Charley Boorman Long Way Home Interview, 59 Club in London and 2025/26 Pre-Ride Report with Hunter Wray

Charley Boorman appears on the podcast to talk about Long Way Home, which drops tomorrow on Apple TV+. 

Aaron travels to East London to meet the members of the iconic 59 Club. 

Hunter Wray from the ADV VETS calls in and gives a ride report about the 2025 and 2026 ADV Cannonball Rally Route. 

Transcript

Welcome to the ADV cannonball podcast where we discuss all things on two wheels, the adventure bike cannonball, and other motorcycle related nonsense. Welcome to season three, episode three adventure cannonball podcast. My name is Taylor Lawson, and I'm your host. And I am joined today by our world traveler, Aaron Pufal. Welcome.

Oh, yeah. In commemoration of being in London, I am drinking a Gordon's London Dry gin and tonic in a can out of a grocery store at the bottom of my cheap hotel. Cheers to you, sir. Very nice. Start strong right in with the drink.

I like that. Absolutely. I've decided to drink water. Well, you know, sometimes, you know, sometimes you can wear women's clothes if you want. That's fine.

I'm just kidding. I'm being an IPA. Nice, nicely played. So you suck me in. You suck me in.

Alright. Look, we got a big episode. We've got three things happening here. Very cool. You know, Charlie Borman.

He's, he's released a long way home. I think that dropped. It dropped Friday. It dropped yesterday. We were supposed to release this the day before.

Unfortunately, I was busy traveling, and I couldn't get it done. But, you know, nevertheless, it's, it's gonna be Nonetheless. He's spent time with you. Fantastic. That's one that's one thing you've got going on here.

We also have the fifty nine club. You teed that up in the last episode. You talked about what the fifty nine club was, what a ton of boy was. Hopefully, you can answer those questions for us so we can all stop living in utter ignorance, sir. Mhmm.

And, and the last thing is we have is, is Hunter Rai, and he gives us a report on the on the preride report, the the final the is this is the preride report for I haven't heard this. Yeah. It's the I just finished editing. Yeah. It's the second and final half of the 2025 pre ride, and, additionally, he was nice enough on his return trip eastward.

He knocked out a couple of days of the 2026 route, which I had some open questions on, So he was a a badass and tore up a couple more days of of next year's route, which was super awesome. You just need to start sending him stickers, like, weekly. I know. It's Badass stickers. Well, he actually doesn't have a badass sticker quite yet, but I'm sure we will find an excuse to, present him with one at some point.

He's definitely earned it. I'm sure we will definitely find a reason for that. Yeah. So in the, yeah, in the Charlie interview, I wanna tell everyone that we had to do it remotely. I just didn't have time to travel to where he was.

I happened to be in Windsor. And, you know, I didn't have the equipment with me. I was sitting in the hotel room in my underwear, and I didn't have a proper microphone. So I apologize for my sound quality. Obviously, he knew what he was doing, and I just wasn't prepared for that.

So but, you know, nevertheless, it is, Charlie Bormann. He talks about Long Way Home. We, we ask him some important questions. He talks about his motorcycle choices and the modifications to his bike. He has CDI ignition.

Ewan does not. And, clearly, there is a recurring theme here that the old Moto Guzzi, is not so Guzzi, anymore. Mhmm. Interesting. It's interesting.

I was listening to that interview, and I was also having listened to the interview with Lyndon. And, they both had one thing in common. We said both said was that if you're not falling off, you're not trying hard enough. Yeah. For sure.

Yeah. They're both, you know, Linda is obviously a super hardcore dude, and Charlie's more for the the travel aspect of it. But, but, yeah, as long as you, you know, embrace that ethos, I think it makes for a pretty good story. Yeah. And I I didn't know that Charlie had done a Dakar, to be honest with you.

I I was thinking and I know him really from, you know, he's done theater. He's done all kinds of things. And then it was the this is the fourth biker series that he's done with, with you and McGregor. Yeah. There's a bunch of reasons why I don't have the long way series, if that's a word.

I don't have the long way series on the motorcycle film club, but I did appreciate Charlie's series on Dakar. I felt that he he shrugged off Hollywood and really drilled down on what it really is to, to be a nonprofessional Dakar. So that is listed on our motorcycle film club. Yeah. And, it's interesting.

You can learn a bit about that as well because if you look at the, if you do the first episode of their series, which dropped on Friday, which is a long way home where they're touring mainly Europe, Scandinavia, Arctic, if you if you look at that, they give a lot of history about his background as well, and he's had some pretty big bang ups. Yeah. For sure. And that book is worth a read. So he he published a book about his accident and his recovery and that struggle and the fact that he just got back right on the right on the bike.

I'm actually reading an important book about that by Joey something where he was paralyzed. Wow. And then yeah. And I'm just about quarter way through. He was paralyzed and went from that all the way back to, I'm assuming, by the time I get to to halfway through the book, he does the the car.

So, anyways, there are some inspirational stories out there to read that, you know, if you hit a if you hit a, a bump in the road without a pun intended, you can put yourself back together if you have the mental fortitude to do it. Yeah. Fantastic. Yeah. And with that Roll the interview.

Registration is now open to the public for the next next ADV cannonball rally. All riders on any motorcycle are welcome to join the adventure. Whether you're looking for an exciting and highly organized coast to coast ride with a group of like minded riders or a friendly competition for cannonball glory, it doesn't matter. Everyone can participate. Head over to advcannonball.com to secure your rally starting position today.

Now back to the podcast. Charlie, welcome to the podcast. Oh, thank you very much. Well, it's a it's a pleasure and an honor to be here. That's very nice for you to say.

We always start. It's a it's a tradition on your podcast, which I'm sure you're a frequent listener. What was your first motorcycle? Well, the the first the first motorcycle I bought was a a Yamaha d t 100, which, which I still have, and it's in my garage now. It's it's one of those ones at the back of the garage that is a it's a it's a weekend fixer upper, but I just haven't quite gotten to it yet.

It does still start, but, and it runs, but but it's it's you know, I I need to change the, it it's I think, you know, it's a two stroke and and the, and the rings need to be changed and stuff is losing losing compression. So, anyway, so that was my first but the first bike I ever rode was, a great friend of mine, who I've worked with in Ireland, who was probably one of the reasons why I'm I'm a, why I I kind of ride bikes today was was, a guy called Tommy Rodford, and and he had a he had a Mako four hundred at the time, which was which was, you know, the the absolute dog's bollocks at those times. And and, and I remember convincing him when I was really young. I was convincing him, to, to give me a go. And and so we went to a field one day, and he put me on on the bike.

I couldn't really touch the, the gear lever, the the the gear shift. And and, so he he put it in first and pushed me off, and I I rode around rode around the field until I fell off, and and that was it. I was hooked for motorbikes for the rest of my life. You know, it always seems to be a story as old as time. Everyone teaches you how to get going, but no one teaches you how to stop.

Right? Yeah. Yeah. And then and then famously, you know, a very long time ago, famously, someone said to me, you know, Charlie, because I kept crashing all the time even even when I was a little kid. And, and he said to me, you know, Charlie, if if you're not crashing, you're not trying.

This is That's what I've kept that motto. I've kept that motto with me for the rest of my life. Yeah. You have actually and you've written a really inspiring, book about that. Oh, yeah.

