Cycle tour stops in Fayette

By Ellie White-Stevens
ewhite@thecitizennews.com

Three Canadians were on their way to a party in Minnesota. It sounds like the setup to a joke, but last week these three intrepid Canadians stopped on the edge of Peachtree City and Fayetteville at Black Jack Motorcycles, while motorcycling through all 50 states in 50 days.

Georgia is the 21st stop for the men: Ed MacDonald, a consultant who seasonally leads snowmobile tours through Alaska; Don Galloway, an Edmonton, Alberta, dealer of Victory Motorcyles; and Lorry Wengberg, who deals Victory bikes in Langley, British Columbia.

The Canadian three are on their way to the 50th anniversary of Polaris Industries in Roseau, Minn. Polaris makes Victory bikes, as well as snowmobiles, atvs, personal watercraft, and Ranger utility vehicles.

This trip is a trend for these Canadians. MacDonald and Galloway rode 1,200 miles on ATV to the 35th anniversary, and took rivers and lakes to go on personal watercraft (the 40th). For the 45th, they drove a Polaris Ranger, while Wengberg came on a specially equipped snowmobile. For the 50th, they decided to do something special.

“We’re taking the long way to a birthday party,” said MacDonald. The trio’s trip, sponsored and paid for by Polaris, had them riding through Death Valley last week. They soaked their Polaris gel pack vests in cold water at their hotel before attempting that 150 miles.

“We were only able to go 50 miles per hour in Death Valley, because it was 126 degrees and the air felt like a heat gun on our hands. We kept adding water to our vests every so often. We couldn’t touch any of the metal parts on the bike. It was fun,” said Galloway.

Death Valley wasn’t as miserable as storms coming out of Florida. “The rain was driving so hard, water was seeping into our rain suits,” said Galloway. “We put our electric vests on, so at least it would be warm water by the time it reached our skin. We knew we’d need electric vests, but we weren’t expecting to have to use them in Florida.”

“We do up to 500 miles a day. The trick is to have the bike comfortable. We have sheepskin covers on our seats; keeps us off the vinyl in the heat. But mine blew away in Kansas. I called her Dorothy,” he added with a grin.

In each state they stop, local Polaris dealers sign Galloway’s blue bike, which he calls “Babe, the blue Ox.” At Black Jack, owners Bill Whelan and Garry Heget signed the bike.

“Black Jack was happy to provide southern hospitality to our northern friends,” said Heget. He continued, “We had dinner in Peachtree City, and the Black Jack Riding Chapter escorted them up to the interstate for the next leg of their journey.”

“We’re on a mission,” added Galloway. He and his riding partners will be arriving at the Polaris anniversary party on July 21. In the meantime, they have headed North for Tennesee, the Carolinas and Virginia. By next week they’ll be in New England, with only memories of Georgia.

Wengberg and MacDonald are riding Victory Kingpins, while Galloway is on the Victory Touring Cruiser. Both of these models are available at Black Jack Motorcyles in Peachtree City. For more details about the Black Jack Riding Chapter or to arrange a Victory demo ride call Black Jack at 770-486-9888.

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