Japhy Does Sturgis

[Japhy]

So, sometime during the last big frost, I decide what me an the scooter need is a little ridin in weather actually fit for humans. Sturgis seemed like a decent enough excuse so I get the time off work, take a look at the weather, load the tent and bag into the rucksack, fill the saddlebags with tools, warm shit for Canadia, some beer, 2 cans of chew, and some beer.
We hit the road @ 4 in the am and head for lunch in Tok, AK. About 320 miles. Rains off and on the whole friggin way. But that's ok, good weather's waitin' for us down south. So now we're headed out of Tok at 1ish or so and here's a sign sayin "road construction- next 46 miles" Yeah, so we ain't makin time any more. So there I am EXACTLY 6 miles out of Tok, before the Methuselean road construction, steady at 55, straight and level, when all of a sudden I hear the rpm's climb about 150 while ol wilbur tries to swap ends on me. So now I'm lettin off the throttle while givin him a little body english with my right butt cheek, and just as I get im in line again, we're back on solid ground again. So we pull off at the next wide spot and I pop the top on a can of some heart medication, get the ticker down from redline and ask myself JUST WTF WAS THAT! I have no idea what was on the road, but it set the tone for the afternoon.
Not long after that happy little distraction we hit the resurfacing project between Tok and the border. Now I know the logistics make my theory improbable at best but I'll be damned if they didn't import red Georgia clay for the roadbed. It may not have come from Georgia, but it was red, wet, and greasy. Every friggin hill that ass end was washin out no matter how I tried to get him to behave. So you just give him his head and let him pick his own way an try like hell to stay atop 'im! Found out once I got back from this trip that out of the HOG group that traveled that way the next day, 7 of em dumped their bikes in that shit. But that's ok, good roads are waitin for us down south.
Hit the border, had my driver's license, birth certificate, proof of insurance, DNA sample just seconds away... I was ready. Get to the booth, she asks where I'm from. "Anchorage, Alaska Ma'am" She asks where I'm going. "Enumclaw, Wa" She asks if I'm travelling alone... :sm_up_there: "appears so" Have any weapons or firearms? "No Ma'am" Have a nice trip she says. Never even asked my friggin name! I'll tell ya Canadia's really jumped into this whole post-911 security first world with both feet. I put my shit back in my pockets without her ever asking to look at it and begin trying to develop an economical way to convert KMH into MPH.
A couple gas stops later and after about 750 miles for the day, I'd survived stealth oil slicks, road construction that went on longer than a chick flick ona 3rd date, and I'm just about to Whitehorse in the Yukon eh? Looking for a place to camp. Come to a small settlement with about 8 houses and a school. IN THE PLAYGROUND is a friggin griz. Now I hadn't risked keestering my .44 to get it into the People's Republic of the Great White North, so suddenly camping lost it's appeal. On to Whitehorse for cold beer and a motel room. If there's any redeaming quality of Canada, it's the beer right?
Turns out, the reason Canadians all have beer fridges is cause you can't buy beer any time you feel like it. No kiddin. You have to go to the Beer Store. No biggie, except the Beer Store is only open from 9-5 3 or 4 days a week. So you have to make a friggin appointment to purchase a sixpack.:suicide: So I end up at a bar where I can have a coolie without dippin into my stash. Give the gal a twenty for a pint and she gives me back a ten and a fistfull of coins. WTF!? How much is a friggin pint in this country? Turns out they got a dollar coin and a two dollar coin. Ok, noted. Couple beers, rent a room, crash. Day 1, 750 miles.

[Vettezuki]

I am so looking forward to this story unfold. :bananallama:

[BRUTAL64]

I am so looking forward to this story unfold. :bananallama:

This works for me too. Just riding a 1948 Pan hard tail from OC to ND is not my idea of fun, so never went. So, on with the story.:bigthumbsup:

[gunfish]

Riveting first chapter, Nick....When's the sequel???
:bananallama: :banrasta:

[Japhy]

Yeah, I'm sorry about that guys. It's been a busy weekend. I'll set aside some time tonight for episode 2 "Lonely Bartenders and Steel-Decked Bridges" You all have a good day, Japhy

[Japhy]

So day 2 I haul my sore ass into the saddle at 6am, gas up and head south out of Whitehorse. About a hundred miles down is the first of several steel decked bridges on the Alaska Hwy. For anyone who's never riden 2 wheels across one, the longitudinal (yeah, don't think that's spelled right) ribs project from the surface about a half inch and are spaced about 3-4 inches apart. Just enough to trap your tires. No, they don't run straight. They weave to and fro all the way across the friggin thing. So you take em at about 25 and just let the ol scooter wobble along untill you get to the other side. No sweat. Except steel don't offer much traction, and it offers next to none when it's wet.
Getting back to it, I hit the first of these at Johnson's Crossing (Teslin River). It's about six hundred yards long and more than high enough for me. And it's raining. So I pull up to it at 20-25 mph and start across. 20 yards out and I'm in a cold sweat. Things are fine if not unnerving, but the damn thing ain't level, so the bike goes along for awhile in its groove and then jumps over to the next one. Still not a big deal, untill I'm about over to the center line and here comes this big-assed pusher class-A motorhome. This thing's slicker than whale shit on an ice flow and I'm trying to coax the old boy back over to the right while pissing down both legs and trying not to end up as some blue-hair's hood ornament. Sumbitch. Gonna need some more of that blood pressure medication!
Well we survived and rolled into Watson Lake after a time, weather was lookin up for a change. Watson Lake is home to the infamous "sign forest". It's about an acre of telephone poles erected for the purpose of displaying road signs, license plates, etc. from wherever a person has travelled from. Kinda neat, and the housekeeper has shown the Luddite how to post pics so I'll give it a try.
http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k157/akamilos/NicksTrip005.jpg
There's a hotel/restaurant/bar in town so I swung in for a burger and beer. Inside, it's just me and the bartender. She looks to be about 21-22 or so, cute little gal. Ask her if they serve food in the bar and she says yes. So I ask her if she's got Pabst Blue Ribbon, and she's never heard of it. Stranger ina strange land man. I gotta get out of this country. "Say, ya got Labatts Blue?" "Sure do, eh?" says she. I'llllll take one. So she brings me a beer and grabs her water glass with a straw and comes around to sit riiiiiight next to me.
"So, you ridin'?"
"Yup, down from Anchorage, Alaska."
Long pause....
Stirs her water with the straw...
"Where you goin?"
"Sturgis, South Dakota."
More stiring...
"You goin to visit someone?"
"No, goin down for the rally."
Looooong pause.
"You've never heard of it have ya."
"No"
"Well, it's a motorcycle rally that's been hosted in Sturgis since 1938. About a half million bikers come from all over the world to this town of 5000 people every year during the first week of August."
"I went to Calgary for the Stampede this year."
"That's cool, I hear that's one of the biggest rodeos in the world."
"Yeah, there's LOTS of people there."
Looooong pause. (At this point I'm beginning to feel like I've been set up on a blind date.) She goes to get my burger, brings another beer, and sits right down beside me again. Strangest damn thing. We make small talk about the weather and such. Man, she's like PAINFULLY shy, and it's time for me to go- I'm beginning to hear the Twilight Zone theme playing somewhere in the background.
"You gonna come back this way?"
"yeah, in about a week an a half."
-It is the only road that one can take, but I don't mention that.