I will I will I will put a link in the show notes for everyone. You're actually listed on our, motorcycle film club on our website, the adv cannonball website, for your race to the car. Was that the hardest thing you've ever done on two wheels? Yeah. I mean, I thought I I think so.

I mean, it it's it's it's certainly the hardest race in the world. And, you know, when when you know, we did that story when people, people tell you you know, they they they tell you a story about an adventure, and they and they probably, you know, they probably, you know, what's what's that word? They they probably embellish on the story. And, and, you know, to make it sound a little bit more risky than than than it was. But I think with the Dakar rally, when you talk to all these different people, you you when you talk to these different people, you, of Dakar, you know, they they dumb all these stories down because because the reality is just is just far too brutal.

Then that, oh, it's it's it's a tough old race. And and and, but I I think that's the challenge of it all, You know? Mhmm. That's that's that's what makes people really wanna give it a go, you know. And if you love riding off road, then the ultimate is is is is the Dakar Rally.

And if you if you wanna if you wanna road race or race on the tarmac, you know, the ultimate is the Isle Of Man TT, isn't it? But but but both of them come with with big risks. And probably the hardest part of of doing the Dakar Rally is probably getting to to the to the start line. And and, you know, there's that, you know, year or two years of getting yourself ready, and then you have to qualify to get your license to be able to race. And so you have to do all these these really big enduros, and you have to, you have to really, you have to really, you have to really push it, and and and and, you know, if you don't get to a good enough standard, then, you know, you don't go.

Anyway, I did all that work, and then Etienne, who ran it at the time, you know, he was very kind, wrote the start line, he said, Look, Charlie, He said, you know, you've you've got to the start line. You've you've won. So now every every day after that is, is a bonus. And and, sadly, I only had five bonus days and then broke my hands. So so this is this is not, a new, thing that happens.

Very few people actually actually finish. So, and and we very much enjoyed the, the series and the struggle and your honesty, and, thanks very much for, being honest about your experience. It was like, you know, it was a it was a truly great experience. And and as much as it was painful, it was, it was really good. It was it was it was a it's one of the best things I think I've done.

Yeah. It really comes through in your work. We're gonna move into some classic bike talk because of your new series. And I, I'm on a fifteen day podcasting tour of Europe and The UK. And last night, in preparation, trying to get into the spirit of, the classic bike world, I went to the fifty nine club and the Ace Cafe.

You know, it really left an impression on me. Why do you think the classic bike culture is so vibrant in The UK? Well, I think I think, I think partly because, you know, you know, motorbikes were the were the, I suppose, were the thing for the people, but they it was it was a it was a cheaper form of transport. It was you know? And and I think I think it stems the feeling, it stays with us now is that is that feeling of freedom.

You mean, you're 16, 17 years old, or whatever it is, you get your license and or 18, and you, you know, you finally have a bit of freedom, you can go wherever you want. And, And then you have the bike, and then you kind of tinker around with it a little bit. And back in the day, you could have a Triumph or a Norton or a BSA, and you could have high up bars, you could have high bars during the week, and then you could have the clip ons, and you could go down to Brighton and do a bit of racing at the weekend, you know? So they were adaptable, you know? And there's something about you know, being on the open road and being on a motorcycle and that freedom and, you know, you you can't there's nothing else to think about other than where you are.

And, you know, we we talk about mindfulness a lot and mental health a lot nowadays. And and and I think, you know, motorbikes tick that box, don't they? They you know, if you're riding a motorbike and no matter how bad your day's been and you're you're riding home, you you know, it clears your mind. And and I suppose that stuck with us, hasn't it? And and then, we all love a bit of new and and modern technology.

We all love that. But but, you know, the newer the the vehicles become like like the bikes which we used in in in Long Way Up, you know, the electric Harley Davison, you know, the the less attached you are to them because you can't necessarily fix them. And, and with with analog motorcycles, you know, the one like the ones you and I took on this trip, you you you you know, you sort of break down this, you know, before you know it, someone's pulled over and and and they said, I I I grew up with these bikes and I can fix it. Or I know my neighbor has a great garage and he can come and fix it. So, you know, you you I think there's something that connects you to that to that piece of that hunk of metal.

Yeah. For sure. I I just wrote down about 10 notes, and I'm sure we'll never get to all of them. But Long Way Home drops tomorrow on Apple TV. And, as viewers like like myself, you know, we feel like over these last three trips now, we've we've gone along with you.

Can you believe that it's been twenty years since, you know, all this started? I know. It's just bonkers. You know? On on on on on this trip, we we were in Norway and and, going up and and we on this trip, you know, with the old bikes, we we we had, you know, three bikes and there was four of us.

There was there was Claudio and and Max, who was the second cameraman. Because these days, you just have too money, you know, there's too much so when we did twenty years ago, you know, we invented a helmet camera and a and a and a bike camera. And, you know, we had this quite elaborate, system to be able to try and video stuff. Now, you know, you have 360s, GoPros, drones. I mean, back in the day, if you wanted a drone, you we we rented a helicopter for an hour, you know, and you went near the airport and then just rode up and down the road, you know.

But but now so so we had we had a second cameramanza that, you know, we were going along second the second cameraman was sitting on the back of the bike with Claudio, and, he was flying flying the drone along. But anyway but so so there was that as a unit, and then we stopped at this little, fishing village and and stayed in this little b and b, this little tiny hut hanging over the harbor. And and, and beside it was another was another hut that had been turned into an Airbnb, and there was a bike out there. And we saw the bike, and this guy came out, heard us. And he came out, and he was wide eyed when he saw us.

And he goes, oh, my god. I can't believe it. It's, Ewan and and you. And and and, he said, you know, when I was a little kid, I used to sit on the sofa with my parents and watch long way round. And both you and I just thought, oh god, you know, here we are 50 and he's sort of he's sort of late twenties, early thirties, and and, you know?

So Yeah. No one It's it's it's it's amazing. Reminded of their age, do they? We should talk about, the bike that you keep mentioning. I feel like we're hiding it from our listeners.

So you rode around, this time on a r 75 slash five. You know, it's not exactly iconic or powerful or or pretty, but it is it is a workforce. How did you come across this bike? How did you settle on this bike? Well, we, the reason I think we took, old bikes was because, when we were doing Longway Up, you know, we had these cutting edge bike bikes, and it was really was the cutting edge.

And everyone no one thought we'd we'd be able to make it on these electric bikes. And we didn't even think we'd be able to make it. But but they came it came with an amazing, amazing challenge. But at the same time, it came with a lot of obstacles. Like, you you couldn't stop and just camp on the side of the road because you always had to charge.

So we dreamed about doing another trip, but doing it on the complete opposite and doing an old bike. And Ewan's been a big fan of Moto Guzzi's all his life. And and, you know, and since his first bike was a Motogutse Lamont, and and, and our first conversation was about that Motogutse Lamont. And and, so he he wanted to use his his Motogutse California in 1974, and and I didn't have a mid seventies bike. And so, you know, it was just it was a real struggle to find something that that, you know, that that I wanted to ride and that something would be able to make it.

Like, I was desperate for a a Ducati, but but, you know, in the mid seventies, they were making more sports bikes really in the mid seventies. And and, you know, and then then Ducati electrics at the time weren't so great. I looked at some Triumphs and stuff like that. And then then I came across this R75. And, and it was and at the time, it was it was, I think, 50 brake horsepower.

