Burt Welleford’s Vincent ride around America has started. As planned, Burt left Atlanta on his journey of a lifetime on June 15, 2013, but he was not alone. A group of his friends and supporters rode with Burt to his first stop, the Barber Motorcycle Museum in Leeds Alabama.
We gathered at 9:00 AM to join Burt on the first leg of his trip. I had not yet seen Burt’s Vincent fully loaded, and I was a bit shocked! You would have to look close to even tell it was a Vincent. I think he had used every inch of available space. It was like, “Yep, there’s a Vincent under there somewhere.”
We were soon headed out toward Barber and the line of bikes following stretched out behind Burt for over a mile. Except for some roadwork complications, the trip went smoothly. Once we were parked, everyone wanted to talk to Burt and ask questions. Most people have never seen a Vincent outside of a museum, so one being ridden, and touring the U.S. is quite a novelty. I think Burt might have spent at least an hour answering questions and having his picture taken.
The Barber is an amazing place, if you have never been it is a must see, there are motorcycles you will not see anyplace else. To be honest, I could easily spend the entire day looking at bikes. The museum had arranged a lunch for us, then a tour. I asked Burt if he was staying after lunch, and he said, “Nope, I’m going to try and make Mississippi by this evening.” Almost an hour later I happened to look toward the front where Burt was parked, and there he was, still answering questions and getting his picture taken. I am thinking perhaps he might need to revise his schedule to include Q&A sessions each time he stops.
If you would like to keep up with Burt on his trip, you can follow him on Twitter, Face Book, and he now has a website with places and approximate arrival dates. All of these links, and the most important one, the donation link, will be included below Burt’s route map.
The Shriner’s Hospital for Children
That’s it except for one last thing, don’t forget Burt’s mission, to help children and give them hope for a better life. The only way Burt can help them is if you help Burt, so donate today, thank you.
Words By: Terry Cavender
Images By: Terry Cavender
Editor’s Note: You know, I was just thinking, if 10,000 people slipped Burt five bucks, he would make his $50,000 goal. Just five bucks that’s less than you would spend on a mocha, latte, grande whatever at Starbucks! So give five, or ten, if we did ten, we would only need 5,000 people to give ten, you can see where I am going with this right? You can help Burt for as little as a cup of fancy coffee, if you want to give more, cool, he needs all the help he can get!
The Bikers Garage 