Atomic Shovel update: Took my sassy shovel out today to make sure the ignition was good to go. I only had time to do an hour loop, which may have been a blessing because I was about 5 miles from home when I noticed a new sound in the top end. About the same time, I was checking over my right shoulder and noticed oil splashed on the saddlebag. Ugh. Oil + noise. Sumbitch.
I was close enough to home that I just kept going, but I had a bunch of stuff to do when I got home, so I just had to roll the bike in and put the kickstand down.
I took a couple pics for what that’s worth, but tomorrow I will be chasing this demon.
I’m wondering if it’s a repeat of my rocker covers loosening up. That happened outside Tucumcari. I had oil everywhere, and we couldn’t tell if it was dire or not, so we heaved that greasy pig into Eric and Jenny Bass Cycles van and hauled it the rest of the way. I think it was 50 miles, and I didn’t feel good about limping it in without knowing what the issue was.
Anyway, all they could really find was some loose bolts.
Maybe since I rode through desert temps of 110 degrees after that, things loosened up again? No idea.
Tomorrow I will poke at it.
Well after cleaning up the Exxon Valdese, I mean Atomic Shovel, I started it up and ran it in the garage. One of the rocker box bolts began to leak, but I didn’t see anything else that was really obvious. It was smoking pretty good as the remaining residue burned off. I may take it around the block later, but I’m at a point where I have to make a decision.
A. Commit to fixing this bike even though I don’t know yet what the issue is and ride it 4,000 miles not really knowing if I got fixed.
B. Abandon the 74 and prep the Road King instead.
Going for Plan B. I’ve done multiple long trips on the ’74, and if were my only option I’d figure it out, BUT the ride to Sturgis for me is almost 1900 miles one way, with 8 to 10 hour days. That’s in the saddle. That doesn’t count stops or breakdowns. So 8 hours becomes 9 or 10. 10 hours becomes 11 or 12. That’s when, for me, it becomes not fun.
So plan B it is.
Now I just have to go over the Road King, and get a luggage setup for it, which is already on order.
Not even 48 hours since I got home from Wauseon, and I’m ripping into the bike again. I’m taking out all the electronic ignition bullshit and going back to points. Wish me luck.
Already dealing with stripped screw heads. The idiot who put the first ignition in (that only lasted maybe 8,000 miles) stripped the Allen heads. I was able to coax one out, but the other is headed for a nuclear option. Which nuclear option is yet to be determined….
One of the starter relay bolts is rusted so I doused that with Gibbs and I’ll see how that goes.
Off to deal with the rest of my day. I will have to finish pulling everything out tomorrow.
Atomic Shovel update: Lots of progress today. That stripped screw? Well I was trying to be all slick and not remove the battery box yesterday – it’s 4 damn bolts – I know… lazy. Anyway I pulled the battery box out, got the one screw out that was rusted tight yesterday, and then went warrior on the stripped one. Let’s just say I’m damn creative with a zip wheel.
Moved on from there. Removed the ignition and all the wiring from both ignitions that was still on the bike. Pulled the single fire coil, cleaned up all the electrical on the rear block behind it, and installed the dual fire coil. That’s not wired yet… Tomorrow.
Pulled the spark plugs, gapped and installed new ones, and changed plug wires.
So the left side of the bike is almost ready to go, except to finish wiring the coil. I’ll get after the right side tomorrow. Got to reinstall the battery box, and the starter relay – which I’m replacing. Then install the points in the cone. Hoping to get all that done tomorrow. Then I have some other electrical that I want to clean up, and I need to make sure I update my wiring diagram with accurate info.
Atomic Shovel update: Got tons done again today. Put the battery box back, and got new starter relay in, cleaned up all the wiring. I did a bunch of other little stuff, and then started messing with the points. Found some videos, read the service manual, went back to the videos, and just did one step at a time till I got it done. These points are dumb tho. Couldn’t figure out for the life of me how to attach the damn power wire to the condenser. There was no obvious way. I spent about 20 minutes just staring at it, poking at it, staring some more… made a few phone calls. Not much help. Finally I figured out that this little brass piece gets shoved in there and the wire attaches to THAT! What the fuck. Really dumb. But ok. Meanwhile Chris Tribbey called me back and verified that’s what needed to happen. Hooray.
So I finally got that done, wired the coil, put the battery back in, cleaned up a few things in the battery box (not like I had hoped, but I did sort things through), buttoned everything up, and went to start the bike.
