Well, I made it! It was still cold (high 40’s), so the first thing I did after checking in was to take a hot shower! First thing Monday morning we got to work. They did work us hard, but we learned a lot about Harley financial and Harley Davidson Insurance. We were in class all day, every day. Our evenings were free, but we were highly advised to use them studying.

Not every minute was spent studying by everyone. A couple of interesting stories developed. One of our group who shall be called ‘Freddy’ (to protect the innocent?) and a group of others decided to visit one of the ‘Ladies social establishments’ that are here in Nevada. They went and had a few drinks at the bar. One of the group suggested that they all get massages. Freddy said sure, he’d go along if they did. (Now you have to realize here that Freddy was a little naive.) They all suggested that he go first, and when the girl took him back into the room, the rest of the group got up and went back to the hotel. Hey, they did leave cab fare for him with the bartender! He was a little hot at them the next morning.

When questioned about how the massage went, he said it was good. Of course everyone wanted to know what the girl looked like. Freddy said he didn’t know - he couldn’t see her. Couldn’t see her? No, he explained, he "e;had his face down in the thing."

Well with that remark, the whole group busted up laughing. He further explained that he meant the fitting on the massage table that your face goes into - but it was too late to retract the words. We all arrived at the headquarters a few minutes later. Within 10 minutes of our arrival, the story had made it through the entire building. Later that day we had a tour of the different departments, and Freddy was quite the celebrity.

We had a young girl in our class that went to the hospital Tuesday afternoon with a kidney stone. They wanted to keep her, but she insisted on coming back to the hotel.
Around Carson City - great scenery in this area. The next morning she was back in class with the rest of us. She suffered a lot the next few days, but would not leave, as she wanted to finish class and graduate. So she became known as the ‘tough girl’! Well, we finished and all graduated, wiser and more confident.

Ron, Jim, Denny and I, had all planned to meet back up Friday. I kept the room for Friday night as there was a big bike rally (Street Vibrations) at Reno and rooms were scarce. This would give us a chance to get a nights rest then start out fresh Saturday morning on the trip back. Ron called me about noon on Friday and asked if I was ready to go. I told him no, I would be in class until 4:00pm. I said I could come and let them into the room so they could rest, but Ron said they were tired of being on the road and really wanted to get headed for home. I told him I did not want to hit the road at 4:00 when I was tired and then worry about how far we would have to go to get a room. I explained about ‘Street Vibrations’ and that everyone said there were no rooms in that end of Nevada. Ron again told me how tired everyone was and that they really wanted to get going. I told him to go ahead, that I would try to catch up after a good night’s sleep.

After class let out, I fired up the bike and rode down to the local Harley dealer to see what was going on. With the rally in Reno, (only 50 miles away) the Harley dealer was full of bikes from the overflow. I took a few pictures and wandered around. There was a Pan-Op-Tic booth and I walked up and told them how well the glasses had preformed for me on the trip out. They asked if I would say that on camera and I said sure. (Hey, I’m going to be in a commercial!) I also ran into some of my classmates there and said ‘Hi’.

After I returned to the hotel; I had a wonderful dinner, they fed us great all week, and pie! Some people from Harley were going to attend a football game that evening and asked if I would like to join them. Sure, I said, I’d enjoy a football game. Julie Benson, one of the group leaders, said that her son was playing Pop Warner league. I learned that Pop Warner football was composed of kids that were too young to yet play high school ball. So we rooted for Brian! I had a great time and Brian’s team won! Actually his team went on to win the quarter finals for the area. They were hot this year!

Loaded up before daylight the next morning and hit the road. I headed back across 50 again and made good time. I stopped at Austin and had a cup of coffee.
Moonrise - at the Breaks.

Howard Bound - Back through the red mountains of Utah. It was now nice and warm and looked different without the snow. I passed through Ely again and stopped for a couple of more pictures. I hadn’t realized that many of the buildings in Ely have murals painted on them. Many have old west scenes and I saw one that depicted their mining roots. There are many more things to see. I’ll have to plan to spend a day in Ely on the next trip.
Murals at Ely - history as art.

Murals at Ely - very interesting stop.

Howard Bound - and the grey mountains of Colorado.

I called Ron and found that Jim had more bike trouble and they were putting his bike into a U-Haul. Not good. It looked like I would be riding most of the way back alone. Ok, let’s make some miles! I soon had to slow down. Just a little ways past Ely, I had to stop while cowboys drove a herd of cattle across the road. Neat!

I passed into Utah and made good time. I paused at dusk to take an awesome picture of the moon rise over the mountains. Made it to Green River, Utah. 725 miles today. Got a room and had a good supper. I find that traveling alone, I cover more miles in a day. There is no one to visit with and talk to so you tend to just keep riding. Back up early and on the road again.

Turning colder again. It was in the low thirtys again in the higher elevations. There in snow now on the mountains where there was none when we came thru the first time. Making good time again today.

Not much sightseeing, just keeping on keeping on. It was pretty pleasant once I was past Denver and reasonably warm. I stopped and took off my Aerostitch suit before I left Colorado. It was pleasant across Nebraska, but began to cool down in the late afternoon and I put my Aerostitch back on again.

This time I kept rolling well into the night and made it to Lincoln, Nebraska. 825 miles today. Should I call Jim and see how they are doing? No, it’s too late, I’ll do it in the morning.

I was back on the road early again hoping to get through Des Moines before the Monday morning rush hour. It’s too early to call Jim now. Rolling miles like this can be done safely. You must take care to drink lots of water and take breaks when you need them, not push to get another 30 miles in first. You must also make sure you stop and layer for the situation. You will get exhausted quickly if you allow yourself to become overly cold or warm. I can become dangerous if you push yourself on a cold night as you are becoming chilled and tired. Take breaks, dress properly, stay fresh.

I cleared Des Moines just fine then stopped for coffee and breakfast. Next was to get through Iowa City which went without a hitch. Now comes decision time. We went around Chicago to avoid the traffic coming down. I can do that again, or I can cut two hours off the trip by running 80 to 94, IF I don’t get caught in the afternoon rush. Mental flip of the coin. Heads, I’ll try Chicago.

With much trepidation and some hurrying to get through in the afternoon, I pressed on. Actually, Chicago wasn’t too bad. I would not have wanted to be going west, as that looked like a parking lot, but I made good time going east. I did get caught in some stop and go for about 15 miles but that cleared and I made good time again. I got into Michigan and took a very long break and rested. Another decision. Get a motel for tonight or roll it on home. So I mulled it over a nice meal. Refreshed, I decided to head for home. “Honey, I’ll be home tonight, two days early.”

I arrived home in three days from Carson City, (another 800+ mile day) and found out that I beat Ron, Jim and Denny home by a day! Boy, am I tired, I’m glad I don’t have to go to work tomorrow!

-LC