It was a bit of a sports tourer at the time, so it was a bit racy at the time. It had that touring tank, which he'd get about 230 mile range, which is pretty good. And then and then I I got the the guy called Kevin Kevin from Kevin Speedshop. He'd he'd already kind of chopped it around a little bit, changed the back because the back of those 70 fives are always a bit heavy, aren't they? And, and and it just made it into a bit of a bike.

So I I had to build some panniers, racks so I could get some panniers on it. And and and and and it was born, and I had the shittest tires you could possibly imagine. There were there were fake, Firestones. You know, those are the Firestones? And they're actually called fuck stones.

They actually say fuck stone on them. It's just like the funniest thing. And and in the rain, they're terrible. And for the first four and a half weeks, it it rained. We're all geeks, and we love the minutiae of it all, and that's obviously a, carbureted, bike.

Yeah. How did, you know, with the LimeWire bikes, LiveWire bikes, sorry, you had issues with with climate and cold. Now with these older bikes, did you have any issues, with the high altitude in Norway and in, the Alps? Did did the carburetors give you give you any issues? Yeah.

The car well, I mean, carburetors. You know what carburetors are like. I mean, you know, they're a dark art. I mean, you know, no one goes into carburetors. You know, you you take them off and you give them to someone else because, you know, there's 120 parts in each of them.

I mean, it's just ridiculous, those things. And and, but mine mine had electronic points. So it might have been modernized a little bit. So that made it a little bit more reliable. Ewan Ewan still had the point, so he, you know, he was busy cleaning them and and and, you know, checking the checking the gap all the time, which you have to do.

And and so, yeah, they do. But, you know, one of the one of the things that we always said at the very beginning when we got these bikes is said that, you know, well, you know, the breakdowns are the adventure, and that is part of the journey. And and with these old bikes, you only you always only have 80% chance of getting to where you wanna go. And and, And so what you have to do, and that great book by Ted Simons that Ewan read that kind of inspired this whole thing to take off, was, that was, you know, his opening chapter, he's sitting in a light leaning up against a tree in India somewhere and his bike's broken down. And happy in the knowledge, he knows that someone is gonna stop and and help.

And and and takes a long time to to to to get used to that, but but in in in many ways, it's true. And and and, you know, so we did have a few problems, and I won't tell you which bike, but I can tell you it was European. Yeah. You know, we didn't plan this, but on May 1, it was Ted Simon's birthday. And I I was with I was with Ted Simon in the South Of France on his birthday.

And Oh, fantastic. Yeah. It was great. It's actually the the episode that just that just dropped before this, sorry. Yeah.

Two before this will drop. But anyways, and he wrote around on on that old triumph. And the phrase that he used to describe that moment was interruptions are what made the journey. Can you think of any interruptions that are memorable on this journey that you just talked? There there there was one.

I mean, I'm a one of our bikes bikes, needed more help than we could than we could offer it. And so so we're in, I think, Latvia. And and and, and, you know, fortunately, we we'd just gone through the sort of the main town and decided not to go through it. But we're just coming out the other end, and we had the problems and we and we rang up this this this this place that built old bikes and had a good reputation. Anyway, so he said yes until he came with a van and he stepped out the van and he goes, Hey, Charlie.

He said, I know your next door neighbor. And and, and then it all turned out, I remembered that he built these beautiful they converted these beautiful old BMWs in there, and they've got this amazing restaurant that's attached to their to their workshop, which is which is a, a smokehouse barbecue burger joint. And, I mean, the food was just off the scale, and the smashed burgers were just delish. But, he and so they they they they got picked up the bike into the workshop. And there was a guy called Rob Small, who I'm looking out the window now, and I can see his hair.

And and it was his great friend. And it's just and his wife was from Latvia as well. And and so so they're all friends of each other. And I just it just made me laugh. And and, anyway, they they they they took us in like all good bikers do.

And and and, and we, we had this amazing adventure trying to get this bike back back on the road. Yeah. It's it's it's always that way. You know, you can't help but stop and and help someone if they're on a bike. And that's that's really the point of it all is to have these, these human relationships.

And, I think Ted Simon also said that the the motorcycle was a is a time machine and it really brings us back to that, you know, to that time. So you get time I know we're running out of it, but you always, support UNICEF. Is there is there some work you did with, UNICEF on this trip? And did it and did you visit any outposts? Yes.

We did. We did, we did a whole lot of work with, with UNICEF and their and their distribution center in in Holland, where they distribute emergency stuff from this massive warehouse, there. And then and then we went and we we went to put in Poland, we we met a UNICEF project that was looking after, Ukrainian refugees and and kids and mothers and stuff. We've all had to flee, Ukraine. We knew why this terrible war is going on.

And and, and it was very heartbreaking, very, very difficult, really. You you you have been sitting and talking to these teenage girls who, you know, who should be who should be in their school, you know, with their friends finishing off their their, you know, 16, 17 years old, finishing off their their school life, you know, and it's been it's been interrupted. And they've been lost they've lost, you know, that that couple of years or three years now of of of their childhood has gone because of this thing that's been disrupted. They've had to move to another country. And and Poland and places I mean, I feel so embarrassed that, you know, Britain and America and I don't know about Canada didn't do more for these refugees, but, I mean, they just they piled into Poland and and the Polish doors just flew open and they just took in all these people and just an incredible, incredible humanitarian, you know, a bit like when you guys did you remember nine eleven and and and and the and the planes all flew over into Canada, and you guys all, embraced them all.

And it it was, you you know, it was it was it was a bit like that. You know? Yeah. We, we actually, privately, in the first two weeks of the war, we actually pulled our own resources. And for several weeks, we were bringing refugees from Ukraine to Poland.

And then on our way back, we were bringing supplies into Supplies. Yeah. In into, Ukraine. And we were doing that nonstop, for about two weeks. But, anyways, on a on a on a more fun note, as as we close and, thank you for helping.

And, you know, you're known for your your badass wheelies on a film. Were you able to get the 50 horsepower r 75 to wheelie? Well, it it was, it it it wasn't easy. But, it was there was a there was a certain a definite certain lack of, of, of wheelies on this one, for sure. It is tough.

Can we can we get some breaking news? Have you decided on the next the next chapter in the series? Well, I think, you know, when you when you do these long journeys, you you, I think that you in order to stop the ones that you're on, you you towards the end of of your journey, you're very excited to go home. You know, you you wanna see your family. You there's something lovely about stopping and not moving every day.

You know, there's something nice about that, but but there's a huge part of you that would just love to just carry on. And and so I think you start talking about another one to make the one that you're on easier to stop. Does that make sense? You finished this one, but you you you feel solace and you feel okay because, you know, we've spoken about another one. And that's sort of how this one came about, really.

And so so yeah. I mean, there's so many places to go and see. I think we got a humdinger, maybe, possibly. I don't know. Okay.

Well, that's, that's called a teaser, folks. Charlie's a professional, and he's left us with a teaser. But, I wanna thank you so much for being on the 88 and Cannonball podcast, and, we'll all be tuning in tomorrow. Alright. No worries.

And, listen, thank you for your time, and, and and enjoy the rest of your of your of your journey. I'm I'm very jealous that that you were able to spend time with, Ted. Fuck. Sorry. Yeah.

