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This is IT. The Big One!

By and large, there are two types of motorcycle riders: Those who have gone to the Sturgis Rally in the Black Hills of South Dakota, and those who WANT to go to the Sturgis Rally. Last week, July 7-14, we became the ones who “WENT”! And of course, we didn’t trailer our bikes – we actually rode them all the way from the Los Angeles area. In total, including all the sightseeing rides throughout the Black Hills, we rode a total of 3,177 miles that week!

On Monday, August 7th Dale, Donovan, Con, Dave and Dan met Pat’s house in La Verne, CA at 6:30 a.m. Because he’s so thoughtful, Pat had a nice little breakfast set out for us that included coffee, bagels, donuts, bolts, motor oil and cigars. And I’m not exaggerating! We may have felt like he-men leaving on such an epic ride, but come on Pat, you know we only drink 10-40!

As each rider arrived and came up the driveway, the fist pumping grew more frequent and the smiles grew wider. Holding his arms in the air, Big Dave just couldn’t contain his excitement! Unfortunately, there were no ladies to see us off because they were all in Hawaii missing us (at least that’s what they said). When it was time to go, the big motors began to thump while we connected our headsets and gave each other a “thumbs up”. OK, Dan’s BMW didn’t really “thump”, but it’s a truly awesome and sophisticated bike!

Opening the throttle down the freeway ramp, I remember thinking “boy do we ever have a long way to go!” But we were all living in the moment and loving life. The freedom we feel when riding across the country can’t really be measured or communicated. How can we describe the cool, fresh air, the smells, the views, and the feel of the awesome machines we ride? And when you count the brotherhood we have developed, there’s absolutely no substitute!

We met our other two riders, Rick and our special guest Bob in the town of Baker, about 2 ½ hours away. Bob is a very impressive 77 year old Marine and Vietnam veteran. His bike is a gorgeous Indian that he handles extremely well.

Now that the eight of us were all together, it was time to light ‘em up and get across the California and Nevada deserts before it grew too hot. Our goal was the Cracker Barrel restaurant in St. George, Utah. We arrived about 12:30 for a great brunch with all kinds of kidding and exciting talk. How could we possibly ride without that wonderful comfort food? From St. George on, the elevation made the air a lot cooler and the countryside was full of green grasses, trees and rugged red rocks. It was time to put our feet up on the highway pegs and lean back to enjoy the kind of riding we all yearn for. Gone were the freeways, the crazy drivers weaving in and out, and the miles of stopped traffic.

After we turned east on Interstate 70, the seemingly endless highway became long, sweeping turns though pretty mountains covered with pine trees. Entering a big green valley, Richfield, Utah and our first hotel could be seen in the distance. Naturally, we parked our 8 bikes in a long line, perfect for a group photo. After showering and freshening up, most of us walked across the parking lot to a yummy little all-you-can-eat pizza, pasta and salad restaurant. Boy did that hit the spot!

Tuesday was another travel day, but what a pretty one as we traversed from pine covered mountains through amazing sandstone formations and on into the Colorado Rockies. Of course, we had to stop at the Devil’s Canyon lookout for a photo. We rode by beautiful ski resorts like Beaver Creek and Vail, enjoying the blue sky and puffy white clouds. Rick and Bob spent that night in Golden, Colorado, while the rest of us stayed at Dale’s home in Morrison. As we pulled into Dale’s driveway, his son Brett’s family surprised us with a cooler full of ice cold beer. Brett’s pretty wife Hope and their two kids, Paxton and Hadley, welcomed us with lots of smiles and hugs. Dale loved holding those kids so much that he didn’t want to let them go! Then, after cleaning up, they all enjoyed a great Italian dinner at Homegrown Tap and Dough. So good!

Wednesday was the last leg of our journey up to South Dakota, so of course we had to stop on the way at a Cracker Barrel to make sure we were adequately stuffed for the ride. Dale’s original plan was to get gas somewhere near the restaurant, but since we had nearly full tanks, he reasoned that we could just top them off in Cheyenne, Wyoming, which was only an hour away. When there were no gas stations on our path through the outskirts of Cheyenne, he thought that “for sure” we’d see some along highway 85. Well, there were gas stations on that highway all right, but not for over 80 miles! Oops! Poor Rick ran out of gas, while the rest of the gang limped to a Maverick station in the town of Torrington. Dale and Pat bought gas cans, filled them up and then went back to find Rick on the side of the road about 40 miles away. Rick said that whenever groups of motorcycles had passed him, he acted like he had just stopped to stretch so he wouldn’t have to answer any embarrassing questions. But in the end, our lesson was learned and no real harm was done. That evening, we all pulled into our nice hotel in Custer, South Dakota, just in time for another meal!

