Cannonball 500 Fall Color Tour - Mark Your Calendars | GTAMotorcycle.com

Cannonball 500 Fall Color Tour - Mark Your Calendars

CannonballRides

Well-known member
Great news here. The decision to make this a spring and fall ride has been confirmed. I have built out a new ride called the cannonball 500 lite. What this means is quite simple, a 500 km ride with all of the same features as the hardcore 800+ km ride. Since the days are shorter, and keeping everyones safety first and foremost i created the lite version.

So i introduce to you the cannonball 500 lite. Now this ride will not qualify as an iron butt ride however with a new patch designed for this new version it will only mean many more people will be able to do it. The hardcore 800 may still run although at this point even those who could do that version in 10+ hours would be starting in the dark and ending in the dark. Not worth it when you consider the animal movements in the fall in the north.

I have spoken to additonal dealers and should have two loops for this. One for western ontario, and one for eastern ontario. Taking in now owen sound as part of that new loop along with kitchener, london etc. Final rides are being completed now. Same would go for the east, now taking in peterborough, bobcaygeon etc.

This new ride will be september 20th, 2015. I really appreciate all of the kind words back for the last one. The rest of the provinces are also gearing up for the light version. Saskatchewan is now breaking out a north and south version of the cannonball 500 lite, along with a new confirmed edmonton start for alberta. Lots of great suggestions came forward. The one thing that holds true and is the most exciting fact is there are lots of riders that want to ride in canada, which is exactly what i was hoping for.

Please mark your calendars for this new date, i will update when further detail is available and the date gets closer. It will be the same format, stops at dealerships, and the rights to earn the cannonball 500 " lite " patch!
 

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Seems like a bit later of a start time...might try to make this one. I have no issue completing the milage (works out to less than 100km per hour), but making some of the start locations in the morning isn't easy if you are coming from a distance.

Also for those who did the last one, how crowded were the roads (eg. people trying to pass one another) and since it was a publicized known route, did the OPP decide to rain on everyone's parade? Part of me can see them camping out and targeting anyone doing 10 over, because they can.
 
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Hello all, The ride is now running in 5 provinces, Northwest Territories kicked in yesterday. Imagine how nice that would be to ride in Yellowknife for the last Cannonball of the season :)

In any event to answer the persons question above, I only saw one police cruiser and it was on a major highway, outside of that I never did see any at all. The police know this is not a race. It should never be one in my mind. It is about getting out and enjoying the ride. The roads for the last one are crazy and to be honest this ride will see even more riders enter. I hope many of your who have viewed this do get in on the action.

Cannonball 500 is not a race. No one WINS when safety is not the first consideration. You need to be consistent with your speed, take short breaks if you wish to complete within the time frame given.

We now have 8 rides running in total on this day.
 
Well that was a blast and got the finish patch riding my 2010 Honda VFR 1200. Was planning to do the ride with my wife, who also has a 2012 Honda VFR 1200 but she was ill in the morning so came on my own. Met a great guy named Sean and we rode together the entire route before introducing ourselves just before the last stop at Edge Performance where we started seven hours and fifteen minutes before. We decided in the morning to just go the two of us and avoid the large packs and we also decided to go counter clockwise on the course which also kept things moving along well. Sean was on a teal coloured Goldwing and a very good experienced rider. Only found out after we finished that he was a former motorcycle cop - very very smooth and controlled through the twisties and a real pleasure to ride with. The only way you can complete this course in the allotted time is pack some food along the way, urinate in the bushes and don't stop to chat very much. I have never been on a ride like this with anyone other than my wife so it was a new experience. My wife and I both started riding four years ago in our early fifties and have been across Canada (west as far as Tofino this year, did Yellowstone, Wyoming and Deadwood last summer) four times. We have done many long days in all sorts of conditions (snow, hail, fog, rain, wind) so this was a pretty fun day that was not super long. Thanks for organizing this Purdyman. And thanks Sean for riding with the silent partner.
1st Cannonball 500.jpg
 

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