Sturgis Motorcycle Rally
Dedicated to Wade Tyler Simmons March 30, 1980 ~ October 15, 2004
8/6/2004 Petaluma CA to Winnemucca NV 380 Miles
It is an early rise at 4:30 in order to meet up with the rest of the crowd at Steve's house at 09:00. I'm excited about this ride, although I had been to Sturgis three times in the past, it's always a new ride and the idea of spending the next ten days on the Harley seeing the country up close and personal is always a thrill. I had most of my stuff packed, so after a quick shower and last minute preparations, I was on the road to Auburn. Arrived at 8:30 and Steve, Jarrod, and Ed were already there. In the next hour, Scott, Jack, Jeff, Gary, Keith and Wade show up. Jeff is having problems with his starter so we make a few quick calls to the Harley dealers and decide its best for Jeff to head to the Auburn Harley dealer and get it repaired before starting the trip. Jack stays with Jeff and the rest of us take off for Reno where we plan to test PJ's Chili Burger which I had been praising on previous rides as the best in the world. We leave about 9:30 and Jack and Jeff plan to meet up with us in Winnemucca at the end of the day. It's an interesting group traveling together this year. I had ridden with Steve, Gary, Scott, Ed and Jarrod on previous rides. Gary brought his son Keith on his Deuce, Jack brought his son Wade on his wife's Indian and Steve and Jarrod rounded out the father/son combinations for this trip. As the days went by, we took to referring to the old guys and young guys as separate groups, and of course, that was appropriate.
'Hot August Nights' is starting in Reno so when we get into town, it's a criss cross weave through Reno to get to PJ's. In past rides, we had made a habit of ordering Chili Burgers for lunch whenever they were available and then we would rate the Burger on a scale of 1-5. Having done many rides and eating many Chili Burgers, the best we as a group had was rated a 4.2. PJ's did not disappoint and all agreed their Burger was the best of the best. This actually ended the search for the perfect Chili Burger, after you've had the best, anything less is a disappointment so that lunch was the last of the Chili Burger taste offs. Jarrod and Ed had started another competition with Eggs Benedict and we'll talk about that later.
The owner of PJ's is himself a motorcyclist and after hearing our quest he introduced himself and gave us all beer coolies to take to Sturgis and asked if we would take a picture of us and his coolies in Sturgis. As the trip wore on, we did take that picture but not in Sturgis.
I took the lead out of Reno and the next planned stop was in Fallon NV which is a short distance outside of Reno but not on Highway 80. I drove right past the exit in Fernley which is the road to Fallon forgetting that it was not on 80. After driving past Fernley and having no stops along 80 for the next 100 miles, we found ourselves dangerously low on fuel as we approached Lovelock. Steve and Gary dropped back to conserve gas and the rest of us prayed the reserve tank would make it to the exit. As it turns out, we all made it to the gas stop and logged 200 miles on a tank of gas which is about as far as you can go if you include vapors. Next stop was the Winnemucca Best Western which was our hotel for the night. A ritual that started in Winnemucca and continued the remainder of the trip was a quick trip by one of the young guys (that would be either Jarrod, Wade, Ed or Keith) to the liquor store for a 18 pack of beer and we would all have a beer in the parking lot prior to going to our rooms to wash up, sometimes take a nap and call home. The lady at the desk of the Best Western was a gracious woman who respected the riders of Harley Davidson's and told us we could park out in front of the reception area where out bikes could be watched by hotel staff.
The Red Lion next to the hotel had a restaurant so we headed over there for dinner and I was in the mood for a Rib Eye steak so I asked the girl at the counter how good her steaks were and she was honest and said she did not know. After a little prodding, she referred us to a restaurant down the street called 'Winners' which was where all the locals purportedly ate. Well, consider for a moment what 'locals' in Winnemucca consider fine cuisine and you will immediately know that was not a good way to find a great steak. As you might guess, the Rib Eye I ordered was pretty average and the salad that everyone got with their meals was an exercise in how much salad dressing could be put on the salad and not be considered soup. If you looked closely, you could see pieces of iceberg lettuce floating in the Ranch Dressing on Wades salad. Some guys did get the Prime Rib and that got better reviews. We stopped at the Red Lion on the way back to the hotel, had a quick drink and the 'old guys' headed back to the hotel and bed while the 'young guys' started the tradition of staying up later than us.
