Basically what this amounts to is a link tour of photos from the the antique motorcycle Cannonball Run of 2010 as it follows a dear family friend, Dave Kleptz. Dave is a LOONNNGGG time friend of my father's. They met when my dad was 17 and had come to look at one of Dave's dad's cars either to buy or to do work on the apolstery of (that part of the story was lost on me as I was more interested in how this guy I've known for years became friends with my dad). There is a decent age gap for the two, especially at that age. Dave was around 12 when they met the first time. They may not have become friends from the start but my dad shared the same love of cars and motorcycles that the Kleptz family felt so they remained in close contact. Over the years the bond has grown deeper and my dad has had a significant part in a great many Kleptz projects (mainly the motorcycles). Dave's 1915 Harley is the most recent large scale project and has been a great success as only around 10 of 44 antique motorcycles (anything 1916 or earlier was allowed entry) finished the race with top marks and his was one of them. Mostly I don't know what I'm talking about as it pertains to my father and his love of motorcycles so I won't go on about it anymore. I just wanted to share my extreme pride in my father, his friend and this project that has kept them both quite lively for the past year (and some :) )
These photos were taken by Michael Lichter
The whole gang, pre race.
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| Dave's bike all ready for the road, thanks to Simsomniac on Photobucket |
Ohhhh Dave!! lol Early in the race.
This is probably my favorite picture!
I seriously don't think this guy could crack me up more.
Helping out the fellows, everybody's a part of the pit crew.
Like this angle, would make kind of a neat painting.
Dave's bike that my dad did some pretty major overhauling on.
Changing a tire.
I just <3 this one for the name, Flying Merkel :)
And this one with the wooden wheels is pretty cool too.
Ridin buddies :)
Pretty awesome guy right there!
This shadow is really neat, it would make a great painting.
At the finish line!!!
Some articles relating to the race:
http://www.antiquemotorcycle.org/index.php?mact=News,cntnt01,detail,0&cntnt01articleid=2&cntnt01returnid=97
http://www.motorcyclecannonball.com/
[Of course at the top of this one is a picture of dear ol' Dave workin on the bike.]
http://www.sexandharleys.com/motorcycle-cannonball-run-buzz-kanter-shares-his-efforts/
http://www.clutchandchrome.com/news/news/untold-motorcycle-stories-cannonball-run
http://www.clutchandchrome.com/news/news/classic-cannonball-vintage-motorcycles
http://www.clutchandchrome.com/news/news/motorcycle-cannonball-united-states
http://www.edhat.com/site/tidbit.cfm?nid=39899
http://www.cyrilhuzeblog.com/2010/09/27/motorcycle-cannonball-motorcycling-won/