And I said that you have spent time with Ted Ted Simons. He's one of the most delicious and yummy people in the world. He really is, and he does not disappoint. And at 94 years old, he was twice as sharp as I am. So it was very humbling.

And it's also humbling to speak to you. And, we will we will we will see you on the on the silver screen tomorrow. Alright. See you soon. Take care.

Enjoy the rest of your trip. Bye bye, sir. Thank you. Bye bye. Bye.

Ladies and gentlemen, could I please have your attention? I've just been handed an urgent and horrifying news story, and I need all of you to stop what you're doing and listen. Cannonball. Hey, Cannonballers. Thanks for subscribing to our podcast.

We appreciate it. If you're not a cheap Canadian and want to buy us a coffee, head on over to buymeacoffee.com, or better yet, buy us a case of sweet ass craft IPA. We'll visit on patreon.com. Links are in the show notes. Now back to the riveting podcast in progress.

And we are back. We sure are. Again, sorry about my crappy microphone, but, you know, Charlie sounded great. Sure. Sure.

Charlie did sound great. What's it it's really cool that he took the time. Like, he's busy. He's got a lot going on, and, it's awesome that he took the time. It shows that one of the things that that did resonate with me is, and it kinda it's the same theme that runs throughout the entire motorcycle community, and this even goes to what's coming up next, which is, is that people it is a it is a, motorcycles are a way to get past the barriers of our differences.

And people like, he talked about people helping him, and he even made a reference to Ted Simons about the fact that he began the book by saying, and I sat comfortably under the tree in India waiting for someone to come and bring me fuel. The people are out to support each other and to help each other, and it even goes back to the to the, to the previous interview where, Lynn is like, hey. I wanna open a museum so I can keep these bikes and show people my my gear and my story and bring them together and have them in a place to stay. So people want to do things to bring back to the community, which I think is fantastic. Yeah.

I was absolutely delighted when he mentioned that Ted Simon reference. I'm like, yep. I'm going to, mention that I was hanging out with him on his birthday, and that's, season three episode one, by the way, for everyone who's listening. It's the Ted Simon interview on his 90 birthday. They're happening so fast, Aaron.

I can barely keep up season three, episode three. How do we get here? Patience, my my friend patience. You know, you don't get you don't get to be number two for, you know, for not doing it. Oh, my god.

Number two. One of these days. Just just one of these days, man. You know, it's killing me. Hey, look, Linden's Linden is holding number two, and he's doing pretty well.

So if we hold number two in here, I think we'll be alright. But we are in fine company, sir. We are fine company. Fine company indeed. If you don't mind, let's roll the fifty nine club interview, which was done casually, on the rooftop of the fifty nine club in East London.

Okay. We are at the iconic fifty nine club in London, and, head member of the fifty nine Club, Dick, is gonna spend a few minutes with me. Welcome to the podcast. Thanks thanks very much. That's, it's a pleasure to see you all the way from Canada.

Yes, sir. We I mean, basically, the fifty nine club's been around since '59. It's, it started in 1959 as a youth club patron. We had, Princess Margaret. We had, we've had Cliff Richards.

We've had lots of famous people. But in '63, father Bill turned it into a, a motorcycle club. Nobody had there were wasn't anywhere for guys with bikes to go. So in '63, he said, well, I'm gonna go down the ACE CAF and see if these guys will come to a church service at our church, and we'll form a youth club from that church service. He didn't think anyone would turn up.

He drove by the ACE CAF 2 or three times before he works up enough courage to actually go in and give these leaf dicks out. He thought he was gonna get, thrown into the canal next to the Ace Kaff, but just the opposite happened. The guy thought it was great. It featured in a a in the Daily Telegraph, a big newspaper here, as a cartoon the next day of all the bikes roaring around his his pulpit while he gave a a sermon. And the fifty nine club really started.

So, the club started in '59. The motorcycle bit started in '63. And was very I mean, it was very successful. You know, within the first few years, twenty thousand members. And and the membership just rose through the sixties.

I joined the club in the late sixties. I was too young to drive a bike. I used to get on the back of somebody else and, and go into the club, but you you you couldn't join unless you had a bike. So, I waited till when I was 16, and, and Julie joined the club. And, you mentioned Ace Cafe.

Yep. And the reason why I'm here is because on Saturday, I'm going to, meet an author, Sam Monacam, at the Ace Cafe. And after doing some preliminary research, that's how I found you. What's the connection with the fifty nine Club and the Ace Cafe? Right.

Well well, the the main the main the main place that people met, were in the transport cafes on bikes. They were not allowed in pubs. They were not allowed in cafes or anywhere like that. So they just used to meet in transport gas. We weren't very nice places at all.

Even the Ace Cafe had you know, the spoon for the sugar was on a chain, so you couldn't steal it. It was not a good place to go. I went there in the I I mean, you have to be quite an old guy to have gone there. I went there in the last six months of his life, and, it I was frightened to death when I went there. I thought, you know, I was gonna get beaten up or attacked.

None of that happened, but but it was a scary place to go. But that's where Bill drove to and got the heart got got the club started from. He got the guys from the ASCAF to come to his church, and that was that was where the whole thing started. So that's where we were. That's fantastic.

I didn't know that. And Yeah. We're sitting here on the rooftop. We're in East London. Is that right?

London. Yeah. And we can see a a fantastic sunset view of the city, and, it's really wonderful. These days, I understand you have clubs all over the world. Maybe give us an eye an idea what's happening today with the fifty nine club.

Right. Well, I mean, we do we do have sections in, I mean, probably our biggest, most successful section is in France. That they run a fantastic club there. In fact, they are more they're diehards more than much more than we are, in in terms of dress and motorcycles that turn up. I mean, they are great.

They've got every classic bike, every classic dress, and they meet by a river in a wine bar. So they're they're a fantastic section. We've got sections in Italy. We've got sections in Luxembourg. We've we've got an Italian section.

They're all pretty they're not massive, but they are all interested in the club. And the only rule the club ever has is that you that everyone's eligible. There are no prospects or apprentices or vetting. You know, you turn up with a club, and you're welcome. That and that was Bill's ethos of the club.

That's why he started here. Well, that's exactly how you made me felt when I sheepishly walked through the door. So thank you. Well, it sounds like I need to have a trip to Paris. Yeah.

You do. Yeah. Tomorrow. But failing our our our big podcasting budget, that probably won't happen. But maybe you could help us with some terminology.

I also noticed that they were saying a ton up boy. What is a ton up boy or a ton up? Right. A ton up boy is, I mean, basically, in the old days, if your motorcycle did a hundred mile an hour, that was quite something. And so to join that club, you had to do a hundred mile an hour.

So a ton is a hundred mile an hour. And and they they and and if the truth of the matter the truth of the matter is that that that most bikes wouldn't do a hundred mile an hour, but, everybody claimed they did. Oh, that's fantastic. Well, thanks for filling in those gaps. If people wanna learn more about the fifty nine club, where can they go?

Right. Well, they can I mean, the best places to go, we've got a Facebook site, fifty nine club? That's the best place. We've got a a website, the 50 9 club, Com. Just pop along there.

There's you, you know, you can join there. You can buy badges and the usual stuff there, but you can you can, you know, interrelate with people on there. And, you know, there's quite a lot of conversations going on on Facebook. So it's it and and that's what's really made the club. It's it's social media.