Nothing.
Not even a burp.
So tomorrow I get to figure out what I fucked up today. And I will. It’s probably something really dumb.
The only photo I have from today is the wiring conundrum with the points.
Atomic Shovel update: Points install complete! Thanks in no small part to Bill Daneke. I realized last night that I got sidetracked and never set the timing! Squirrel! So this morning I started with that. Bike back up on the bench jack, timing plug out, spark plugs out, found the timing mark annnnd when I went to set the timing, the plate wouldn’t clock far enough. Sumbitch.
I remember this was an issue with the electronic ignition as well, so I started clearancing the slots. Meanwhile I messaged Bill to follow up from a conversation we had last night. He got back to me and while we were talking, I realized I was using the wrong damn timing mark. OMG. So he saved me from myself! As soon he mentioned the timing mark, I realized what I had almost done. This has been a memorable job for realz…
Anyway, it was a struggle trying to turn the rear wheel and try looking for the timing mark, but I FINALLY got the correct timing mark in the window, and with poor Bill coaching me along, I got the points installed! Hooray! That man is a Saint, I’m tellin’ ya.
Buttoned everything up, cleaned up my tools, and then moved on to address the dead starting situation. First I crossed the relay with a screwdriver and it came to life. Win. I figured the start button had spit the bit, so I swapped that out. A 15 minute job. Still nothing. What??? Sumbitch.
So I checked the wiring, but I knew that was good, and then I realized that circuit is fused. Hmmmm. Popped the fuse out and shonuff, it was blown. Swapped for a new one and bang! We have ignition!
The bike is snappier to start now. I like it. Took it for a little test ride – that was a win. Hopefully tomorrow I can stash Maizie with someone so I can take it out for a longer test ride.
Only thing left to do before Sturgis is change the oil.
Yes I had help, but even so, I can’t believe I just did all that. Kinda chuffed.
Atomic Shovel update: First order of business… clean the windshield and put my Route 66 stickers on it! I’ll deal with the ignition later.
Tonight when it cools off a little more outside, Atomic will get a bath and get loaded on the trailer because tomorrow she will be off to Wauseon. She’s not truly a Coney Island bike, but she does reflect a bit of the spirit of the style, so she will be hanging out with a few other Coneys on Friday.
Stop by the display if you are at Wauseon and see the Atomic Shovel. Please message me too! I will be looking generally lost trying to find friends at their booths.
July 14, 2022
Got an early start this morning… Jessica Messmer helped me load the Atomic Shovel for the trip to Wauseon, and Maizie and I were on the road by 6:30 a.m.
Coney Island bikes at Wauseon… I love these bikes. Thanks to Ernie Barkman for putting this display together. These bikes aren’t easy to transport. They are heavy, often much longer than a stock bike, and they tend to bottom out or get stuck loading and unloading them, so collecting enough for a full display was a challenge I’m sure. Although my bike isn’t really a Coney, I was chuffed to be included. Ernie made my seat rail, so I guess that got me a “cool kid” pass.
There are so many things I want to say about today. About the ride. About the people. And I will, but not just yet. I am still completely amazed that we did it. We rode the entire Route 66, and we are here in Santa Monica.
There are so many people to thank. So many stories to tell. And I will at some point. When it sinks in.
Sunday, June 26: Chix on 66 recap…
I’m sitting at the gate in LAX waiting on my flight. I’m exhausted, I smell like a goat, I’m wearing the only quasi-clean clothes available, and I’m so ready to hug my Maizie and snuggle her.
But my mind keeps going back to the incredible, inspiring adventure of Chix on 66. What began as “hey, this would be kinda cool,” ended up being an epic, iconic endurance run for 40 women who were complete strangers on June 10, and close friends by June 25.
I am so fortunate to have been able to watch these women experience the road, grow as riders, and as people, as they took in everything the road hands a traveler. I’m so incredibly proud of each and every woman. You all inspire me more than you could ever know.
We also had a talented support staff who kept us rolling, kept us healthy, and showed our best side to the social media sphere. Running sweep and providing mechanical support as needed: Jason Sims and Jose Torres in the “man van.” Additional sweep support from Eric Bass Cycles . These guys were the only un-chix on 66 – rough job, right?! All joking aside, they worked their butts off keeping the bikes running and off the trailer, and they were an absolute pleasure to work with.
