Springfield, Mo., Sep. 15—We’ve hit day two of wet and wicked weather, but the cool part is there’s just enough nice stuff in between to make it a great ride anyway. Folks are telling of trips to “Wallyworld” for dry duds and saddlebags full of water. Rider #120, Dave Minerva, laughed as he showed us his official Cannonball badge/lanyard that filled halfway up with rain water as it hung around his neck. My camera is rebelling against the dampness by arguing and refusing to fire as I struggle to get riding shots from Cannonballers while they brave the elements of their natural environment. As miserable as it is fighting with electronics, just image what it’s like for those running magnetos. They hate water, and are the cause of many failures when it rains. Like now.
There were 14 disabled bikes on the sweep trucks last night. I’d bet at least the same tonight, but those figures won’t be tallied for a while yet, though sign-in is closed. Riders must leave and return at prescribed times each day, based on their Class. Class 1 leaves first, then Class 2, Class 3 is last and the classes are based on the bike’s engine size.
Tomorrow we leave Missouri and head to Kansas for a hosted lunch in Parsons, then the big treat will be to get to see Kelly Modlin’s, Cannonball rider #24, new museum in Augusta, the Twisted Oz. We’re all looking forward to checking out the new digs, and to seeing the killer old Indian engine Kelly bought that’s still in the original crate.
View the Stage 6 below, and click here to download the full Stage 6 results.
