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 Sturgis 2003 – Chris Stanley , Bill Wendel, Chris Bennett and I departed from Georgetown on our way to Sturgis on a warm dark Morning. Two road Kings , An Electra-Glide and a Heritage headed North into the unknown, as all trips, it took a few hours , few tanks of gas and somebody taking us 100 miles out of our way ( His initials are C.S. !) to christen the trip. We were up around Childress Tx. when we met up with a representative from the Texas Law enforcement community, ( DPS) we were lucky to get warnings , now slowing down a little we departed Texas and scooted across the narrowest part of Oklahoma in about a half hour and then into Liberal Kansas and stopped for the night , counting the extra 100 miles it was about an 800 mile day. Day 2 started out kind of cool and we rode across Kansas and into Nebraska, the highlight of this day was stopping for the infamous Truck waffles ( Don’t ask !) , a good riding day ,we ended in Chadron Nebraska we had Steak , beer , swimming at the hotel pool and washed our bikes . Day 3: Chadron is only about 100 miles from Deadwood S.D. (where we were staying) so we rode from Chadron out to the Badlands and that was very cool , later in the afternoon we went back and checked into our rooms , we stayed at the Jackpot Inn , the cool thing about Deadwood is the trolley , every hotel is on the trolley route, so at the end of the (riding) day you can park ‘em and ride the trolley and safely partake in adult fun ! we went to Kevin Costner’s restaurant , I had a Buffalo Burger which was pretty good , stronger flavor than regular Beef , then we went to the Saloon #10 where Wild Bill Hickock was killed while playing Poker. The next day we went to Keystone , then Mount Rushmore , got our pictures with the “Heads” , then over to Custer State Park which is one of the nicest rides, but the most bike traffic of anywhere in the Black Hills, out to the Crazy Horse Monument, then down to Hill City where we had lunch at the Hill City Café , living proof that people will eat shit if its in an Air Conditioned building on a hot day and then back to Deadwood. Spearfish Canyon is about 10 minutes from Deadwood , when I had it my way we’d ride Spearfish Canyon once in the morning and again in the early evening , truly the most scenic 20 miles of riding I’ve ever seen , all rides and vistas for me are measured against Spearfish Canyon and none have surpassed it yet ! I will ride with Lynda there someday , I know she’d love it ! The following day we did the Downtown Sturgis thing ,its a lot like a carnival atmosphere; but all biker , hung out , shopped , shipped boxes home and then went to the Buffalo Chip Campground on a day pass to see the sights and catch Jethro Tull , good show , fun night , then back to Deadwood . The following day we were departing , we packed our stuff and went out to Devils Tower, if you’re riding ( Not trailering or flying) either Devils Tower or the Badlands are good trips for your departing day depending on which direction you’re heading home . Devils Tower is a very cool trip , a good stop on the way is Sundance , neat little Western town ( Bob and I stopped there in 2002) when you get to the entrance to the actual park at Devils Tower this is the best view (without going in ) , because the closer you get to it ,the more you’re looking straight up at it , the best views of Devils Tower are from about 10 -15 miles away. After Devils Tower we were starting our return trip , we went to Gillette Wyoming ( ate lunch) and then headed down through the Thunder Basin National Grasslands where we saw what appeared to be every living buffalo on the planet , it had to have been thousands. We got on the interstate ( I-25) in Douglas and then into Colorado where we stopped for the night , My sister and brother in law came to see us ( they live near Denver) . The following day we rode to the Rocky Mountain National Park at the highest point we were at 13,500 feet , a little brisk up there ( about 45 degrees ) in contrast to 85 degrees in Denver . Coming out of the Mountains we went through Boulder and we were aiming back at the interstate again. The next few hours are where legends and folklore are born , Bill had said “If we get split up ,we’ll meet at the Broadmoor Hotel in Colorado Springs” , I don’t know if he had a premonition or what ,but we have never had a rally point on this trip, any trip before , or any trip since and we’ve never been as spread out as we would become. It started when we got to the on ramp to I-25, somebody ( Bill) decide that North was the way ( I’m thinking Texas as well as Colorado Springs are South ) Chris Stanley follows bill and I’m in the back , (Chris Bennett is in front of me ) I got Chris’s (Bennett) attention and told him I was going South , the right way, they all went North . I rode straight through downtown Denver at rush hour (alone) and got to Colorado Springs , got directions to the Broadmoor