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Ed MacDonald, Don Galloway and Lorry Wengberg were always up for a challenge – especially if involved riding extremely long distances to a Polaris historical celebration.
So they jumped at the chance in 2004 to ride Victory Motorcycles through “50 States in 50 Days” en route to the Polaris 50th Anniversary Celebration in St. Paul, Minnesota.
The biggest challenge was getting to the most remote states, Hawaii and Alaska. Ed MacDonald, who had retired after a long, successful run as a partner with Don in ownership of Cycle Works Motorsports in Edmonton, Alberta, heroically volunteered to fly to Hawaii. He didn’t bring a Victory, just side covers from the bikes the trio would ride throughout the Lower 48. He had the side covers signed by members of the Honolulu Fire Department, launching a tradition of people signing of affixing their dealership stickers to the bikes during the adventure.
There was also a quick jaunt to Alaska to cover off the Final Frontier before the three began their epic ride in May 2004.
(Lorry Wengberg is co-owner with his wife Tammy of Sea to Sky Motorsports in Langley, B.C.)
The three riders piloted a pair of Victory Kingpins and a Touring Cruiser through all 48 states, enduring desert heat, plains winds, wicked rain storms and urban traffic. They visited numerous Victory and Polaris dealerships on the trip and visited these Polaris and Victory facilities: the Victory final assembly plant in Spirit Lake, Iowa; the Polaris Distribution Center in Vermillion, S.D.; the Polaris engineering and manufacturing facility in Roseau, Minnesota; the Victory drivetrain assembly facility in Osceola, Wisconsin; and Polaris corporate headquarters in Medina, Minnesota.
Sure enough, they made it to Minnesota in less than 50 days and led the massive Victory parade across the Twin Cities to the big Polaris celebration at the Minnesota State Fairgrounds on July 21.
“One main objective of our trip is to live ‘The Way Out’ lifestyle while touring America on our way to the Polaris 50th Anniversary Celebration,” Ed said at the time. “Each day the tour will stop at Victory and Polaris dealerships so we can talk with riders about their own ‘Way Out’ adventures. We’ll also encourage Victory riders to ride along with us for portions of the ride.”
Dealers Have History of Unique Rides
These creative Canadian dealers had already earned a reputation for arriving at Polaris anniversary events in unique ways – and always on Polaris vehicles.
Here is Ed and Don’s history of unique travel:
• For the company’s 35th anniversary party in Roseau, they drove Polaris ATVs from Edmonton to Roseau, a distance of 1,200 miles.
• For the 40th anniversary celebration, they rode 1,800 miles on Polaris personal watercraft (PWC) from Edmonton to Roseau.
• For the 45th celebration, they drove a Polaris RANGER utility vehicle 1,200 miles from Edmonton to Roseau.
Making an even longer trip, Lorry rode to the 45th party on a Polaris snowmobile equipped with a special wheel kit under the skis. His trip from Langley, B.C., to Roseau covered 1,800 miles and turned countless heads as he rode a snowmobile on highways and streets.
2004 50 States in 50 Days Press Release
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