September 19, 2022
By Kacey Meza
The 2022 edition of the Cross Country Chase passed through Elk City his last weekend. The Chase is a cross-country challenge for riders astride motorcycles that were manufactured between 1930-1960. The Cross Country Chase is a test of endurance, speed, navigation, and knowledge, and will reveal the who’s who of the antique motorcycle world.
This year’s event has seen more than 100 riders traversing, on their antique motorcycles, on their interpretation of Route 66. They departed from Springfield, Illinois, and will arrive at the Santa Monica Pier for this 10-day endurance run covering 2,330 miles.
Riders and machines could endure fatigue, mental exhaustion, cold, heat, elevations, and all the ferocious elements of Mother Nature, not to mention the demands of keeping their vintage machines in running order. Riders will navigate the course of the Cross Country Chase with the assistance of paper maps (no GPS routing allowed!), and no support crews of any kind will be allowed during the event. They stayed the night in Elk City, Sunday night Coursemaster John Classen explains why they chose Elk City in particular as their overnight stay.
Their motorcycles were on display outside the museum Sunday evening.
Elk City was part of Stage #3 of their Cross Country Race. Their Finale will be Sunday Sept. 25th at Santa Monica Pier, CA.
They only do this race every two years so if you missed it this year then you will have time to plan and see where they are going. They don’t travel the same route though so you may have to travel a bit to see them.
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