8/7/2004 Winnemucca to Salt Lake City 350 miles
We had talked the night before about eating breakfast at 6:30 AM the next morning but after the late night I opted to sleep in and got up at 7 for a 08:00 departure. Some of the guys did make the breakfast and I was told, one that could have been missed. Today's ride was 350 miles of mountain desert and salt flats, basically nothing alive or green for the entire ride. I've done this leg many times before and maintain is the most boring stretch of highway in the US. We broke this ride up into three legs roughly 120 miles each which was a good pace and allowed for a stop about every hour and a half. I took advantage of the flat straight freeway and got photos of all the riders as they rode down interstate 80 at 80 miles per hour. When I did get a chance to look at the pics later, I realized the sun was at the wrong angle so the next day, I did it one more time with the sun to the camera's advantage.
First stop was in Wendover where we ate at the Peppermill and then on to Salt Lake City home of the Mormon church and our hotel for the evening. We were booked at a place outside town at a good rate and close to a few good restaurants. After arriving at 3:00 and checking into our rooms the group slowly found its way to the cool green grass outside Gary's room where a cold beer and conversation were enjoyed. It was a early day and most of us were tired from being up late the night before and on the road early in the morning. That said, it was decided that tonight was a pizza night so we order pizza delivery and sat on the grass, ate pizza, and then found our way to bed for an early night.
Sunday, 8/8/04 Salt Lake City to Casper WY 412 miles
Once again an early 07:00 departure and I might add, a cold morning as well. Breakfast was whatever you could find at the food section of the gas station near the hotel which for me was yogurt, Cliff Bar, and a banana. The first 45 miles of the ride was through Salt Lake City and over the mountains which border the east side. Not easy riding, the sun was in our eyes and the temp was in the low 40's as we wound through the mountain passes. When we got to the other side, Gary who was leading decided to stop and it was a very good decision. All of us were freezing from the temp and it was a good time to add a few layers of clothes. Jack was probably the worst with just a sweatshirt and no windshield, but he was not going to be the one who caused the group to pull over, a thought shared by most of us. There were a lot of stories about how cold that ride was and how great it was that Gary stopped far short of our normal hundred mile plus legs.
The weather is clear and the scenery is finally not salt flats but big hills and messa's across the landscape. We stopped in Rawlings WY for lunch and gas. While gassing up in Rawlings, I watched as a girl who worked the register at the station was getting in her car to leave. First I have to say the car was pretty much a nondescript old and beat up Japanese import. I have to say that first so you understand why I was so shocked to hear a 'Car Alarm Chirp' kind of noise come out of that car and then to see the girl smugly insert the key which was attached to the alarm fob and get in the car. I looked over at Jack who did not miss the irony in the scene and had to laugh. Life must be pretty rough in Rawlins Wyoming when a car like that needs a car alarm. I told Jack she was going with the positive visualization thing, she had every intention of getting a car that deserved the alarm sometime in the near future. The alarm just happened to meet her budget sooner.
Itake the lead out of town and almost take the group up the wrong onramp, but thanks to a few honking horns, we quickly correct. You mayhave notice this is the second time I made a misstep as leader, but,this pales in comparison to the time I was leading a ride from Canadato the US and managed to enter the US via the wrong state. My innatesense of direction never fails me on these rides! On this stretch wesee the first of a number of tow trucks towing a SUV which in turn istowing a Harley on a trailer. I find that to be the perfect irony. Theguy buys a Harley, wants to do the Sturgis thing, doesn't want to rideALL that way and gets the wife the come along so she can drive the SUV.They stop about 50 miles from Sturgis and untrailer the bike so he canactually ride his bike into town. The only flaw in that plan was theHarley Gods are not happy to see a perfectly good motorcycles beingtrailered and will oftentimes feel compelled to throw a little twistinto the mix. As the trip wore on, we saw a number of tow trucks towingthe tow vehicle of a Harley on the trailer. Not a pretty sight and onethat I personally would find embarrassing. If you want to ride aHarley, ride it, if you want to tow something, get a boat.
Arrived at the newly built Holiday Inn Express in Casper WY and had our commensurate beer on the grass outside of the hotel. After over 400 miles of riding that first cold beer tastes great! The lady at the front desk said the Outback Steakhouse across the road was a good place to eat, so after everyone had a chance to wash up call home and in some cases take a nap, we headed over to the Outback for dinner. I was in the mood for a good rib-eye steak, we were in Wyoming where beef is taken seriously, so I ordered the rib-eye! Not that great, obviously Outback does not sell Wyoming beef at their Wyoming restaurants. An observation I'll make about big chain restaurants like Outback is they tend to be large portions of mediocre quality food. After dinner we headed back to the hotel, chatted with some guys who had just gotten in from LA while putting the bikes away for the night and got to bed early, at least most of us did.
