Have You Ever Been to Sturgis????



Main Street Sturgis



Seems like this is the first question people, riders and non-riders, ask as soon as it is known that you ride a motorcycle.  Seems that the name "Sturgis and Harley-Davidson" are instilled in the minds of anyone that has ever seen a motorcycle.  They are both American icons and have a deep American history.  Being a motorcyclist I can say "yes, I have been to Sturgis but no I do not ride a Harley."  The type or brand of bike a person rides is of no matter to me.  A rider is a rider, no matter the brand name.  This is the story of my trip to Sturgis, along with a few pictures.  I hope you enjoy reading this because I surely had a blast living it!

It was the beginning of Bike Week, 2006.  I met up with a friend at 110th and I-70 at 0730 to begin the trek out west.  My son had made arrangements for lodging in Rapid City, South Dakota beginning Thursday and gave it to me for father's day.  I took a weeks vacation and was going to do some serious riding in the mountains of Colorado, Utah, Wyoming, Montana and South Dakota.  One of my riding friends had done some riding out west before and was willing to ride out with me and show me some of the roads out there.  We met up at 0730 on Saturday morning on I-70.  It was a little dreary with some mist in the warm air but my heart saw nothing but sunshine and pure riding pleasure ahead.  This would be a great experience for me.  It was to be the first full week vacation spent on my motorcycle.  I had my tent and air mattress and had emptied out the piggy bank intent on having the best time I could while enjoying the great mountain scenery.  We ventured out across I-70 to exit 225.  There we exited the big road and hit the two lanes.  This would be our last encounter with a big road til Wednesday morning.The ride west across Kansas was good but after all it was Kansas and aside from the feed lots and open lands, there just wasn't a lot to see.  We ventured on towards our destination for the night, Walsenburg, Colorado.  It turned into an official motorcycle ride not far from our destination by having the clouds open up and dump a fresh rain on us.  This still did not cloud my heart, after all, by now I had learned that a good rain suit was invaluable and it came in very handy on this run.We arrived at Walsenburg and made our way to a great state park.

With out tents pitched and bodies fresh showered we ventured into town for the evening meal.  The local Pizza Hut served us well delivering a fine Italian cuisine.  Our bellies full and our spirits high we headed back to our campsite to get some sleep for tomorrow the riding began!  The fresh, rain washed air made it easy to fall asleep and the fact that we had been riding all day didn't have a negative effect either.  Sunday morning we awoke to a clear sky and made our way back into town for a light breakfast then out on the road.  We headed west on 160 and began our scenic and fun filled ride.  Highway 160 is a good road and I was having a blast, then we turned onto 149 and ventured into the Black River Canyon.  This was a fantastic ride.  We stopped several times along this route and took pictures and just took in the sights.  We even saw a hawk hunting and then taking it's prey back to its nest.



Black River Canyon



The river was far below and it seemed as though we just kept climbing.  Now I had been been out west before but the only sights I got to see were from the seat of a Freightliner on the interstate, that was nice but this was GLORIOUS!!.  Great riding, great weather and great scenery, This would be a vacation I would never forget.  We made our way through Black River Canyon, on into Gunnison and on down to Ouray, where we set up our tents for the night.  Ouray is a very bike friendly town and we had a fine meal there that evening.  Our campsite was very quiet and the view was phenomenal.



The view from my tent, Ouray, Colorado



  Our adventure on Monday would take us across the Million Dollar Highway, on into Durango and Silverton Colorado.  Must be something about the fresh mountain air because sleep was easy and waking even easier!  Monday morning we got up and began our day.  The first thing we could see when we opened our tents was this huge rock.

  It was a very majestic rock, but only a preface of the things we would see that day.  We loaded our bikes and headed out.  The ride that day took us past some old iron mining camps and some great mountain scenes.  We rode next to clear mountain streams and through cool mountain forests.  We rode into Silverton, Colorado. 



Silverton, Colorado



 Silverton is a rustic town that looks like it was in many western movies.  With the exception of the cars on the street this town looked like a place to ride into, hitch up your horse and go into the saloon for something cold to drink.  Back on the road we went on into Durango.  We stopped to eat at a fast food restaurant that was at the boarding station for the Durango-Silverton railroad. 

