Pre 1916 Cannonball Run

The riders of the Pre 1916 Cannonball Run arrived one by one throughout the afternoon and into the evening at the High Plain Harley Davidson dealership in Clovis, NM after completing the days ride of 292 miles. This was the end of Stage 10 of the 17 day ride from “Coast to Coast” bringing the total miles so far to 2114. Classic motorcycle enthusiast came from all over to witness this event. I talked to two gentlemen that had come from San Antonio, TX. Knowing that fans are willing to drive over 1000 miles round trip just to see these motorcycles and be a part of the celebration gives a person insight to the magnitude of this historic event. It’s been said that a picture is worth a thousand words and in telling this story, pictures are a must.

1. Wayne Stanfield arrives on a 1915 Harley Davidson

2. The event gives others a chance to show off their own classic motorcycles such as this 1946 Harley Davidson that is owned by JD Cole of Clovis.

3. 1914 Henderson D

4. 1915 Militaire this is a very rare and unique Motorcycle; 4cyl, 3 spd w/reverse, shaft drive, wooden wheels, slow speed stabilizer wheels that mechanically lower and retract, front axle is fixed to frame/leaf springs and the front wheel slides side to side on the axle for turning.

5. 1910 Flying Merkel, single cyl, single speed.

6. 1915 Indian

1. 1914 Excelsior 7SC and 1913 Harley Davidson 9A

2. High Plains Harley Davidson opened their shop and lifts to the Cannonball entrants. (all night if needed)

3. One of the sidecar support/rescue riders that just arrived after his 292 mile ride. The “sidecar dudes” carry; gas, oil, tools, along with other odds and ins to help riders continue the route. In the event that the repairs cannot be made on the side of the road, the sidecars are equipped to haul the motorcycle to the pit stop for that day’s run.

4. Dieter Eckel and Katrin Boehner, a husband and wife team traveled from their home in Ingolstadt, Germany to participate in the coast to coast run.

5. Katrin’s 1907 Japanese (Flying Broomstick) this is the oldest motorcycle entered in the run. It has a wedge brake that is applied to the v of the rear pulley, It is single cylinder direct drive, no clutch, if the motor is running then the motorcycle is moving. It has to be “push Started” by the rider. Katrin said she did her best to avoid stopping to often.

6. Dieter’s 1913 BSA, this BSA’s brake is a single pad applied to the inside radius of the rear pulley.

1. Buzz Kanter on his 1915 Harley Davidson

2. This is another picture of Buzz’s motorcycle setting in the same location as the previous picture.
This was after Buzz explained that when taking pictures of motorcycles (or anything else) you have to consider the background and lighting and he should know a little about pictures, seeing how he’s the editor and publisher of American Iron Magazine, Motorcycle and Harley Reviews, News, and Harley Forums - American Iron Magazine The first picture is standing up (like most people do it) the second is with the camera six inches off the ground.


3. The repairs that night ranged from nightly maintenance to disassembly of the top end.

4. Joseph Gardella is getting ready to head for the motel. It is possible that after a long day and 292 miles the desire to lay down and get some rest struggles with some reluctance to get back on the bike for a couple of miles. Either that or he just enjoys the company.

5. Some of the crews chose the do their repairs at the motel.

6. Bike lift? I don’t need no stinking bike lift!

1. I ask if he could use some light, the reply was “after a while you get to where you can do this without it”.

2. The morning briefing is over and riders are placing their ride instruction sheet in reader boxes for easy access while riding.

3. The Buddy Stubbs support crew is getting his 1915 Excelsior with a sidecar started and ready for the day.

4. Frank Westfall’s 1914 Henderson D is ready for the day.

5. Jim Dennie’s 1915 Militaire is also ready for the ride.

6. Cris Sommer-Simmons’ 1915 Harley “Effie” is ready to roll. Cris chose the name “Effie” in honor of Effie Hotchkiss who with her mother Avis Hotchkiss were the first female riders to ride coast to coast. They set out on May 2, 1915 on a brand new 1915 three speed Harley Davidson with a sidecar. Now 95 years later Cris is riding the same model of Harley without the sidecar.