Well, Thursday August 10, a day that will live forever in our memories, finally arrived. We were just about to see Sturgis! God shined His light on us that day because the weather was absolutely perfect. Some people had told us that a few days earlier the hail was larger than golf balls, pounding the daylights out of motorcycles, cars and people. I couldn’t even imagine that!

As we pulled into the little town of Sturgis, there were so many motorcycles lining some of the streets that no cars could fit or were even allowed. Nearly every store in the town had converted to a souvenir outlet. Although there were thousands of people, the town was big enough that we didn’t feel like sardines. Everyone we met was nice, fun and having a good time. We didn’t really go into any bars, but a couple of us might have peeked into One Eyed Jack’s Saloon as bikinis and other clothes were body-painted onto bare topped women. Of course, the interest was purely artistic… Hands down, Sturgis is the biggest, best and most impressive motorcycle rally in the country. And we were all very grateful that we could be a part of it!

After the rally, we rode back to Custer and got a little lost in the tangle of roads through the Black Hills. We had dinner at a great restaurant called The Buglin’ Bull, where the chicken fried steak with gravy was so amazing that some of us looked like they were on their phones canceling upcoming cholesterol checks.

Friday we were tourists, first riding to see the amazing mountain carving “Crazy Horse”, which honors the nation’s Native Americans who arrived in our land over 30,000 years ago. To me, that’s just staggering! The carving is currently in process and will take more than one generation to complete. But even now, it’s so huge and awesome. After Crazy Horse, we visited Mount Rushmore, and watched the movie about how it was carved. George Washington is honored because he helped form our nation, Thomas Jefferson wrote our Declaration of Independence and greatly expanded America through the Louisiana Purchase, Abraham Lincoln kept our nation together during the civil war and abolished slavery, and Theodore Rosevelt preserved millions of acres of our country through the formation of national parks. No wonder the likenesses of these great men have been preserved forever!

After some beautiful, meandering afternoon rides through the gorgeous pine-studded hills, and of course more chicken fried steak, we came back to Mount Rushmore for the night presentation, which was very moving and solemn. I will always remember the patriotic feeling I had at the end of the program as veterans were called up on stage to fold our flag.

On Saturday morning, some of us were a little sad as we started our migration home, but we knew that there was still so much wonderful riding ahead. We arrived at Dale’s Colorado house that afternoon and once again filled his garage with our big, bug-splattered machines, although Rick and Bob stayed in Golden again. The dinner at Texas Roadhouse was awesome – I have never seen a group of guys eat that much meat. Brett, Hope and the kids joined us again, so of course Dale was on Cloud 9.

When we left Sunday morning, Dale guided them on a little surprise route over highway 285. At one point (Dale’s favorite), it looked like the world dropped off ahead as we broke out of the mountains over Kenosha Pass and looked down into massive and beautiful South Park. We descended into the park over long, sweeping turns and then, after passing amazing homes and sprawling ranches, we rode through the 10,000 ft town of Fairplay. From there, we climbed up over 11,500 ft through Hoosier pass and then dropped down into the eclectic and pretty little ski town of Breckenridge, full of shops, restaurants and interesting sights.

Probably the sweatiest and most tiring part of our ride was from Breckenridge back to Richfield. Poor Pat had to deal with a loose shifter on his motorcycle, but he fixed it enough to get him all the way home (barely).

Our last day of riding was Monday, August 14th from Richfield to our homes in Southern California. As we parted ways, I think we all felt a mixture of sadness that our epic trip was over, exultation that we accomplished such a bucket list ride, and relief that our own showers and beds were only hours away.

For every one of us, this Sturgis ride was the very best one of our lives. And some of us even commented that it was the best vacation they had ever taken. Best of all, and most importantly, we are so grateful to have done it with our close friends, who became like brothers over that wonderful week.

