For the 15th straight year, Victory Motorcycle riders will cross the United States on the V2V Relay, a coast-to-coast ride on what remains of the historic transcontinental Victory Highway. The riders will start the 2014 V2V Relay on June 21, 2014, in San Francisco, and will complete the trip on the Maryland shore on the Fourth of July, the anniversary of when the first Victory motorcycle was assembled.
Riders on the 2014 V2V Relay will have the opportunity to raise funds for the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA) as Victory will donate $0.10 per mile for every relay rider who tracks their ride using the Victory Rides app, up to $10,000.
All Victory riders across the country—whether they participate in the V2V Relay or not—can help raise funds for the IAVA and raise relay awareness during the ride’s “Virtual Kickoff” on June 21. On June 21, Victory will donate $1 to the IAVA for every photo that is posted of a rider and their motorcycle to the Victory Twitter account using hashtag #RideOne. This will be added to the amount that the riders are raising along their route, and will contribute to the $10,000 goal.
“The V2V Relay is a great example of how much Victory Motorcycle riders love their bikes and love to ride,” said Victory Marketing Manager, Anna Braun. “The relay was founded by grass-roots Victory riders, and they’ve kept it going for 15 great years. We want to salute their enthusiasm and benefit a charity with a donation based on rider participation.”
News about the June 21 “Virtual Kickoff” and reports throughout the relay will be featured on the Victory RiderX home page, Victory Facebook page and Victory Twitter account. Updates from along the relay route will be posted to these sites until the riders reach their East Coast destination on the Fourth of July.
These sites will also feature updates on the relay riders’ location and the amount of money raised for charity.
It will also be possible to follow the riders’ progress at www.vision-riders.com, an enthusiast website that provides live-time V2V Relay tracking. The website’s founders, Victory riders Jeff Martini and Miles-Kevin Baron, annually provide the relay riders with a SPOT tracker that transmits signals indicating their precise location 24/7.
The first V2V Relay in 2000 ran from Victory, New York, to San Francisco. The relay direction has alternated from eastward to westward annually, except for 2002, when Victory riders from across the country rode to Kansas, a central location, for the “Meet in the Middle.”
Answers to V2V Relay FAQ
Event Name: The 15th Annual V2V Relay
Dates: June 22-July 4, 2014
Route: A 14-leg relay from San Francisco to Chickopee, Maryland
Leg Numbers/Starting Points: 1. San Francisco; 2. Carson City, NV; 3. Ely, NV; 4. Park City, UT; 5. Craig, CO; 6. Littleton, CO; 7. Wilson, KS; 8. Kansas City, KS; 9. St. Louis, MO; 10. Plainfield, IN; 11. Hebron, OH; 12. Uniontown, PA; 13. Annapolis, MD; 14. Stroudsburg, PA.
Significance of Route: The riders follow the historic Victory Highway as much as possible. A series of roads from New York to San Francisco were named the Victory Highway in 1921 to honor U.S. military personnel who gave all in World War I. The route is similar to current U.S. Route 40.
Who Participates: The relay is open to all motorcycle riders, but only a rider on a Victory motorcycle can carry the V2V Relay Baton on each leg.
The Baton: The V2V Relay Baton was made by the Victory manufacturing team from a length of V92C (the original Victory model) handlebar stock. The baton is passed between Leg Captains.
This event will raise funds for the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America. For more informataion, visit www.IAVA.org.