Our primary mechanical support came from Athena Ransom and Vivian Gypsy Charros – these women are troopers. Up late, up early, working to help riders who were stranded or broken down. I know all of us were inspired to see women turning wrenches.
Tricia Szulewski and her assistant Kelly Biggshttps://womenridersnow.com/ captured so many great images on this ride, they could print a coffee table book! And these two fit right into the chix thing. They really just became part of this motley entourage crossing the country.
We had a planning committee who pulled the entire event together. Marjorie Kleiman handled the marketing and PR, brought many sponsors on board, covered our social media, and arranged the oil changes in Milwaukee and in Tucumcari, which required a great deal of planning and organization. This ride would never have been as put together as it was without Marjorie.
Tara Lynch did a fabulous job coordinating the evening events that we enjoyed.
Ivy Vanessa Yapelli brought on a sponsorship from Stilettos on Steel, which helped us cover quite a few unexpected costs.
Several of us worked hard to secure the Harley-Davidson sponsorship that Danielle Werner was able to bring to the table.
Gina Woods put our marketing deck together, and she brought another sponsorship along from Seafoam. That support allowed her to document the Chix’ personal stories, which I can’t wait to see!
So many people have helped and supported us through this ride, and we are so grateful. I am particularly grateful that our riders – my new friends – got the experiences they were looking for, and then some.
The Aftermath:
June 28, 2022: Recovery Day 2 of ???
I. Am. Exhausted!
All along the way, people asked me what I was going to do when Chix on 66 was over. My answer every single time was, “I’m gonna sleep for a week.” (They thought I was kidding…)
This event was a year in the making, and it took a group of us many, many hours to pull everything together to produce an experience that we were proud to offer, and that we hoped our riders would enjoy. From all the feedback, I believe we succeeded. Not to say it was flawless, but that nothing went so wrong that it overshadowed everything that went right.
I am grateful for the women and their ‘roll with it’ approach to the unexpected. Part of travel, particularly on a motorcycle, is a whole shitload of the unexpected. Weather, road conditions, traffic conditions, amenities, etc. – none of these can be predicted with any accuracy, and they all have a much greater effect on motorcycles than they do on cars.
Even though we averaged 200 miles a day, each day proved to be long, sometimes grueling, occasionally frustrating, and exhausting. We were up early, and up late. Many of us had bikes to maintain or repair.
As the leader of our crew, I was ultimately responsible for everything each day, although I had great support from many people who took the heavy lifting along with me. I could never have done it without them.
As the leader of the vintage bikes, again, I was responsible – my group was great about communicating what they and their bikes needed each day so I could tailor that day’s ride correctly. Speed, gas stops, sightseeing stops, riding preferences…
Regardless of what bikes you are leading, you have to tailor the ride to the smallest gas tank and the slowest bike; otherwise, you are doing a disservice to riders who need to trust you.
Sometimes getting through certain segments of 66 was harrowing, but we all worked together and got it done.
The biggest concern was always gas stops, but we never had a dire situation. Once we hit a detour and we were given wrong directions, so we pulled a couple water bottles full of gas from my bike to put in Cindy Mesmer ‘s No Man’s Pan, and another time we got turned around in Victorville for 10 miles, so we had to stop and gas up both Cindy’s bike and Jenny Bass Cycles bike from Eric Bass’ stash. It’s essential to have a plan B.
When we had breakdowns, we stuck together and figured out how we could get the bike back on the road. My little group was clever, resourceful, and absolutely loyal to each other. Early on, I started calling myself Momma Duck because it felt like I had a little line of ducks following me. On one of the less eventful days, I was able to let my mind wander a bit, and I named all my “ducks.” Jenny Bass was Knuckle Duck (or Badass Duck, interchangeably), Cindy Mesmer was Proper Duck because when she rides, she has perfect posture and is completely unflappable. Sharon Panhead was Lucky Duck, since she escaped a rather harrowing adventure on day one, and just never gave up the idea that every day was the Best Day Ever, no matter how “ducked up” it might get. And Mian Taylor joined our little flock in Tucumcari. She rides a Suzuki sport bike, but had a great time riding with us and provided sweep duties that helped keep us together through many situations. She was Sporty Duck.
I would fall into bed every night completely spent physically and mentally, and wake up every morning a little more stiff and sore each day, but by some miracle, rested and ready to go again. Toward the end, my legs started hurting a lot in the morning, making walking a bit awkward until I loosened up, but seeing how enthusiastic everyone was about this experience was inspiration enough to make me forget how bad my body was hurting.
