cross country

Guess the first motorized vehicle to cross the U.S.

First motorized vehicle to cross the U.S. wasn’t a car – it was a bike by Jeff Peek from Hagerty.com George A. Wyman made a name for himself as a bicycle racer, but he reached legendary status 119 years ago. He rode a motorized two-wheeler from San Francisco to New York to become the first person to cross the North American continent aboard an engine-powered vehicle. Read this Photo Feature Article on Bikernet.com – Click Here * * * * Celebrating 25 years of www.Bikernet.com

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Six Ways to Sunday project reaches its final discipline for racing

The Garage Fridge saves the day by Kyle Smith from Hagerty.com The garage fridge is not a tool. It does not actively assist in the completion of a project. If anything, the cooler in the corner often conspires to defeat productivity. For me, recently, it did just the opposite. Taking the one motorcycle out to compete in cross country, motocross, flat track, road racing, trials, and finally on ice requires a lot of time in the garage. So much that I was getting burnt out. Luckily this final conversion only required three items: studded tires, over fenders, and a tether kill-switch. Simple, right? I thought so, too. CLICK HERE To Read Kyle’s adventure in Racing at 6 Different AMA Race Categories Get latest Motorcycle industry & event news & more – CLICK to Subscribe to Free Weekly Email Newsletter

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Chix on 66 Teams Up with WomenRidersNow.com

December 2, 2021—The Riveter Chapter of the AMCA (Antique Motorcycle Club of America) proudly announces that leading motorcycle publication WomenRidersNow.com (WRN) has been named Premier Media Partner for the “Chix on 66” event June 11-25, 2022. This partnership will enable extensive media coverage for the ride, bringing the excitement of this amazing cross-country journey to WRN readers worldwide. WomenRidersNow.com editor Tricia Szulewski will be joining the ride, providing day-to-day social media updates as well as pre- and post-event coverage. Tricia is a veteran moto-journalist who has worked with some of the top motorcycle magazines in the U.S. Chix on 66 is a cross-country ride that follows Route 66 from Chicago, Illinois, to Santa Monica, California. This is the classic American journey on classic machines, with some women riding vintage motorcycles, and others making the trip on modern mounts. Each day the group will begin and end together, but each woman will make the journey what she wants it to be. Instead of riding in a single pack, a turn-by-turn app will allow each rider to follow the route at her own pace. Riveter Chapter President Karan Andrea says, “When I first started riding—actually, even before I got my endorsement—I subscribed to the WRN newsletter. That was the first suggestion that there were, indeed, other women who rode, because I did not know any. To be able to introduce WomenRidersNow.com as our premier media partner, all these years after I first subscribed to its newsletter, is a great honor. I am looking forward to working with WRN to create an inspiring and powerful experience for the women who join us for Chix on 66.” WomenRidersNow.com is the #1 (number one) resource for motorcycling news and reviews from a female perspective. WRN is a web magazine and its content is available to

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A cross-country motorcycle trip filled with memories

by Christina Leo from https://www.inregister.com Baton Rouge financial planner Daryl Ellis began riding motorcycles between six and seven years ago, but when his daughter landed a seat in graduate school in the cedar climes of British Columbia, he knew that the time had come to really put his gears to the test. With Emory’s possessions distributed between her Jeep and a U-Haul trailer, Ellis hitched his BMW K 1600 GT touring-class motorcycle on the back and accompanied her last summer as they made their way northwest, a long but straightforward path ending in a brief visit to Ellis’ brother’s Seattle home before settling Emory into her new digs. As for the journey back to Baton Rouge? Ellis had something a bit more wayward in mind. For two weeks, Ellis drove an alternative route home, traveling a total of 752 miles through Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Nebraska, Kansas, Arkansas, Mississippi and, eventually, back to Louisiana. “My wife had gotten me a book, Great American Motorcycle Tours, for Christmas a while back, and I thought this would be the perfect opportunity to check some of them out,” says Ellis. “As for deciding where to stay or where to eat, I was kind of just playing it by ear. Fortunately it all worked out better than expected, with blue skies almost the whole way home.” And a good thing, too, with so much sightseeing in so little time. The snowy peaks of North Cascades National Park, roadside waterfalls of Oregon’s national forests, wildflowers of Sun Valley, buffalo of Yellowstone, jagged knuckles of the Tetons, yellow farmlands of corn country and riverside roads of Hot Springs all served as welcome replacements for billboards and cramped car seats. “I had my iPod loaded up with music and podcasts and the like, so I had

