Cruiser
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| The ride is FREE!!! Although we encourage you to buy a V2V T-shirt & Pin (To be announced soon). ALL proceeds for the sales go to the Victory Ladies Charity which is Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation. The shirts in the past have been $20, pins $5. Hopefully they will remain that again this year.
Stops include Victory Hwy monuments, scenic overlooks, VICTORY dealers and FOOD! At the end of the ride, there is the passing of the baton to the next Leg Captain at a dinner.
Her are the Dates
6-21-12 Leg 1 Santa Cruz CA to Carson City Nv
6-22-12 Leg 2 Carson City Nv to Ely NV
6-23-12 Leg 3 Ely to Park City UT
6-24-12 Leg 4 Park City UT To Craig CO
6-25-12 Leg 5 Craig Co to Castle Rock CO
6-26-12 Leg 6 Castle Rock Co to Wilson KS
6-27-12 Leg 7 Wilson KS to Excelsior Springs MO
6-28-12 Leg 8 Excelsior Springs Mo to St Louis MO
6-29-12 Leg 9 St Louis MO to Plainfield IN
6-30-12 Leg 10 Plainfield IN to Hebron OH
7-01-12 Leg 11 Hebron OH to La Vale MD
7-02-12 Leg 12 LaVale OH to Dover DE
7-03-12 Leg 13 Dover DE to Hyde Park NY
7-04-12 Leg 14 Hyde Park NY to Quincy MA
More info on each Leg can Be Found at www.thevmc.com
History( by one of the Originals)
Ok - grab a beer and sit back and I'll tell you a little story - way more than you asked for and I'll try not to ramble or get sidetracked.
10 years and a few months ago, I got a Victory - man was I excited! #160 and the first in the state of KS (so far, no arguments, so I'm sticking to my claim). Trish and I (my wife) rode that thing all over and got the Steve Martin 'what the hell is that' every where we went. We started noticing Victory everything wherever we went - Victory Baptist Church, Victory Cemetery etc. About this same time, we were playing with web pages and Trish created our own web page all about us and our Victory. Then a woman named Laura sent us an invite to a Yahoo Group for Victory owners. We signed up and there was her, a guy named Graham and a guy named Roadkill there - we made 4 and 5 in the group. Word spread pretty fast and in a few months, there were dozens of us talking. Well we all decided then that we'd head up to Spirit Lake, IA on July 4th in 1999 and meet each other and check out the Victory factory. July4th being the anniversary of Victory #1 coming off the assembly line. We called it the Victory Homecoming and a whopping 8 of us showed up - from all over - KS, IA, MA, TX and MN - it was possible the best summer ever (up to that point). And there you have the seed sewn for the AVR - but we are talking about the V2V.
Well on the way home from this homecoming, flying high, Trish and I rode past a place called Victory Junction Restaurant in Kansas City, KS (now basically the location of Nascar's KS Speedway). Of course we pulled in - had to get a match book you know! They didn't have one, but the waitress said we could have a menu. We got home and read the cover of the menu and there was a short article about this road called the Victory Highway. The menu gave very limited details, so off to the internet we went. We went to Ebay and found 2 different maps - one from 1924 and one from 1928. We bought the map from 1924 (Rand McNally) and got a copy of the one from 1928 from a guy at a college. It was called the Mohawk Hobbs guide to the Victory Highway. We scanned it in and it was most excellent. We let our website pass away, but another guy ripped off all of our scanned pages and put them on his page - so you can still see them today. They will answer everything about the terrain and EXACT route of the Victory Highway.
Well here we have these maps of this road called the Victory Highway that runs from Times Square in NY to Market Street in San Francisco. And here we had this big group of folks on a Yahoo Group that we had been dying to meet. Now up to about 300 folks or so. So it had to be done - we have to ride our Victorys on the Victory Highway. Victory to Victory..... V2V.....
But that's a huge stretch of road, so we came up with the idea of doing it Pony Express style - breaking the highway up into sections (Legs) and then getting someone to be the Leg Captain of each leg. We would then get a baton to the first Leg Captain and it would be their job to get that baton from the start to the end of their leg - and hand it off to the next leg captain who would then take responsibility for getting the baton from the start to the end of their leg (leg 2). They would have one day to get from start to finish of their leg. We only had 3 rules - 1. Only a Victory could carry the baton. 2. Stick as close to the actual Victory Highway route as possible and 3. Have fun!
So that's what we did and the Victory Highway Relay was born. I've tried to call it the Victory Highway Relay every year, but V2V is the most popular name - at least when people are typing it.
One other bit of trivia for you. The baton we carry was built for us specifically by the folks at the Spirit Lake factory. You have to see it to believe it, but it's a piece of handlebar with mini grips on it and a handlebar clamp that says 1998 V92C. There were going to be, but there never were 1998 Victorys, so very special.