Monday, 8/9/2004 Caper WY to Spearfish SD 275 miles
Today we do the final leg to Sturgis. The Holiday Inn had a great buffet breakfast included with the room so we do breakfast early and head out on the road by 7:30. The scenery is beautiful and the weather is chilly so we stop after 50 miles and add a few layers of clothes and take a bathroom break. Back on the road cruising along high plains and long stretches of flat straight road and free range cattle ranches. One ranch in particular that stuck out was 'Pathfinder Ranch' which must have run for 20 miles along the road. Later I found out it was a 135,000 acre ranch (thanks to the internet.) In addition to the cattle and antelope visable from the road, the sky was a bright blue with some light clouds thrown in for color. All in all, a great ride to Spearfish. The reason we are riding to Spearfish and not Sturgis directly is one of logistics. Sturgis is population 6,500 during 51 weeks of the year and during the motorcycle rally the population grows to a few hundred thousand depending on who you ask and how you add the numbers. All that said, obviously getting a place to stay in Sturgis is near impossible so the outlying cities are best suited for lodging. Jarrod was the planner on this trip and found a house to rent in Spearfish which is about 15 miles up the road from Sturgis and also happens to be one of the nicer little towns in the area. I had stayed there before and was happy with the choice because Spearfish has some great restaurants and is right in the middle of some great local area riding.
We reached Spearfish about 2:30 in the afternoon and were greeted by the family who lived in the house we were about to occupy. A really nice young family who seemed quite happy to have 10 Harley riders take over the house for the next few days. Of course, they were getting what was probably equivalent to a few months mortgage payment in exchange for a few nights of their house. After getting the details squared away, I called Steve Kirby who had been in town for the past few days with his wife Peggy. If you've read my past motorcycle journals, you might recognize Steve and Peggy as people I've ridden with in the past. This year, Peggy is now riding her own Softtail which is a departure from riding as a passenger in past rides. Steve and her had ridden from Southern CA to Spearfish on their own and it was good seeing the two of them so far from home.
The house was an old circa: 1918 Sears and Roebuck Catalog mail order house that had been bought and shipped by train to Rapid City and then moved by horse and cart to Spearfish when the modules were assembled to build the home. It was a large two story home with plenty of room for the ten of us to find a place to sleep. We did a drawing of straws to see who would get one of the four bedrooms and who would be sleeping on mattresses in the living areas but in the end, the younger guys gave the beds to us old folk which was perfectly fine with me.
Steve, Scott and I took a quick walk downtown to check things out and stopped at the restaurant 'Roma's' for a glass of wine. I had eaten there before back in 1998 on my last ride to Sturgis and remember it as a great restaurant. I struck up a conversation with the owner and although their standard policy was no reservations, she was nice enough to offer us reservations for 10 the following night. On the way back we spotted a 
Bike Wash which was a few collage girls in bikini's who hand washed your bike for $20. It made me proud to be an American and see these entrepreneur's working to finance their collage education. Of course, when I got back to the house, a bunch of us realized just how dirty our bikes were and took advantage of the local Bike Wash. A Win-Win situation if ever I saw one.
For dinner that night Jeff the Fireman aka Chief Jeff BBQ'd some steaks which Jarrod had picked up at the local Safeway, along with a salad and a potato recipe that Gary put together. It was a great meal and time for a night tour of downtown Spearfish and the drinking establishments. Because we were easily within walking distance to downtown, no need to ride the bikes which as it turns out, was a very good idea. We were told the B+B Bar was the place to go so go we did. Steve and I partnered up on the pool table and managed to win a few games which kept us playing off and on most of the night. The bar was large and the crowd was fun which made it a great evening. Sometime after midnight we (the old guys) decided it was time to get back home and that we did.
Another amazing thing about the house we rented was they gave us the keys to their car. No big deal except Gary has a bad ankle and the walk downtown would have been tough on him so Jack drove the car down with Gary, at the end of the evening, Jack was the only sober guy in the car on the way home which made him the perfect driver.
Tuesday, August 10, 2004 Sturgis South Dakota.
