Rally map back in the groove

The riders took to the beach to start the 2014 Motorcycle Cannonball race this morning.

Here is a shot of Ziggy’s bike on the beach and ready to roll.

Spectators gathered to watch the start of the race.

The guys started off under sunny skies this morning with the drones in the air taking pictures galore. Can’t wait to see some of them—if we can. Early reports from Buck when the guys rolled out were about 4 didn’t even make the start and that in the first few miles, there were about 9 bikes down already. Unofficially, Steve thought about the same numbers when I talked with him this evening. So, when day one results come in you will see the toll.

Everyone was nervous and excited for the start. The beach picture was an awesome idea, but in reality the 10 inches of sand made the numbers about 3 to 1 in getting a bike off the beach. Three guys pushing to every bike to get it out of the sand. A few rode theirs but most didn’t want the abrasive sand on the chain anymore than they could help.

Steve said Rose ran NICE! But he said that he fully expected to take a turn on the sweep trucks before they made it to Tacoma. They rode in and out of rain showers most of the day. They went from being wet to an hour later, being warm, muggy and sticky! So, in my interpretation, he was wet all day.

The evening’s meal was hosted by Interstate Cycles in Lake City, Florida. A big THANK YOU for feeding the crew! It was wonderful.

Dick Jones, official Buck’s Indian rally map mapper, says he’s now back in the groove. He cuts, tapes and marks up gas stops, etc on the 20 plus pages of the daily rally map that Steve uses every day.

Stage 2 is a 250 mile day from Lake City, Florida to Columbus, Georgia with bikes leaving at 8:00 am and arriving by 4:25 pm. Try to stay dry tomorrow! Weather looks like it will be pretty wet!