So I am currently resting at my friend Jennie L Cannady ‘s with Maizie and Jennie’s pack of Boykins. I have a 14-hour drive home that I will do over two days’ time. I’m still over tired from the red-eye flight from LAX, so I plan to leave here tomorrow and do about half the drive home, then wherever I stop, I’ll spend the night and do the rest the next day. I should be home Thursday evening.
The rest of today I shall be snoozing.
June 29, 2022
Finally home home. Spent a couple days with Jennie L Cannady, mostly snoozing on her sofa before driving Miss Maizie home. Was gonna do the 14-hour drive in 2 days to make it easier on me, but I ended up just busting it out today. Feels good to be home in my own bed! I’ve been gone almost a month.
Lots of sorting, straightening, cleaning and organizing in my near future.
Today. Was. Hot. Like fire-breathing dragon, holy fuck I’m riding a burning hunk of metal through a blast furnace hot. Our bikes were doing all sorts of mischief, but we all made it in without incident.
We rode the Oatman Highway today – a portion of which is known as the Sidewinder. 191 curves, 9 miles, no guardrails, and by the way, keep a lookout for burros standing in the road.
If you know me at all, you know I’m terrified of heights and particularly mountains. So I knew today was going to require that I suck it up and deal. And I really did. The scenery was gorgeous, and aside from my anxiety voice screaming at me, I really enjoyed it. Not gonna lie, I was half crying from fear, but I didn’t let it stop me from doing the thing I wanted to do. Pretty chuffed.
Once we left Oatman, the heat was relentless, so we stuck to the highway to make sure we had gas and water when we needed it. Our little troop pushed through and made it to Barstow around 5:00.
We had a group dinner at Chili’s, next door to the hotel, and then we went over the possible routes for tomorrow. There are two Route 66 options, and Jason Sims gave us a third option which helps us avoid the stop and go through San Bernardino and Pasadena.
I cannot believe tomorrow is the last day. Chix on 66 will come to a close tomorrow evening in Santa Monica. I know I’m going to cry. I have made so many friends and watched so many women push themselves to do something they’d never done before. I am so thankful and grateful to every single person on this ride, and to our staff who made all of this possible. One more day in the saddle.
Today was super fun. We had a police escort to Standing on the Corner park so we could do a group photo, then we went to breakfast after.
Stopped at Two Guns and Twin Arrows, then ran into some weird rain. Stopped in Flagstaff to catch a pic of the lumberjack muffler man.
Made it to Mother Road Harley-Davidson for a huge reception they put together for us, and then to the hotel for the night. Thankfully no one had bike issues today, so that’s a win.
I took zero photos today. This was a tough one for everybody today. It rained in Albuquerque overnight and extended into the morning.
The highlight of the morning was Sharon Panhead learning to kick start her 65 pan. Super proud of that badass!
It finally cleared up around 10 a.m., so we took off. With a 300 mile day ahead of us, and such a late start, we opted to stick to I-40 instead of following Route 66 proper, although much of 66 IS I-40.
We thought we would never get out of Albuquerque. 40 was a challenge for us vintage riders. It was probably 5-6 lanes of 70 mph traffic, with on ramps to our right and speeding traffic all around us. Eric Bass Cycles blocked us by driving behind us, but it was still crazy.
Finally we got out of the city and things calmed down. Until an accident created a backup. We popped off an exit and decided to look for an alternate route around the gridlock. We thought we had one till the GPS tried sending us down a dirt road that, with all the rain, had turned to deep, sticky mud. Nope. We turned around and went back to the highway, which had cleared. So much for a 20-mile detour.
Further down, apparently there had been an even more severe situation. Not sure what, but they closed the interstate completely, so we were routed to the frontage road, which was Route 66.
Still gridlock for another 20 miles.
After we broke free though, we started getting our groove on and covered the miles easily. The scenery was amazing! Trains with 5 locomotive engines that were what seemed to be miles long. Colorful rock formations. Beautiful sky – even the storm front that taunted us the entire day made for a beautiful sky.
After our last gas stop, I noticed that my left gas tank stud was loose. I pinched the tanks with my knees for the last 60 miles to keep it from getting worse. I tightened both tank studs when I got in, but I should check a few other things to see if there is a reason for them backing out. Dinner with great people and now to bed.