 This is an old steam locomotive that runs into the mountains from Durango to the little town of Silverton.  Someday I will go back out there and ride that train but it just wasn't in the plans this trip. We trekked onward eventually heading north and into more beautiful mountain terrain.  We rode through Telluride, past Lake City into Grand Junction on up to Rangely and into Dinosaur, Colorado.  From Dinosaur we ventured on into Utah to the town of Vernal where we set up our tents for the night.Tuesday morning we headed north out of Utah into Wyoming.  We found some fantastic roads as we entered Wyoming.  Steep hills with slow winding curves.  This seemed to be the venue for this area.  I was more used to the quick and sharp curves of the Smoky Mountains but fell in love with the nice sweepers out here.  Today would be the last day I would have a riding companion.  I had plans to go into Montana and my friend was heading into Yellowstone.  We got to Jackson Wyoming and went into an information center.

  I had considered going to Yellowstone with my friend but changed my mind when I went into the information center.  To understand this next part you have to know a little about me.  I am kind of stubborn and have this thing about paying for something twice.  Even in the years I drove a truck over the road I would not take the turnpike simply because I felt it was a federal highway paid for with federal tax money and I just could not justify paying to drive on a road that, in my mind I had already paid for.  The same principle came into play here.  We went inside and while looking around I saw a sign that read "Motorcycles $12.50".  I inquired as to what the twelve fifty was for, since there was a federal highway that I intended to ride in and a federal highway I was going  to ride out on so why did I have to pay for them twice.  I was simply told that if I wanted to go to Yellowstone I would have to pay.  My friend even offered to pay but like I said, to me it was a matter of principle.  We parted there in Jackson.  He went on to Yellowstone, I headed west across Levita Pass in Idaho and headed north.  My venture into Idaho allowed me to stumble across a place that had a lot of old aircraft.  it was out in the middle of nowhere and I have no idea what it was or why it was there but sometime the most interesting things are simply stumbled upon while just riding. 



Airplanes in the middle of nowhere



 I rode on into West Yellowstone, Montana where I decided to set up my tent.I found a great campground with grass as soft and green as any golf course.



My bike and living quarters, West Yellowstone, MT



  The people were very friendly and since I still had lots of daylight I decided to clean my bike then go and have a good sit down steak dinner and maybe even a beer or two.  I went back to my campsite (just for the record, I walked to the steak house where I did have a few beers then I walked back to the campsite, I would never ride after drinking even 1 beer).  I got up Wednesday morning refreshed and ready to ride.  Today I was going to head on north into Montana, hit the Chief Joseph Highway, Beartooth Pass and then ride across northern Wyoming on highway 14a to Sheridan, where I would stay the night.  I thought that as long as I was this close to Yellowstone Park I would see if they were really going to charge me to enter on a federal highway.  I rode to the entrance and approached the gate.  I asked the ranger if they were really going to charge me to ride on this highway and, as I figured, I was told if I went into the park I would have to pay.  I asked the ranger if I could ride past the dividers and make a u-turn and leave.  I was given permission to do so.  I can say that I have been  into Yellowstone.



I can say I have been to Yellowstone!



 I didn't stay but I have been there.  My ride on up to I-90 was fairly uneventful but I knew that the roads I was headed for would be worth the effort.  I was not wrong!  Chief Joseph proved to be both beautiful as well as challenging.  Now I went on to Beartooth Pass.  Beartooth had just recently been re-opened after a massive rock slide had it blocked for a while.  Remember, this is August and the temperatures had been mostly upper 80's and then some.  I approached the Montana side of Beartooth with eager anticipation.  I had seen pictures and heard about this road so say that I was a little intimidated would be a falsehood.  I was a lot intimidated! 