We were up at 07:00 and on the road at 08:00 to ride the 15 miles to Sturgis and beat the crowd that backed up the highway exits later in the day. I managed to find the same parking place I had used the last two times I had been there which was one block from downtown. A short walk to a restaurant that was doing a buffet for the masses and breakfast was consumed. Sturgis is Sturgis. If you ride Harley Davidson's, it's a must do. If you only know of it because it is the biggest motorcycle event in the world, then you know it is big. And if you have ever been fortunate to have attended the event, you know it is an experience. Downtown Main Street in Sturgis is about 6 blocks long and during the Rally, it is 6 blocks of shops selling t-shirts, spare parts, jewelry, memorabilia, beer mugs and just about anything that has to do with motorcycle souvenirs. It also includes Tattoo Parlors, bars and restaurants. One block away parallel to Main Street is hundreds of dealers selling full-up custom Harley's, spare parts, leathers, and anything you could possible need for your bike. Above, Main Street during Bike Week. On Right, Main Street on a regular day. But the most impressive part of Sturgis is the people. Thousands and Thousands of people (1.2 million est.) converge on that little piece of real estate to see and be seen. Doctors and Lawyers, Carpenters and Plumbers who just bought their bikes and this is their first big ride away from home stand next to the hard core guys who ride their bikes to work every day and this may be the tenth time they've been to Sturgis. Guys in full leather and guys in shorts and tank tops. Woman who would scare you in a dark alley and woman who could have won beauty contests. All the cross sections of society are well represented and the one common thread that weaves through this crowd of people is the love of Harley Davidson's.
Many of the riders park their bikes along Main Street and in the first few hours of the day, the street becomes clogged with bikes and the street is loud with motorcycles riding up and down the street looking for a place to park, or maybe just looking to be seen. The sidewalks are crowded with people walking along, checking out the bikes, the people, the shops, and anything that might be interesting.
After our breakfast, we agreed to meet back at the bikes around noon. We split up and I bought some t-shirts, and walked the streets for awhile. We all met back at the bikes and left downtown Sturgis shortly after noon. The weather was ominous with big gray clouds in the sky and a forecast for rain but it was too early to head back to the house so we rode through Lead and headed up to Mount Rushmore which was about 60 miles away. After riding 30 miles the weather got worse and the rain more threatening so we turned around and headed back to the house in Spearfish where I managed to get in a quick nap and rest up for the night ahead.
We had our reservations at Roma's restaurant and a great meal was enjoyed by all. After dinner, we stopped at one of the bars to have a celebration toast for Keith who was celebrating his birthday and then most of the older folks headed back to the house and the young guys stayed in town for more celebration. Around 2:30 AM I hear Wade giggling outside my door and know he is up to no good. Shortly, he opens my door and just laughs while harassing me and Jarrod sticks his head in as well. I yell at both of them and wonder what I could possible do to get even, short of shooting them with a stun gun. Gary however had his fun, when they snuck up on him sleeping in the front room, he jumped up and yelled which scared them enough to make them scream. Jarrod and Wade both were the late night wake up pranksters during the trip.
Wednesday, August 11, 2004 Sturgis - Devils Tower
Next morning we are up early and getting ready to ride to Devils Tower. Jarrod and Keith seemed to have had too much fun the night before and opted not to take the ride. The rest of us took off on a route I had gotten from the Newsletter of the local HOG chapter and ran through Spearfish canyon then up over a summit to Sundance WY and then on to Devils Tower. The ride was lots of long sweeping curves and beautiful scenery, amazing country! There was a mob scene at Devils tower so we pulled over along the access road before entering the park and enjoyed the view while taking some pics.
On the way back we went through Hulett which was a very busy place during the Sturgis Rally and we decide against the recommended stop for lunch. Further up the road we pull into a place called Stone House where they were BBQing hot dogs and hamburgers and had cold beer and a solo woman guitarist who was good entertainment. After awhile it was time to head back to Spearfish. That night we did another BBQ and most of us got to bed early.
Thursday, August 12, 2004, Spearfish to Cheyenne WY 340 miles Departure 07:30.
We cleaned up the house and left a Thank You note for the owners. Jack even washed their car so you know we left a good impression on them. We rode 80 miles to Mount Rushmore and arrived about 09:00 which was a good time, no crowds so we were able to park close to the monument. This was the fifth time I've seen Mount Rushmore and I am still impressed with the sheer size of the monument. Next stop was Crazy Horse which is a work in progress and then on for a 140 miles ride and then one last 100 mile stretch into Cheyenne WY. The last stretch was a piece of straight two lane road with slight rises so the riding was 90 mph and passing anything that was not moving at our pace.
