|
Greetings
It’s been two months since the crankshaft in the Red One broke at the flywheel when I was cruising along fine just south of Burlingame, Kansas. Although I may not have much to report, I know folks are interested to hear my plans for the future and the fact is that things seem to be coming into place. In this newsletter I will discuss a few things:
- Status of Repairs.
- Tentative Plans for 2020.
- Public Speaking Engagements.
- Books, Shirts, etc.
Status of Repairs: The timing of my breakage was not optimal, since Mark and Loring Hill were deep into final preparations on several bikes to run in the Cross Country Chase this month. But that race finishes on Sunday in Key West so things should open up soon. In fact, I am sending this on my way to watch the finish at Key West. Willie Fernandez is delivering Mark Hill’s truck and trailer to Key West from Sault Ste. Marie and I am “riding shotgun.” The Red One is in the trailer along with Loring’s BMW that he rode with me until he headed home from Colorado. After Key West, Mark and Loring will head home to upstate New York with their bikes from the Chase and the Red One. With a bit of luck, I think the Red One could be on the road by the end of October. In the meantime, I am putting together a “to do” list of other things to finish up... details that, truth be told, would have been better finished before we left Manhattan in July.
Tentative Plans for 2020: For a number of reasons, I have come to the conclusion that it would be something of an anti-climatic endeavor to drop the Red One back on the road in Burlingame, Kansas, and then drive it all the way to San Francisco along the original route. So I think the way to best “see America” like C.K. sought to do is to plan a series of “tours,” almost all of which will involve transporting the Red One for some “local” driving for a few days, then come home. Some will be organized “road runs” such as those put on by AMCA, but others will be self-supported “endurance proving runs” of about 300 miles a day. Ultimately, I hope to run the Red One in the Motorcycle Cannonball in September 2020 (waiting for the next batch of slots to open up so I can squeeze in).
Public Speaking Engagements: I still have a few “clean up” media interviews to do about this year’s ride and the book, but I am also planning to develop a 15-minute talk about my adventures. I am working with a professional speaking consultant to develop a talk that meets the “TED” format so that I can apply to give it at a local “TEDx” event. The TED format is highly specific but the work on this should allow me to present my story in almost any setting in an engaging, efficient, and informative way.
Books, Shirts, etc.: In my family room at home, I have stacks of boxes of my book, Across America by Motor-Cycle: Fully Annotated Centennial Edition, as well as t-shirts, ball caps, and other memorabilia I had made up to sell to support my adventure. In the next few weeks, I will be setting up a “shopping cart” function on the web site so anyone can see these things and order them. All books I ship will be personally endorsed by me and will even include a special stamped signature of C.K. himself. I will make an announcement about the availability when I get the system in place. In the meantime, you can buy the new book in both paperback and eBook at amazon.com or barnesandnoble.com.
The audio book of C.K.’s 1922 classic continues to be a popular item on the Audible and Amazon web sites.
That is all I have for now. Please let me know if there is anything you would like to hear about.
|