 This has gotten a bit long so in the interest of time, I will finish this one later.  If you want to follow the rest of this ride, check back in a week or so.  God Bless, Frank       

Scrooge Doesn't Live Here Anymore

For countless years there has been a resident in my household that no one really liked.  This resident saw no value in holidays, not just Christmas but ALL holidays.  In his opinion a holiday was just a reason for missing work, an excuse to party and over all a huge waste of productive time.  We won't even think about vacations!  Why would someone get paid to be gone from work for a vacation?  I'm here to tell you that resident was ME! 
For years I volunteered to work holidays and would just accept the pay for my vacation while continuing to work during the time.  I had the attitude that holidays and vacations were just a nuisance and excuse to be non-productive. 
My views started to change a little after I started riding.  Holiday weekends and vacation time began to be riding time.  I justified this to myself by claiming that riding was a stress reliever (which it truly was).  The Idea of hopping on the bike and just heading out for a three day weekend began to make me realize that productive time is good but everyone needs some time just to unwind.  Motorcycling was my unwind mechanism.  It began in small amounts.  I would have a bad day at work and be ready to just explode.  I would make a call to my wife (sometimes) and just say I would be late getting home from work.  I could hop on my bike and just go, maybe a short ride or sometimes It would take hours but when I wheeled into the drive at home, the foils of the day were no longer a part of my mental process.  The troubles had just blown away in the wind.
I began to appreciate time off, vacations and holidays, well most holidays.  There was this one holiday, Christmas, that I still could not bring myself to enjoy.  Now before anyone goes and gets all uptight, I have always appreciated the true meaning of Christmas, the birth of Jesus, but the part I had trouble with was the obvious need by everyone to all of a sudden, usually just this time of year, to be givers.  Everyone had to get a gift.  Then there was the competitiveness between people, you know, who could give the best gift, who got the best gift, who's party was better and so on. 
When my sons were young I would force scrooge aside and make sure they got what they wanted and I would always get the wife a gift, all the while grumbling and complaining, sometimes out loud, sometimes just to myself, but complaining none the less.
I would have to say that 2009 was a big year for me.  A year that forced open my eyes to more important things in life.  A year that a door opened that exposed the truth that you can enjoy Christmas without getting competitive, without spending lots of money, without feeling guilty that someone got you a far nicer gift than you got them, if you got them one at all.  There were really two events in '09 that assisted in the attitude change, the foremost (personal ones have a way of doing that) was my encounter with that car that destroyed my motorcycle and didn't do my body much good either and the other was finding out that a long time customer and a Friend had contracted cancer. 
My accident had left me really bitter towards things.  I started asking why me, what had I done to deserve this, and just overall feeling sorry for myself.  Things like this were not supposed to happen to people like me.  Then I found out about my Friend and the cancer.  This really wasn't right!  He is a great guy, a fantastic, giving and loving person.  This just was not right!  In both our cases our medical conditions were treatable, mine would heal in time and his was being treated with medical technology.  I really had to question why something like cancer was allowed to inflict it's curse on such a good man, a good man with two young daughters, a man that was very giving and cared about his fellow person.  The damage to my body healed and positively progressed.  I was able to walk again, even if I needed the assistance of a cane and his cancer was sent into remission.  I was beginning to think things were becoming right with the world again.
I had kind of lost touch with my Friend in early 2010.  I had become heavily involved in my work again and sort of lost touch with the important things again, not to the degree of total emulsion as before the accident, but close.  My Friend came into the shop in mid 2010 and I did not recognize him!  He had lost weight and was bald.  He still had that great smile on his face, but it was easy to tell things were not right.  His previous cancer had gone into remission but now he had terminal liver cancer.  This was just not right at all.  Had my accident proven fatal, I could at least know that my children were grown and would fare well with their own families, my Friend still has two young daughters that have not reached that stage of life.  They still are dependant on their dad for so many things.  I got to see my sons graduate.  I got to see my sons become a part of the military, I got to attend my sons weddings, all things that my Friend will most likely never get to do with his daughters.  He is a nice guy, never hurt anyone and always has a nice word to say.  I was not such a person. 
I went through all that to say this,  our life conditions are not based on fairness.  Were fairness a qualifier, people like my Friend would live in palaces and never have a sick day while thieves and murderers would melt to lumps of worthless matter in the loneliness of the dessert.  Life is what we make of it, not what we allow it to make of us.  It has taken me many years to finally see this.  The combination of the events finally got me to bury Scrooge and learn to start accepting life and enjoying the daily things that come my way.  Simply being blessed enough to be alive this Christmas was an eye opener for me.  The realization that the world does not revolve around me and that good, innocent people may not get that opportunity to share another day with loved ones, to no fault of their own, made me realize that Christmas is not about gifts or who got what or who spent more, Christmas, really every moment spent above ground, is a gift to be enjoyed, to be savored and no one can afford to waste that precious time being concerned about about who gave more or who got more.   

