Thursday, April 19, 2018

Ken's at it again! So's Bill!

Well, Ken Wilson is once again off to join the mad crew of intrepid men and women who, every even year, set off on their scooters on a mad cross-continental dash from sea to sea. Yes folks, it's high time for the 2018 Scooter Cannonball run.

For Ken that means a preliminary trek to Morrow California just so that he can make a mad dash to Virginia Beach. This time Ken is driving a support vehicle not his scooter. Well, kind of. You see Ken is riding to California, flying back to Florida, driving the Cannonball support for team snail back to California, then providing support all the way to Virginia Beach, then flying back to California, then riding back east.

Copyright 2018 Ken Wilson
This always fun to watch.

You can follow Ken by keeping tabs on his 2018 blog by clicking here, or if you are curious and want to learn a lot more about Ken, click here. If you want to hear him explain his cross-continental madness in person, click here for the short interview, or click here for the long story. If you want to see how Ken responded to my rider profile interview, click here. If you want a taste of what it's like to ride with Ken, then click here, and here, and here.

One of the riders Ken will be supporting will be Bill Leuthold, If you click on the last three links immediately above, as a bonus you get to meet Bill as well. Wouldn't you know it... Bill has a rider profile too: click here.

The one thing I can personally guarantee, is that you won't be disappointed. Ken is the real deal, and a BIG DEAL. No fake news here, I promise. Same goes for Bill. You will no doubt be able to follow Bill's Cannonball run on his blog by clicking here.

Just because he can, Ken is going to follow up the Cannonball with a leisurely scooter riding adventure in northern Spain.

Copyright 2018 Ken Wilson
I guess that the secret to Ken's adventurous nature is that he learned all about risk flying medevac helicopters during the Vietnam conflict.

Nuff said!

I'll be following Ken and Bill.

7 comments:

Deb said...

May the roads be smooth, the the weather serene, and the food and drink sublime for these guys as they rumble across the landscape on their scoots. This feat of human endurance needs more acknowledgement in the media than it gets. A Yammie C3 scoot participated one year. So proud of the little scooter.

Bill Leuthold said...

Thank you David for promoting the big ride coming in just over a month now.

I just returned from a send off for Ken. He left St. Pete yesterday heading north. I rode from Jacksonville to meet up with him in Perry. From there we rode along the Gulf coast to Port St. Joe, where we stayed at a nice hotel downtown. This morning we left in different directions as he heads to California while I went home to complete some projects so I can fly to Seattle on May 17.

The Cannonball begins May 26th. It will be the most grueling yet, covering 3900 miles in 10 days. I hope everyone follows our little adventure on our respective blogs and MV. Each will be filled with the goings on along the way.

David Masse said...

God speed Bill.

There was a time that I foolishly thought I might do that on my LX150. I didn't fully appreciate the context.

My money's on you. Picking up the GT200 you left in Seattle, I imagine?

You guys know how to live. I feel privileged and truly indebted to you two and to Jim for affording me a frame of reference for your ride to Perry, and west along the Gulf coast.

David Masse said...

Hi Deb!!!

I have been so busy and so sorrowfully neglectful of the bloggosphere, it's really shameful on my part.

So happy you stopped by, and I echo your very kind thoughts wholeheartedly!!

Bill Leuthold said...

I wouldn’t bet on me. Walt rides just as fast and hard as me and is on a new Yamaha with a better handicap. Gonzo will probably put the 2T oil in the gasoline at every stop this year. And, as is usual, a new rider will have a great ride on a competitive scooter and take the prize. I am hoping for a top five while riding the entire route as posted.

Bill Leuthold said...

Well, I tried to ride the entire route as posted. Then ran into the first long dirt road on day two. One brief lapse in concentration had me going down easily in a soft dust sand patch. It seemed like a easy down, but my shin hit something on the scooter or in the road and began swelling and bruising quickly. I rode to a grocery store, then called for Ken to come pick me up. I intended to pick up the Run the next day but the leg was swollen and sore. So I rode with Ken for two days until it was decided that I needed help, so he dropped me off at the Emergency Room in Durango.

I got in a great 1500 mile ride along the Pacific Coast from Seattle to Morro Bay, but the Cannonball turned out to be a disappointment. I would have loved to complete every mile.

David Masse said...

Ouch!!!!

Missed this comment in my work daze, I'll reach out via email.

The copyright in all text and photographs, except as noted, belongs to David Masse.