A Widow's Ride

Facebook memories that pop up can really stir up emotions, can’t they? In May 2025, it will mark a decade since I embarked on a journey of a lifetime, cruising along the back roads of the United States on the mighty Yahama TW200. It truly allowed me to see the world with wide eyes, and experience so many precious moments that I wouldn’t have encountered if I had traveled on a larger motorcycle or the interstate. Having a smaller motorcycle enabled me to navigate the less traveled roads and form genuine connections with people, where stories just flowed due to a shared understanding.

These memories ignite a fierce longing to set off on a new journey, to revel in life and rekindle the thrill of adventure. I’m contemplating how, where, and in what manner I should mark the tenth anniversary of my motorcycle trip and share the experience on my blog, www.twowheelstwofeet.com. I took a step back and thought about what Lizrdbrth, also known as Russ Austin, would do. He’s always dreaming up wild ideas for adventures. He undertook an iron butt ride on the TW200 with another rider, Ronnydog, aka Ron Clough. When Russ and Ron completed the Iron Butt, it took them just over 23 hours to conquer it on the mighty Tdub. The idea of riding for that long is enough to make my butt pucker. So, that’s definitely off the list. Besides, it’s only for a single day. I’m aiming for something a bit more extensive than that.

Then I remembered his other wild idea. Russ and our friend Mike Shafer had sporadically discussed participating in The Rickshaw Run in India. The rickshaw, also known as a tut-tut, is a three-wheel vehicle that resembles a scooter pretending to be a car with an enclosed body. The race commenced in 2006, seeing 35 teams of 3, with 31 teams successfully completing the challenge. Presently, the event takes place four times a year, offering the opportunity to customize your vehicle and embark on an adventure with two other daring individuals. There’s no predetermined route, no backup, and no assurance of reaching the finish line. The only certainty is getting lost, encountering difficulties, and experiencing breakdowns. Unless I can find a group of equally audacious individuals to join me, I can’t envision organizing or planning such a trip in under a year. Perhaps another time, but for now, this adventure is crossed off my list.

Another crazy adventure that was brewing in Russ’ mind involved embarking on a journey through Mongolia on a Honda C90 alongside a man named Ed March. Interestingly, it wasn’t until years later, watching a video I purchased, that I realized I had met him at the Overland Expo, and that it was the very trip he had spoken about.

While thinking about that scooter, I suddenly remembered that a friend did the Scooter Cannonball in 2021. Missrider Rides rode her Honda Hunter Cub 125 from Bar Harbour, ME, to Eureka, CA, and I followed along her journey. So, I decided to do a little bit of research on it. So basically, the Scooter Cannonball is not a race but more like a rally where like-minded people set out to ride a scooter from coast to coast.

The idea of a rally between coast to coast started brewing in the early 2000s by Mike Heytens, and the first race kicked off in 2004 with nine riders taking off from Virginia Beach, Virginia, to NoHo Scooters in North Hollywood, California, which took twelve days. The rally became a recurring event, with a new route chosen every other year, running between eight to 12 days. The start and finish line locations alternate between the east and west coasts of the United States. The event usually takes place in June or July but has been held as early as May and as late as September. There is no monetary cash prize or reward for the finishers of the event. The event is limited to 300 riders.

Hmmmm, this is piquing my interest more and more. So, what type of scooter can I ride? According to the Scooter Cannonball website, the scooter must have an engine displacement of less than 300cc or greater than 150cc and meet three of the five conditions.

1. Unit construction of engine, transmission, and rear swing arm
2. Wheels no larger than 13 inches
3. Originally equipped with a step-through style frame
4. Originally equipped with running boards or a leg shield
5. A single-cylinder engine design

So, I guess this takes my beloved TW200 out of the equation. However, a low-engine displacement scooter is right up my alley. In addition, the route is all on the back road within the United States, which is a massive plus for me. Doing 2,500 to 3,500 miles in less than 12 days is crazy, but this is something that LizrdBrth would do, which is another checkbox on my list. Sounds like this is an adventure in the making.

So when is the next race? Luckily for me, it is scheduled to start on June 22, 2025, in Seaside, Oregon, and run for eight days, ending in South Padre Island, Texas, on June 29, 2025. It coincides with what I had in mind to celebrate the 10th anniversary of my TW200 ride.

The registration doesn’t open until June 22, 2024, at 10 AM EDT. I am writing this blog post and sitting on the couch feverishly waiting for the registration to open, wondering if I’m still crazy enough to do it. I keep drifting away from writing and looking up at the clock. The old saying, “A watch pot never boils,” keeps popping into my head. Ugh, I’m so distracted! My fingers are getting itchy when I hit the register button.

When the clock struck 10, I entered the website to register for the race. I’m getting the loading circle icon, indicating that the website is trying to populate. In the software industry, we call it the circle of death. It cannot handle the influx of people attempting to register. I should have taken it as a sign that maybe it was not meant for me to take on this adventure. However, if you truly know me, I’m stubborn as a mule, and it takes it as a sign not to give up! After 30 minutes, I was finally able to get in!

Here I go, typing away, but I didn’t take the time to stop to think about some of the information that I had to fill out. What should my handle be on the scoreboard? In the Tdub world, my handle is Purple People Eater, but most people call me Purple for short. In addition, I wanted to incorporate Russ’ handle and Lizard Breath into it as well. It’s a weird story; don’t ask. Feeling rushed, I just went with PurpleLizrdBrth. It’s good enough. It is starting to grow on me. Hmmmm, why won’t the Continue button be enabled? Oh, I need to pick a rider number. I looked at Mark and asked him what number I should pick. His eyes lit up, and he said he would be honored if I used his AMA number. Yep, number 823 is available! So there it is; I’m honoring my late and current husband in this crazy adventure.

Look at that: now the Continue button is enabled, click! Here we go. I have officially registered for the 2025 Scooter Cannonball Run. Am I crazy or what?!?!

Now, it is time to start looking at which scooters to ride!