Monday, August 10, 2009

STURGIS


DAY 1

In the Beginning...

From Los Angeles CA to St. George UT


I met up with Gilby early in the mornin', then went to hook up with the rest of the posse...

...In the Twain's Parking Lot @ Coldwater and Ventura
above: "The Posse": Riki, E.J., Gilby, J.D., Eric)

I lost a battery cover on the way. Screw it! We gotta MOVE son!

Made it to Buffalo Bills in Primm NV for lunch


We stopped in Vegas contemplating whether or not to stick around and party...
but we all felt like riding on to St George.
above: E.J. using the friendly irrigation to stay cool

We seemed to stick around this Gas station in Vegas for a while,
because it was a grueling 107 degrees. We were getting Cooked!

Gilby.

E.J.

Eric.

Riki.

Should we stay in Mesquite NV or St. George UT?
St. George.

The "One And Only", seemed to be the One And Only place in St. George with anything goin' on.
Judge Jackson played there, very entertaining night to kick off the trip.

We all rode around with out our helmets on the warm night through town,
mingled with the locals, it was great!
Little did we know all of the even more good times to come!

DAY 2

From St. George UT to Park City UT

All packed up and ready to ride. Still hot as hell.

I Love Beaver.

Bad food, Cool trains in Nephi

We picked up this random scraggler guy who had no plans but to just get to Sturgis,
had lunch with him then somehow we got separated. This is the only known photograph in existence. Ah well.
I bought some cheap goggles at a Flying J and they dug into the bridge of my nose.

Riki signing a little girl's pant leg in an AMPM

The Beautiful Bridal Veil Falls



Utah has some very Scenic Rides

Now in Park City, we hung out with Sylvia The Falcon.


Gilby and Sylvia

DAY 3

From Park City UT to Casper WY

All Packed Again

Gilby's ready for another day of good riding

We thought this old abandoned gas station wasn't old and abandoned, boy were we wrong.
I started to putter out pulling up to the next closest pump MUCH farther down the road, close one... whew!

We met up with Dean, he drove his truck up...

...then it got cold, rainy and windy coming into Casper

Eric in his rain duds

E.J. sneaking a warm snort of Yukon Jack

It felt real good to walk into The Hampton Inn and be greeted by the front desk and have some hot complimentary coffee after the last cold and stormy few hours riding

DAY 4

From Casper WY to Spearfish SD

Eric's all set.

Smokey finally caught up to Riki.


Checkin' into the Hamster's old lodge in Spearfish

Buffalo Chip in Sturgis

Good thing we covered the bikes, cause it rained...HARD!

It's an Indian Larry Gen Shovel Pan thing at the Micheal Lichter show

Crazy Sauce.

"Cheech and Chong made me laugh for 15 minutes!
Too bad their show lasted 2 hours..." -Riki

Ummm...

DAY 5

Deadwood, The Black Hills and Aerosmith

Deadwood.

Roaming the streets.

Gilby on his buddy Konstantine's Indian Larry made ride

Deadwood.


Riding through The Black Hills was definitely a highlight


We had to regroup in the lodge for the night out.

Waiting in Sturgis traffic got to be pretty tedious.



At least a dozen girls dressed like this
would ask Riki to take a picture with them everyday.




En Route to the Buffalo Chip again for Aerosmith

The Yagermiester Girls

Everybody was scared of this Giant Spider

Dean ate some Bunk Pretzels and FREAKED OUT!!!

Setting up for Aerosmith uh-oh


We were standing side stage when it happened,
it was weird cause the monitors and the PA went out all at once right before.
Then we rode back to the lodge.

DAY 6

Mount Rushmore, Crazy Horse and more Sturgis escapades

Get that griddle goin' son. We got some hungry Riders!

We supported the local Lions Club with our money and hunger
on the way to Mount Rushmore. Those pancakes tasted even better than they looked!

Some crazy guy was driving this all over the gas station

Mount Rushmore.

Six Buddies livin' and bein' free in the Greatest Country On Earth.
Doesn't get better than that.

I love Dean.

Eric.

E.J.

Dean.


Riki.

Crazy Horse.

