Stage 5

Stage 5 was a tough one for a lot of us. After the steep hills of NC,a lot of the riders thought we were in for an easier ride. My friend Matt Olsen has been working on his Sears motorcycle pretty much non-stop every night. Well... Matt finally got to ride on this 204 mile ride from Chattanooga, TN to Tuscumbia, AL. There was a 3 mile stretch of curves that was too much for the suspension on Matts bike. He was thrown over the handlebars and ended up with a broken arm. We will miss your smiling face out here Matt. It's like we alre already this one big "Cannonball Family", crossing the country like a traveling carnival. Setting up shop in our hotel parking lots to service our beloved machines every night. A family, we help each other and encourage each other after every days ride. I'm so proud to call these people my "family". So proud of Matt for hanging in there like he did. That's heart.

So...

I've sort of unofficially "teamed" up with Jim Petty, from SC, who rides a 1915 Indian. We seem to have started riding together for a few days and seem to ride the same speed, etc.. Nice guy. Stayed with me when I had problems with my bike climbing hills. I've also stayed with him the past few days when he's had some issues too. This morning about 8 miles outside of Chattanooga, he rode up next to me holding the handle for his spark advance. I should have known the would be the start of some problems for him that day too. While going up the BIG 9% grade hill, Jim was flagged down right at the crest by a rode worked. He stopped and of course, could not hold the bike up at that angle. He tumbled over and picked the bike up by himself. I don't think many people could do THAT! About 20 miles into town Jim's exhaust pipe came out of the head on the rear cylinder. After letting the bike cool for a few minutes, we tried to get it to rethread, but we ended up wiring in together until we got to the hotel. Stuff like that is hapenning to most of us. How could it not..? These motorcycles are at least 95 years old!

Off to sleep...