Sturgis Or Die, Day Two

Day 2 July 30, 2008

Up bright and early.......no really; early,at least for our crew. Vince was up before 7:30, which for those of you who know him is positively "pre-dawn". Now "JP" was another story. Everyone ready to go, the boy is still under the covers........youth, yeah it's overrated. Still and all, group was wheels up by 9:15, heading east on Highway 80. Our destination, Elko, about a 300 mile jaunt across the Nevada high desert.

Our plan was to put some miles down before we ate. A quick note about food, as any real motorcycle rider knows, it plays a huge part in the planning of any ride, long or short. Where to eat, what to eat, and when to eat are all curcial factors in the days itenerary. And trust me, we're no different. We figured to get well out of the Reno area before we'd park the Harley's and sit down to a yummy breakfast.

As we snaked along the Truckee River the sky began to fill with smoke, distant fires would cause the horizon to do it's best immitation of the San Fernando Valley in 1973 (if you lived there then, you know what I mean) for the entire day. Bummer, it would have been nice to be able to see the hills we knew were just out of sight. Passing trucks, beginning to see other groups of bikes, most heading east, mostly Harley's.........Sturgis bound we surmise.

Denny's just ain't gonna be the same after grubbin' at the Cowpoke

Is it just me or do those damn rain grooves make a bagger feel like it has one or two hinges in the frame?The mighty Road King is not happy. No big deal, but I can't say I enjoy it. Time for gas, we pull off to fill up at a Winnemuca Chevron so we can continue our quest for suitable grub. We have a nice chat with an older guy riding a very trick and well used BMW GS 1200. When we asked where he was going, he whipped out a map and pointed to a spot the read "Minor"......it was a good thirty miles off the Interstate, accessable only by a dirt road. Our friend was well equipped.

The only thing better than the food is Rosa and her crew

Before we get going Mark suggested that we grab a bite in Lovelock, "I know there's a couple of diners in town, should be something good". It's settled, we set sail for Lovelock. Pulling on to what must be Main Street, it's like going back about 60 years......quentessential small (really small) town America. We go a couple of blocks and there it is, on the left, the Cowpoke Cafe. While Rosa was in the kitchen preparing our late morning feast (some of the very best eggs and sausage I've ever tasted....this is a "must stop" if you're passin' through and need some great eats) we chat up three Kiwi's (New Zealander's if you will) that had bought new Harley's (very trick units I might add, one was a Screamin' Eagle Dyna!) on ebay, picked them up in  San Francisco and were riding to Sturgis......great guys, lots of laughs.

Our new Kiwi brothers

Time to go, we've got to make some time so we can be in Elko around dinner time.........starting to get this whole focus on food thing!? One last stop for gas and...........another Kiwi! Seems Nevada is fairly crawling with them. Our new mate Tom is a huge Harley fan, riding to the Rally on a very tricked out 100 Aniversary Road King Classic.....Screamin' Eagle motor, pipes, a license plate signed by Willie G himself!, the whole works..........125 hp at the rear wheel it's owner cheerfully claimed. We swapped some lies, had a few laughs, and it was time to go



Is Mark hiding snacks?



The 120 miles to Elko saw the sky tease us with glimpses of blue, but still mostly cigarette smoke yellow, periodic gusts of a pretty strong crosswind kept the gang from getting too relaxed. Rolled into Elko, slid into the Red Lion just in time for, you guessed it, dinner.

Great day, lots of fun, even learned a few things......always check that your Chatterbox is on the same channel as your buds.......saves a lot of "dial gymnastics". The T-Bag (at least the Tahoe version) has handy straps for carrying off the bike.....thanks Nate, I'd still be dragging the damn thing across the parking lot.