Summer Ride Black Hills

Greetings!  Several months have passed since the last trip report.  That doesn’t mean we stopped riding!  Brad got a few more trips in this season.  He toured the Black Hills in South Dakota and got some local rides in the Utah area.  Brad noted that the Crazy Horse Monument is still underway.  It is a great site for those who have not seen it.  Mt. Rushmore can fit in Crazy Horse’s ear!  Here are a couple pics from his ride.  Ignore the dates on the camera…he didn’t know how to set the time.

The towns around the Sturgis area are really nice to visit during the off bike week riding season.  There is less traffic and just as much fun to be had!

2010 Short Trip Summary

Hello, Brad and I went on a short trip last week because I am moving to Japan soon. I almost did not go but I am thankful that I did. Here is a short version of our trip:

We met in Springfield Missouri then rode south through Branson, Missouri and into Arkansas. Nice curvy country roads in Arkansas. We stayed at a hotel built in 1929 which was pretty neat. Another guest told us it was haunted. Then we rode further south and stopped in Shreveport, Louisiana. We avoided the thunderstorms and tornadoes by riding west into Texas. Gave a fellow biker and retired Marine some gas money to go back to Wyoming because he lost his wallet. Then we stopped to get my oil changed at the Harley Davidson of North Texas.

We left Texas and stayed at the famous Sooner Legends Inn at Norman, Oklahoma. We arrived one day after the tornado leveled a Loves gas station in Norman. We were lucky the hotel was still there. They serve the most tender steaks that I've ever tasted in the Sooner Legends Restaurant.  If you are ever passing by you should get a steak.

When we left Norman, Oklahoma we stopped at Alefs Harley Davidson in Wichita, Kansas so Brad can get his oil changed. Yeah, we should have got the oil in both bikes changed at the same time...we'll it gave us a

chance to watch the weather channel so we could plan our route to avoid the tornadoes! Alefs had a nice customer lounge with the Weather Channel on the t.v.

We continued north on highway 81/135. We got close to McPherson, Kansas when I got a flat tire! Luckily there was a bridge overpass near so we could get out of the rain and hail. A little detail of a TORNADO crossing the highway about six miles ahead of us should be mentioned!

Luckily I got that flat tire!!

The HOG number for towing proved to work pretty well. I had the bike towed to a hotel in Salina, Kansas where luckily they were having 1/2 price hot wings at the hotel restaurant and bar. The folks at the Harley Davidson of Salina was kind enough to pick me and the bike up from the hotel and change my rear tire.

Brad continued north to Nebraska and turned west to go home. I waited for the tire to be repaired and headed north just across the Nebraska state line and turned east and took the small roads home.

I'll update the details of the ride soon!

AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame in Pickerington, Ohio

Oh, I got side tracked. That happens from time to time the same way I left Illinois heading for Sturgis in 2007 and ended up at the Four Corners Monument in New Mexico! OK back to Ohio and the AMA museum. We found the museum by accident. We were cruising along with our stomachs growling and I happened to see the sign for the AMA Museum. We decided to stop, check out the museum and ask for recommendations for a good spot for lunch. We spend about an hour looking at the neat exhibits. Later, we ended up at a sports bar eating pizza and wings watching the Ohio State vs. Navy Football game. Here are some pictures from the AMA Museum.

We saw the police motorcycle from the movie Terminator 2, the Captain America bike, the Aston Martin/James Bond bike, and a collection of Arlen Ness bikes to name a few.  There were many great displays.

Terminator 2 movie bike

Greatest American Hero tv show bike

                                            Captain America

Ashton Martin/James Bond movie Quantum of Solace

Arlen Ness Ferrari Bike

           Arlen Ness and Bill in Laughlin 2005.

Will Smith-- I, Robot movie bike

Close Call....common mistake!

I really need to post our stories a little faster! The more time that passes the less I tend to remember. Sort of like those dumb bell weights in my basement--the longer they sit the heavier they seem to get! I was going through the pictures that I took on this year's trip and came across some from the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame in Pickerington, Ohio. I recall Brad and I were riding through Wheeling, West Virginia when traffic came to a stop. Brad was listening to the truckers talk on the CB radio and found an alternate route around all the traffic and across the bridge into Ohio. That CB radio helped us many times in the past to avoid traffic delays and speed traps while traveling on the highway. My FM radio only helped us once when we were riding through Toronto and the local radio announcer said there was some wire cable that fell off a truck and was in the middle of the fast lane. Luckily I heard the announcement and changed lanes. There are many riders not so lucky. While having lunch in New York this year we heard about a motorcyclist who was about 10 minutes in front of us who swerved to avoid a piece of furniture that fell out of a pick-up truck just in front of him. During the swerve he was run over by a tractor and trailer truck. We hear about accidents similar to this all the time. When you are out riding don't get in a hurry and stay alert!

I've been riding motorcycles since I was 10 years old...about 28 years now. Since I've transitioned from dirt bikes to street bikes I've taken a safety course about every other year. Mainly because it is a Marine Corps requirement for motorcyclists but I really enjoy taking the safety courses. I learn something new or develop my skills each time I take a course. It is fun to maneuver around all the cones in the parking lot and a good way to meet other safety conscious riders too! Anyway back to my story. During our 2009 trip I made a very bad mistake and luckily no one was injured. My mistake is a common mistake and the same mistake that Bruce Rossmeyer, the world's #1 Harley-Davidson dealer known for the famous Destination Daytona resort, fatally made in July of this year. We were in New Hampshire or Vermont I don't recall exactly but during lunch that day we met two local bikers named Cheech and Mo. I remember their names like Cheech and Chong...no offence guys (if you are reading this!). We were heading in the same direction and I was the lead bike. We were cruising down a country road about 50 mph and I must have been day dreaming in the warm sunshine. There was an F250 several car lengths in front of me. It slowed down and moved to the right side of the lane. There was a covered bridge gift shop to the right so I figured the F250 was going to slow and turn right into the parking lot. After all it changed lane position to the right portion of the lane. The truck put its left turn signal on but it didn't make sense to me because the truck clearly moved to the right side of the lane. In one instance I thought that perhaps the truck turned on the hazard lights and the right signal was burned out. I moved across the center line to pass the F250. Just as I was approaching the truck--it turned LEFT!! In an instant I could have been road kill and what about the bikes behind me? Clearly not a good situation!! All at the same time I rolled on the throttle, swerved further left, heard the trucks brakes lock up, saw the woman driver beating against the window (may have been flipping me off and cursing at me:) and noted that the bike behind me went around the truck on the right side. The other two bikes stopped. I was so angry at myself for leading the group into that deadly situation. The reality is one small unsuspecting split second decision can lead to a disaster! Ride Safe in 2010!!