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"STURGIS, SD August 1999 (The Grandaddy of Them All)
"Update 07/06/99"....The trip is one month away. I have yet to figure out who all is going from here (Los Angeles). My brothers may not be going, depending on what job pops up between now and then. I don't feel like riding 1500 miles (one way) by myself in the middle of nowhere..Just not getting the warm fuzzies about all that. I am ready to go however and the bike is too. I got my saddlebags, my T-Bag, my floor-boards and oil changed. We figure on going up (me at this point) Friday and having three days on the road. Staying until the following Thursday and heading back Friday, arriving home on Sunday. I will be taking that Monday off for sure , to recouperate from the whole thing. I will try and post messages from the road and from the Campground to let you all know what the scoop is. We are staying (me at this point) at the End of The Trail Campground. I will update as it gets closer!
"Update 08/02/99" Well, here it is. Four days and counting. I am so jazzed that my wife is ready to divorce me. She gave me a stern talking to about my "excitedness". She complained that, last week I was already packed and ready to go, whereas if "we" were going somewhere, I wouldn't pack until the last minute. There is some truth in that and I couldn't argue with her...Geez, let's get packed and go to Mammoth for a weekend of skiing or let's get packed and ride from L.A. to Sturgis, SD for the biggest baddest Harley-Davidson rally in the world? (maybe Daytona is bigger?) So that is where my head is. I can think of nothing but the open road right now. I fall asleep thinking of it, I wake up thinking about it. Heck that's why I'm updating this page, because I'm THINKING about it!! Had a meeting last night with my brother and we decided which route(s) to take on our way home. Corey just had new pistons and rings installed on his bike (he was blowin some mean oil on the way back from Laughlin)and he needs to put on at least 500 miles on it before Thursday. Looks like we'll come thru Colorado (Denver) and stay at some partners house there Friday (the 13th...ooohhhh MUFASA!). Saturday morning we'll go thru Arizona and stop somewhere along the way. Not too sure about all that. I put in a request or two from some T-Shirt companies to see if they would donate some long-sleeved shirts for our ride. We need to cover 'them arms when you ride. I have yet to hear from any of them in a positive manner, so I bought some at a thrift shop for a couple bucks each. Changed all the vital fluids in my machine and double checked my zippers on my bags. All I need to do now is fill-up with gas, check the air in my tires for the proper pressure, kiss the wife and kid and split. (plus I gotta wait another few days and nights and work, and fight traffic, and all that.
Update 08/05/99 Thought we'd leave around 5 or 6 P.M. to go to stop 1, which was in Las Vegas. A partner of ours' lives there and it should be an easy start for Friday morning.
Nope...plan change. I end up working til' 5:30 P.M, got an hour drive home and to top it off, my brother's house is in immediate danger because of a brush fire that is 100 yards away from his 1887 wooden house. Needless to say more, we hit the road at ~8 P.M. . We got into Las Vegas around 1:30 A.M.
08/06/99 Our goal today was Dinosaur Colorado. We had made reservations at the "Hi-Vue Motel" (sorry!!) and due to a bunch of other people tagging along the trip and having other agenda's, we only got as far as "Price, Utah". We did see Zion, Ut on the way up and it is spectacular. We went north up to the right of the 15 staying off the Interstate. This will be a back road trip. We wanted to take the 40 across west to east. On the main road up, Hwy 10, from Hwy 70, going north you end up in Price. It's a small town with friendly people and a good Mexican food joint. It is on the east side of the street before you make a hearty left hand-turn. It's about 5 minutes south of the Hwy 191 North.
My fellow riders fell in Love with the Cook and it wasn't because of her cooking either. We decided to shack-up for the night, we got a motel room with three beds for about $47 dollars and they pursued the phone number that she gave them until late at night. I think she wised up and the boys were so disappointed.
We shall leave at the crack of dawn(right....).