Hotel , found it and waited . Then I waited , waited some more and finally about an hour and a half after I arrived Chris Stanley and Bill showed up , no Chris Bennett , come to find out that they lost him near Aurora ( well East of Denver , not North , the way they went , not South – the right way – EAST !!) we waited in the Hotel bar for Chris and about an hour and four shots of tequila were delivered to the table and Chris B makes his grand entrance , it was like something from a movie , you had to be there to really get it , and we were there! We made camp ( Super 8 Motel) in Colorado Springs . The following day we went to Pikes Peak Harley Davidson for oil changes see the heroes and villains page for our experience there. When we pulled out of the Harley Dealer Bill was in front, he pulled out directly in front of a semi with a crane on a flatbed , the truck locked up its brakes so hard that it was hopping , it was bouncing to slow down and not devour bill , at the time , somehow he had no idea how close he was to checking out , Chris ,Chris and I were all gasping and swearing spontaneously about Bills luck / unawareness. Once over Bills near death experience Chris Stanley had to stop to replace a highway peg that had flown off at 75mph the day before , now we were on our way again. We headed out to Canon (pronounced Canyon) City to go to Royal Gorge to stand on a wood slatted suspension bridge that was 1053 feet above mother earth, I have the pictures to prove it! My “Friends” all knew that I’m not a big fan of heights and enjoyed my squirming to the maximum allowed by the law. After departing Canon City we were heading towards Pueblo and back onto the interstate, the sky apparently decided that we hadn’t had sufficient use of rain gear so far on this trip, the sky promptly turned jet black and threatened sharply but just stayed to our South , this would become a warning we should have seen . Now on I-25 on the downhill run home ,just before Trinidad Colorado ( near the New Mexico border) the sky turned black again , we suited up in our rain gear and headed into New Mexico , when we go to Raton Pass ( about 8,000 Feet) it started raining hard , a lot of lightning close , and heavy wind almost to the top of the pass Chris Bennett yells to me “It couldn’t get any worse than this !” then the Road construction signs appeared , the road turned to loose gravel and the temperature dropped about 20 degrees . So now raining hard, lightning close, almost freezing , no visibility and the road turns to mud and gravel – Yes Chris it can always get worse !! Back down from the pass we stop for gas, insults and a regroup and then head out, the next leg was actually worse than the one before, we were now heading Southeast with a Side wind blowing at about 45 mph, to compensate for the wind we had to lean our bikes at such a steep angle I thought I was going to scrape my floorboards. We stopped in Dalhart (Now back in Texas) for gas and regroup, its now dark, probably 10 pm and were heading out. We decide were going to stop in Amarillo for the night , get there about 12:30 a.m. get gas and have the now “Infamous Amarillo 7 -11 parking lot verbal shoot out” and come to the conclusion that while Amarillo is a good sized town it can’t simultaneously support two different Conventions and four Bikers ( No rooms ) . Its about 1:00 a.m . and were on the road again heading South into the cloudy ( but not rainy, thank God !) Texas night , I’m so tired I’m almost hallucinating when we pulled into Plainview Tx. At 3:30 a.m. and finally found a hotel . Chris Stanley decides he and Bill are gonna roll on about three hours of sleep at 6:30 , Chris Bennett and I decide that this is probably time to say farewell to Chris and Bill, as we are in agreement that Three hours of sleep wasn’t enough. Chris Stanley commandeers everyones film from the trip in the parking lot to ensure speedy developing and proper distribution, this is a trip habit of his that I’ve come to anticipate and be amused by. About 10:00 a.m. Chris and I take off, now only two bikes, heading South on a cloudy Sunday towards home, the final hours of this trip are kind of arduous and slow. For me on a trip, the last few hours are like the first few : rough and unsettled , on the way out its trying to settle into the rhythm of your ride ,and on the way home I’m always just preoccupied and fidgety to see Lynda and the Kids. Chris and I say goodbye in Lampassas ( our last gas stop). When its all said and done in about 10 days we’ve ridden about 4,200 miles through Nine States. | Hero's and Villain's | Daytona 2002 | Sturgis 2002 | Sturgis 2003 | Laconia 2004 | Arkansas 2003 | New Orleans 2004 | South Padre Island 2002 | Daytona 2005 | Lake Tahoe 2005 | Big Bend 2005 | | Return Home | Map to Hare | Pictures from all over | Contests and Winners | Rides | contact us | The Big Kahuna Burger | Tiger Shark Pint Glass Program | |
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