Seventy plus riders participated in the 2012 Motorcycle Cannonball Endurance Run. They reaches their halfway point today in Iowa Great Lakes. All riders and owners were riding pre-1930 motorcycles. They will finish the 16th and final stage of their journey In San Francisco on Sunday, September 23rd.
The route planned by event organizers was meant to be Scenic but direct. The riders will travel through a dozen natural parks and forests. Riders will also see the Golden Gate Bridge, Lake Erie and South Dakota.
The Motorcycle Cannonball is a competition based on navigation skills and precise riding. In order to compete for the Championship the motorcycle can be entered that was built after 1929. Motorcycles must also be running with original engines.
The trip is just under four thousand miles.With some of the motorcycles only reaching 40 miles per hour, most run 50 miles per hour and some can go faster.
The ride will resume again on today from Okoboji. With a new set of instructions they will head Three hundred and twenty six miles to Murdo, South Dakota. This will be the longest day these riders have had so far.
This race started nearly a century ago. Many people refer to this race as a "rolling museum". It is an extreme endurance test for the human body and the machine.
Having no one in the back seat saying "are we there yet", may be the best thing about going cross country on a motorcycle.