The Victory Highway was built as a memorial to the United States Victory in the Great War (WWI). There were statues and signs built all along the highway and some are still there. One of the historically interesting facts about the Victory Highway is that right in the center of it in Kansas City is the only Federal Monument not located in Washington DC - the WWI memorial is in Kansas City - and it is really cool - even though we have not ever stopped there because it's in down town KC and not a fun thing to get all the bikes down there and back in any reasonable amount of time. It's called Liberty Memorial and is a huge WWI museum.
Every year, it's been a challenge to all the Leg Captains and riders to find new stuff about the Victory Highway. We have found actual old Victory Highway road signs believe it or not - and so far, 6 Victory Highway eagle statues - they are very cool to find!!! Of the 6 we have found so far, 3 of them are in Kansas and 3 are in California. Look in my photo album and you will see a lot of V2V photos. Over the years, the legs and routes have changed a little and morphed here and there for varying reasons - mostly practicality. Members here could fill pages with stories of the last 9 years. The very first year, the V2V hung by a thread - only one Victory road the leg across Utah - if it weren't for Sue Valez, the V2V would not have happened the first time, so we have named the leg across Utah Sue's leg. Posthumously sadly. I've tried to get the leg captains to name all of the legs, but so far, we have stuck to numbers - which is confusing because the relay alternates direction each year - so this year's leg 1 was last years leg 14. But more on that later.
So after that first year and getting out on this cool old highway and meeting other real live Victory owners, we made it an annual event. But year two, we decided to go back from West to East instead of East to West like we did the first year. This way, the folks on each coast get to alternate who ends the ride. You see, we decided that it's appropriate to end the relay every year on July 4th - the birthday of the Victory motorcycle.
A couple of years ago, we added two days to the relay - and made it an even two weeks. So from now on, you can plan the V2V dates years into the future.
The relay alternates direction every year - NY to San Fran one year and then back the next.
It always starts on the first day of summer (June 21st) and ends on July 4th.
The biggest legs are around 50 people - and that's the legs that happen to fall on Saturdays. There are some legs that will have as few as 3 or 4 bikes in the middle - but then end up with 20 or so at the end.
ANYONE on ANY kind of bike is welcome - but still, only a Victory can carry the baton. You are welcome to join at any point and drop off at any point. Meet us for lunch or ride coast to coast!
So far, 9 people have ridden from coast to coast on the V2V.
We try to stay off the super slab when we can - but in some places, we have no choice - such as the longest leg - Wilson, KS to Denver. The only paved road is I-70. But it's cool because we can go 90 out there and there's no one to care.
We highly encourage every Leg Captain to put their unique stamp on their leg - so that while the general idea is the same all the way across, hopefully no two legs will be the same and you will get something new and exciting out of every leg.
I can tell you right now that the leg from KC to Wilson, KS is totally awesome. Wonderful 2 lane roads through old little towns, limestone buildings, 3 Victory Highway statues!, the Eisenhower Presidential library (the father of the Interstate Highway system and NASA), The Kansas motorcycle museum, the state capital (Topeka), a couple of cowtowns of legend and a Victory Highway sign left over from long ago. And of course, the stopping point - the Midland Hotel - SO COOL.
Oh and the leg that goes through the rockies is pretty cool too. If you make it to Maybell, CO, you will be smiling for a long time after that. I've only been from St. Louis to San Fran personally, so I can only comment myself on those legs - every one of them has it's own great story - made great by the road itself and the people you ride with and party with at the end of each day.
I want very badly to ride on the very first (or last) leg with Mark Luz - they always have such a great time - a special cake, and a restaurant they always stop at that has a Victory specific menu - so awesome - one of these days, i will be one of the people that has ridden the Victory Highway from end to end on the V2V.
Well you got way more than you paid for there. I hope for V2V no.10 this year we have a record turn out. Everyone always seems to love the V2V - and once you ride it, you will know why. I hope you take at least an afternoon to ride with the group as it passes through your part of the country.
Hope this helps see you on the Road
Dragon Bob |
Fountain Inn, SC United States | As in the past 5 years, Victory-Riders.com is sponsoring Live GPS Tracking of the V2V Relay. You can use this page to watch the progress of the relay and plan your rendezvous with the riders.
For those that aren't familiar with the Victory to Victory (V2V) Relay,it's a cross-country motorcycle relay that roughly follows along the Victory Highway, one of the first official transcontinental routes. The relay is comprised of 14 "Legs", coordinated & run by the Victory Motorcycle Club (VMC) and open to all bikes. The relay changes direction each year. This year it travels west to east and always ends on July 4th, the birthday of the first Victory motorcycle. For more info on the Legs, go to the Victory-Riders V2V Tracking page.
Members of the Victory Riders Network can also add commentary and upload photos to the page from the road with your smartphone. Instructions are listed on the landing page. Membership to Victory-Riders.com is free, All are welcome! |
History and dates of the V2V Coast to Coast Relay Run
