[motorcycle engine thrums] Jonas Zahn is setting out on an epic adventure.
[motorcycle rumbling] - Jonas Zahn: This year's Virginia Beach to Oceanside, California.
The riders are from all over the world.
- Cannonball is one of the most difficult antique motorcycle endurance races on the planet.
– Jonas Zahn: This is a 1928 Moto Guzzi Sport 14 with a sidecar that is known for reliability and endurance.
- Jonas is preparing this vintage bike for a 3,800-mile coast-to-coast race that zigzags across America.
– Jonas: I imported it from Verona, Italy, just for Motorcycle Cannonball, so it's a pretty special motorcycle sitting here.
- For Jonas, motorcycles are a family tradition.
- I discovered motorcycles through my grandfather in looking at his old black-and-white photo album.
As a young farm kid, I was always fascinated with machines.
[tool clinks] - As an adult, he still has a fascination with fixing and restoring classic bikes here at Peg Leg Speed Shop.
- I am actually an amputee from a motorcycle accident 24 years ago, hence Peg Leg Speed Shop.
[motorcycle engine revving] I got a second chance at life, so making it count, right?
I'm also not doing this alone.
Brenda is an amazing woman.
She's a biker at heart.
- Brenda Kuhl and Jonas share a biker bond.
– Brenda Kuhl: I love Jonas like he's a brother to me, and I love that he chose me.
- Brenda said, "I'll ride in a sidecar."
"Really?
Okay.
Well, then, you can navigate."
- At my age, I thought, "This is an opportunity for me to experience a cross-country trip, whether it's a little bit scary or whether it's a lot of fun."
- Two heads are better than one, so I'm glad she's on board.
[garage door opening] - Team 36 has been working for more than a year to get the Moto Guzzi race-ready.
[ringing bell, pumping pedal starter] - Jonas: I have ridden antiques, and I have done cross-country touring, but I have not combined them together.
And it has been more than 20 years since I rode a motorcycle across the Wisconsin state line.
[motorcycle engine chugs] - Race day arrived with a lot of anticipation.
- Day one of Cannonball, we rode to the starting place.
There's this great big statue in Virginia Beach.
[motors rumble] The average speed for most of us will be about 35 miles an hour.
It's not about going fast.
You experience the smells of the countryside.
That is just so awesome.
[slaps leg] I'm looking forward to that.
It's emotional for me.
[engine rattles] It's exploring, and it's exciting.
It puts life into me.
[cheers] - Both Jonas and Brenda are ready for the ride of a lifetime.
- Keeping a motorcycle that's almost a hundred years old, operating every day, all day, that is the challenge.
- Challenging would be an understatement for what Team 36 would encounter.
– Brenda: Getting on the road and seeing bikes already breaking down was a little scary and unnerving.
– Jonas: Keep in mind, even the best-laid plans can just...
Whoop!
Out the window, right?
- Jonas just looked at me, he said, "The bike is running great."
- We're going faster; it's getting more horsepower.
- In an instant... [pop] that all changed.
[sad music] - All of a sudden, this big, huge pop happened.
- We got another five miles down the road, and it just went... whoosh!
Perfectly quiet, dead silent, coasted to a stop in the beautiful North Carolina countryside.
- One hundred miles into the race, the motorbike they nicknamed "Renata, the goddess of rebirth and adventure" in Italian broke down.
- Brenda's like, "Just fix it, please, just fix it."
I saw the valve was actually broken in two pieces.
We had a thousand hours of mechanic time.
I had 750 miles of practice rides.
It still broke down in a way that we weren't going to come back.
Made the decision to abandon the Moto Guzzi.
- In that very moment, Jonas forged his own comeback at a nearby vintage motorcycle museum.
[gentle banjo] - Jonas: It turns out he had a 1937 Harley-Davidson.
[speaking with great emotion] That's the bike that made me fall in love... with motorcycling.
And there it is.
And it's just like Grandpa's.
[laughs warmly] - Team 36 named the new bike "Salvatore."
In Italian, that translates to "savior."
Jonas had found his salvation.
– Jonas: I knew that it was not going to be good for Brenda, and I felt bad about that.
- For Brenda, it would mean the end of the road.
- I started to cry.
– Jonas: In the rain.
– Brenda: In the rain.
And having a moment to myself, thinking, "I really didn't want it to end."
[choking up] It looks like I just took my last thing off of Renata.
She's staying behind.
She's not going to make Motorcycle Cannonball.
- Those tears would turn to triumph and her own shot at redemption.
– Brenda: You don't ever want to wait for the opportunity to present itself again.
I flew back to Wisconsin, got home at quarter to twelve at night, loaded my bike by six in the morning.
[motor rumbling] Drove cross-country back to Cape Girardeau on my Harley.
- Brenda would go on to complete the race route on her Harley.
[cheers and applause] - Brenda: I videotaped you coming in.
- Here comes Jonas!
– Group: Whoo!
- Jonas crossed the finish line on his new vintage Hog.
- Yeah, Jonas!
[cheers and applause] - Brenda: We were all a little bit emotional.
Just giving him a big hug, and it's nothing for Jonas to always give me a hug and tell me, you know, how proud he is of me anyway.
[Jonas chuckles] [music, engine humming] - Jonas: We wouldn't be doing this if it wasn't fun.
I don't understand why everybody doesn't want to do this.
[motor putting] - As for Renata, she is set for her own revival and a shot at a comeback.
- I will also do Cannonball again on this same Moto Guzzi.
We're gonna give it a shot.
[motor thrumps]
Passport
Follow Us