It's made the club a worldwide thing. And, also, people like a like the club because you don't have to own a BSA or a Norton or a certain bike to join it or a dress a certain way to join it. There are none of those rules. It's it's a every bike, every dress. And we are back.

Yeah. That's a great group of people, and I have never felt more welcomed by a group of strangers, stranger story in a very long time. I walked through that door sheepishly, and they were, like, a new person, and they they they brought me in. The moment they found out that I was a podcaster, all the photos came out, all the historic documents came out, they gave me a fantastic book. I'm actually going home with about seven books, so I have a backpack full of books, and, they were super welcoming, and then they actually put a post on their Facebook page, which a little bit of social media giving back is always welcome because it's very hard to come by these days.

Yeah. That's very nice. It's very nice, dude. That it's it's, it's a really cool story as well. You know, they started off as kinda like it was it was rough.

Right? And now it's like this endearing club with a bunch of people who were there to be supportive again. That started off as a bit of a as a bit I guess it was the, the the priest went around to the club to try to bring people in. Yeah. This is actually gonna bring us around to one of our two episodes away.

So the priest was like, they all these kids are dying. Right? They used to hang out at the Ace Cafe, which was like this hardcore trucker stop, we will call it. Right? A trucker cafe.

And they would go, and they would pop a coin in a jukebox, and they would try to run around the block and come back before the song ran out. But, you know, people were dying like crazy. You think about these motorcycles. They had drum brakes. They're the first motorcycles ever made, and they were dropping like flies.

And the priest was like, how do I get these kids to, you know, focus this energy in another way? So he got on his motorcycle. He went over there, and he was instantly successful in bringing the kids from the Ace Cafe, the Tun Up boys, and bringing them over to the church into a structured club, which became the fifty nine Club. And then, funnily enough, once the priest in this formal organization at fifty nine Club was involved, they were like, well, what can we do with this? So they actually created something, I think, called the emergency services or something like this, which now is an organization called the Blood Bikers.

And I just finished an interview, in I think it was in Surrey. It was just, like, a few hours ago. It's a bit of a whirlwind, but with a great guy named Alex, and he is the chairman of the Blood Bikers organization for all of The UK. So So there is a thread running from the Ace Cafe to the fifty nine Club, to the Blood Bikers, and we're gonna go full circle. Tomorrow, I'm actually going to the Ace Cafe, and I'm sitting down with Sam Monacam, and he's obviously a very, prolific writer, and he's got six books out all about adventure motorcycling.

So I'm heading to the original Ace Cafe to meet Sam tomorrow. So it's an interesting theory I'm working on. It's, 600 RPM of separation or something. I'm trying to I'm trying to come up with some sort of interesting phrase to to illustrate the thread that's running through all these stories. Just wanna clarify.

So a ton of boy is someone who runs a hundred miles an hour on a machine that was not designed to do a hundred miles an hour, and they Yeah. Most of them would lie in there. So does that make you like a, you know, a a buck 50 boy? Where do you fit in this whole Yeah. Two ton boy, and that that's, you know, I don't know.

I don't think I like that that, that moniker. So I will I will say thank you, but no thank you for that that moniker. Okay. We alright. Let's skip the let's skip calling you a two ton boy then.

Yeah. You can call me whatever you want. I don't really care. Just call. Whatever you do, just call.

That's right. Let's, you know, we're running out of time here. Let's run directly head on into Hunter's report of the 2025 route and part of the 2026 route, and we are forever in his debt for doing that. And be sure to check out his organization, ADV Vets, and he will be helping us in the twenty twenty five ADV cannonball. So if you don't mind, let's roll the interview.

Alright, Hunter. Welcome back to the podcast. Hey. Thanks for having me, Aaron. How are you doing today?

I'm doing fantastic. I'm sitting in a miserable hotel room by myself, in Windsor, London. Not Windsor, London. Windsor, England. And, I am gonna go find some dinner.

But, I understand that you just finished coming all the way back from the West Coast after pre riding the 2025 and part of the 2026 ADV cannonball route. And what a ride it was. So 7,007 miles in total. Wow. That's a lot of miles.

Yeah. That's a round trip. Yeah. So it was, with three late days, it was fifteen fifteen days in total. And so twelve days of riding, 7,007, miles, but an an interesting fact, over 87,000 feet of elevation change.

Wow. We left off. You were at Buffalo Thunder, and you were in heading into New Mexico, and you were gonna do, I believe it's called dirt option a. Maybe you can tell us about dirt option a. That's right.

Yep. We did, did slab day in nine and a half hours and, woke up buffalo thunder and headed toward Angel Fire Loop. So the initial route, paved route, I was a bit confused. I thought I was to follow both of them, so I took off and meandered through these incredible tarmac twisties down through a river and made my way all around around Angel Fire heading north out of Santa Fe. So it was great.

And option a, I think, it took me about three hours to reach, the entrance to option a. And so pulled off the tarmac, and just as Aaron predicted, nice flat Prius bald tires, beautiful dirt road. Yeah. It's, it's always challenging because, you know, you never know how things are gonna be the next year or even after, you know, the spring runoff. And I understand that your impression of Section A, Option A for the DIRTT option is probably not for, let's call it, the 75 year old guy with a brand new GS 1,300.

Would that be accurate? That would be accurate. So as described, Prius with ball tires would have made it, about a hundred yards down this road, and that's where it ended. Things have changed. Yeah.

They definitely have changed. And so, again, to kinda remind everybody, I'm riding a BMW f 900 with fifty fifty tires on it, at street pressure. The first climb up, this, option a is 21.6 miles, I think, if I'm correct, somewhere in there. It's not it's not super long, but it is absolutely rocky. The washouts have done a number on that road quite a bit.

So it was, it was a dental check for sure to make sure all my fillings were still in place. Right. But you got through on your, on your 900 GS, and you never, you know, you never fell or anything like that. Right? No.

No. So, the the 900 g s again was packed for a cross country and back trip. I probably had one it's embarrassing to admit, but maybe three hundred pounds of gear on on the bike. Like, it's pretty loaded up and just took my time. It it was, if if you rated any sort of off road scale from, you know, golf course flat at being a one and enduro skills absolutely required being a 10, This would fall somewhere in a three to four range.

You just had to pay attention. After five days of tarmac and twisties, you know, it's just getting my dirt feet underneath me again. Yeah. Cool. That's a nice nice honest, reply.

And the paved sections through here are fantastic. You're getting into, those iconic, fast paved sections, and then you made your way over to dirt option B. Now, we will talk a little about what you encountered, but rest assured, we have made all of the route changes according to the ride report. And everyone keep in mind that I will be riding everything again, come this summer well before the actual rally. But you you were a badass, and you got up into the 10,000 foot plus range.

And I understand that you might have, hit some snowpack. I did. I did. I did. So it was, it's about a 30 miles of of tarmac from Taos back to where option b starts.

Sat on the curb, had a couple of tacos, maybe a quarter mile from the entrance. And I was contemplating your vision or version of Prius with bald tires after my last and first off road experience. Not really sure what, what I was gonna encounter. And so finished my lunch and and headed off. Mind you, I I got a late start.

I underestimated this day dramatically. So when I left and did the Angel Fire Loop, I was meandering and having just a good old time and and lollygagging around and whatnot. So by the time I started option B, which is a hundred and nine mile stretch, it was about 4PM. So Yeah. And I think you're really hitting an important fact home is, I never want people to think that I have plans, under plan something, or over plan something.