Update 08/07/99 We rode like the dickens all day. Our goal was Wheatland, Wyoming. The road was absolutely beautiful on the ride up and I am glad we stayed the night in Price after all. The turn up the 191 starts off behind some power plant or factory. It was like a scene from the "Deer Hunter". Mountains and buildings combined with steam pouring out of huge, skyward pipes.. We saw a bunch of ice (bbbbrrrr!!!!)on the side of the road and the countryside was just perfect. We actually drove right by the Hi-Vue Motel around 10:30 A.M. in Dinosaur, Colorado and my apologies go out to them. It looked like the perfect biker motel, U shaped courtyard with all ground floors, oh well,... As we drew nearer to Wheatland, the ground was wet from rain and a huge thunderhead had formed. It appeared to be 100 miles wide and we were headed right for it. None of us had seen such a spectacular site before so we donned our leathers looking forward to the worst and headed right towards it.
Amazing....we missed it by 20 minutes (Hurray!!!!). We pulled into the Wyoming Motel and checked in. Went to get some grub and ended up at a restaurant that had cute women running around. The food was good too but not for my partners agenda. Food is secondary, Action is primary. After watching the waitress fall down due to the water on the floor and after seeing her ex-lover pick her up, we were surely on our way to an eventful/entertaining evening. Long story short, the boys worked their magic and I apparently slept thru the whole thing.
Update 08/08/99 Woke up and only one of the bikes would run(mine!). Dead batterey in one, clutch fork broken in the other. We took apart the assembly and found that the fork had cracked into two pieces. It was connected thru a rod that comes down thru the case and it pivots on the bottom. Without this piece, the clutch no workie. So....after trying to flag down a trailer or a truck to take us to Sturgis, I gave up that strategy and started making phone calls. All of the Harley dealerships were too busy with rally stuff and it seemed like we were at the end of our rope. I called every shop within 100 miles and nobody had the part or, they just plain couldn't help us. I called Tom over at West Wind Cycle, who was about three blocks away from the Wheatland Motel, and even though he didn't have the part, he would do what he could to help us out.
I want to make this perfectly clear.
"THIS GUY AND HIS WIFE ARE THE BEST PEOPLE IN THE WORLD".
If you ever need assistance with your Harley Davidson, or any other bike, and/or you are even close to Wheatland, Wyoming, go see them.
West Wind Cycles
1153 South Street, Wheatland, WY 82201
(307) 322-2742
Tom took a look at the piece I had in my pocket and said he had no idea what we could do with it. I asked him about welding it back together and his eyes lit up. I literally saw a light-bulb go on over his head. He grabbed the phone and started dialing. Before I knew it, I was given a hand drawn map of how to get to Torrington, Wy and to go see John Hendrickson of "Artistic Welding" 307-532-7922. Tom said that "If anybody could do this, John was the man". I went back to the motel with this information and we got Corey's bike to Tom's shop , we had to check out of the motel anyway. So leaving Corey behind, the partner and I rode to Torrington, Wy, to visit this John character. His shop was an hour away and we rode like the dickens. We arrived at his shop and as he sized up the piece, he discussed his Harley experiences over the years. Basically there was nothing he couldn't fix or build. After an hour of him grinding and welding, grinding and welding, we had the finished piece. We thanked him, gave him $11 for his troubles and rode back to Wheatland. When we arrived, Tom and his wife had bought Corey pizza and we had that and some beer while we waited for the bike to be put back together
Fix the damn thing already!
. After all that was said and done, we fired up the machines and headed up to Guernsey where the HWY 270 goes north towards Lusk. Coreys clutch was actually broken again due to the piece that we fixed had earlier broken due to the pivot rod having the pivot point snapped. He was riding with no clutch at this point and for the remainder of the trip up. We got gasoline and Corey and his partner went ahead of me doing about 40mph while I stopped off and bought a case of beer. I saw them drive by while I was putting the Ice and Beer together and afterwards, I headed off after them. I turned north on the 270 and after riding about 8 miles, at an impressive speed, I never came across them. I figured they might be just a little bit more ahead of me so I cranked it up a tad more. After going 20 miles, they were nowhere to be found. I stopped for a bit, a few times, hoping that they would be right behind me, since I knew they couldn't possibly be ahead of me. They never showed up. So I headed towards Lusk and later found out they missed the 270 turnoff and were miles behind me. Every time I would stop for them, they would stop for me and we po-go sticked this way to Sturgis. I basically drove from Wyoming by myself to the party in South Dakota. It was no big deal (except for the flack I got from the
others
upon my arrival in Sturgis). Upon my arrival in town, I was overwhelmed with the amount of bikes going up and down the two main streets. I needed to ask a Sturgis policeman for directins to the End of the trail campground".
