By JONATHAN ZWEYGARDT
Hays Post

Two Ellis County men took their love of motorcycles on a more than 3,500 mile journey during the month of September as part of the Antique Motorcycle Club of America’s 2018 Cannonball.

Brothers Marty and Pat Patterson left for Portland, Maine, on Labor Day and spent the next three weeks riding their 1926 Harley-Davidson JD across the United States, from Maine to Oregon. Marty talked to the Hays Post about the brothers’ adventure and their love of bikes.

Their love of motorcycles started as little kids when their dad bought them dirt bikes. A few years later their dad bought a Harley-Davidson motorcycle, and they said they have been riding motorcycles ever since.

Marty’s first hands-on experience with the Cannonball motorcycle event was in 2016 when he worked as part of a support crew for two days from Wichita to Dodge City. His brother Pat also served on a support crew that same year, and they decided after that they wanted to take part in the event, which happens every two years.

After deciding they wanted to take part in the 2018 event, they had to find a motorcycle that fit the rules for that year’s event.

The Pattersons found a 1926 Harley-Davidson JD in Wichita. They purchased the bike from the original owner’s son who was 84.

Patterson said the bike was a, “barn find” and was in rough shape, so they began the process of completely rebuilding the bike.

While the bike was originally painted green, they decided to have it painted orange and black to pay tribute to the Ellis school district because they both attended high school in Ellis. It took them two years to rebuild and learn how to ride the antique motorcycle.

This year’s coast-to-coast ride began in Portland, Maine, and ended in Portland, Oregon.

The brothers took turns riding the motorcycle the 3,574 mile-long route through the northern United States. They had their share of issues.

“On a 1926 motorcycle, they weren’t designed to run 300 miles a day,” Patterson said. “We were pushing these motorcycles to their extreme.”

Along the way they lost a battery cover, clutch rod and pieces of the gas tank and dealt with electrical issues throughout the race.

“It’s just a tough deal to keep an old, old motorcycle running through all those conditions and for 17 days in-a-row,” Patterson said.

But the biggest mechanical hurdle came in the Badlands of South Dakota when they scorched a cylinder and were forced to completely rebuild the engine in South Dakota.

“(We) tore it all the way done and rebuilt it all right there in Sturgis, South Dakota, and then were back up and running the next day,” Patterson said. “It took us about 22 hours.”

The Pattersons didn’t have a support team, like some of the other racers, it was just the two of them working to keep the bike on the road. Although they did get help along the way from a friend’s mechanic, Chris Coos.

“He’s just 20 years old. I think he’s forgotten more about these old motorcycles than I know,” said Patterson. “Chris was a big help.”

Patterson said the older motorcycles force you to go much slower and you can enjoy everything along the route.

“It makes you stop and you slow down and see what’s all around you,” Patterson said. “Coming across the United States was just absolutely wonderful at 40 miles per hour because you stop and pay attention to all the things that are around.”

Along the way they rode through the rolling hills of Pennsylvania, the Black Hills of South Dakota, and Patterson said the highlight of the trip for him was getting to ride through Glacier National Park in Montana.

“It was a beautiful ride through there,” Patterson said. “My motorcycle ran good that day. I lost a transmission bolt, but I used an earplug to stop up the hole and put more fluid in it and make it on in that night.”

Patterson said the Cannonball event also attracts large crowds along the way.

“There was 2,000 and 3,000 people at these Harley dealerships where we came in at night to see these 100-year-old motorcycles come in, and it was a lot of fun just to talk to everybody,” Patterson said.

With the mechanical issue, because they took turns riding the bike and the fact that they were among the youngest competitors of the race, the Pattersons finished 83rd, but he said it was more about the two of them spending time together.

“We decided to do it as a brother deal and to spend a month with your brother in our 50s was pretty neat,” Patterson said.

The AMCA will announce the rules and route for the 2020 race early next year, and Patterson said he plans to take part in the event again.

“Unless they get a motorcycle I can’t afford or rebuild, I might back out, but as for now, I am planning on riding in the 2020 (event),” Patterson said.

After taking part in this year’s race, Patterson said his advice to people who are thinking about starting off on an adventure is to, “quit talking about it and go do something!”

“If you can get it done, do it,” Patterson said.