Tales From The Old Gypsy Man
This is a story that begins in the 21st century. Sure, I’ve been riding motorcycles for 40 years now, but it wasn’t until after I turned 50 that I started to develop it into a lifestyle. I’ve never had an attitude that Harley Davidson is the only bike to ride, but I own one now. I’ve never been crazy about wrenching and customizing. I just love to get out in the wind. There’s a feeling I get when it’s the 2nd day on the road and I won’t get where I’m going until tomorrow. When I don’t know for sure where I’ll be at the end of the day, that’s the place I want to be.
As you’re riding in a cage watching the world go by when you travel, you’re just watching more TV. You’re looking through a glass screen with a frame around it. If the weather gets bad you just turn on the wipers and the heat. Maybe you have to slow down a little bit. Lighting a cigarette or getting a drink of coffee is barely different than doing the same thing in your living room.
On a bike you are part of the environment. Anyone who rode home from the Harley Hundredth in that freak rainstorm knows exactly what I’m talking about. If you are really going to get out there you’d better be ready for some tough times. You can head out from the Buffalo Chip on an August morning with nothing but blue overhead and halfway into the Black Hills find yourself in a drowning thunderstorm pushed by winds usually reserved for hurricanes. There’s no way you’re going to be late for the Lynyrd Skynyd concert. If the storm doesn’t blow itself out in time you’re going to ride in it. Be prepared.
In good weather there is nothing like it. Moving along on a machine much less than 1000 pounds is way more satisfying than hauling your dead ass around in a 2 and a half ton protective container. You can hear and smell everything. Your field of vision is uncluttered. Increased mobility and acceleration keep trouble away. It sharpens the ability to think and pay attention at the same time. I just can’t help but believe that it’s 1000 times more like the way God intended things to be.
I’m a great fan of 45 miles an hour. Interstates are fast and convenient when you’re pressed for time, especially when trying to get west of the Mississippi. I prefer to get off and see what’s really going on. Gas mileage will optimize. The wind is pleasant. You can actually look at things for a few moments. It can give others the opportunity to smile and wave. It can lead to adventure.
It’s lead me to some great people. The past few years I’ve created friendships with folks from all over the country. Some of them you’ve seen on TV. These aren’t huge stars but even I was seen on CNN, the Discovery channel and Robbie Knievel’s show. The story behind those short moments is the real fun. Sturgis Rider Live wants me to tell you all about how I got there. The funny thing is the best parts are all about them!
I lived my 1st half century in Western New York, mostly in rural areas between Erie and Chautauqua counties. Mostly it was day rides with some guys then I started some overnight trips with Muffy. She has her own bike but not the stamina for several hundred miles for a few days straight. We toured the Adirondack and the Blue Ridge Mountains on an 1100 Shadow. Even took Diehl’s Gap, “The Dragon’s Tail”, on that poor overloaded scooter. It was pretty obvious I needed a bigger bike.
In January, 2000 I bought an 11 year old Goldwing for $6,250. I’ve looked at how much Harley a guy could buy for that kind of money. It ain’t much. Whatever it would have been would never have carried me the 35,000 miles that Wing did. That fall I took what I consider my 1st real motorcycle tour. I took 2 weeks vacation and rode to Florida to visit my niece in Melbourne. I took 4 days to cover the 1,200 miles. Nowadays, if I was in a hurry, I’d feel comfortable doing it in 2.
I cut the ride back to 3 days and learned a valuable lesson. Part of being prepared means knowing what you are doing and I didn’t. I had stopped for the night in Virginia. Being from New York I always thought of Virginia as a warm place. I thought I had at least another day of warm riding. As I watched the weather channel in the motel room I learned that in the morning when I wanted to hit the road it was going to be 30 degrees. I was scared. I can ride the 10 miles to work when it’s that cold but to try and ride all day at 65 miles an hour you’d better have some good gear.
I went out and found an all night Walmart and bought a whole bag of those scrunch up hand warmers. In the morning I put one in each boot and each glove. I had a big one down the back of my shirt and another on my neck held on with a scarf. I put on every piece of clothing I could and still walk. I took off but stopped at nearly every rest stop to warm up. It wasn’t the most fun day I ever had riding but I made it home in one piece.
All I thought about when I got back was when could I do it again. I had to go back to work and winter soon set in so it wasn’t like I was about to take right off. The more I thought about it the more I knew what I had to do. I had to take a little ride to visit my sister in California. I had to ride across the whole country just because that’s what I really wanted. That would give me enough time and space to understand what riding is all about.
I started to plan. I wanted to see things that I’d never seen before. I figured that if I took 10 days to get there and 10 to get back I could take some side trips when the occasion arose. If I stayed for 10 days then I would need a month’s worth of vacation. That was going to take about a year and a half. I also need time to save up enough money. I had no idea how much the whole thing would cost. With the Virginia episode fresh in my mind I decided to make this trek during the end of July and the beginning of August. I didn’t want to find myself in a snow storm trying to get over the Rocky Mountains. That pushed the whole plan to 22 months away. Almost 2 years.
Muffy and I made few small trips during the summer including Lake George, NY for the Americade Rally and Columbus, Ohio for the Honda Homecoming. Did you know that all the Honda cruisers and touring bikes are made in Ohio? They probably have more American made parts than today’s Harley’s. I bought a small trailer and a hitch for the Wing so I could haul lots of camping gear. This was before the days when I had friends to stay with all over the country. I was going to be comfortable and I was trying to be prepared.
When 2002 arrived I got a map of the entire United States. My rough itinerary was to follow Interstate 90 out and take 80 back. They come together for a little bit in Ohio but I didn’t expect to find anything of interest until I got further west. I followed the line on the map with my finger. I remember having thoughts of Yellowstone on my mind but when I got to Western South Dakota my finger encountered a little town named Sturgis. I stopped at the familiar looking name. I’d heard of it. They have a motorcycle rally there. My first thought was that it would be interesting to see the town where it is held. I’d ridden through Daytona Beach on my Florida trip without even knowing they hold a fall rally that I could have been to if I’d scheduled differently.
That trip had been a spur of the moment vacation with no real planning other than heading south. I still had 6 months to figure out how to make the most out of the upcoming trip of a lifetime. So I got on-line and checked it out. The Sturgis Motorcycle Rally is held each year during the 1st full week of August. I couldn’t believe it. This was perfect. Not only was I going to ride from New York to California but I was going to the best known and biggest motorcycle rally in the whole freaking world. Could life get any better?
Yeah, it did. Way better than I could ever imagine. Come on back and read the next installment to see what happened next.