When we stopped in Cheyenne we ran into a rider whose bike broke down and he left his wife and kid to go get a pick up truck to tow the bike home. About the time we got there, he had gotten back with the truck so a few of us got together and helped lift the bike onto the bed of the truck. After that we checked into the Day's Inn and did dinner at another Outback where I had a Steak Salad and found something at Outback I enjoyed.
Friday, August 13, 2004, Cheyenne WY to Grand Junction CO Departure 7:15.
We started on Interstate 40 but only for an hour then we headed off the interstate to secondary roads through the Rockies. Gary had taken this ride before so he took the lead and we headed West into Rocky Mountain Territory. That was a great detour because instead of riding down an interstate and seeing a little of the Rockies, we ended up in the Rockies and seeing them up close and personal. We rode through the towns of Fort Collins and Loveland before entering Big Thompson canyon which follows the Big Thompson river as is comes down the canyon gorge. The canyon is lined on both sides by steep rock walls formed over the centuries. As we rode up the road along the river the view was a scene of canyon wall overlooking the river and road below with cabins dotting the canyon bottom and fisherman enjoying their time there. As you glide through the curves and continue up the assent to 7,500 feet the air gets crisp and cool. Near the top we stopped at a turn off next to the river and just enjoyed the view.
In a few more miles we reach the top of the canyon and rode into Estes Park which is a resort town on the edge of Rocky Mountain National Park where the Rockies become a panoramic backdrop. Heading west out of town on Hwy 34 we enter the Park and begin another climb from 7,500 feet to 12,000 feet which is the summit crossing. At the summit we saw a family of Elk right next to the road and they seemed to care less about the loud motorcycles riding by. The view from the top was magnificent; the Rockies are relatively young mountains so you can see the valley thousands of feet below and the next summit a few miles away rising up. We were also above the tree line so you could actually see where the trees stopped growing.
Looking down from 12,000 feet in the Rockies. We pulled over about a quarter mile down from the summit and Jarrod and Ed rode back up and got some close up shots of the Elk. At this point, Wade's bike started acting up sputtering and loosing power but after the stop it seemed to be OK so we began the ride down the mountain but it was not long before Wade's bike started acting up again. We stopped at a pull-out and the bike just quit. Wade's Dad, Jack, got his tools spread out and was all over the bike trying to sort out what was wrong. He was sure it was an electrical problem and after disassembling a few pieces of the bike to get to the electrical system, he was able to get the problem fixed and all of us back on the road. Jack is a heavy equipment operator and a very handy guy to have on a ride like this.
We're back on the road and enjoying a wonderful ride along the Rockies when we reach the metropolis of Granby CO where a few months before a resident drove a 60 ton dozer on a rampage and destroyed 13 buildings in the town with a population of 1,500. He was not happy with another local businessman so he did the logical thing. He welded steel plates to the dozer and got in with three automatic weapons and a few handguns and proceeded to drive around town looking for a fight. After a period and realizing the locals were pretty much going to stay out of his way, he shut down the dozer and shot himself dead. If you happen to be in Granby recently, you may have noticed they are selling T Shirts and even have a somewhat sensuous calendar that local ladies put together all in an effort to raise $1,000,000 to help pay for the damages.
There is one restaurant in Granby (The Willow Creek Grill and Bar) so we stopped there for lunch. The dozer story was a surprise but the bigger surprise was that you can get a great Philadelphia cheese steak in Granby, elevation 8,000, right out there in the middle of the Rockies. That alone is a good reason to visit. Not everyone ordered the cheese steak but they all seemed to enjoy their meal and the more adventurous in the crowd also imbibed in 'Mountain Oysters.'
Back on the road, next stop Steamboat Springs where we head South to I-70 and eventually Grand Junction. Until this point, we had ridden most of the day and only had covered about 200 miles. Riding through two lane mountain roads is scenic but not the fastest way to get anywhere. It was 3:00 and the locals told us it would take four hours to ride to Grand Junction so it was going be a long day riding.
Riding along I-70 you are cruising through canyons along the Colorado River and at one part, the highway was elevated Westbound over Eastbound for a few miles to accommodate the narrow canyon. They actually won an environmental award for that design. Funny to be riding down a four lane interstate at 80 mph and looking over in the river next to the road and seeing people riding down the river in rafts.
We rolled into Grand Junction about 7:00 and after a quick pizza at a shop across the street from the hotel, I was soon asleep. It was a 12 hour day and lots of fun riding but I needed my rest.
