Trip to Las Vegas and other updates

Cannonball 2012 represented at National Motorcycle Museum Booth

  Greetings to all! It's been a while since the last post, and with rainy weather arriving on Monday afternoon here in East Texas, I figure it's a good time to update the rider's blog....

  In my last post, I mentioned that we were getting ready to head to Las Vegas for the 21st Annual Mid America Antique Motorcycle Auction and Gene Romero's West Coast Flat Track Series. Well, it was quite the time out there (though you can't really have a bad time in Sin City....) and we returned back to the lone star state yesterday afternoon. As always, there was an incredible selection of vintage iron at the Southpoint Hotel and Casino and even some select pieces from the Steve McQueen estate. Once again Ron Christenson and Mid America did an excellent job keeping the auction moving right along, and there were many deals to be had.

Another great year at the auctions!

  It was great to see some old faces and make some new friends there at the auction and races. This year's event seemed to have a lot of international bidders, and many of the bikes purchased are making their way around the world to new stables. One of the great things about the event was getting to meet and spend some time with representatives of the National Motorcycle Museum in Anamosa, Iowa. The booth was also promoting the 2012 Cannonball (pictured above), and we all spent quite a bit of time talking about the journey of a lifetime. Coincidentally, I actually had a couple of folks who recognized me from the promotional video and who said they were following the blog. It's kind of cool for me to see that my babbling is actually being noticed.

  With Vegas out of the way, I'm back to CB preparations! Since my last post on sponsorships, the CCM racing team has several new sponsors who have put forth a substantial amount of money towards supporting our team and journey. Every little bit helps, and each of these sponsors have given quite a sizable donation. More specifics about the companies will come soon, as I'd like to a special acknowledgement of our supporters.

  What else is new? Well, I (finally) officially became a member of the Antique Motorcycle Club of America over the weekend. Over the past few years my father has been a member, but after reading just how few youth members there are in the quarterly magazine, as well as my goals for the antique motorcycle world, it was time for me to become a legitimate member. I love the atmosphere that the AMCA presents, and I really enjoy attending national and regional events. Plus, becoming a member also makes me an "official" member of the Confederate Chapter of the AMCA in Memphis, TN. Until now, the extended family in Tennessee has allowed me to be a part of their club without actually being in the national group. Now that I'm legitimate, I'm really looking forward to seeing how I can get involved in the AMCA Youth Program and attract other young folks to the group.

  Also, Shawn and I have decided to begin a "webisode" series to be uploaded to the Carson Classic Motors YouTube channel. Our goal is to put up a new video every week that features a different bike from the collection. History of the brand, unique features of the bike, specifications, and how we acquired the machine. For those interested, keep your eyes peeled. It looks like this week will be our first shoot.

  One final note before closing this post out...I'm amazed at the audience that this blog is reaching. For a normal guy from a small Texas town, the attention and contacts that are coming from the blog and video is hard to fathom. An interesting feature about this blog set up is the tracking tools that are open to me (not exactly "big brother" stuff here, just to dispel any thoughts). I can actually see what continents and countries my audience is viewing the blog from, and up to now I've got viewers from Russia, Canada, the United Kingdom, Sweden, Germany, Australia, Germany, France, Malaysia, The Netherlands, the USA, and even Antartica! Wow, that's really impressive. Once again, I can't express how much I appreciate the support from everyone.

Cheers,

Buck Carson
Confirmed Cannonballer # 3
Carson Classic Motors Race Team