You are gonna be on the road all day. And to try to do all the paved sections and all the, optional sections, it will require a an aggressive, experienced rider. But would you say that, you know, notwithstanding the snowpack that you had to unload all your gear and push your bike through, and thanks for doing that. There's some awesome pictures on your site, ADV Vet and also the Cannonball Facebook group, and thank you for doing that. Would you say that this is more of a high speed, fun, dirt road in the mountains?

Would that would that be accurate? All day. And and that was what so I finished my lunch. Like, I made it a quarter mile, and and the entrance actually goes right past the police station. I was like, oh, great.

In case I need some help, here we go. And I took off the first mile. I'm, like, praising your name in my helmet because I'm doing 87 miles an hour on gravel. The gravel's flying. I'm just having a blast.

And at that point, I think you started out at about 4,000 feet, if I remember correctly. And this this ascent up is just twisty turny through some petrified forests, some, some forest, fire damage areas, but the vistas start to grow and elevation starts to climb, and you're flying. I mean, you're just having a blast. So as I ascended through 7,000 feet, I was having the time of my life, and I was like, this is great. It's exactly what Aaron prescribed, what he told everybody.

Like, I'm so happy having a ball. And then and then 9,000 feet came, and things changed. Nature can be a a relentless lady. That's for sure. But yeah.

Exactly. At at 9,000 feet, the snow melt I was super early. The snow melt turned the top two inches of soil into pudding, and it was, it was a fight from there. So from 9,000 feet about maybe four or five miles. Now mind you, I'm saying this because I was I was early, really early.

This if this the first forty miles of this road was flat, dry, dusty, fun, super fun. And so as I ascended through the mud and I'm fighting the bike, I crested 10,000 feet, and I stopped. I had been dodging snow drifts at this point and kinda working my way off to the edge of the road, and and hadn't encountered anything but mud until that point. At exactly 10,000 feet, I stopped. There's an oncoming jeep.

This is the first vehicle I've encountered during this whole off road section. And so he's got, you know, monster tires, and he's hammered down, and there's snow flying. And I'm looking ahead sitting still on the bike going, there's no way I'm gonna be able to do this. So I watched this guy navigate this snowdrift, and he makes his way up to me. And he goes, he's like, hey, man.

How's it going? I said, great. You know? I said, I'm I'm just making my way down the road. Am I gonna be able to continue on, or does the snow get deeper?

Because I I'm not I don't know how much further I've gotta climb and and so on and so forth. And he goes, no. That was it. That was the that was the only section I had to put my lockers in, and my jaw dropped in my helmet. I'm like, this guy's got 37 inch tires, lockers, and he's flinging snow everywhere, and I'm on a on a motorcycle.

Right? So I was like, that's alright. You know? At least there's somebody up here, and and I'll and I'll try and make my way through it. And he goes, sweet bike.

Have fun. And he left. Nice. Take care. Brush your hair, bro.

Right. That's awesome. I'm like, okay. People in cages and and giant wheels don't understand that, you know, you're just out there all by yourself. Now everyone knows that your wife and I were following you with your with your GPS tracker.

So Yeah. And this is the point of having when you make a choice of doing all the off road sections in the in the ADV cannonball, Rally is to choose whether to have the phone based, SW tracker or run a, satellite based tracker. And this is a great example of maybe you should run the satellite tracker when doing all the offshore sections, especially if you're gonna plan on doing it alone. But in your assessment, would you say that, you know, assuming, you know, we're gonna be doing this in October and that's by design. So it's just before the the snow flies.

And would you say that this is a high speed, low drag, fun section that you can knock out pretty quick if you have some basic riding skills? All day long. Yeah. Absolutely. All day long.

If you've ridden on gravel roads at all, this will be a ton of fun to run. So Yeah. And like all things in this rally, the off road sections are not like, you know, some off road challenges. They're all for a purpose. They're scenic.

They're interesting. They're not just to say that you have dirt on your tires. They are, they are all iconic and a representation of the geographical area that you're in. I'm just gonna move us along quickly to the next day, and, maybe you can bring us up to speed after your great breakfast experience. Oh, the, pancakes.

Pancakes. I got a picture of them. I was like, these are great. Yeah. So, you gotta go see Michelle at, Three Bears Cafe, best pancakes on on in the universe per the billboard.

I could vouch for that and, and super nice lady. So, yeah, we made it made my way out of, we should go back, though. So the route was changed because the end of the road was closed on that hundred nine nine mile section. There was a a rock slide that closed one of the most iconic sections of this route. The route is already updated, and, unfortunately, you had to ride back, you know, twenty, thirty miles.

But thanks for doing that. I appreciate it. Yeah. You bet. Of course.

That was the only way to get out of there. Right. Thanks. But you had no choice. Yep.

Yeah. So so Arizona, you you leave out of Gallup, New Mexico, and it's I 40. Beautiful. Just just you're you're really by that time, you've made you kinda left the plains in in the back of your mind, and you've really gotten into the desert environment. And and you're just taking in all of this hard left turn, takes you through the Petrified National Forest, beautiful tarmac, amazing scenery.

And then we started up auction a on day six, it would have been. I haven't done that in several years, and there's an interesting little discussion to be had here. But maybe tell me, what you experienced, and then and then we can, do a quick, debrief. So my statement to you on that day, I recall was, if you don't take option a on day six and you have a cup holder on your ADV bike, then you are officially an ADV weenie. That is the most beautiful, iconic, incredible North Rim Road.

The vistas are out of control. The road is smooth. You're riding right along the rim. I actually took the opportunity that day to to get a lot of drone footage, a lot of camera work done, knowing that I had two sections in Arizona that day. So it kinda goes back to you're you're talking about if you're riding spiritedly, if if you've got some experience off road, there is absolutely the opportunity to run both off road sections or as much as you choose as you as you go back and forth.

You you gotta you gotta be getting with it, and and moving along pretty quickly. But that was that was the most amazing ride. Like, incredible. That North Rim Run was beautiful. Yeah.

Fantastic. And that and that's the point of of these optional off road sections is that if you are looking to be first to the hotel, maybe you can do some power sliding. But if you just wanna go for a, you know, well curated off road route, these sections are definitely the way to go. I will say that the option b, the next section, should not be taken by everyone. And let me preface it for two reasons, and you can back me up from your riding experience.

The first reason is the paved section is fantastic. It goes through Jerome and then it goes through Prescott. And that road out of Jerome is is amazing. It's it's some of the best paved sections in America. And then based on your ride report and me being an old guy, that option b trail sorry, road trail is a little haggard because its proximity to Prescott and the, the unintended, I guess, influence of side by sides on ADV routes.

Would that be an accurate assessment? Very accurate. Yeah. So you you're coming down I 17 South, and the turn off is her bloody basin. And I found that interesting.

I I was actually stationed in Phoenix when I was in the military, so I was familiar with that road, and I'd never turned off there. You turn off, and it's, you know, maybe five, six miles, of gravel. And the side by sides that come up from Phoenix, that come over from Prescott, have just really done a number on that whole trail. And it is it is in durove style all the way. So, you know, you guys out there riding your KTMs that that are looking for a challenge, man, that's that's the beast for you.

