Cannonball activity and rider profiles at http://www.bikernet.com/blog2/.

Go to our FORUM page where Cannonball riders are checking in with each other about their bikes and the ride and even the period clothes they'll be wearing for this historic event.

The RIDERS page has information about each entrant, including a profile for those whose names are underlined, just hit on the names to access their personal information and the HOME page will be carrying updated profile teasers on individual riders on a regular basis.

Additionally, check out the new RIDERS SPOTLIGHT page for more detailed rider profiles.
Be sure to come back regularly and look us over as our trans-continental ride builds up speed.

Tuesday, February 2, 2010

For Immediate Release: Coast-to-Coast Motorcycle Cannonball Fills All Rider Slots; Photographer Michael Lichter to Document Event

Contact: Felicia Morgan, Director of Communication

morgan.felicia56@gmail.com

(916) 777-6263 office; (916) 307-3606 mobile

Sturgis, South Dakota, February 2, 2010 – Some 70 official entrants are set to ride pre-1916 classic motorcycles coast-to-coast in the Motorcycle Cannonball set for 17 days this September. Also, according to Lonnie Isam, Jr., the event’s promoter and owner of Jurassic Racing in Sturgis, South Dakota, internationally renowned motorcycle life-style photographer Michael Lichter will accompany the Motorcycle Cannonball in order to document the entire transcontinental trip.

“We’ve passed a major milestone in getting commitments from such a large and very high-quality field of vintage bikes along with many, many riders who are well-known in the vintage motorcycle world,” Isam said. “And having Michael Lichter on board is a major coup; we’re very excited. Michael is well known as the premiere motorcycle life-style photographer of our era. His participation is an honor and guarantees that Motorcycle Cannonball will be well documented with the utmost professionalism.”

Motorcycle and commercial photography assignments have taken Lichter across North America, Europe, and Asia. He has published over 1,000 articles on motorcycling and custom bikes. He has also photographed annual reports, product photography, advertising, brochures, posters, and has worked for commercial clients, including Indian Motorcycles, Wiley-X Sunglasses, Harley-Davidson, and Nikon Cameras. Lichter has recently exhibited photography in public institutions, including solo shows at 15 galleries and museums. He has been featured in photography, motorcycling and other magazines as well as television shows.

Isam reported that Lichter will photograph the Motorcycle Cannonball riders in period dress along with their classic motorcycles, reminiscent of the beachfront launches of past historic rides. Lichter will also take individual portraits of riders and motorcycles at the ride start point. He has assignments with international publications, including Scandinavian and French magazines, as well as domestic publications (go to www.lichterphoto.com for more information).

Isam reported that registration for the Motorcycle Cannonball is closed, with 70 official paid entrants and a small waiting list of riders who may be added later. The 17-day event starts in Kitty Hawk, NC on Friday, September 10 and terminates 3,325 miles later on Sunday, September 26 in Santa Monica, CA. The event has drawn entries from around the world and all walks of life, including motorcycle museum owners, authors, bike collectors and restorers. Complete information about the Motorcycle Cannonball, including route details and some rider profiles, is available at www.motorcyclecannonball.com.

Monday, February 1, 2010

Two Sisters Out to Change the World – On Motorbikes

By: Sasha Pave
In 1916 Augusta and Adeline Van Buren weren’t your average society girls. The sisters, decedents of former president Van Buren, were the first women to ride motorcycles coast-to-coast across the U.S., which in those days was no easy task. However, it wasn’t just a casual Sunday ride for these sisters; they were on a mission to prove that women were far more capable than society gave them credit for.

Gussie and Addie wanted to prove that women could successfully serve in the armed forces. As part of the National Preparedness Movement in the buildup to WWI, the sisters wanted to show that women could serve as skilled dispatch riders delivering communications on the war front. This would prove that women could participate in the war effort, which had been used routinely as a reason to deny women voting rights.









The Journey Begins
On July 14, 1916, the women set off from Sheepshead Bay in Brooklyn and headed west through Chicago and Omaha on their Indian Power-Plus motorcycles. At the time they were some of the best motorcycles made, but ninety-three years ago motorcycles were very crude, dangerous, and uncomfortable machines. The fact that they would travel almost exclusively on dirt roads didn’t make matters any better.

West of Chicago they were arrested many times. Not for speeding or riding dangerously, but for wearing men’s clothing (women’s motorcycle gear wasn’t invented quite yet). While passing through Colorado they decided to make things even more exciting by climbing Pike’s Peak, a 14,000-foot mountain that had never been climbed by any vehicle before. Not even a car or truck.

After surviving many crashes, breakdowns, mud holes, dehydration, and treachery of one form or another, they finally arrived in San Francisco on September 2, 1916. Not content with their journey, they traveled to Los Angeles, followed by a jaunt across the border into Mexico to round out the trip.

A Bittersweet Arrival
After completing the phenomenal journey, Adeline’s application to the army as a dispatch rider was rejected. But it wasn’t enough to keep these women down.

Adeline eventually earned her law degree from NYU and Augusta became a pilot, flying with the “99s” women’s flying group founded by Amelia Earhart.

These relatively unknown heroes might not have known it at the time, but they played a significant role in the women’s rights movement. And they did it the old fashioned way—with true grit and determination.

Whenever I see a woman riding a motorcycle these days, I can’t help but feel a little pride for the two pioneering sisters from New York.

The Van Buren sisters were inducted into the American Motorcyclist Hall of Fame in 2002 and the Sturgis Motorcycle Hall of Fame in 2003.

Photos: Van Buren Family Archives