Ride Wrap

Well, that's the ride over. What a blast. here's a bit of a wrap.......

The Planning:

I'm not sure how the plan really started or evolved, it was going to be a ride to celebrate my 50th birthday, and that is how it is still panning out in a way...I turn 51 later this month.
The initial idea or notion was hatched some time ago, and after quite a few months of planning, it came to fruition.

Originally it was going to be the famous Route 66, that is often featured on travel programs and any nostalgic show about travelling across America. After some time scouring and reading many US bike forums, and scenic routes, etc, we determined that we would only do the lower portion of Route 66, and due to the fact that the Sturgis Rally was having it's 75th Anniversary, we wanted to capture a bit of that experience also. When we looked into dates, we found if we spent a few early days at Sturgis, we could head on down to the Salt Flats of Bonneville Utah and also attend a bit of Speed Week, which is run by the Southern Californian Timing Association, SCTA, and people from all walks of life take anything with wheels to see how fast it will run on the 4 1/2 miles of flat salt lake.

With those two events in mind, we set out linking up any scenic route which would have us heading in these general directions, for the scheduled dates. We also looked into major items we wanted to see, which included Yellowstone National park (although I was fearful of meeting a bear on the road) and Monument Valley in southern Utah, the scene of many westerns and run pretty much entirely by Navajo Indians these days. Also add Las Vegas for a spot of RnR off the bikes for a day or two.

Unfortunately the Speed Week event was not to be, due to wet weather and quite an amount of moisture on the salt flats, which ended up in the event being cancelled for the second year in succession. With that, we ended up with an extra day up our sleeves, so we pencilled in the wonderful Mesa Verde National Park, and an overnight stay in Cortez, CO.

We bought Sena S20 communicators for the ride, they attach on the helmets. You can talk bike to bike for up to two kilometres (claimed) and you can pair with your phone, listen to music and just start talking to communicate with the other bike. You easily get a days ride on one charge. I believe you can pair up to eight units at once, but that could be interesting.

The Ride:

Upon arrival at Chicago we were presently surprised to see two bikes in great condition, a 2015 Street Glide, and a 2014 Electra Glide (we went for Harleys, felt it was the right thing to do). These bikes ran faultlessly for the entire trip, from a couple of cold morning starts around Yellowstone, to a couple of continuous 90 MPH runs across deserts and salt flats, in fairly high heat. A real testament to the air cooled V-twin. They're not sports bikes by any means, but given the choice to ride across the country again, I'd jump on one right away. The Electra Glides were probably the most common we saw attending the Sturgis Rally, followed by Road Kings.

The daily details are in the Blog already, but we both enjoyed the whole experience. The main thing was meeting characters along the way, and swiftly learning that middle America is nothing like the America we see on TV. No mention of Kardashians, or Jenners, or trashy stories about celebrities. The bikers heading to (and at) Sturgis were the friendliest bunch you would meet, while fuelling up at Gas Stations, or walking around the campsites and festival areas of the Buffalo Chip at Sturgis. People genuinely looked out for each other, with no aggro or rudeness seen. After attending many large music festivals and sporting events in Australia, it is interesting to see the contrast in relation to crowd control, and the different attitudes of the Sturgis attendees. For example, in Australia, at a large event, they will only sell mid strength beers and spirits and then sometimes enforce drinking areas. Sturgis: you could buy double shots (free pour) of Bourbon, Whisky and the like, and roam around to your hearts content. Not to mention no-one staying at the Buffalo Chip was searched for anything. So plenty of alcohol, but no pushing in the crowds, everyone relaxed, moving out of peoples way, very little security presence, everything just worked well. As we overheard one guy say "I feel there is more chance of being stabbed in my local church than here". Admittedly I felt the general age was from 30-ish up to 60+, with many couples.

Memorable characters? The couple with the scooters at La Crosse, who chatted for a while, gave us a couple of good sightseeing tips, and then drove of beeping down the crowded road......The quirky guide at the Minuteman Missile sight, who we though was ex-services, (he knew so much detail) and at the end he confessed to being a Boy Scout Guide........Marshall and his cousin Reid, two local cowboys in the Wagon Wheel bar in Interior, who we had beers with, and made us feel like locals.....The four people from the next motel room at Interior, who we sat up with outside the room for a few hours chatting, ....The couples with their tent/RV site beside us at the Buffalo chip, and the two couples we shared a cab into Sturgis with.........The two brothers at Sturgis who we had a few drinks and shots with......Joe who bogged his brand new WRX on the Salt Flats at Bonneville, but couldn't stop thanking us for being the only ones who stopped to see if he was ok.....the Kiwi father and son who we met at Arches NP near Moab......The regulars at the 'Black Cat' in Seligman (now that was funny)........and a lot of others along the way, who were keen on knowing where we were heading, and "Where y'all from then?". American travellers seem to take a lot more interest in each other when they are on the road.

And the riding, well, we didn't tire of it. When we planned to ride, every day was a new adventure, and we looked forward to getting out on the bikes and getting underway. The weather gods smiled upon us, and on many occasions we thought we would be in for a drenching, only to see the road curl away, or the storm pass by. At Cody, we pulled into the motel, and locked our bikes, and then two minutes later it bucketed down.

I loved it, and I'd do it again. I have to thank Bill for being a great travelling companion, we had a great time, and enjoyed where the roads took us. And that's the big attraction.

I have to thank my brother Tony for buying me a Yamaha TY80 for my tenth birthday, which started a love of motorcycling that hasn't waned, I have nearly always had one since.

Lastly but certainly not least, also have to thank my lovely wife Nola for granting me the 'Leave Pass' and allowing me to tour some of the world without her....although  I don't think she would have enjoyed being on the back for 7212 kms.

If you want any hints or tips, feel free to drop us a line.

if your heading out on the road, ride safe.

And as they say in the states, 'Get Er Done'.

Cheers,

Tim