Stage 15: Victoria, Texas to McAllen, Texas. 273 miles.

This morning started early with a police escort all the way through Victoria, Texas, which was greatly appreciated. Cool morning temperatures didn’t last long and it quickly heated up the further south we went. Other than a fuel stop where Nikki Hancock made Jacob Martin and I try some terrible Mexican candy, we chugged along with no mechanical issues. Breakfast snack on the road was a bag of chili lime pork rinds—the true breakfast of champions. Late this morning we landed at Corpus Christi Harley-Davidson where they graciously hosted lunch for the group.

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Just after the lunch stop began the grueling part of today; this event is truly an endurance race and challenges every part of the machine and the rider. Temperatures soared, road conditions rapidly deteriorated, and traffic increased tenfold. For the majority of the rest of the day, the route took us on major highways with 70-75 mph speed limits. Easy in a modern machine, but stressful and tense on an old motorcycle. Every few miles I continued to add supplemental oil to the engine crank cases with the tank-mounted hand pump, while also richening the fuel mixture in the carburetor to prevent overheating. Although we maintained a steady 50-55mph, every few miles I would shut the throttle completely to let the engine breathe and not shake apart.

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Scenery today was for the most part fairly bland, though we saw a lot of cotton fields this morning, rode the Corpus Christi bay and Bay Bridge which took us adjacent to the USS Lexington retired aircraft carrier landmark for entering the city of Corpus Christi. After lunch many of the small country roads that we traveled took us directly through some wind farms, where the size of the equipment in comparison to our motorcycle was staggering. We also wound up riding in the area of the famed 825,000 acre King Ranch which was made even more famous for the partnership with Ford Motor Company as a pickup truck design package.

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After some tough roads and high speed interstate travel we made it successfully to McAllen, Texas where Desperado Harley-Davidson provided a hosted dinner stop. Public attendance and interest at the event was at an all time high. Tonight’s wrenching was again just another mound of maintenance and topping up of the fluids.

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Tomorrow we will conquer the finale stage of the event with 99 miles to the finish line in South Padre Island. Right now, at this moment, it all just seems surreal. Two years of preparations and anticipation paying off with the ultimate challenge in vintage motorcycling. This event wouldn’t be possible without Ben Brown and Art Frank; their friendship is worth so much to us. I can say that we are humbled and thankful. What an adventure.