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SOUTH WINDSOR, CT – It was an SRO crowd Saturday morning when Carl Reese came to speak at Max BMW about his record-setting motorcycle ride from Los Angles to New York City last August. He rode 2,829 miles in 38 hours and 49 minutes, taking only a one hour and 15 minute nap in a motel in Kansas.
Carl Reese, left, and Max BMW owner Max Stratton
Introduced by Max BMW owner Max Stratton, Reese talked for more than an hour about the history of cannonballing, introduced earlier record-holder Fred Boyajian, provided some secrets from his successful run and took questions from spectators.
Fred Boyajian, Carl Reese and Max Stratton
Reese only got stopped once by the cops (in Pennsylvania) and only had one problem outside of fatigue – a balding rear tire on his 2015 BMW K 1600 GT, which got replaced thanks to a handy Harley-Davidson dealer.
A full story with video is coming soon…
Original story from Feb. 13, 2016:
SOUTH WINDSOR, CT – Solo cannonball rider Carl Reese, who last August rode a 2015 BMW K 1600 GT from Los Angeles to New York City in a record time, will talk about the grueling experience in a multi-media presentation on Saturday, Feb. 20 at Max BMW here.
Reese made the coast-to-coast, 2,829-mile ride in 38 hours and 49 minutes, shattering a previous record that had stood for 33 years. His talk will begin at 10:30 a.m. and last about an hour.
Photos by Ryan Sorensen
Reese’s journey began at 3:15 a.m. on Aug. 28 when he left Los Angeles. He took I-15 to Las Vegas and continued on until he linked with I-70 in Utah. From there, he headed east across Colorado, Kansas, Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, West Virginia and Pennsylvania before making it into Manhattan.
During the ride, Reese average 73 miles per hour and, in true cannonballer fashion, sometimes topped 110 miles per hour. Despite much preparation in spin classes and wearing padded shorts beneath his riding gear, he ended up with a raw butt. The only other major problems were a worn-out tire some 300 miles from the finish line and extreme fatigue.
Reese’s talk is free and all riders are welcome. Max BMW is located at 1535 John Fitch Blvd (Route 5). Here’s a trailer on Reese’s ride:
I rode a BMW R60 from LA to Richmond, VA but I took the leisurely route and had a buddy in a car along with me. Interesting trip, we were stopped in Texas for murder but then they caught the real murderer so they let us go. In Richmond, the front tire went flat so we tied the front end into the trunk of my buddy’s car and continued to Springfield MA. When the toll booth sensors picked up the third axle, they chased us to get the extra money.
Thank you to the great people from CT that came out and met me at Max BMW! It was an honor for me to share some of the motorcycle history with every one! Thank to MAX for making this all possible.
Motorelief.org is the combat veterans charity that I support. 100% goes to the vets to let them ride BMW GS for 5 days and help heal from the stress of war.
Our crowd funding site for the documentary is located at https://www.gofundme.com/49qkjybw 20% of all proceeds from the film will go to the motorelief.org
I’m looking forward to meeting the “Ride CT ” folks when I’m in CT this Saturday.
Carl Reese
38:49 is the official time.
It’s too bad I can’t find anything online detailing the race results from The Horse Backstreet Chopper magazine. They may or may not have had a race across country for the past ten years which may or may not have been called The Stampede. They were clocking some impressive numbers. I’d love to compare to this guy’s time/mileage. And they were doing it on hardtail choppers, sometimes limiting engine size and fuel capacity. I’d bet money (not a lot as I’m not rich) their times were comparable to this guy.
I rode a Sportster from California to Pennsylvania in five days. I can’t imagine doing it in 33+ hours.
Guess he didn’t stop to see the sights!