 

Now Let's Talk Rides!!!



85 Goldwing Interstate



I have had several hobbies in my life, none of which my wife seemed to deem as important or meaningful as I did.  I raced dirt cars, I played on dirt bikes, I had ski boats (not enough patience to call them fishing boats), I played with R/C cars and I had campers.  My loving (amazingly supportive) wife tolerated all of these but never really enjoyed any of them. 

When I came home in 1999 with that 1985 Goldwing GL1200 I never thought it would lead to the passion that both she and I share today, the passion of motorcycling!  The old 85 was a great bike!  It was dependable, sharp looking and the nicest motorcycle I had ever owned.  This is the one that started it all.  I rode this bike at least 300 days out of the year.  Cindy and I did our first charity ride on this bike and it was while riding this bike on that event we met our best friends, Tom and Leighann.  We went out on weekly dinner rides, cruised around town and just began to enjoy our new hobby, one I loved and she was beginning to enjoy.  I made my first trip of any real distance, 550 miles one way, on this bike.  I rode it to my folk's house in Tennessee over the 4th of July in 2002.  I learned that inexperience, distance and 100 plus degree temps are not a good combination.  I made my first real ride in the rain on this bike.  My youngest son and I decided to ride our motorcycles to St. Louis, go camping and have a day of fun.  The ride out was great!  Nice sunny skies, good temperatures and good roads.  We awoke from our campsite Sunday morning to clouds and very soon on our journey home, rain.  I learned on this trip the importance of rain gear and being prepared, neither one of which we had or were.  In the years we had this bike we began to develop our soon to be passion for riding. 

In April of 2003 we were at another charity event and fell head over heals for our next motorcycle, a 1997 Goldwing GL1500 SE.  This bike was the one that really got Cindy interested in motorcycling. 

This motorcycle had the helmet to helmet communication system, a CB radio and lots more.  Cindy and I loved the communication system.  We could now ride and talk to each other.  With the 85, I would ask her if she wanted to go for a ride, with the 97 I no longer had to ask.  If I headed for the door with my helmet, she was right behind me with hers.  We got into doing some longer rides with a group on this machine.  We had the bike of our dreams, or so we thought. 



97 Goldwing SE



We were at a charity ride (must be something about these charity rides) a year later, April, 2004 when we were convinced to make our next step.  While on the ride our beautiful 97 got rear ended by another bike.  When we got back to the dealership where the ride was based out of I was informed that we would be without a motorcycle for several weeks while the repairs were being done.  I made the mistake of sitting on an 04, Candy Black Cherry brand new Goldwing.  The rest is history.  



04 Candy Black Cherry GL 1800



There was another surprise in 2004.  Cindy, who to this day, cannot drive a car with a clutch, came to me in February of 04 and declared she wanted her own motorcycle.  Now this love of my life never asked for anything but I wondered if she would actually ride on her own, enough to justify the investment into a motorcycle.  I had to give in, after all, she did ask.  In February of 04 we bought her a brand new 04 Honda Shadow Aero, Candy Black Cherry with Black.  It was a beautiful machine.  She learned to ride on that bike with the aid of the Motorcycle Safety course she got her motorcycle endorsement and our times of riding together really began to take off. 