Update 08/09/99 The "End of The Trail Campground" was home to hundreds of campers. They have a view of the whole valley and at our campsite, we had a
view
the campground too. They have flush toilets, a beer garden, a BBQ joint, Hupps'Plus Chuckwagon, a place to buy smokes, pipes, get tatoos, and see the Ballet. http://www.eotc.net/ This is the link to the camp, I'll fix it later so you can just click on it. We stayed at the EOTTC for the week Sunday 8/8 thru Friday 8/13 (A.M.) We went to the Jack-Pine Gypsies Hill Climb
event and inhaled about 2 pounds of Sturgis RedClay (we washed it down with a bunch of beer). It was a blast watching these people try and go up this thing.
The
sunsets
were spectacular with the blackhills in the distance. On Wednesday we went into town to do our shopping (T-Shirts, Sturgis stuff, etc). We left the camp and went in a pick-up truck and we left the camp in good hands. This was our only time to shop, since we were leaving in a day or two and didn't want to take the bikes to town. It rained like hell while we were away and the wind was incredible. My tent was
destroyed and we spent the rest of the day fixing the tents so we could at least sleep inthem. Not to mention everything inside was soaked. You know with these tents, they aren't water proof, they're water resistant. Anything inside that touches the sides of the tent gets wet. And of course, if the tent is laying down due to the wind, everything gets wasted.
We left on the 13th around 11:00 A.M. with our destination somewhere in Colorado or Wyoming via Rushmore and Crazy Horse monuments.
08/13/99 "Friday the 13th" We drove past all of the monuments and headed south towards Wyoming. We only got as far as Cheyenne and bedded down in the basement/room of the owners. It was the only three (3) bed room in the joint and the owners were apparently still in Sturgis themselves. The daughter was warm and friendly and pointed out that they had signs in the windows inviting bikers there to stay. It was a good feeling to stay at a place that appreciated our business.
08/14/99 We received notice from the Motel that the best food in town was next door to them, well almost next door. We parked our bikes at the food joint and it really was a good breakfast. I forget the name of the place but ("CJ's?") will update this as I get my brain cells back. We drove outta there and headed for Colorado. Our goal was to get way past Denver, since Denver should have been reached yesterday. Friday had started late and we really weren't even close to where we should have been. We got close to Denver and Corey's electrical took a dive and we ended up hot-wiring it to make it run. We got off the Hwy 25 and took the Hwy 287 since it paralled (spelling)the interstate. This was good and bad. We saw great country but we also ran into some really crappy traffic. We went to Golden Colorado and drove past the Coors factory and had lunch in town. I had a wonderful hot dog "Something Dawg" was the name of it, It might have been Ambasador Dawg or whatever, anycase it was good. We finally arrived at Hwy 70, since missed the 285 south and we ended up outside of Vale and we went south on the 191. We drove pretty hard for the balance of the day and then it started raining. And I really want to emphasize rain. Of course it was getting onto evening at this point and you eventually couldn't see anything. On a bike, with no fairing and, maybe even with one, rain is the enemy. Night-time is bad enough, but the rain too makes it impossible. I was leading since the boys thought I could see (not) and for the first time of the trip, I was scared.
The wind and rain was tremendous and I was soaked thru all of my gear. The rain wasn't falling, it was going sideways. We made it to Monte-Vista, CO. after an hour or so of hell, and made a right turn on the 160 West and drove to the Best Western motel there. Those bastards charged us $80 for a room and since we were soaked, cold and tired, we really didn't want to go shop around that evening. The signs on the motels coming in looked full and al we wanted was heat and sleep.