Boy, sure feels good to be back in the wind! How far to America?

[gunfish]

And you didn't offer her any candy??:suicide:

[Vettezuki]

And you didn't offer her any candy??:suicide:

By the sounds of it I bet you if he stayed long enough she would have showed her . . . private collection of Lugers.

[Japhy]

By the sounds of it I bet you if he stayed long enough she would have showed her . . . private collection of Lugers.

Not that I don't have a reputation as a flirt:huh:...
There was just a weird sad vibe around the whole situation. I really think she was just lonely bein stuck in a tiny town that's butt-assed cold half the year (weeks of 50-60 below 0). What eligable bachelors there are are probably scooped up quick or kids get the hell outta town the first chance they get. It was like an arctic version of stopping at a place in the middle of the Nevada desert where the tumbleweed outnumber the folks still living there after the interstate bypassed them. You meet all kinds out there...
Take care all, Japhy

[Vettezuki]

Not that I don't have a reputation as a flirt:huh:...
There was just a weird sad vibe around the whole situation. I really think she was just lonely bein stuck in a tiny town that's butt-assed cold half the year (weeks of 50-60 below 0). What eligable bachelors there are are probably scooped up quick or kids get the hell outta town the first chance they get. It was like an arctic version of stopping at a place in the middle of the Nevada desert where the tumbleweed outnumber the folks still living there after the interstate bypassed them. You meet all kinds out there...
Take care all, Japhy

Somehow easy to imagine, deep melancholy, creaking hinges, worn bar stools, thrashed juke box. Hopefully for her sake she doesn't wait too long to get out of there if it's not floating her boat. It's strange how people get attached to situations that kill them slowly.

[Japhy]

Yeah man, "deep melancholy" pretty much sums up the scene. There's the Alcan north out of town and the Alcan south out of town. And not an intersection for 200 miles. You can't even go for a drive:suicide:. I was shocked that there was even anyone in town that had a motorcycle- what's the point? Like a lot of the villages up here that are off the road system, I found many places through northern Canadia that had absolutely no reason to exist. No industry, no tourism- unless you count the people passing through who stop for gas and a meal. Nothing but a few hundred people passing around std's and trying to get through another winter without climbing into a warm bath with a razor blade.

Well, there's yer little ray of sunshine for the day!:nutkick: It starts gettin better from here! Promise... Japhy

[Japhy]

Finally gettin far enough south for good weather! Dawson Creek is like 70F and feels like heaven. Sun's shinin, bike's runnin good, finally get some 91 octane, found an open beer store:thumbs_up: (stash was gettin thin). Speakin of thin, the tread on my back tire had been leaving at an alarming rate. Pressure was checked each morning, but them northern roads are all chip-seal. We've got some of that in Alaska as well, but the crushed rock they roll into the oil is about the same size as what you'd find in asphalt. Canadians must just find a talus slope they can mine for the stuff- cause it is COARSE! 2" crushed rock was not unusual. Like riding on a cheese grater.
Now I'd figured that at some point in the trip I'd need a tire, but I was beginning to wonder if I'd make Sturgis before having to take a day and have it replaced. Another 500 miles and I wasn't sure if I'd even make the border. Well neat. So we ain't makin time anymore- gotta find a dealer with a whitewall. I'd had the foresight to make a note of about a dozen Harley shops along my route and the nearest one was Kamloops, BC. 200 miles later I roll in (80 degrees by now. Sweet.), and give em my predicament. It's 2 in the afternoon and I'm not holding out much hope that I'll be makin any more miles that day, but damned if they didn't have me back on the road in 2 hours! Even washed and detailed the bike!
So now we're headed 150 miles to Washington state plus a tire and minus about 12lbs of Yukon mud. South outta Kamloops, then east over some pass and down into... uh, ...Peachland? I think that's right- don't have a map in front of me. Anyway there's a road that then travels south along Okanogan Lake. Man, pretty country. Wine country, turns out. Vineyards up and down the hills, about 2 dozen b&bs all advertizing wine tastings... I know what you're thinking, but I had to make that border by sundown so I didn't stop.





Till I spotted this pub with a patio about 20 miles from the Free World. There was this bartender in there (a happy one) wearin a long black dress with an open back (nice tatoo). Maybe travelling alone had givin me an overactive imagination, but I have NEVER seen a dress cover so much and still be that revealing! Man did it fit. Clingy.

Ah, now where was I? Right, headin for the border:drive:. Meet the Man at the gate and, as it turns out, the American border patrol actually gives a shit about who's comin and who's goin. Go figure. No hassles though, and we're off to find a place to crash. For a change, I actually know where the hell I am as I grew up in Wa state. So i head down to Tonasket and then cut east through the hills towards Republic, finding a nice little lake to camp at around 11pm. Man, does it feel good to be back in the states- particularly this state. If there's anything Alaska lacks, it's variety. You can drive across Washington and go from rainforest to desert. Nice to get a change of scenery every hunert miles or so.
While I'm at it, here's a coupla pics from the trip down.

http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k157/akamilos/NicksTrip001.jpg
South of Tok, AK

http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k157/akamilos/NicksTrip003.jpg
Lk. Kluane, Yukon

http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k157/akamilos/NicksTrip007.jpg
Buffalo in Northern B.C.

http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k157/akamilos/NicksTrip010.jpg
Muncho Lake, B.C.

http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k157/akamilos/NicksTrip011.jpg
Okanogan country of N.E. Washington

Enjoy the weekend, I'm gonna! -Japhy

[gunfish]

good stuff!

[Vettezuki]

http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k157/akamilos/NicksTrip003.jpg
Lk. Kluane, Yukon



That right there is one purty picture.