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Six Ways to Sunday Racing

One Rider’s Unique Racing Project by Kyle Smith from Hagerty.com I dreamt up the idea of racing six different disciplines on one machine about a year ago. Registered for all events in the Novice category, participating in events will encompass six racing disciplines in motorsports. The final push: Six Ways to Sunday racing begins this week. Click Here to Read this Fascinating Photo Feature on Race Preparation on Bikernet. Join the Cantina for more – Subscribe Today. https://www.bikernet.com/pages/custom/subscription.aspx

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Montreal woman leaves her job, hits the road for solo motorcycle trip across Canada

Wendy McGean fulfilled her dream — of driving cross-country on a motorcycle — at 55 years old Suddenly, in her late forties, Wendy McGean started having an unexpected reaction every time she’d spot a motorcycle on the road. “My head would just pivot and I’d think: ‘I really want to do that!” she told CBC Montreal’s Daybreak. At the time, she thought it was an odd feeling for a married mother of two teenage daughters with a white collar job. “It was a very traditional kind of life,” she said. Before she knew it, McGean was leaving all that behind — her home, her job, even her marriage. “Some people thought I’d absolutely lost my mind,” McGean said. “I just completely turned my life upside down.” Just one kick at the can McGean started to chase her dream of riding a motorcycle at 51 years old, signing herself up for circuit training. She realized that she didn’t feel comfortable on only two wheels and bumped up to a three-wheeled bike. She said it was “love at first sight,” and suddenly McGean was buying a bike of her own. “I think it’s the first thing in my life I found that I thought, ‘this is mine,’” she said. “It represents complete and utter freedom.” Not long after McGean got a taste of that freedom, she suffered a major loss. Her father died. “[It] made me realize that if there’s something that I want to do in my life, then I better get at it,” she said. “So I made the decision to leave my marriage.” After 23 years of married life, McGean said she started to feel like a square peg and her life was a round hole. Something just didn’t fit anymore. “I was lucky enough to have somebody that

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Cross Country Chase

Stage 7 turned out to be one of the better days for the sweep crew since the trailer only carried three bikes into the Harley-Davidson of Tallahassee dealership at the end of the day. After a tasty dinner hosted by the dealership, our gracious hosts opened up their service department and allowed riders to wrench on every available lift and the grateful jockeys took full advantage of the opportunity. From oil changes to rewiring, bikes were getting their jockey’s full attention. While breakdowns may be fewer, wrenching is definitely not ignored as riders fight to keep their machines off the trailer and on schedule. Though Todd Cameron, #99, still holds first place, the top five ranks have been juggled to now include a BSA, two Harley-Davidsons, a Triumph and a Henderson. And one woman rider! But we’re not going to jinx her. Instead, we’ll point out that this Grandma is steadily gaining rank and scoring well on the daily quizzes. As riders left the Canadian border 7 days ago, they started out with 44 Harley-Davidsons, 15 Indians, 3 BSAs, 3 Triumphs and one each Velocette, Nimbus, Norton and a Zundapp. As of tonight, there have been 10 drop outs for various reasons, including health. Weather is a concern now as the group crossed into Florida today with another weather pattern forming out at sea that may bring heavy rain and winds as riders make their way to the Florida Keys.