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What an amazing weekend! A ride on the California coast has been on our bucket list for many years – and now we’ve done it, with our girls too! Thanks for being born Pat! It’s been such a lean riding year with the pandemic that the minute Kim mentioned a possible ride for Pat’s birthday, none of us could say “yes” fast enough!

As customary, we all met Friday morning (July 17, 2020) at Pat and Kim’s house. Dale made his debut on a new Street Glide – wow, what a bike! When the girls pulled up in Dave’s truck, the excited talk began in earnest. I know that every one of us would love to be back in that moment right now, just beginning another epic ride!  Soon we were thundering down the freeway to Linda and Donovan’s, and then it was up the beautiful California Coast.  We followed the girls to a tasty lunch at In-N-Out, and then the anticipation became real as we wondered what our rental home in Atascadero would look like.  Boy were we pleasantly surprised!  It was brand new and beautiful! The view from the deck was gorgeous – endless golden hills dotted with oak trees. After the necessary beer and chips, the boys flopped on the couch while the girls played cards.  Lori’s yummy pasta dinner was awesome, so with full bellies and tired bones we retired early to start dreaming of tomorrow!!

As the Saturday morning sun hit our faces, coffee on the deck was marvelous.  The girls’ plan was to sightsee and shop their way up the coast while us boys got underway early, heading down to the misty Highway 1. I had been up the coast several times in the past, but never on a bike – what a difference!  With fresh ocean air in our faces, the smell of the sea and the continuous thump of our bikes, we headed out to an awesome adventure! And the best part was being together again! After leaving Morro Bay, the road became long sweeping turns with beautiful landscape all around us.  The ocean was gray like the sky, just waiting for color to burst out with the sun.  Then a winding road announced our entry into Big Sur, which was so pretty with all the trees right on the coast.  We stopped at a little roadside stand for hot coffee and heard the barking of seals on the rocks below.

As we continued toward Carmel, the sun emerged and turned the sea to a brilliant blue. The girls were enjoying the sunshine too as they sat posing with locals along the shore and checking out all the cool little stores.  Many of the items for sale were beautiful representations of coastal life made by local artists. I remember thinking that I wish our kids could see how beautiful all this is!  But it was more than just the view.  The sounds and feel of the bike and the salty breeze added to the excited chatter on our headsets as we took in beauty that could never be duplicated. The farther north we went, the more people we saw coming down the coast, and now I understood why  “California Dreaming” is not just a saying… 

Monterey, complete with beautiful waves crashing on the rocks, had sure expanded since the last time I saw it. But it still had the charm, as we stopped for a great lunch and music near the bay.  By that time, we all agreed that a “loop” was in order for the ride back, so we took the 101 through the never-ending agriculture of the pretty Salinas valley.  The smell of farms, vineyards and produce permeated the warm air, which was so different from the cool sea breeze on the way up. After we entered the house with our manly, clunking boots, we all hugged our girls tightly.  It was  impossible to wipe the smiles off our faces as we laughed and told the story of our journey.  You’d think we just rode across the country (although that’s in our future plans too)!

Dave’s barbecue skills really showed with a great steak dinner, followed by Pat’s birthday celebration and cheesecake.  It was such a great time that hopefully no one paid attention to the lame song that Dale and Sue tried to sing (it was really Dale’s idea).

The next morning, the mood was a little mello as we packed up our bags and bikes, but we still had a lot of riding to look forward to.  The trip home was beautiful as we headed down toward Santa Barbara, where we stopped for a picnic lunch in a park. Then it was back to the concrete jungle, but the fond memories had already become a part of us as we finished yet another Great Ride With Great Friends!

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Wow, I don’t even know where to begin!  This was definitely a dream trip for me.  Not so much because of the destination or the 2,464 miles we rode, but mostly because it was with my Riding Brothers and our girls!  Of course, Colorado was amazing too, and everything in between.  We all had looked forward to this trip for months – getting our bikes serviced, packing our bags way too early, and checking and re-checking everything.  I was a little envious that the ladies left on the 29th and us boys didn’t leave until the 30th, but that meant that I could sleep in the garage next to my bike the night before we left (ok, I didn’t really do that, but I thought about it!).