[Japhy]

That right there is one purty picture.

Yeah, but like most places up here, ya gotta ignore all the mud in the foreground! Look past the mud, swamp, mosquitoes, etc. and you've got a darn nice spot. Not trying to be an ass, I appreciate the comments- it's just that when I look at that all I see is my muddy ol scooter on the side of a muddy shitty road in the middle of friggin nowhere with nobody tellin me what to do, or how to do it, or how fast or slow i should be going, can't stop and have a beer that's not safe... Damn Vette, yer right that was a fine picture! Really brought back some memories for a minute.:beer:
Take care, Japhy

[Vettezuki]

. . . it's just that when I look at that all I see is my muddy ol scooter on the side of a muddy shitty road in the middle of friggin nowhere

I wouldn't want to see a sparkling clean Bike in that pic. It's being ridden, for real and it shows. That's what's so cool to me. There's a time and place for perfectly neat and clean and that doesn't seem like it to me.

with nobody tellin me what to do, or how to do it, or how fast or slow i should be going, can't stop and have a beer that's not safe...

Sounds like paradise; mosquitos, mud and all.

[Japhy]

Sounds like paradise; mosquitos, mud and all.

It does kinda grow on ya! Nothing like a little freedom to let you look past the hardships.
I've been riding all weekend and now it's time for beer and barbeque, so I'll get the next chapter up tomarrow (tues.) Take care, Japhy

[Vettezuki]

. . . Nothing like a little freedom to let you look past the hardships. . .

If only more Americans would recapture this idea; but I digress. Looking forward to the next installment. :thumbs_up:

[Japhy]

Hey guys, winter's comin' and I've been busier than a Senator in a cathouse:laugh:
Where'd I leave off... Back in America! Eastern Washington and the weather's HOT! The scenery is refreshingly different than the Arctic and now I'm officially on vacation. I start working south from Republic
http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k157/akamilos/NicksTrip012.jpg
A pretty nice little town a guy could see himself retiring in. Down further out of the Okanogen country and starting to see some desert.
http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k157/akamilos/NicksTrip013.jpg
Little further on and I come to the Grand Coulee Dam. Well, I haven't been here in ages, so I stop for a picture and happen to find a couple on a Heritage Softail heading home to Idaho who'd be happy to take a pic for me.
http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k157/akamilos/NicksTrip015.jpg
Those tubes on the face of the dam are large enough to drive a truck through -just to give you a sense of scale.
It's gettin to be past breakfast time so at Coulee City (I think that was it), I start looking for a restaraunt. And as luck would have it, I found one. Same time as this nice couple also headin back to Idaho. Well I haven't had any decent conversation since Watson Lake (remember her?), and I was still getting over the heebie-jeebies from that so all three of us get a table together and we must have taken 2hrs to eat! He was a cool cat and man the stories just started flyin across that table. His wife was in stitches most the time. And I nearly had fried egg out the nose on an occasion or two. Kinda folks you wished you could stop in and see more often.
http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k157/akamilos/NicksTrip016.jpg
He reminded me of Santa Clause's hippy brother or something!
From here I've got to make a detour west of the Cascades so I can see the Old Man while I'm down. I figure the best route would be over the pass at Mt. Rainier. It'd be a pretty ride on two-lane road and it'd dump me down into Enumclaw -where he happened to be. Kind of a no-brainer, right?
Well it starts out fine enough, just catching the edge of some rain showers outside of Yakima, heading west up into the mountains on a beautifull twisty road following a stream. Traffic's light, road's been freshly paved, great big pine trees... perfect. Fer a while. As I gain altitude, I can see I'm going to hit a little weather pokin over from the rainy side of the state. Oh well, whadda ya want -egg in yer beer? Now I'm up good and high, it's raining, I'm peering through the soggy windscreen at a fog line 25 feet in front of me on a road with no shoulders or guardrail that's making switchbacks 3000 feet above the valley floor that I presume is down there under this cloud I'm in. Just when I get comfortable riding along at 20mph with NO visability -just following the stripes, I see a sign for road construction. Stripes are gone, pavement's gone, my nerves are shot:surrender:. Georgia must be makin a killin on all this friggin greasy clay they're exporting. And I'm not kidding, you couldn't see more than 20 feet in this crap.
So I make it down the other side allright (you prolly guessed), roll into Dad's at about 2 in the afternoon and we had a blast. Had a beer or 10:beer:, had a bar-b-que with him, my step-mom, and a friend we've known for 20 years or so. Hit the road the next day at about the same time. Man, 24hrs of R&R felt awsome! I hadn't been off the bike for more than 6hrs at a stretch for 3000 miles and five days.
I'll keep em comming as I can, long as anyone's still readin! -Japhy

[Vettezuki]

. . .I'll keep em comming as I can, long as anyone's still readin! -Japhy

Oh hells ya!

[BRUTAL64]

Oh hells ya!

Yea, keep em coming. I keep going out to the shop and looking at the Pan. Thinking...................:D

[gunfish]

Keep 'em coming Nick. And don't make us wait so long for the next installment, huh?:sm_laughing:

[Vettezuki]

Yea, keep em coming. I keep going out to the shop and looking at the Pan. Thinking...................:D

If the guilt ever becomes overwhelming, you can give her to a good home . . . hint hint. You can still work on her all you want. :) I'm giving like that.

[Japhy]

If the guilt ever becomes overwhelming, you can give her to a good home . . . hint hint. You can still work on her all you want. :) I'm giving like that.

And to think that Plunk and the other libs over in the political forum would accuse you of being an uncharitable conservative! Sounds like a hell of an offer to me:leaving:
-Japhy

[Japhy]

Keep 'em coming Nick. And don't make us wait so long for the next installment, huh?:sm_laughing:

If someone's uncle would take a trip to install a woodstove and get about 5cord split and stacked someone else would have all the time in the world to write! Say, did you hear Harley was going to start offering airbags on some models starting in '10? Take care bud, Japhy

[Vettezuki]

. . 5cord split and stacked someone else would have all the time in the world to write! . . .