Since there are no photos for the day, here’s our logo with our title sponsor, Harley-Davidson.
Today was a beautiful ride. They were forecasting rain in the area, but we only hit a few sprinkles here and there. It was far cooler today than it has been, which felt great for us and even better for the bikes.
We got a pretty early start and took 68 out of Taos. It runs along the Rio Grande for a ways, and what beautiful scenery! I thought today’s landscapes were far more beautiful than yesterday’s.
Not long into the day Cris Sommer Simmonsbike lost power, and ended up on the trailer. She got to ride in the man van for the day. I know they were working to see if they could get it fixed, but I haven’t heard whether or not they were successful.
At one point, my starter relay stuck again but I whacked it with a screwdriver and that fixed it. I know there is an issue there, but it isn’t immediate yet.
We looped around Santa Fe and then picked up 14, which is known as the Turquoise Trail. More stunningly beautiful landscape.
We stopped for lunch in Madrid where parts of Wild Hogs were filmed, and then headed into Albuquerque.
I can’t believe the end is so close. Only a few more days and we will be rolling into the Santa Monica pier.
We started the day with having tintype photos done at our hotel El Rey Court in Santa Fe. Jason Sims reached out to Rob Gibson, and he came out to do photos of us. I can’t wait to actually get them in my hands!!
Because of that, we got a late start today, but it was a short 75 miles to Taos. We headed to the gas station on the way out of town, and that’s where things got weird. When I started my bike up to leave, it started making this crazy grinding noise. My starter wouldn’t disengage. Fuck. I turned the ignition off, and it kept grinding. A couple people came running over to try and figure it out, meanwhile, I’m sitting on my bike listening to my starter grind itself to death, thinking, well, this time I’m fucked.
Someone pulled the ground wire off the solenoid and it finally stopped. Then Ryan Leighton Allen showed up and tapped on the thing a few times, put the wires back and tested it, and it appeared to be fine. I was still trying to process all the adrenaline that had been coursing through me. I was shaking and my brain was scrambled.
After I kind of got my shit together, Ryan convinced me to take the “high road” to Taos. I didn’t want to, but it seemed everyone else did, so we went. I really don’t like mountains. I do them, but with a great deal of fear. Heights just terrify me. And I was still nervous about my bike. I didn’t trust it, and I was having trouble pulling hills as it was. We did the first maybe 20 miles or so and we all pulled off at an overlook. My bike was running like a fat pig. I hated it. It sounded like shit, it felt like shit, I was still a mess of anxiety and I did not want to be on that road. I saw nothing of the scenery. I had tunnel vision. It was just one of those days for me.
We got going again and the bike started running nice. It was even pulling hills better. We stopped for gas and the bike was still starting ok and not freaking out, and it was running pretty good. Then we took a sharp left and went uphill again. The fat pig was back. Bogging and unresponsive. Finally we got into Taos, and I was very glad to put my kickstand down. I could not get off the bike fast enough. We went for dinner because we were all starving from having no lunch, and I had three bourbons to settle my nerves.
Every day of this ride has been a long, tough challenge for those of us on the old iron. The two days I was on the man van were tough days for my riding partners Sharon Panhead, Cindy Mesmer and Jenny Bass Cycles, so today was a welcome change.
Cindy had some trouble with her bike last night that she thought might prevent her from continuing, but she plugged away at it and got it going. We left Tucumcari as a group, with the addition of Mian Taylor, who joined us in Tucumcari.
Maybe 10 miles out, Cindy realized she didn’t have 4th gear, but a quick stop to adjust the linkage and she was golden.
We had a close to flawless day of riding. Gorgeous weather, beautiful scenery, great company. But what’s a day with the Chix without a u-turn!?! This one was a 17 mile u-turn because at the last gas stop, I flaked and turned the wrong way out of the gas station. However, we did get to see what the black smoke was that we saw in the distance. There was a semi trailer stopped in the middle of an entrance ramp just burning down. There was no semi truck attached, no emergency vehicles around. It was just engulfed in flames and black smoke was billowing up from the fire.
Oh my.
So we turned around and headed in the correct direction and we actually got in to Santa Fe around 3:30.
This was the easiest, breeziest day thus far.
Tomorrow is an 80-mile run up to Taos.
We are having some rain tonight, and tomorrow will be cooler and we may possibly run in and out of rain, but we have been lucky so far in terms of weather.
The Atomic Shovel 