When the big morning finally came, most of us met at Pat’s house at 6 a.m..  True to form, Pat was standing out front with a cup of coffee taking it all in.  As we started to roll, I just knew that there were many a smile behind those helmets.  We picked up Rob and then, of course, stopped in Victorville for a big, fat Cracker Barrel breakfast! What’s a ride without those biscuits and great coffee?  There was a little 100 degree traffic in Las Vegas, but then we were out of there and thundering up I-15 through Utah.  Late afternoon found us pulling into the hotel parking lot in Richfield, and the high-fiveing went all around.  You’d think we just landed on the moon!  And after a nice, hot shower, we all walked over to a steak dinner at Frontier Village restaurant.  Let’s just say it was a very talkative meal!

Friday morning dawned beautiful, and after loading our bikes we headed up the onramp into the sunrise for a fantastic ride across I-70 through Utah and into the beautiful Colorado Rockies.  I remember thinking “OK, is this a Harley Davidson commercial?”  At first, we rode through long, forested sweeping curves.  Then the landscape morphed into Grand Canyon-looking cliffs.  Being the tourists, we had to stop at a lookout point for a nice photo op and then we were off again through Grand Junction and on into Colorado.  Some of us were bantering on our headsets about how much we missed Jerry Brown (not!), but most of the talk was about the big, dark clouds up ahead as we neared Vail.  It looked like we were going right between storms on either side of us, but after cresting the continental divide at over 10,000 feet, our luck started to run out.  We were a little late putting on our rain gear, and I remember cursing a stuck zipper as a big bolt of lightning flashed down a couple of hundred yards away. While the girls shopped at an outlet mall south of Denver, rain began soaking us riders and our jeans.  But hey – Dale and Jane’s house was getting a lot closer!

As we finally made the last turn to roll down Rocky Point Lane, the girls were all out there waiting for us holding a big ice bucket full of Coors Banquet beer – the real stuff, in stubby bottles!  So many hugs ensued that besides Jane, I  can’t even remember who I was hugging.  We laughed, fisted, high-fived, and slurped down the icy beer – it was really one of those epic moments in life, to be remembered always.  After the girls helped pull our boots and rain gear off, we walked inside to the heavenly smell of Colorado roast beef – of course! What a great dinner and fun time!

That night, most of us turned in pretty early, but popped up first thing on Saturday morning to enjoy coffee on the deck while watching deer and their fawns.  Another beautiful, fun day was dawning and no one wanted to miss any of it. While the girls got ready for a hike in the foothills, us boys rolled our bikes north up to a bike rally called Thunder in the Rockies.  It wasn’t too big, but it sure was a nice ride along the mountains through all the small towns and farm country. That afternoon, we cleaned ourselves up (minus shaving) and drove down to the town of Golden, where we took in a great view of the river running right into the Coors brewery while we watched classic cars drive up and down Washington Avenue. After that, it was time for an amazing steak dinner and drinks at The Keg, which was so much fun.  Of course, the toasting went on and on!

Sunday morning was time for yet another ride, so after a big breakfast all together at the aptly named “Cow” restaurant, the boys rode west on highway 8 through the pretty town of Evergreen, along a lake and back down I-70 to Avalanche Harley Davidson.  While the girls shopped in Lakewood, us guys gave our credit cards a workout at the Harley store – dang I love those places!!!  Then it was off along the Rockies to Brett and Hope’s new home, where we left a “Welcome Home” sign that they would see when they returned from their honeymoon that evening.

Sunday afternoon we had some down time, watching sports and getting our bikes ready for the trip home.  We smoked barbecue tri-tip and ribs on our Traeger, which was a big hit as we chowed down looking off the deck at the pretty Colorado landscape below.  After Dale and Jane passed out some cool Harley gifts to the guys to commemorate their riding achievement, we all piled in the cars for a wonderful concert at Red Rocks Amphitheater by Jason Mraz.  What an amazing venue, and Jason’s music was out of this world!

Monday morning came a little too quickly, and like most Mondays we were a little quiet after having such a great weekend.  As the boys rolled away down the street for the long trip home, we thought we saw the girls back there doing a “happy dance” – really????  Maybe we just imagined it.  This time we took the southern route, down through Southern Colorado and Northern New Mexico.  During a little hail storm, we found an over pass to hide under and once again donned our rain gear.  I think one of the most beautiful parts of the entire trip was across New Mexico, which was lush green rolling hills with red rocks .  We rode right into the sunset for a long time and finally stopped in Gallup for the night after an ultra fancy dinner at Denny’s.  As we drove across Arizona the next day, we were once again in familiar territory.  I remember passing Winslow, the destination of our last big ride, and thinking “boy, that was nothing compared to Colorado”!