04 Honda Shadow Aero 750



Now I covered all that so that the stories and adventures that I am going to share with my readers from this point forward will fit together and make a bit more sense, if motorcycling is supposed to make sense.  I will write of the many trips and adventures we made together and the fantastic fun times  we have had, as well as some of the mishaps and unexpected turns in the road.  I hope you continue to follow our adventures because the ride is just beginning!!!!!!

Sometime Old Dogs Can Learn New Tricks

For those that know me or have known me for any period of time there is the awareness that I don't, excuse me didn't like holidays.  Didn't care for them at all.  Just another day of the week that someone attached an excuse to so that people could get off work or get all mushy.  This is a guy that would be at work when no one else was.  That was what you were supposed to do, work!  I always volunteered to work holidays, because holidays, to me, were a farce.  When I drove over the road I would not hesitate to take a run that would have me out over Christmas or would cause me to not be home for Easter.  Let's face it, if it weren't for the gallant efforts of my loving wife of over thirty two years (how did she make it that long?) we would have never put up a Christmas tree and goodness knows we would have never celebrated Easter, come on, a rabbit that lays eggs!!!  What a joke!
Of all the holidays I guess I probably hated Halloween the most.  Grown people dressing up and looking stupid, and for what?  To me it was a day of freebie hunters, give me candy, give me, give me....  
I'm here to tell you that there are ways to re-train the way us old dogs think.  Sometimes it is as simple as trying something and realizing that you were wrong.  Life can be fun, you can dress in a ridiculous costume and laugh.  It's okay.  This approach did not work on me.  It took getting knocked on my ass and realizing that every moment should be special.  Maybe it was a combination of my accident and the consistent urging from my grand kids that finally got me to let loose and have a little fun, to realize that it is okay to dress stupid and have some fun. 

I will remember Halloween of 2009 for the rest of my life as the Halloween that I dressed stupid and had fun doing it.  My grand kids loved having Roger Rabbit sitting on their front porch handing out freebie candy to little munchkins and actually having a smile on my face while doing so.  Now I want all you doubting Thomas's to look at this picture, yes that is old sourpuss me with that get up on and I was having FUN!
I guess the whole point of this ongoing of gibberish is to let you in on a lesson I have learned, live while you are alive, enjoy every waking moment, and let those that you love know how you feel. 
I am already planning this year's charades.  We recently got a young pug named Dozer.  Cindy bought Dozer a bee costume for Halloween.  I am going to be a bee keeper, escorted by my lovely wife, the Queen Bee!  I'll post some pictures so that we can all get a laugh after the party, yes I said party.  That is another thing I never did, go to a party, waste valuable time being bored looking at stupid people in stupid costumes.  Well this year I intend to be one of those stupid people in a stupid costume having some long over due FUN!
Gee, I think this year and the years to come I will enjoy Thanksgiving, I will actually put up a Christmas tree and enjoy doing it, I will share a toast with friends and family to welcome in the new year, I will most definitely take my sweetie out for a Valentine outing, I will hide those eggs that a bunny left behind for the grand kids to find, I will learn some new tricks and exercise those lesser used muscles in my face that create a smile, I will have some fun!!

Live Life With No Regrets

I just observed the 1 year anniversary of getting hit by a car, being knocked un- conscious, getting busted up and learning to understand what is important in life.  On September 7, 2009, my loving wife and I were heading home after spending the long holiday weekend having some motorcycling fun.  I feel very blessed to have a wife that enjoys my hobby of motorcycling almost as much as I do.  We communicate continuously while riding by means of the CB radio.  Both our bikes are equipped with the device so that we can alert each other of up coming turns, traffic hazards or the scenery we are witnessing.  I know that it has been said over and over again in many ways that you can never tell the special people in your life that you love them enough.  My wife is a great believer in this.  It is not uncommon for her to break the silence while we are riding with those three simple words, "I love you."  The morning of my accident I can say with no uncertainty that those were the last words I heard that day. 

