Cannonball cross country

[naddy100]

Search through the pages for the picture of the bikes

http://titancast.titantv.com/p/wcbi/videos.aspx

These bikes are pretty cool to go see if you have the opportunity.

Noel

[Visian]

this was very cool... at the shots below are from the Maggie Valley stop.

but due to a previous event commitment, i could only get there on monday morning as they were set to leave. would have *loved* to have been at Wheels through Time when they rode in on sunday.

the departure was in the parking lot of at least one hotel nearby. it was totally chaotic, with competitors, bikes, trailers, pickup trucks and the bikes of onlookers all mashed together, making it very difficult to get good pictures.

too bad the organizers didn't plan for a more organized scene... i think it would have been even more exciting to watch. looks like that in the Tupelo video they thought of that.

i wish i could have gone up the road a ways to get them out riding, but that wasn't possible.

man, it would have been fun to ride along with these guys for a few days. they only go 2-300 miles/day, so one could take a more adventurous route and still get to the day's finishing point ahead of the competitors.











ian

[naddy100]

http://www.nsaddy.net/Videos/Cannonball/Cannonball.html

This was what I got. Here're some points:

1. They were coming down the Trace, so I went to the first visitor's center above Tupelo. It turns out that it's more difficult to get good footage of the bikes going by than I anticipated. What would have been a lot better is to get some pacing shots, where I'm alongside them. However, I suspect it would have made them uncomfortable for some yo-yo to ride weaving and wandering while holding a camera alongside their precious machine!

2. While I was waiting for the first bike, a park ranger came up to visit. He asked whether I was associated with the bikes that were coming.

'No, I'm just here to take pictures.'

'Well--you know that this is not a highway, it's a National Park and if you're going to have an event on National Park Service land, you need a permit and follow certain conditions.'

'Hmm. If you go to the city park, there are probably some event officials there.'

I have no idea whether the Cannonball officials thought of this or not. I have no idea where this ranger is in the pecking order. He may be the senior regional administrative Master Sargent, or he may have been a tour guide volunteer. I don't know. Also, let's be clear. He was an amiable fellow and we chatted quite a bit. He was just a bit concerned about events without permits and conditions.


3. As you noticed, the event got some play in Tupelo and it seemed pretty well organized. Parking was organized. Food was organized. They had motor cops in attendance and directing traffic. One thing about the motor cops. They had to move from one place at the event to another. In doing so, they busted some low-speed close-quarter moves that caught me by surprise. Dang, they're good. I know -- I know, I've seen the youtube videos too. To see it happen spontaneously as appropriately needed is impressive. I kinda told myself that it was the bike. If they'd been sitting on my BMW, they'd have been at least a foot higher off the ground with corresponding higher center of gravity. All I'm saying is that if I had tried that, I'd probably have fallen over.

Noel

[Visian]

http://www.nsaddy.net/Videos/Cannonball/Cannonball.html

i liked your vid, and the edit with the "potato, potato" sound was excellent.

my biz partner will be going to see them when they get to Santa Fe, NM... he's a better shooter than me!

i'll get some of his shots to post here when the time comes.

ian

[rs36vh]

www.motorcyclecannonball.com

[naddy100]

http://www.motorcyclecannonball.com/

It looks like a 1913 Excelsior won!

[Visian]

[TomDac]

i would LOVE to see a documentary of this event. Just AWESOME.

[Visian]

there was a professional shoot crew along for the ride... i expect they will offer a DVD at some point in time.

ian