Most of us said our last goodbyes at the Ludlow Dairy Queen, and pulled into our driveways that night wondering if we would ever want to drive a car again.  For days, I couldn’t believe something that amazing was over.  I just kept thinking “ok, where are we riding next”?  This trip was truly one of life’s highlights for all of us.  In fact, I almost had to change our website name to “Epic Rides, With My Brothers”!

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What a weekend!! Our entire group, including the ladies, gathered together in Arizona from Thursday 4/26 to Monday 4/30 for one of our best times together ever.  The trip began as we met at Pat’s house, packed up the truck and fired up the Harley Davidson iron horses.  After picking up Rob, we jammed out to Dale and Jane’s in Bullhead City, AZ.  That evening, Dale put on a little (nerdy) presentation about the ride he planned to “Standing on a Corner Park” in Winslow, Arizona.  When he showed the trip map with 480 total miles and 8 hours of riding, there were a few raised eyebrows for sure, but unanimous excitement!  Friday morning at 7 a.m., while the ladies looked forward to a day of shopping and suntanning, the guys fired up their bikes and roared away down the street for what turned out to be one of the most epic adventures ever!

Of course, we had to stop for the usual fat breakfast at the Kingman Cracker Barrel, and then we were off across Arizona into the sunrise.  What a beautiful day for a ride – clear, sunny and warm!!  After the usual gas, coffee and watching the trains roll by in Seligman, we cruised over the beautiful and uncrowded desert on I-40.  Several of us were on the intercom chatting like excited youths before the big game, with Pat in the lead and Dale in the back keeping everyone together and informed.  After we rolled through the pine forests of Williams and Flagstaff smelling the sweet, thin air, we descended into the high desert of eastern Arizona toward the town of Winslow.  Pat had the route completely memorized, so we made all the right turns and onto the famous Route 66.  “Standing on a Corner Park”, complete with a red flat bed Ford out front, did not disappoint!  The City of Winslow did a great job commemorating the Eagles song “Take It Easy”, complete with statues of Jackson Brown who coined some of the famous lyrics and Glenn Frey, who passed away in 2016.  We took lots of pictures on the famous corner, and then had some great burgers and eats with the fun server Brandy.  The ride home was full of pride and anticipation of telling the ladies all about it.  As we came down street and rolled into Dale’s driveway, the girls were holding out ice cold Coors Lights – WOW, now that’s how to end a ride!

Saturday found the boys moving a little slower, but that didn’t keep them from taking off their windshields and riding down Casino Drive through the annual Laughlin River Run.  In-N-Out was good as usual, and so was the people watching. That night it was barbecue and beer – does it get any better?  On Sunday Dave, Lori, Alyssa and Makenzy had to drive home, but the remaining girls did more shopping and serious sunbathing while the guys rode over to Las Vegas HD.  By Monday morning it was mixed emotions as the trip came to a close, but we could still ride our bikes one last time on the way home.  It turned out to be a windy, cool ride – but hey, it was still riding!!

I just can’t stop thinking about this weekend.  All I can say is WOW – it truly was Great Riding with Great Friends on steroids!

 

March 31, 2018 – What a fantastic ride!  As we rolled through the green hills of San Diego County, I remember asking myself “can this really be Southern California?”  Today’s riders included Pat (our guide), Rick, Con, Dave, Rob and Dale.  Today was too long of a ride for Donovan, but we all missed him.  We met at Tom’s Farms off I-15 at 8:00 for a pretty darn good breakfast, and then ran down the left lane of the 15 to Hwy 79 East in Temecula.  From there, it was beautiful!  The weather was perfect, and most of us yak’ed on the intercom about the sights, politics and bikes as we navigated the long, sweeping turns through the hills.  After another hour or so, we pulled into the quaint little town of Julian, already smelling the apple pies. Guess what we had for lunch??  After walking around a little and planning our next rides, we reluctantly thundered up our bikes and began the journey home.  By that time of day, the 15 freeway was a Jerry Brown nightmare, but we all made it home safely after another “Great Ride with Great Friends”!