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Cross Country Chase Stage 6

The city of Chattanooga sits in a valley between two small mountains, Lookout Mountain and Signal Mountain, and this day of exceptional riding started out with Chase riders climbing out of the valley up above the clouds that engulfed the city below for a breath-taking view as they set out for there 258-mile day. >From the “Rock City” point they rode past, it’s said that seven U.S. states could be seen: Tennessee, Kentucky, Virginia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Georgia, and Alabama, but there was no time for dawdling since weather was an issue again as the heat index started to climb early. Riders ended their day at the very welcoming Harley-Davidson of Macon, Georgia. The family owned dealership celebrated Grover Sassaman’s 98th birthday earlier this year but you’d never have guessed he was closing in on the century mark. As founder of the company, Sassaman first attended Harley-Davidson® Factory School in 1939, establishing a life-long relationship with the Motor Company, and he was happy to share the particulars of how he came to be the longest owned independent dealership in the world. Quick and witty, Grover talks motorcycles with the best of them, sharing dates, details and tidbits that held the group in rapture. Grover cruised the property on his scooter greeting the CCC group and offered great advice to riders, including rider #35. Jon Dobbs had his 1939 HD EL in the service bay due to coil problems and Mr. Sassaman offered tips on what could be causing the trouble since the EL has consumed 4 coils since the start of the run. Dobbs later started the bike and rode it out of the dealership, so we’re betting the problems are solved. Grover rolled through the Chase bikes outside and was particularly smitten with the 1939 HD EL owned by rider

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Cross Country Chase Stage 5

Stage 5 means we’ve hit the half-way mark for the Cross Country Chase, leaving just 5 more days of competition. Today’s tour started off with incredible narrow roads through the gently rolling hills of Kentucky where the wheels of time seemingly stand still before riding deeper into the lush thickets of Tennessee’s backwoods. As the shortest day of the course, riders enjoyed the dense scenery as well as the interactions with locals. The entire day’s route was mesmerizingly beautiful, but it was also pushing 100-degrees out and the intense temperatures, coupled with oppressive humidity, took its toll on both the jockeys and their machines. A nice grilled lunch was offered by Bumpus Harley-Davidson before riders set off to tackle the twisties and make their way on to Coker Tires in Chattanooga, Tennessee for a hosted dinner. The group then scooted over to the iconic Choo Choo Hotel where they found a thousand things to do and see around the historic train station-turned-hotel. The terminal was originally built in 1908, remodeled into the current hotel setting in 1973, and riders were delighted by both the history and the ambience of the cool old property. The sight of the ornate, historic station surrounded by smoking, wheezing antique motorcycles that are in the process of making modern day history just seemed to add another layer of cool to the experience. By the end of the day, the sweep truck was filled to capacity with broken machines and made for a long day for both staff and riders. Tomorrow’s temps are predicted to be much the same. The top four places are taken by riders from all three classes and, as we have witnessed, it could all change in a day. Check out the scores below and…Stay tuned!

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Cross Country Chase Stage 4

Chase riders kicked their day off with a nice ride and a pop quiz in the middle of a cornfield, with several of the riders never even getting off their motorcycles to answer the 10-point test. The al fresco classroom experience was then followed closely by a pulse-quickening trip across a famous haunted bridge. The old Wabash Cannonball Bridge, located on the Illinois and Indiana borders, was built as a railroad bridge back in 1897 and is believed by some to be bad luck to cross. Chase riders, however, found it to be a rite of passage as they wrangled their antiques over the warped, off camber and riveted ancient planks. The tense but successful crossing certainly gave the group something to talk about as they gathered for lunch hosted by the friendly folks at Bud’s Harley-Davidson in nearby Evansville, Indiana. The long miles and the heat of the day spent crossing three states taxed both men, women and machines. By the time riders rolled into Harley-Davidson of Bowling Green, Kentucky, one rider’s saddlebag had caught fire and another’s engine shot flames as he tried to kick start the tired machine. It was easily extinguished and Matt Miller, #46, rode his 1947 HD U off for a night’s rest. With only 6 days left in the race, there are 45 of the remaining 65 competitors who have ridden every mile, but the scores are vastly different. Based on the complicated scoring system that includes handicaps for age of both riders and machines,the size of the engine and scores on the daily tests, things change daily. Consequentially, it is still anybody game. Check out the scores, go to the website to read about the riders and be sure to get yourself out to a stop near you so see this rolling

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