5 cords . . . that's a lot of beer. :sm_laughing:

[Vettezuki]

And to think that Plunk and the other libs over in the political forum would accuse you of being an uncharitable conservative! Sounds like a hell of an offer to me:leaving:
-Japhy

I forgot to mention I'd probably even be willing to pay for the parts. :bigthumbsup:

[Japhy]

Yeah, you guys can work as much as you want for all the beer I can drink:thumbs_up:
Also, BRUTAL64, I was checkin your garage for pics of that Pan... even if it's a pile of parts, I have a good imagination! -Japhy

[Vettezuki]

...Also, BRUTAL64, I was checkin your garage for pics of that Pan... even if it's a pile of parts, I have a good imagination! -Japhy

I ain't no Harley Expert, but my imagination tells me it looks something like:
http://www.motorgen.com/pic/data/727/medium/BeautifulBike1.JPG

This was a "Friends Church" car show here in beautiful Yorba Linda, right close to the Bugatti Veyron and Ferrari Enzo . . . no joke.

[Japhy]

You guys have to beleive me when I say I'm not being a smartass...
But I wouldn't change a thing. I'd make 'er run if she wasn't and leave the rest alone. That's a bike with a story right there. That's like the Harley version of "The Velvetine Rabbit" if I've ever seen one. (Hey Vette, I bet we both cried at that one:sadbanana:) Thanks for posting that. -Japhy

p.s. isn't Yorba Linda the town that Rush Linbaugh always makes fun of?

[Vettezuki]

You guys have to beleive me when I say I'm not being a smartass...
But I wouldn't change a thing. I'd make 'er run if she wasn't and leave the rest alone. That's a bike with a story right there. That's like the Harley version of "The Velvetine Rabbit" if I've ever seen one. (Hey Vette, I bet we both cried at that one:sadbanana:) Thanks for posting that. -Japhy

p.s. isn't Yorba Linda the town that Rush Linbaugh always makes fun of?

You know, I'm a Vette guy, I love exotics, super high strung Sport Bikes, F1, kinda everything actually. . . but when I looked at that bike, hair literally stood up on my arm. It just looks like all guts and spirit.

Rush mocks "Rio Linda (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rio_Linda,_California)". It's from back in the day when he broadcast out of Sacramento and apparently he regularly had callers from there that where not exactly the sharpest light bulbs in the shed. I have a (liberal) colleague from Sacramento, and he has independently confirmed the stereotype of Rio Linda. :nutkick:

[Japhy]

A stereotype such as this perhaps?
http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k157/akamilos/mullet3.jpg
Not that there's anything wrong with that...

[Vettezuki]

A stereotype such as this perhaps?
Not that there's anything wrong with that...

The synchronicity is awesome. I play baseball (hardball you panzies) on a team named after that most glorious of hairstyles "The Mullets." No, I'm not making this up. Sadly our website is down. Doh!

[Japhy]

I ride up here with an older guy -hell of a nice guy, but he wears what he calls a "skullet". I guess male-pattern baldness can't even stand before the mighty mullet. Dead sexy.:mullet:

[BRUTAL64]

If the guilt ever becomes overwhelming, you can give her to a good home . . . hint hint. You can still work on her all you want. :) I'm giving like that.

OK, tell you what--trade me a "newer" HD for the Pan. :thumbs_up:

[BRUTAL64]

Yeah, you guys can work as much as you want for all the beer I can drink:thumbs_up:
Also, BRUTAL64, I was checkin your garage for pics of that Pan... even if it's a pile of parts, I have a good imagination! -Japhy


It's complete-- 48 PAN engine and trans - 72 Santee frame -- updated 81
front forks dual disc and 81 rear wheel with disc. Bike is VERY low and cool.

Funny thing it's still 6 volt and all it needs is a battery. It was rode VERY hard and should be gone over--but does run. I'll try and roll it out for pictures soon.:thumbs_up:


Oh, KICK start only.:laugh:

[Vettezuki]

OK, tell you what--trade me a "newer" HD for the Pan. :thumbs_up:

Does it have to be "mine"? Also, kickstart only, fIng bad. I think we need pics yo.

[BRUTAL64]

Does it have to be "mine"? Also, kickstart only, fIng bad. I think we need pics yo.



What you don't trust me???????:p:leaving:

[Japhy]

--but does run

...on the one cylinder anyway...:pot_stir:

[BRUTAL64]

...on the one cylinder anyway...:pot_stir:

No, both.:sm_up_there:

[Japhy]

Well heck, I don't know why Vette's draggin his feet on this deal then.

[gunfish]

If someone's uncle would take a trip to install a woodstove and get about 5cord split and stacked someone else would have all the time in the world to write! Japhy

C'mon, I don't like you (or my niece) that much! :p (Now maybe for Sophie....we sure do miss her!)
Anyway, it sounds too much like work!

[gunfish]

Alright, you've had plenty of time to take care of all of that unimportant crap. Now we want......"The rest of the story"

[Vettezuki]

Alright, you've had plenty of time to take care of all of that unimportant crap. Now we want......"The rest of the story"

I second that motion.

[Japhy]

Allright, allright... I don't have any more wood to haul untill this weekend, so maybe tonight after I shingle the woodshed I'll sit down w/ a beer and catch you all up a little.

[Vettezuki]

Allright, allright... I don't have any more wood to haul untill this weekend, so maybe tonight after I shingle the woodshed I'll sit down w/ a beer and catch you all up a little.

Ok, I'm pretty sure you've cut a lot of wood by now and are probably under 30ft of snow. So you must have lots of time to fill us in on how the Sturgis trip went down.

[gunfish]

That's right, Nick. Time to catch us up.

[big2bird]

MORE I need MORE.:drink:

[BRUTAL64]

MORE I need MORE.:drink:

:judge:

[Vettezuki]

The bat signal has been sent out.

[enkeivette]

:popcorn:

[Japhy]

So I'm heading towards the Palouse country of S.E. Wa. on a dead straight 2 lane road with the sun setting in my rearview mirrors. Just picked up a sixpack of tallboys for less than you can buy a pint in Ak. Life is eeeeeeeasy. There's a tractor trailer comin up towards me and just as we meet, this Streetglide goes flyin by at about 90 -splittin' the difference between me and the truck. Right on the yellow line. I couldn't see him coming up behind me due to the sun an' all, but as he passed I could sure see the three-piece patch on the back of his vest. Miles roll by and I'm hoping there aren't 30 more of them up ahead just dyin' to hear the story of the asshole outa-stater who wouldn't move over to share the lane when I see him pulled off at an abandoned gas station. So naturally I stop to see what'll happen next. While having top and bottom rockers on your club's patch generally means you're not as socially house-broke as most, this fella turned out to be a pretty nice guy. Asked how he was doin' an he says just fine. Tell him I woulda given him some room if I coulda seen through the glare in my mirrors. He laughs and says it's all good -plenty of room! So we spend about twenty minutes havin a dip and shootin the shit. Bikes, Sturgis, weather, bikes... It's gettin on towards dark and there are deer all over this country so we hit the road. He goes on to Lewiston, and I peel off at the Snake River on the Wa side for some beer and shuteye.
http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k157/akamilos/NicksTrip020.jpg
http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k157/akamilos/NicksTrip021.jpg
I'm happy to hear there's still some interest in this tale, I'll post some more pics and stuff when I get home from the oilfield. Take care all.

