Scooters And One Wheels

SCOOTER CANNONBALL: Riders roll into Eureka after a strenuous 10-day race by way of the nation | Misplaced Shore Outpost

The finish line! Scooters parked outside Shamus T. Bones | on Wednesday, July 21 Photos: Stephanie McGeary

###

This was the first year Tim Jackson, aka DJ Tiny, of Atlanta, Georgia, competed in the Scooter Cannonball – a biennial scooter race in the United States – and Jackson was thrilled to have made it across the finish line, the this year was on Truesdale Street in Eureka, just outside Shamus T. Bones.

“I’m so excited,” Jackson told the outpost as he stood next to his scooter parked on the edge of Humboldt Bay. “I feel so complete. Just driving a scooter is so much fun. ”

And finishing the race wasn’t an easy task. Starting in Bar Harbor, Maine, July 12th, participants had 10 days to complete the drive across the country to Eureka. The drivers started and ended each day at a predetermined location, drove along a shared route, and were awarded points for reaching checkpoints along the way. On average, participants drove 425 miles per day. To keep the schedule, Jackson said he wouldn’t stop to eat and usually only stop once to go to the bathroom. Many of the participants started their day around 5 a.m.

“DJ Tiny” at the finish line in Humboldt Bay

These die-hard scooter riders drove across the country, sometimes through extreme weather and heat. Many drivers dropped out of the race because of the difficulties, others because of injuries or mechanical problems. Even though Jackson made it to the finish line, not even he rode the scooter he started on. On the third day he had an accident and his scooter was badly damaged. So he bought a new one and just kept going.

“[The hardest part] is probably the endurance – of the machine and of yourself – to make sure you get enough rest and maintain your machine, “said Jackson.

Scooter Cannonball has been held every two years since 2004 (this year’s event has been postponed to 2020 due to the pandemic) and has seen between 40 and 100 participants per race. The route is completely different every year and starts and ends in a different coastal town. When drivers reach checkpoints, they send photos or GPS information to the event’s app. The information was regularly updated on the event website and spectators were able to follow the location of the drivers on an online map.

Map with the scooter cannonball race track | Screenshot from the event website

This year’s route was particularly difficult, event organizer Dave Bednarski told Outpost. It had a particularly long few days – the longest drive was 527 miles – and longer stretches of dirt road than many of the previous races. Bednarski was the organizer of the last two races and has been there since 2008. He said a higher percentage of drivers had to drop out this year than usual. Of the 73 scooter riders who took part, only about 35 were on their way to Eureka on Wednesday afternoon. And of these, only about 25 scored at the event, he said.

Bednarski said some of the drivers got off because of broken ribs and others because of damage to their scooters. A support truck drives behind the drivers that picks up those who cannot continue and drives them to the next town. Whenever possible, the scooters are repaired at the stop every night so that the drivers can continue driving the next day.

“That is always the goal,” said Bednarski, “to get them back on the road.”

One of the big challenges of this year’s race was the weather. The race started on the east coast at the end of Hurricane Elsa and the participants drove through dust storms and thunderstorms. The drivers came to Eureka from Fernley, Nevada on Wednesday and the race had to be rerouted because of the forest fires in Eastern California.

Bednarski said arriving with the sunny yet cool weather of Eureka was a pleasure. The riders were also greeted warmly at the finish with a party by Shamus T. Bones, and some local scooter enthusiasts also came to greet the racers. One of the reasons Eureka was chosen for this year’s endpoint is because it has a robust scooter community, Bednarski said, specifically mentioning the Slugrockets Scooter Club.

And the support that exists within the Scooter community is part of what made Scooter Cannonball such a special experience. Although the event is highly competitive, there is also a lot of camaraderie and respect among drivers, according to Bednarski and Jackson.

“I’m the only Person of Color running this year, and it didn’t matter – everyone treated me like family,” Jackson told the Outpost. “When you are part of the scooter culture, you are a family.”

Scroll down to see more photos at the finish line of Scooter Cannonball.

Related Articles