I didn't want to hijack KimPossibles' thread with my own questions. It seems to have its own trajectory, and I won't be making it to this year's Cannonball, but I am thinking about making it to one in the near future. I also thought it might be nice to start a thread for those with oddball questions - though I imagine there might be one back in the archives somewhere.
My questions -
1. Support vehicles - from the films, it looks like people have support teams. Is that average/common, or do most riders load themselves down with their tools and spare parts, (as I have done for traveling)? Is there a general support vehicle on hand for everyone, or is it every scooterist for themselves?
2. Budget - that first question pretty much falls into the budget category too. I'm thinking ten + nights in hotels - are we talking $39 a night rooms? Actually, those seem to be things of the past in my few recent travels that involve hotels. (Normally I camp.) So, I would think $1000-$2000 for lodging. I need gas around every 100 miles on the highway, so about five fillups a day - give it a wide margin, let's say $500 for gas. Food? Who needs food? So I'm guessing most riders spend $2000-$5000 on the Cannonball, depending. I feel if I have $5000 saved, I would be in much more than better shape.
3. Getting to the start and from the finish. My first thought is I would ride the scooter to the start and back home from the finish. (My second thought is I don't get that much vacation time.) Does anyone do that? I have found on my past scooter journeys that I overestimate the number of miles I can travel in one day enjoyably. Maybe I should wait until I'm retired, so I won't be trying to squeeze everything into too little time. My brain usually thinks this way - New Mexico to the East Coast - 4 days. Google Maps tells me that's a 26 hour drive (to Myrtle Beach as an example). I think if I did that, I would wind up at the start already a little beaten down. If anyone has ridden to and from the Cannonball, how much time did you give it in order to arrive relaxed and ready for long days? Or if no one scooters to and from, how do you get there if you don't have a trailer and a support driver?
4. Changing Tires. As I've mentioned in another thread, that's the one bit of maintenance I fail at. I can get the old tire off, but I can't get the new tire to seat. Do most Cannonballers just find a handy scooter shop when they need new tires installed?
That's basically where my Cannonball curiousity has led me so far.