[Vettezuki]

:hail:

Someday I'll have to make this run. Yes, I must. I hear they tolerate all kinds of bikes in Sturgis now, so I won't disappear if I were to show up on a Bandit or something like that.

[Japhy]

Oh yeah, it takes all kinds man! As long as you don't show up in a vehicle possessing more than three wheels you're in!:drink:

[BRUTAL64]

:hail:

Someday I'll have to make this run. Yes, I must. I hear they tolerate all kinds of bikes in Sturgis now, so I won't disappear if I were to show up on a Bandit or something like that.

You have to ride all the way to Sturgis.. If you want to do it, I'll get my 48 Pan back on the road to ride with you. So when...........?:nuts:

[Japhy]

Down into Lewiston, Id. and over to Orifino, where I met Arlen Ness and the rest of the "Hamsters MC" on their way to the rally. One of them was obviously a bit of a baseball buff.
http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k157/akamilos/NicksTrip024.jpg
http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k157/akamilos/NicksTrip026.jpg
It's over a hunert degrees at noon and I'm looking forward to getting up into the mountains. Back on Hwy 12 for Lolo Pass. If you ever are in this neck of the woods, this ride is a must! I didn't stop to take a picture, but there's a sign as you begin to follow the Clearwater river up the valley that says "curves, next 77 miles."
http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k157/akamilos/NicksTrip027.jpg
Didn't get a picture of the sign, but here's one from where I stopped to soak myself for a minute.

[Japhy]

Up at the summit, Lolo Hot Springs makes a perfect spot to take a breather.
http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k157/akamilos/NicksTrip028.jpg
Lotsa shade for you and your mount, general store, and for a little while Arlen's entire motorcade of support vehicles and enclosed trailers. Same old story, met a couple people out for a ride and had a great time BS-ing and swapping stories. But I'm bound for Dillon, Mt for the night and have to hit the road and make some time. Once in Missoula, I opt to hop on I-90 :barf: Running so far behind I decide in Butte that I have enough gas to make it to Dillon without stopping. After all, it's only 60 miles or so as I remembered. Yeah, it's 90 or so. :censored: Not gonna make it. Start straining my memory trying to recall if there were any other towns on the way and not coming up with anything. Not seein much either -gettin dark too. Finally see an offramp and a couple buildings, so I pull off to see if there's any go-juice to be had. Because God loves me, there was a gas pump in the booming metropolis of Melrose. In front of a tavern. After having a beer with a couple Marines just back from the sandbox and on their way to the "Testical Festival" in Missoula, the scooter and I head out refreshed and ready to reaquaint ourselves with the Metlin Hotel. To be honest, it was scooter's first time there. But me an' the Metlin go waaaaaay back.
http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k157/akamilos/NicksTrip030.jpg
It may not look like much, and it ain't. But back in '96 or '97, I spent a summer over here doing some geologic mapping as an undergrad and we tore that place up almost every night. Schmidt ina can for a buck. Well times have changed -now it's two bucks. And they don't rent out rooms anymore. Nor is it a very exciting place without a dozen or so geology students raisin hell and trying not to get killed by the cowboys. Had a couple beers and split. It was like seeing an old girlfriend after she's "gone to seed" -so to speak.

[Vettezuki]

Keep it coming brother as the spirit moves you. :thumbs_up: I'm into it.

[Japhy]

Yeah Vette, I'm back into it. Been working with another biker up here in the oilpatch, we swap stories all day long. Got me all motivated to write em down again. The last few have been kinda slow, but just wait till I get to the night in Red Lodge, Mt. chapter. My wife still just shakes her head over that.:whistle:

[Vettezuki]

Yeah Vette, I'm back into it. Been working with another biker up here in the oilpatch, we swap stories all day long. Got me all motivated to write em down again. The last few have been kinda slow, but just wait till I get to the night in Red Lodge, Mt. chapter. My wife still just shakes her head over that.:whistle:


I'm ready to start shaking my head yo. Let's light this candle.

[Vettezuki]

I need a fix . . . bad man.


BTW, the story about the girl in the arctic wasteland reminded me of a Tom Waits song about a town in a desert wasteland.

YouTube- Tom Waits Town with No Cheer

[Japhy]

As I'd mentioned, the Metlin no longer rented rooms, so at about 1am I was left looking for a place to crash. Thought about runnin south to a big resevoir that was sure to have a campground, but a quick assesment of my bac revealed that I'd better find someplace closer to sneak to. Find this little motel about a mile away and after waking the gal up crawl into bed a little disappointed with my return to Dillon.
Bright and early, I'm going over my map and decide to take a side trip over to Salmon, Id via Lost Trail pass. My Grandfather grew up there and it seemed a shame to be so close and not go see it. He'd come from an Irish family with the last name of Gibbons, and I saw that there was a town about 20 miles north of Salmon called "Gibbonsville" -wondered if maybe there was a connection. Came to find out later that mercifully there wasn't.
So I'm heading west up into the high country, it's about a hundred degrees and looking more and more like a western movie set.
http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k157/akamilos/NicksTrip033.jpg

http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k157/akamilos/NicksTrip034.jpg

There's a place along the way on the backside of a low pass before you head up to Lost Trail and the Idaho border called "Wisdom". Seemed like a good place for gas, lunch and a little refreshment. Besides, it's called wisdom! Maybe a little something'll rub off.
The road takes a turn and runs north along the floor of a high valley with farms along the side and big 'ol mountains all around. Bikes running well despite the elevation, weather's awesome, scenery's great -you guessed it, I was due for nature to give me a kick to the groin.
Ridin along with my t-shirt tucked in, I feel something punch me in the side of the neck. Quicker than I can relate it, it's like someone put out their cigerette right between my shoulder blades and then began tattooing some kind of tramp stamp down where my shirt is tucked into my jeans. So there I am at 65mph rippin my shirt over my head and steerin with my knees on the tank. The sound of a grown man screaming like a little girl still echoing in my ears, I get everything brought to a stop on the side of the road to figure out what the hell happened to my little slice of heaven. Start investigating and find something like 9 different lumps starting to swell up on my back. After yelling "OWWWWWWWWWW!" to nobody in particular, I decide to pop an allergy pill figuring a little antihistamine couldn't hurt. About now, Wisdom is lookin better than ever and I roll in to the town's only gas station and ask a grizzled old biker where a guy could "cut the dust" so to speak. He points to the Antler Tavern across the street and tells me they have the coldest beer and the best homemade pizza in all of Montana. We get to bsing and he tells me "that's why you never ride with yer shirt tucked in -give the little bastards a quicker exit that way." 5 minutes in Wisdom, and I've already picked up a little pearl.

