Update: Cannon Ball Centennial Ride

The end is near. Today we reach New York City, exactly 100 years after Cannon Ball Baker did!

On Tuesday, we made it to within striking distance of New York City, our group of Cannon Ballers staying the night just west of Philadelphia. The last two days have brought us well and truly to the East Coast of our great country. The locals’ accents have changed, Civil War references are common, and it’s not unusual to ride past structures that were built in the late 1700s.

Monday, we stopped at the AMA Hall of Fame Museum in Columbus, Ohio, where we saw Don Emde's Daytona 200-winning Yamaha. Then we had a quick stop to see 3-time Daytona winner Dick Klamfoth at his Yamaha dealership.

Ever eastward we rode, dodging rainstorms with fantastic luck that can only be a result of the good, clean living we all practice. Gettysburg and its battlefields were amazing, and Wednesday before lunch we'll roll through the Holland Tunnel and into Battery Park, where Cannon Ball’s trail will be complete. One hundred years ago today, on May 14th, Erwin Baker arrived in New York City. What a treat for all of us to celebrate the centennial of his remarkable feat in this way!

The Super T.

Nancy Emde stands next to her brother Don's Daytona 200-winning Yamaha. She hadn't seen the bike since the day of that historic win. The emotions came flooding back.

Five Daytona 200 wins among these three guys: Don Emde, Ralph White, and Dick Klamfoth. I asked Dick if he ever met Cannon Ball Baker, and he told me Baker often visited him in the pits at races, and that he was a real nice guy. I?m blown away?I shook hands with a man who has shaken hands with Cannon Ball Baker!

Randy and Beeg point ?em east on the Lincoln Highway today in Pennsylvania.

One of the many battlefields at Gettysburg.

A diorama view helps us imagine what those terrible days in July, 1863, must have looked like.

More Gettysburg.