Saturday August 14,2004 Grand Junction CA to Eureka NV 510 miles
Another early start with a 7:30 departure. We headed west on I-70 with a 500 mile ride in front of us. In the middle of Utah, I-70 becomes Highway 50 which is promoted as 'Loneliest Road in America.' Highway 50 actually stretches from Sacramento to the Atlantic ocean but this particular stretch runs through the Great Basin in Nevada where the only thing you can see for miles is the 30 foot wide stretch of highway. We wanted to get two gas stops in before stopping for breakfast which found us eating breakfast at Mom's Famous Café in Salina UT. The combination of good food and service made this the best breakfast stop on the trip. The waitress had a great sense of humor which just added to the experience and she worked with me to embarrass Wade over the scarf he was wearing which was a partial payback for waking me up in the middle of the night back in Spearfish. It was an ugly scarf and I prompted her to tell him that which caused him to turn red until she then told him it was my idea. At that point he had a few easily understood four letter words to say to me. Even the cook was fun, so Steve gave her a Sturgis T-shirt as a souvenir after she asked for something from Sturgis.
Back on the road and next stop was Delta UT where the early afternoon heat was quickly rising so a few of us stripped any jackets we had because it was already 90 degrees and we still had 200 miles to go. Shortly after pulling out of Delta, Storm clouds appeared on the horizon and as we traveled along at 80 mph, the clouds loomed ominously closer. Within a 10 minute period the outside temperature went from 90 to the 60's and a brutal side wind came up and a few times I could see the bikes in front of me leaning precariously on their sides to compensate the windage. And not long after that the showers started which forced us to stop and suit up for rain. As we continued the ride the showers would come and go and the wind would suddenly get stronger and back off so riding was a bit tense.
You could see in the sky where the rain clouds were waiting and soon lightning was coming down along the ridges which lined the valley and then of course, hail had to makes its appearance as well. We stopped in Ely for gas and Wades bike seemed to be having a problem but after gassing up seemed to run OK again. On the way out of town I saw Wade and a few other bikes behind me pull over as a group but I continued on thinking this was the last leg and they were probably getting more rain gear on as the rain had started again. We rode the next 40 miles at a conservative speed and at one point there was a piece of road that had about an inch of accumulated hail and the only way through it was to ride in the tire grouves left by the cars in front of us. Shortly after that Steve, I, and Ed pulled over to wait for the rest of the group. After waiting for 15 minutes we decided to head back toward Ely and find out what happened. 10 miles back we see the group coming up the road so we do a U-turn and head back towards Eureka.
Great little Best Western in Eureka and the town was hosting a cow roping competition so there were a fair number of cowboys and cowgirls in town. We checked in and I had a chance to have a little more fun with Wade. He had left his sunglasses and helmet on his bike so I took them and locked them in my storage compartment not giving them back until the next day after we had started the ride. Wade did not realize they were gone until we were getting ready the next morning and he was pissed that they were gone and went back in the hotel looking for them a few times. So when I did give them back, he was the gracious person we all know and once again shared some endearing four letter thoughts with me.
If you ever find yourself in Eureka NV for whatever reason; cow roping competition, stopping off to dump some nuculear waste in the Fed's offical dumping site or just got lost, be sure to have dinner at the Owl restaurant. We did and they had the best steak of the trip and afterwards we played some pool in the next room which was also a very large bar. I'm sure if we had stayed later the crowd would have be a fun one but again it was an early night for most of us.
Sunday, August 15, Eureka NV to Petaluma CA (Auburn CA for most) 450 miles
First stop Austin NV for gas. Then back on the lonely road and we get to see Sand Mountain which is an amazing natural phenomena that exist about a quarter mile from the highway. It's a sand dune right there out in the middle of no-where that is 400 feet high and a mile or longer in length. We ride on to Fernley for the last group gas stop. At this point, a few of the guys are stopping at state line, a few are riding the rest of the way to Auburn and yours truly is riding onto Petualuma. We say our Good Byes and it is one of the awkward moments where you really are ready to get home but at the same time, its hard to say good bye to friends you have shared the last 10 days and 3,500 miles with. We've done rides like this before and we will do more ride in the future but every one of these rides that I've been on has been a unique experience. Its not about where you go or what you have seen, it's the total experience and the friends you share that with are all part of that experience. I look forward to the next ride and will remember this ride for the rest of my life.
Posted by Pat Webster on June 8th, 2004 in Articles.