[Japhy]

I scoot on across the street and limp hunchbacked into the Antler Tavern to in fact find the coldest bottle of Rainier I'd ever experienced. And the pizza was some of the best.

http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k157/akamilos/NicksTrip035.jpg
http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k157/akamilos/NicksTrip036.jpg
Introductions are made, and a couple fly fishermen are eyin my pizza something fierce. I ask the barmaid if she'd mind if I shared (didn't want to steal another order from her) 'cause I'd never finish it all. She says "sure hon, and anything that's left I'll wrap up in case you get hungry later." Turns out in some parts, a couple slices of pizza trade staight across for your entire bar tab. Karma. So with a belly full of pizza and free beer, I head west towards the Big Hole battlefield (at the suggestion of aforementioned bartender). Even making allowances for politics and "white guilt" I felt a little like a German citizen taking a tour of Auschwitz.
Down into Salmon, and other than awesome scenery along the Salmon river, nothing really to write home about.
http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k157/akamilos/NicksTrip038.jpg
On the way down, I'd spotted a great little spot to camp along a creek. So as the shadows grew longer, I found it again north of Gibbonsville. Put ol Wilber up for the evening and sat with a couple Budweisers to evaluate the direction the trip had been taking.
Dawned on me that this trip to Sturgis was much like the rendezvouz of the fur trapping era. Maybe it was too much time spent in the mountains of Montana, but it seemed a pretty good parallel. Hairy men on horseback coming out of wilderness isolation to whoop it up for a little while before heading back to the mountains.
Realizing this, I decide that what we need is a little less reminiscing and a little more celebrating. I'm 2 days ride from the biggest modern assemblage of fat hairy drunken misfits and topless squaws. By God, it's time to get goin!
After a restfull night tucked back in the pines it's up at 05:30 for a breakfast beer. And with a dip of Cope and a smile on my face I'm back in the wind and heading for my last stop before Sturgis -Red Lodge, Mt.
http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k157/akamilos/NicksTrip040.jpg

Stay thirsty my friends.

[Vettezuki]

Along with SeanPlunk and a mystery partner I've put rather a lot of time and effort into this site over the years. If for only this thread it has been worth it to me. :thumbs_up:

[Japhy]

Thanks Vette, I appreciate the space you guys have provided for my ramblings. I've started exploring other areas of the forum for anything you gearheads have to offer a guy who's dealing with an aircooled engine that has seen damn few technological advancements since they went from side valves to overhead back in the '30s. Was reading a thread about quench yesterday that made me realize I was assbackwards in my understanding of it. Still going through another on backpressure -that's a hot topic among harley riders. Good stuff here!:drink:

[BRUTAL64]

Thanks Vette, I appreciate the space you guys have provided for my ramblings. I've started exploring other areas of the forum for anything you gearheads have to offer a guy who's dealing with an aircooled engine that has seen damn few technological advancements since they went from side valves to overhead back in the '30s. Was reading a thread about quench yesterday that made me realize I was assbackwards in my understanding of it. Still going through another on backpressure -that's a hot topic among harley riders. Good stuff here!:drink:

Yep, I have 1948 Pan engine and trans in a 72 Santee frame. "Back pressure" is something I've had to deal with the front exhaust pipe going under the frame. Back pressure is not really a correct term= it should be "resistance to flow".:lmfao:

[Japhy]