The two of us with our rides

I did not know what happened, life just stopped.  One minute we are riding home, next thing I know I'm waking up in an ICU two days later.
You know, you always see people that have just had a tragedy or have had a great misfortune befall a loved one and one of the first things they do is start trying to make a deal with God.  You know what I mean, "Oh God just let this happen or let that happen and I promise this or that."  When I came to in that hospital, it didn't even cross my mind.  I was comfortable with myself.  Sure I had things that I wanted to do, things that I may not ever get to do but I can honestly say I really had no life altering regrets.  I was content that I had lived my life as a good person, I knew that I was a Christian, and I knew that my family had the knowledge that I loved each and every one and did my best as a father, a husband, a son and a brother.  I did not know just how severe my injuries were.  I did not know if I was going to live or die.  I did not know what had happened or where I was.  I did know that I was happy with my life and no "deal" was needed. 

Ugly camper, Happy campers

Some years back, when I was having to travel to support my wife and two sons I made myself a promise.  I swore that before I left this world I would take a vacation with each of my sons.  I would spend some time just having fun and talking and doing guy stuff with them.  I didn't spend as much time with them as I would have liked while they were growing up, pretty much the same excuse that most anyone uses, not enough time, had to work, had to put food on the table, etc.  The time I did spend with my wife and kids was good quality time.  We went places together, we had fun together.  My sons and wife knew I loved them.  I didn't say it enough but they knew it.  I kept that promise to myself.  In August of 2007 my oldest son and I spent a week motorcycling in the Great Smokey Mountains.  We had the ugliest camp rig in the grounds but we didn't care, we had a BLAST!


Camping in Branson

 In the summer of 2008, I was able to spend a week with my youngest son in the Ozarks, you guessed it, motorcycling.  We had a BLAST as well.  I got to spend this vacation with my wife and his new bride as well.  We rode, we went to some shows, we drank some beers and we had fun. 

Yes, there are things that I would have missed had things turned out different, things like seeing my new grandson, born pretty much the same time and date as my accident, Seeing my daughter -in-law get into nursing school, meeting our new pet, Dozer and many other things that I just used to take for granite.  This accident was a real bump in my road, it could have been a dead end street, or it could have made my life an uphill climb.  With the help of my family and my very special friends, Tom and Leighann,  I came through it, I experienced real love and I learned to value each day.
I urge you all, don't take today for granite, we all only have right now, the next minute is never guaranteed, make sure you have no regrets, no I'm sorries that haven't been said, make sure you tell those dear to you that you love them.

Sometimes Puppies Know More Than We Know

Some may find this a bit unusual for a first post in a blog but it's my blog and I will be unusual, so you just as well get used to it.  I was never really a fan of small dogs until I inherited a Pug by the name of Buddy from my son and daughter in law while he was in the Navy.  I had made my mind up that this small animal could serve no real purpose and that he would just be an annoyance to be tolerated.  This little guy obviously did not share my ideas.  From day one he did everything he could do to become my Friend.  Not just a friend but he wanted to be my best friend.  Now I had two things that I was not used to, a small dog and a friend.  You see, I am not a real friendly guy.  I select those that I choose to get close to and there just aren't that many people that can tolerate me. 
This little guy would not give up and soon did become a very close friend.  I guess he knew that deep down I was just an old softie and he lovingly worked his way into my heart.  When I had my accident (there will be more on this in later editions) Buddy would not leave my bed ridden side.  He stayed and watched over my every move.  He and I were very close. 
Buddy lived to be almost 12 years old.  He lived a very pampered life and I made sure that he had everything he needed.  There were many times Buddy would see a doctor and get regular checkups and I would not, simply because there wasn't enough money for the both of us to see a doctor.  Buddy passed on one night recently.  I got home from work and could tell that he was not going to make it through the night.  I carried him to his bed, right next to me, and gently laid him down.  He looked up at me as I stroked his fur with a look that seemed to say, "thanks for the fun and the life we had, it is time for me to go, goodbye, my friend".  He closed his eyes and went peacefully to his rewards. 

That dog seemed to know that this old man needed a friend.  Not just any friend but one that would stick by him during all times.  There are not many people that I let get close to me, but there are a few that I am glad to call my friend because they will be there in times of need as well as in times of plenty.  I hold those few dear to my heart and I am sure that they know that I am there for them in the good times as well as the bad.