I ended up taking the bike down a a waterfall through some pretty gnarly rock gardens, uphill climbs, ascents, twisties. Like, at one point, I I started to think to myself, you know, even though everybody's tracking me, I'm out here on the bike and I need to preserve my tires because it's that rocky. It it really got into I had a blast. Let me preface that. Right?

I had a ton of fun, but I broke my shift lever, bent my brake lever. I dropped the bike four or five times on that trail, which is not very common for me. It was it was pretty pretty exhausting, pretty fun. You know? By the time you roll into Prescott, at the end of it, which is where it dumps you out, you're worn out.

I mean, you are flat worn out as long day. Yeah. So if I was doing this route, which I'm going to, I would absolutely do section optional off road section a, and I would do Jerome. It is it is a wonderful place to go. You're not missing out anything, and I would follow the rest of the paved day.

If I was, looking to prove something and be a badass, I would do the optional off road section if I had some serious skills and a lighter bike. Keep in mind that you had a, you know, a medium weight GS 9 GSA 9 9 but you got it done. Yeah. Exactly. And that's the to prove the point, if you're on a medium weight bike with some moderate skills, by no means am I the, you know, the best rider out there.

I did both dirt sections, and and all the paved sections. And then when you ride out of there, you you end up heading for Blythe. And the the roads across the desert, once you descend down well, first of all, going back the pavement when you come out of there is crazy fun. It's it's incredible. It's fun, but be careful.

Don't let the speed get away from you. It's, exactly right. Just always keep in mind your limitations and where your where your skill runs out. You know, we've all got that limit. The the Vistas, though, will keep you at a moderate speed.

Just looking out over the valley, especially if you take option b, you know, you're gonna be looking for that. Just relaxing on the handlebars a little bit. I will say that the flat sections heading in the blight provided for a substantial amount of one wheel opportunities. So it was fun. Yeah.

That's awesome. So you did the paved sections into, into the Portofino. So let's just can I can I summarize if I can take the liberty because I I don't I don't wanna give everything away? Sure. We'll summarize by saying the ride to California is epic.

The the canyon carving is epic. Maybe you can give me your sense and what you observed as you pulled into the Cannonball Monument into the Portofino Hotel. It's it's really strange. You cross the the plains and then the deserts, and then boom, you're you're, you know, you're in California, and there's traffic, and there's people, and you're navigating back to what your normal day to day would be on the bike commuting. You're trying to work streets out, but you crest there's one hill, and everybody will know exactly what I'm talking about when they see it.

You crest the hill, and there is the big blue Pacific. That overwhelming feeling at that moment is it is an accomplishment like no other. Like, I've just done this. I've survived it. It it was amazing.

You know? All of the emotions sort of start to pedal in, and then you're pulling down the lane. And I kinda I don't wanna give, you know, too too much visual, but you're pulling down the lane, you see the moniker. And and you and you you're you're just beside yourself. Like, there there's an overwhelming sense of accomplishment.

And there were people I was by myself, and there was no planned event whatsoever. People coming up to me, you know, hey. Did you just finish the cannonball? Are are you just finishing a ride across country? The the bellhop started taking pictures for me.

It was just an incredible experience. Really neat. That's really awesome. Yeah. No one's ever come to see me every time I showed up, but that's really awesome.

You gotta ride more wheelies, man. So that on the big GSA. So everyone knows when you pull in there at the end of the ADV cannonball, we'll have reserved parking. Everyone will have the day to go and clean up rest or go rip some more roads. And then I think at 6PM, we have in the Portofino, we have our awards banquet.

So that's gonna be fun. And then just for the sake of time and because it's a podcast, you were nice enough to after that, you know, accomplishment and that great experience of seeing the monument, and and that huge experience, I I realize you went and did some private stuff, but you rode pre rode, the second to last day of the 2026 route, which is fully secret, but I don't mind telling people the broad strokes. Maybe you can tell, a brief overview of the paved section of the second to last day of the twenty twenty six ADV cannonball route. I I'll leave it at this. Right?

You you so I I stopped and saw my son in in California. So that that's two the two days that I took off the bike and, hung out with my oldest son, and then I left. And it's daunting. Right? You're you're like, okay.

That's I think, my total number was 3,900 miles across, and and I was like, I set off and agreeing to to kinda go check out the twenty twenty six. I am like the giddiest little school boy when it comes to riding these routes in the cannonball. I'm just super passionate about it. I love what you're doing. I love this project.

I I hope that this is something for years and years and years to come. I've now gotten so close to it that I that I can't be a competitor, which is crushing my heart for 2025. But riding that 2026 route, you're on your own, buddy. I am racing that one a %. Oh, it's not Oh, no.

It's not a race. But that It's not a race. That is coming out of California and riding everything in reverse towards the Rocky Mountains. Again, I I don't wanna give it away, but if you guys don't sign up for the 2026 race now, you're gonna miss out. You're gonna be so pumped at what Aaron's curated, put together, everything that from from this first initial event and the and the care and the thought and the the everything that went into making this route amplifies in 2026.

It just becomes insane very fast. Yeah. So do your that little preview. You we climb, I'm thinking reverse. So you come out of Las Vegas.

You go through Death Valley. Many authors have written about Death Valley and the canyons there. We route you around some important motorcycle routes. You climb up the the Sierra Range, and then there's an optional, off road route coming into Bakersfield. So that's how you will ride it in 2026.

And then you were you were really nice, and you did the unpaved sorry. The optional unpaved or dirt road sections in Utah. And I'm really, really proud of this. This is taking me, a lot of work, but maybe you can tell people the, the combination of the paved and unpaved routes through Utah. So anybody that knows, Southern Utah as far as a a riding area, they they know what to expect.

If you if you've never ridden there, take some time and go out and and really experience it. The paved the paved sections are second to none. The gravel sections, the, you know, at one point, I won't give away the name of the canyon, but at one point, you're riding down a canyon, and the right side of the canyon is a tan and white, like a tan and brown color. The left side of the canyon is a brilliant red and white. It is literally split down the middle, and that's one of the canyons on the route.

You'll make your way through everything that seems like a moonscape to you know, I saw families of bighorn sheep and herds of elk and every sort of experience. And so what you experienced in Southern Southern New South is a special place. And to be able to take these roads and, again, incredibly well curated, you know, you I had one hand on the camera, one hand on the drone, and no hands on the handlebar. You're like, you're you're able to ride it and focus, and kinda do some stuff. So if you're a high speed guy and you're looking for that overall trophy, you know, go for it.

Get your car on and get some. But if you're looking for a car, I know. If you're if you're looking for for just a ride that will put you to, like, you'll have dreams of these rides for years to come. The scenery is incredible. Yeah.

And that day begins in Moab, and there is some iconic roots out of Moab. And then coming into Moab, you weren't able to do it, but we used to do a rally every year in Colorado. And I've really called on those experiences to design that route. But unfortunately, you were early by two days. The Some of the iconic passes open, like the Cottonwood Pass opens on May 1, and the I think it's called Edge Of The World or something.

That unpaved switchback section also opens on May 1. But suffice it to say, there are three unpaved sections in the Colorado passage that are once in a lifetime sections, and we're so excited about sharing those with everyone. And, I think you booked at home after that. Is that correct? I did.