By now I've been on the road about a week. I know it doesn't seem like it, but I'd been pretty concerned about making good time and still getting to see the places I'd wanted to when I first planned this trip. Starting to feel a little hassled, a little hurried, not so relaxed.
Time to start heading east, away from my itinerary and my schedule, and down across the plains. Realized that I had been fighting a little subconcious reluctance to come down outta the mountains and solitude for the lights and noise and crowds. As I'm riding back down out of the high country Wilbur and I are getting quite the chuckle out of this little satori. I swear if he could turn his head around and look at me he'd a done it just to flash me a smile at the promise of a little action. As it were, he just started runnin' stronger and stronger as we got down into thicker air.
We skirt around Dillon and hit Virginia City, followed by Ennis. Then on into Bozeman for an oil change. A buddy of mine in Alaska is co-owner of the H-D dealership in Bozeman so we get pretty speedy service and after having the little cutie at the counter mail some shirts home for me, we're on I-90 haulin ass.
It'd turned out to be a good day. Refocused, and uh, feeling strangely energetic, we pull off and head down to Red Lodge for a campsite and maybe a little nightlife. Tomorow is Sturgis. Tonight we warm up a little, blow out the carbon -sotaspeak.
Fill up with fuel (always gas up first -n'case you gotta run fer it later), ask a fella where I could find a campsite (2 miles south of town), head down there and get all settled in. Tent pitched, pack jettisoned, met a guy on a road king next to me from Maine. He gives me a couple phone numbers of campgrounds in Sturgis and heads off for town -"maybe I'll run into ya later on tonight Bro!" I tell 'im I'll try not to wake him up when I get back to camp. Call the first number on the list -Creekside Campground, and make reservations for tomorow night. That done, all my responsibilities are covered. Off to town!
It's some kind of big biker weekend in Red Lodge, signs all over proclaimin' "bikers welcome!" and such. Prolly 200 scooters parked along main st. It's just gettin' dark as I walk into a tavern and find a place to squeeze in at the bar. Ordered up a 16oz PBR and met a couple from Roscoe, just down the road. They ask where I'm from and after that, I can hardly get halfway through a beer before he's buyin me another one. Long as I keep tellin' stories, he's buyin. Sometime between that day an' the next, they have to get on home and I decide to go see what the rest of the town has to offer.
Next bar has some live music and more PBR, after awhile I get restless and walk on down the street to the next one. "Snag Bar" it's called. Full of mostly younger locals, I stand out like a turd in a punch bowl. No Pabst, which I shoulda took as a sign. So I'm 2 sips into a Rainier and a fight breaks out between two kids whose combined weight fell short of me -not 'cause I'm huge, just cause I was carryin' about 18 extra pounds a beer. One of em bumps my stool and before long the other gets pushed at me. There's a couple girls tryin to break it up while I spin around to wait for the next sumbitch to invade my world. Turn around and there stands the biggest indian kid I ever saw. My momma didn't raise no idiot, so I ask him "which of them two is your buddy?" He says, "the one with no shirt on." So I says, "well that other asshole runs into me one more time an' i'm layin' 'im down."
Well somehow the chicks get these two stallions back in the corral, I'm halfway through this beer an the lights come on. Angry gal behind the bar has got a friggin club in her hand and announces closing time. Damn. Wonderin' how to handle this developement, I decide the best course of action is to leave this half beer, with no tip, on the bar and follow the crowd out to the sidewalk.
Once outside, I find myself with about a dozen kids all wonderin what to do next. One fella slides over and asks, "you ridin'?" Looking down to see if I was still wearing my chaps and carrying my jacket i say, "yup." He says, "don't do it tonight man. There's 4 cops in town and right now, they're all lookin' for you."
I take a look up and down Main St. and of them 200 bikes parked against the curb earlier, there's only one remaining. I say, "Ah, I'm pretty sneaky..." His buddy says, "seriously dude, don't do it. You can crash on my couch. I live right over there."
"No man, I can't impose like that, I'll just lay low a bit and see what develops."
About then a squad car goes by heading north outta town. About 20 seconds later another goes by south. Well, they got both exits covered, maybe I can take side streets to the edge of town and sneak under the wire from there. About then I spot the other two circling like sharks running the side streets perpendicular to Main. Yeah, nobody'sgetting outta here alive tonight. Those "Welcome Biker" signs are now reading something like "Do you feel lucky?"
All the Kings men are still trying to strategize an escape in my head when this cute little gal points to my Brown Bear Saloon, Indian Ak t-shirt and asks if I'm from Alaska. "Sure am."
"I'm from Girdwood!"
"No shit."
"You goin to Sturgis?"
"a-yep. 'sumin I can get outta Red Lodge."
She starts in on how I should take her with me cause she doesn't have to be home with her boyfriend for another week and a half, and it would be sooooo much fun to ride to the rally and then ride back up the Alcan. I tell her I'm married and that she'd freeze her ass off up in the Yukon. She says she has all sorts of warm gear and that it's ok that I'm married cause she has this boyfriend and all and I seem like such a nice guy, certainly nothing would happen. I'm standing there with this guy :nana2: on one shoulder, and this guy :notme: on the other, when it clicks in my impaired brain that "all sorts of warm gear" when spoken by a woman means more shit than I've ever seen -let alone tried to strap onto a bike. But she's movin in close and it's lookin' like I better have a good argument to counter this. So I tell her, "I may seem like a real nice guy now, but 800 miles with yer boobs in my back I'm liable to turn into one of the mountain men from Deliverance." She looks kinda shocked as I head across the street to ol Wilbur, but it was worth it to keep from having Gunfish call Uncle Dave to put a hit on me.
Recalling my Dad's experience with escape and evasion in SE Asia, I decide to lay up somewhere small until nobody's looking for me anymore and then make my break.
I head down an alley and find a nice spot on the back steps of a business with no lighting and a dumpster for cover, snuggle in, puke, an fall asleep. Wake up completely disoriented, puke, and fall back asleep. Wake up completely disoriented, don't puke, start trying to figure out where the hell I am. Check my watch, it's 04:30. Honestly can't remember where I am or where my faithfull steed is bedded down. But I am feelin' right sober, so I head down the alley and out onto a street and decide I'm still in Red Lodge. Two turns later I spot the bike a couple blocks down. Thank God. Hop on, fire it up and head down the road barely crackin that throttle off idle. Make it the two miles south to the campground without seeing a single car -let alone a cop.
Crawling out of the tent at about 11am, I'm met with laughter from that fella from Maine. He's packing up his bike and laughing his ass off. Seems he'd heard me come in at 4:30 and knew there must have been a hell of a night that preceded it. According to him, the trick is to go out, have a good time, but have all yer poop in a pile by midnight while there are still a lot of other bikers to distract the cops.
Noted.

[Vettezuki]

It's like a walk about. And that's probably the most unexpected use of "satori" I've ever read.

[Japhy]

And that's probably the most unexpected use of "satori" I've ever read.

Yeah, I knew I'd shock a few people with that.

[gunfish]

but it was worth it to keep from having Gunfish call Uncle Dave to put a hit on me.

Well, it certainly would have been the LEAST I could do...And I know Dave would agree! :D

[gunfish]

Well, it certainly would have been the LEAST I could do...And I know Dave would agree! :D

C'mon, Nick. I know I didn't scare you off. What did you do....go back to work?? :p

[Japhy]

No no, just letting it sit for a little bit. The next day finally finds me at the rally -with a new found caution from the lessons learned in Red Lodge. (go eeeeeasy Nick.

[Vettezuki]

No no, just letting it sit for a little bit. The next day finally finds me at the rally -with a new found caution from the lessons learned in Red Lodge. (go eeeeeasy Nick.

I need a dose of "Japhy Does sturgis" for the weekend. Hook a brother up.

[gunfish]

As your semi Uncle, I command you!.....(C'mon, Nick)!

[gunfish]

I need a dose of "Japhy Does sturgis" for the weekend. Hook a brother up.

Hey, Man. That was LAST weekend!

[Vettezuki]

Hey, Man. That was LAST weekend!


I know. :huh:

[Japhy]

I'm leavin' Red Lodge with intentions of Sturgis by the end of the day. It's about 102*, sun's bright, and my hangover is treating me like a prison prettyboy. I get a few miles down the road and run into this.
http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k157/akamilos/NicksTrip052.jpg

I'm standing there under the inferno in the sky, head pounding, thoughts all fuzzy. This was just too bizare for me to process right away. Not enough to send a guy to the "bummer tent" (woodstock reference), but surely enough to leave me just standing there scratching my cloudy head. Finally it dawned on me that it was merely the result of a guy, a bunch of shit, and even more spare time. There may have been some chemicals involved -you be the judge.
http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k157/akamilos/NicksTrip053.jpg

[Vettezuki]

Ok, I'm very excited . . . but slightly confused. Is this from your previous trip or your current sojourn.