08/15/99 Woke up to clouds darting in and out. Rain was
not out of the question but at least we were dry. Drove to Norte Vista and had breakfast at a tiny diner there and had Biscuits/Gravy, eggs and sasauge. We at end hit the road while some locals were checking out our bikes and discussing where we had been and yada yada yada.
We made it to Four Corners and had our picture taken, hit some more rain and drove like madmen. We made it to Kingman, AZ and it was at this time that our partner from Vegas wnet his own way back home since he had to go to work the next day. It was midnight at this point. We said our goodbyes and headed in opposite directions. Corey and I were able to find a motel for $27 that night and we watched cable, the "E" channel on the life of Herve V. from "Fantasy Island". He had an amazing life, cut short by wealth, greed and health.
08/16/99 On the road for once before 9 a.m. We rode past Ludlow and in the very next town (west of there)found the best bar/grill we've ran into on the road.
The "Barn" has very nice people run the business and they do make the best "Blody Mary" that I have yet to taste. We had a chile-dog and BM for breakfast. Our other brother had stopped there on their way back from Laughlin, after we got seperated, (read the Laughlin story)and had spoke about the "Barn". The Barn usually does deep-pit BBQ during the Laughlin run and we will definately make this a stop on the way back from that. So.....we drove that day home taking the Pearl-Blossom Hwy over Angeles Crest over the backroad into Big Tujunga Canyon. We stopped at Schoonerville for a "ritual beer" and I made my way back to Burbank. End of trip - 7 days on my bike.
My thoughts on the Sturgis trip; I want to thank Kenzo, Lenny, Alex, Teach, Fruit-Loop, Sleaze, L.J, Pat, Cowboy, Coal, Chris, Wanda, Minnestoa, Don, Ben,
Sheesh, my Ma and Pa, my riding partners and some others for the entertainment I was given and for the love that was shown. I've never quite had an experiance like this before, or for such a long time been on the road away from my family. It was fun and free but with that comes sadness from not being with my wife or son.
I was fortunate to camp with true "bikers". These are the people who love the wind in their face and respect the right to do so. I felt comfortable with them and they were comfortable with me, earning my "Hell on Wheels" patch by riding my bike to Sturgis from California. I must admit however, I am glad to be home now. I couldn't do that full time at this juncture of my life. Riding is full of hardships and challenges. It is not what I expected in the long-run and I salute each one of them and, anyone else, who does this full-time. Biking truely needs to be experienced and if you ask anyone who has ridden any length of time, they will tell you that it's not only the destination but, "It's all about the trip". I now understand what they mean.
If you ever need assistance with your Harley Davidson, or any other bike, and/or you are even close to Wheatland, Wyoming, go see them.
Fix the damn thing already!
others
view
sunsets
destroyed and we spent the rest of the day fixing the tents so we could at least sleep inthem. Not to mention everything inside was soaked. You know with these tents, they aren't water proof, they're water resistant. Anything inside that touches the sides of the tent gets wet. And of course, if the tent is laying down due to the wind, everything gets wasted.
Sheesh, my Ma and Pa, my riding partners and some others for the entertainment I was given and for the love that was shown. I've never quite had an experiance like this before, or for such a long time been on the road away from my family. It was fun and free but with that comes sadness from not being with my wife or son. I was fortunate to camp with true "bikers". These are the people who love the wind in their face and respect the right to do so. I felt comfortable with them and they were comfortable with me, earning my "Hell on Wheels" patch by riding my bike to Sturgis from California. I must admit however, I am glad to be home now. I couldn't do that full time at this juncture of my life. Riding is full of hardships and challenges. It is not what I expected in the long-run and I salute each one of them and, anyone else, who does this full-time. Biking truely needs to be experienced and if you ask anyone who has ridden any length of time, they will tell you that it's not only the destination but, "It's all about the trip". I now understand what they mean.