Yeah. So, I had I had chosen the Motel's GPS, tire fifty fifty tire and and didn't give it an ounce of of relief on the whole way. So I'd worn that out by the time I got to Moab. I was thinking about time frames and and what I need to do in my personal life, and so I rode I 70 to Denver. The passes no no wonder the passes are closed.

I'm riding through the Vail Pass at 11,000 feet. It's snowing, and I mean snowing snowing. And I'm looking up at the mountain, and I see all of these people skiing. Like, they are in the middle of their winter vacation. I'm thinking to myself, what am I doing on a motorcycle out here?

So I made my way down to Denver, changed tires, and then just dropped the hammer, came through Kansas, Kentucky, Indiana, Illinois, West Virginia, and then back home to Virginia Beach. So people have forgotten. We're talking about the 2026 route, and I know it's more of a preview. But there are two reasons for telling this, not only to to show you that, you know, the route is awesome, but the amount of effort that goes into this route with people like, with Hunter and myself, and it takes literally years to really nail down this route. We take a lot of into consideration as, can you get this done in a day?

What is the actual skill level? Don't worry. We'll give everyone briefings every morning. That's part of the, obligatory rider notice page. Everything is well organized, and everything will be communicated to you on a daily basis.

But just, suffice it to say that, we do a lot of research. And thanks so much, Hunter, for doing this. I know you spent some time away from your your family. I know that you're raising money for some charities. Maybe you can share, how much money you were able to raise.

We did. We raised over $3,000, in in that campaign, which is amazing, going to the motorcycle relief project out in Colorado, which is, helping PTSD veterans and first responders by way of adventure motorcycling. So it aligns with everything that we're doing, very easily. So, like like, just to piggyback on what you're saying, developing these routes is is no easy task. My overall take from running the 25 route is, you know, be yourself, ride within your parameters.

But everything you've laid out, it's a full day of riding every single day. I think you guys will you know, through the Facebook posts and the podcast and whatnot, At the end of every day, I've been riding my whole life just like you and and a bunch of our listeners. It was something to just sit back and reflect on each and every single day at the end of it's not often you ride your motorcycle, and at the end of the day, you're like, I'm exhausted, and I and I can't stop smiling. So thank you. Yeah.

No. Thank you for doing it. And you really hit the nail on head. This is a friendly competition. And, you know, okay.

This isn't the car or the Baja one thousand, but, it it is a GPS checkpoint rally. Yes, it's well thought out and carefully curated. But at the end of the day, this is a competition, and you may want to choose to wear your tourist hat. But if you want to compete, it's not the easiest thing in the world. But it is doable, and we make sure that everyone can finish it if they are a bit of a ADV badass.

And, I can you tell everyone where to find the ADV vet program? You can find us on Facebook. There's a ADV vet Facebook group, a Facebook page. There's a website launching this week. So we're just getting our feet, underneath of us.

We'll be at the MOA, BMW rally in Tennessee and Lebanon, Tennessee in June, and then we'll be at Whalen Wayne weekend in, Ohio or, Whalen National Forest in September. And then, of course, if you haven't caught up with me by then, I'll be the last guy in the pack in October. Alright. Well, someone's gotta be a badass and and help everyone off the dirt at the twenty twenty five ADV Camryl Rally. So and, again, thanks very much for doing the pre ride, and, and we'll talk soon.

Thanks so much, Aaron. Look forward to it. Registration is now open to the public for the next ADV cannonball rally. All riders on any motorcycle are welcome to join the adventure. Whether you're looking for an exciting and highly organized coast to coast ride with a group of like minded riders or a friendly competition for cannonball glory, it doesn't matter.

Everyone can participate. Head over to advcannonball.com to secure your rally starting position today. Now back to the podcast. And we are back. Yeah.

Another nice one. Another nice one by Hunter for crushing the miles. He went through a tire. He gave us report. He found closed roads with mudslides.

He had to go through, you know, three feet of snow when he carried his bike through it. He, visited his son who is I think he's active military. He he he, went to the Portofino. He, you know, he went in the Sierras. He went down in Death Valley.

He went to Las Vegas. He went to Moab. He went to Colorado. He he did it all all in one trip, and I am super jealous. You know, you can see all of that on on his website as well.

He has shared all of that. He's shared a lot of it on a dvcannonball.com as well. So he's had a lot of great pictures up there. You can see him pushing his bike through the snow, etcetera, etcetera. Yeah.

The our Facebook group is becoming a nice little community. It's the ADV cannonball rally and podcast Facebook group. Just because of our vintage, that seems to be where we're all gathering. Yeah. Fair enough.

Did you have any Cannonball news you wanna share? I do. For the 2025 Cannonball, we have five hotel rooms free. And we have not released 2026 yet, but we plan to. You can come meet us at our fancy schmancy vendor booth at the TourTech Rally in Plain Washington.

That is in June of twenty twenty five. And I have three spots left for motorcycle shipping from the end of the ADV 2025 ADV Cannonball from the Portofino Hotel. And I think my one spot I had open to the start of the 2025 Cannonball is filled now as long as he pays his invoice. And, and, I think that's it unless you have some more, some more news to share. No.

But, during our next podcast, I do wanna talk about the fact that, I did buy some seal seal skins, which are waterproof socks. When I first heard waterproof socks, I'm like, yeah. What does that mean? But they do have, like, a a wet suit y kind of consistency, and I'll do a review on those, for for our, our tech talk at the beginning next time. And you also put some bar risers on your t seven.

Yeah. You know, Lyndon inspired me to get out there and turn some wrenches. So I I got into a massive project. I took, yeah, I took my handlebars off, and I put some risers on and put them back on. It took me ten minutes.

Nice. It took longer to get the tools than it did to do the job. It did indeed. Walking. Meanwhile, Linden and his dad are making pistons for you know, his custom built engine.

But hey, listen, we all gotta start somewhere, right? Everybody's baby steps, baby, baby. That's awesome. And if anyone wants to send us a field note or a Crash Kart Chronicle, you can do so at podcastadvcannibal.com. Crash Kart Chronicles.

I love that name. A lot of alliteration in there. So tell us what a Crash Cart Chronicle is, Aaron. Well, if you were a dumbass and, you know, broke your ankle or something while you're on an ADV trip, we wanna hear about it. What do you mean did you mean if you were a badass or a dumbass?

I didn't quite hear that. They're one of the same, isn't it after you have a broken bone? Fair enough. Alright, so basically, it's any any kind of thing. And that could also you know, it's it's anything that could just make you not feel well in any aspect thereof, whether it's brown bottle flu or otherwise.

That's that's anything that is a that puts you in the crash cart. Exactly. So we are we're happy to hear the hear the stories. Alright. Listen.

Thanks so much for taking the time. Taylor, running this podcast is a lot of work, and thanks for making us look good. And on that note, let's roll the outro. Thanks for listening to the ADV Cannonball podcast. Please give us a five star review on your preferred podcast platform.

That really helps us with the algorithm gods. All hail the algorithm gods. You can buy us a coffee on buymecoffee.com/advcannonball, or directly help save this sinking ship for the price of a pint at patreon.com/advcannonball. Follow us on all the socials with the handle at a d v cannonball. If you'd like to send us a question or comment for the air, or if you are a musical artist and want your royalty free music played on our podcast, or if you'd like to contact us for advertising opportunities, email us at podcast@advcannonball.com.

Thanks for listening. And remember, don't be an ADV weenie. Keep your right hand cranked and your feet on the banks.