[Japhy]

The Little Big Horn battlefield was on my list of "must see stuff", so I head east on I-90 to the Crow Reservation. There's a good time. Houses looked like they were less than ten years old and I don't think any of em had more than 2 windows that still had glass in them. I won't comment other than when I stopped for gas, I felt very white and way too light in the ass to linger in this neck of the woods. Sorry, no pics to share. By the time I got to Custer's Last Stand, I'd had about a gallon of gatorade and was feelin pretty good. Tons of bikers! (where were they at that gas stop???) At the small knoll where the fight was, they've done a great job of marking positions and what-not. You can really visualize it. I've never seen combat, so looking at all that and trying to imagine what it must've been like to be hunkered down behind that little knob with limited men and limited ammo, in that heat with not enough water surounded by men that want to kill you in the worst way -scared the shit outta me. http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k157/akamilos/NicksTrip059.jpg Hit 212 east across the Cheyenne res. and the rest of south east MT. Skirted the corner of Wyoming, and rolled into Sturgis long after dark. I knew what to expect, but I wasn't really prepared for this. Duck-walking our bikes 3 per lane through town at a snail's pace. I found a place to duck in so I could call the campground for directions, and once I figured out where I was, and where they were, got there just as quick as I could! http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k157/akamilos/NicksTrip068.jpg Rest and relaxation at last!

[Japhy]

Previous trip. Alas, I will not be returning this year.

[Vettezuki]

Previous trip. Alas, I will not be returning this year.

Awesome. I was worried that story may have fallen into oblivion. . .

[Japhy]

It's funny, on any other forum if somones resurects a thread that's 2 1/2 yrs old, they get boo-ed.

[Vettezuki]

It's funny, on any other forum if somones resurects a thread that's 2 1/2 yrs old, they get boo-ed.

They suck.

[Japhy]

In the morning, surveying my new domain, I learned that the campground served a pretty good breakfast for $5. Steak dinners were $6. There was a gas station a 1/4 mile away wth fuel and beer, campground sold ice for a buck a bag and styrofoam coolers for two bucks. What I'm trying to get at is for the $10 a day camping fee plus another $20, I was fed and sitting under my shade tree with a 12 pack of beer in a cooler on ice for the day. See-uns how I only had to buy the cooler once, a day's stay with two meals worked out to about $33 bucks. Didn't take me long to realize this measued out to under a grand a month for room and board. They also had free showers and laundry for bikers of that persuasion. http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k157/akamilos/NicksTrip069.jpg http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k157/akamilos/NicksTrip070.jpg

[Japhy]

8 days on the road and finally in Sturgis! It may disappoint some to find out I spent my first day doing nothing but hanging out under my shade tree with a cooler of beer. I was beat! I quickly made friends though, as an Alaska plate in S. Dakota is somewhat rare. Dennis was a Vietnam vet camped behind me from Pennsylvania http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k157/akamilos/NicksTrip082.jpg Super cool guy, he and I hit it off right away. Right across from me was Thad from Dallas. He's a blacksmith and builds a lot of custom iron gates and what-not. Later on I'll post some picks of his shovelhead. Thing was awsome! Like I said, he's a blacksmith -not a machinist, so all the parts he had to make were done with heat and a hammer. Made it super unique. http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k157/akamilos/NicksTrip077.jpg Aw hell, I'll post them now. http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k157/akamilos/NicksTrip074.jpg The fender struts were bad ass http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k157/akamilos/NicksTrip072.jpg http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k157/akamilos/NicksTrip071.jpg Yeah, that's an actual saddle on there! http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k157/akamilos/NicksTrip075.jpg It's the only bike he's ever owned, and he bought it as a basket-case. I thought that said a lot about him. Never worked on bikes before and just starts hammering out parts in the forge and teaches himself how to put together a shovel motor. http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k157/akamilos/NicksTrip076.jpg

[Vettezuki]

That's straight up bad ass right there. Talk about taking the "iron horse" theme and running with it.

[Vettezuki]

Having a Japhy does Sturgis withdrawl here.

[Japhy]

Sorry Brother, I'm back on the slope for 2 weeks. I will be sure and post a few more when I get back. I gotta hurry and wrap it up -there's a new bike in the garage and more rambling to share!

[Shaolin Crane]

The blacksmith dude kinda looks like luke willson

[Japhy]

After a couple days of layin around on my ass more inclined to drink beer than ride anywhere, I started getting restless again. Took a ride down into the Black Hills to Mt Rushmore

http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k157/akamilos/NicksTrip080b.jpg

It was actually smaller than I'd always pictured it, but still super cool.

As an aside, it is customary where I'm from to take a northbound road when going north, and a westbound road when going west. Should one desire to head East or South, you just go backwards down the West or North road... The Black Hills blew my my mind. Changed my whole perspective of the universe and my place in it. Here's a map.

http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k157/akamilos/map_of_black-hills.jpg

And here's what it looks like when you're in it.

http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k157/akamilos/NicksTrip081.jpg

No sense of direction at all! My ride through the hills consisted of trying like hell to find Rushmore, then trying like hell to get out, with a brief thought of discovering the Crazy Horse memorial. I was winding around God knows where, when all of a sudden, I was on the outskirts of a town. Out of the hills and forest, a quick reference of my sextant told me Sturgis was about 30 miles thataway -where I arrived to find the old Navy vets huddled around something called a "smartphone" (this was 2008) reviewing the doppler radar image of what appeared to be the apocolypse headed in our direction.

All radios in camp were tuned to the weather service forecast for extreme thunderstorm activity with golf ball sized hail. Sweet mother, we were worried. We had a few trees for shelter from the hail, and before long we all had our bikes picketed underneath one or the other. It was early in the evening so many other folks were still out on the road somewhere. The wind picked up ahead of the storm, and we soon had our hands full catching tents as they rolled through like hippy tumbleweeds. We only had a few extra stakes, so we were tying them together and staking down one corner. Mercifully, the weather service had downgraded the hail to "penny sized". I was still pissing down both legs at the thought of that, but I took solace in the fact that it could be worse. I coulda been one of those poor bastards out on the highway 200 yds away stuck in traffic trying to get in to the KISS concert a mile away! The wind was gusting 35 or so, and as the first raindrops began to fall, we wished our bikes well, said a little prayer for the KISS army outside, grabbed some campchairs and hunkered down in Dennis' BIG-ASSED tent with enough beer to last 40 days and 40 nights. All while cursing the short-sightedness that resulted in 4 dudes in a 8' x 8' tent with no wimens and thus no way for us to repopulate the earth after the storm passed -should we survive.

[kdracer73]

Glad to see you follow up !!! Been a while since we heard from you ! Living the dream !!