1. “Team Effie” Left to right Laura Klock, Cris Sommer-Simmons, Athena Ransom. These are three ladies that echo the courage and pioneering spirit of Effie Hotchkiss. One of Laura’s many accreditations is holding an AMA National Land Speed Record at the Bonneville Salt Flats. Cris is the wife of rock and roll legend Pat Simmons of the Doobie Brothers. A long time motorcycle enthusiast Cris wrote a book titled The American Motorcycle Girls, 1900 to 1950, A Photographic History of Early Women Motorcyclists. Athena is Owner of “Vagabond Chopper Company” and serves as mechanic for Team Effie

2. Team Effie’s chase van. . I was able to spend about a half hour collectively talking to Laura and Athena Tuesday morning and although I enjoyed it, I discovered that these are two very strong personalities that strive to live life to the fullest. All I can say is Pat, if you’re riding in the van with them, ”Brother I feel for you”.

3. Cris as she starts her bike, ready to hit the road.

4. A group of riders leaving the parking lot to start Stage 11 of the run, 234 miles that will place them in Albuquerque and one step closer to the finish line.

5. As the last of the riders leave the parking lot starts to feel a little deserted.

6. The classic motorcycles are gone now, it’s quiet, all we have left are pictures, memories, and little puddles of oil all over the parking lot.

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I took over 100 pictures and found out a lot about some of the bikes, so if you have any questions I might be able to help a little.

Here is a short video of some riders arriving at the end of 292 miles for the completion of Stage 10. I will post more videos and more pictures when I get them uploaded to a share site.

YouTube - Cannonball Arrival

The people that I talked to were in good spirits despite being tired from all the going the last 11 days. Many of the riders spend their day riding and at least part of the night working on the motorcycle. There was defiantly a improvement in the energy level after a good nights sleep.
Most of the teams that I talked to were still in the run. I read where Matt Olsen hit a pothole and wrecked his 1913 Sears, he is out of the run because of a broken arm. He is also the one that got a speeding ticket at the start of the Run. The 1910 Flying Merkel is also out of the run but is being tailored to the stops. There are 40 teams still running with only 5 teams having withdrawan. The predictions at the start of the run were over half wouldn’t make it to the halfway point. One thing that keeps spirits high is that many of the cycles are in better condition now than at the start of the race. Working on the motorcycles every night is paying off as well as the knowledge of how to get them and keep them running right is growing everyday. I spent a while Monday night chatting with Pat Simmons about the issues they have had with cris’s bike “Effie”. He said that they replaced the valve assemblies with the only spare set they had early in the race. The push tubes were getting a little loose but the bike was still running very well. It was very cool talking with him, just two guys who like classic motorcycles talking about motorcycles. The subject of music or of him being a Rock and Roll legend never came up.

Stage 12 result sheet. List all riders with motorcycle description. the score for the day is the same as miles. Classes are; 1 Single cylinder, single speed. 2 multi-cylinder single speed. 3 multi-cylinder multi-speed

There are still 10 teams with perfect scores!

Here is a couple of more videos of the cannonball. Sorry it took so long, it took over five hours to upload a 1/2 gig 10 minute clip to YouTube.

P.S. a good way to watch YOUTUBE videos is open it then open a different window and surf elsewhere after it's played once then you watch it the second time without all the buffering.


YouTube - Cannonball 1.MOV

YouTube - Cannonball after the party

YouTube - Cannonball Morning Departure.MOV

a few more more videos the someone else shot.

YouTube - Bean're films 4 riders starting the day in new Mexico on the Cannonball Rally

YouTube - Bean're filming a Cannonball fuel stop.

YouTube - Motorcycle Cannonball Run 2010.wmv

YouTube - Motorcycle cannonball run.wmv

YouTube - 2010 Cannonball run clip 3

YouTube - 1911 Harley-Davidson

YouTube - 1914 Indian

YouTube - 1914 Harley-Davidson

YouTube - 1914 Indian

YouTube - 1914 Pope