Do you see a resemblance?
(kinda spooky)

When it's finished it should look like this

Lotsa Luck

I liked these Tunnels in the rocks

Back in Sturgis...Riki trying out a seat cushion

Gilby and I got caught in the rain for a while

I want one of these.

1922 Harley. I want one of these too.

How'd this get in?
Ah well... The guys with the Cheeky Chap Girls

Last day in Sturgis tomorrow we head back...

DAY 7

Ridin' Back Home

Eric and E.J. sent their bikes back with Dean and flew back

Then there were four...

From Spearfish SD to Rocksprings WY

Independence Rock

Independence Rock has a tremendous meaning in the settlement of the west.
It has a big vast beautiful vibe.

J.D.

Gilby.

Riki.

Dean.

Devil's Gate


Like the sign says...on to Rock Springs...

For some reason Dean and I were really smokin' this Jig-Saw Puzzle
at the Hampton Inn in Rock Springs
while waiting to go to dinner.

DAY 8

From Rock Springs WY to St. George UT



We were freezing in the 40 degree cold front. It was pretty brutal, so we had to make frequent stops every 30 miles or so and run into a Burger King or a Truck Stop to get warm. We weren't prepared for that kind of cold so we bought some extra gloves and I got a beenie which flew off in a matter of seconds on the freeway...Easy Come Easy Go!


Riki felt sorry for us cause he had a wind shield and we didn't.

Poor Gilby couldn't fit his leathers over his long johns...ROUGH!


Riki let me borrow this far out mask, it really helped.

I love Ham Steaks! Especially after a long COLD ride...

"The Hub" in some town after Provo Canyon

Hyukin' it up in a gas station

Then we checked into the St. George Hilton Garden

Dean waiting to eat at Cracker Barrel

Gilby and Dean took this Cracker Barrel game very seriously

This girl was very happy to get a picture with Riki

Riki loved this dog

Late Night Pool in the "Office" the Hilton Garden Bar.
Dean won.

DAY 9

The Final Day

From St. George UT to Los Angeles CA (Home)

We awoke before the Sunrise to get a good start on our final day of the trip

We all chugged energy drinks the entire way back, we needed the caffeine to keep from becoming drowsy because we really packed on the miles.

Virgin River Canyon AZ
in the Sunrise

"You ask me why I love her? I Have a million reasons why!
My Beautiful America...

...Beneath God's Wide Wide Sky"
-John Wayne

I'm going 85mph through the winding canyon in this photo

It got HOT through the Nevada desert!

Bob's Big Boy in Baker
say THAT three times fast!

...going back home through California and seeing all the traffic and smog
was such a contrast from the rest of the trip!

We made it! We're Home!

Back in the Twain's parking lot where it all started nine days ago!
Man,... that was epic!
We did it!
We rode to Sturgis and Back!

My mileage from the time I left my driveway to the time I pulled back in.
It's a Beautiful Thing.

The End.

11 comments:

  1. Nice Photo Doc. Looks like good times

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  2. Great shots!!! Good to see you cats in Sturgis.. wish I would have rode with ya.

    c

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  3. Thanks Caleb, I wish you could have rode with us too man! Nice Chop Cult interview! I dig it.

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  4. Hey JD, grat trip, great photos, good times. Are you coming with Gilby to Temecula bike week this month? I hope so. See you soon, brother.

    McGoo

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  5. There are some epic shots in this post that are going to be so nice to have as memories. When i was living abroad one of the only things i missed about America was the landscape. There's nothing like it anywhere, and this country has such a variety... it's incredible.
    I definitely want to actually take this trip next year.

    It looks like the best time, there's so much happiness in this post.
    rock 'n' roll!

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  6. Right on Mcgoo! Man, If I don't have any tour dates count on me bein' there, no question.

    Chop Cult!!!

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  7. Great great pics J.D. Loved them all...you guys sound like you had a phenomenal time. Great memories for sure...glad you enjoyed the trip! Thanks for sharing your memories.

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  8. Far out JD! I'm envious as i can't ride my bike anywhere at the moment, it's in a thousand pieces...we should go for a putt when it's back on the road.
    -grant

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  9. Hey Grant, let's roll Son! Get your Sled together.

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