Sturgis Or Die, Day Three......Cop? What Cop!?

Day 3

Six o'clock in the morning and there's a light rap at the hotel door, way too early for housekeeping.....maybe one of the slightly wasted Elko high rollers just hit it big on a nickel machine and wanted to share the news. Roll over, not quite time to get up........ten more minutes. The phone!? I pick it up,"......who is this?" "What's up?", the sickeningly upbeat voice chimes from the other end, it's "JP" and the boys are ready to roll, and roll right now!

Packing up.......good bye Elko

Guess all those beers Nate and "JP" downed by the pool the night before hadn't slowed them down a bit........youth, you gotta hate it! They should be draggin' the wagon, instead, along with encouragement from Mark (who as the elder statesman of the group should know better) they badger us to hit the deck and hit the road. This is gonna be a good day.

 It's also a long one, with over 400 miles on tap, the day ending in Rock Springs Wyoming. As we pull out of the Red Lion, the sun is already making its presence known. No jackets today, long sleeves (better than sunblock) and vests are the uniform of the day. Next door is a Chevron, we roll over to fill up. The plan is to get over 100 miles under our belts before breakfast......that would put us in Windover.

Following Nate

Gassed up, we head out on 80....still smokey, would be really nice to see some blue sky. About forty miles out I spy what looks like a State Trooper in the rear view, pretty far back, and pacing us. "Hey Vince, does that look like a police cruiser", I figured he know (retired cop, remember). "Yeah, looks like." As the miles click by, the cruiser inches closer. I'm last in line so I get the first "inspection", stays right alongside, starring at me and the Road King. Satisfied, the cop moves up to the next in line, Vince. Same routine, on to the next guy. Finally he gets to the front of the line, Mark was heading up the group at this point, and...........he lights us up!

Being solid citizen's and model motorcyclists, we all dutifully pull to the side of the road. The Trooper pulls in behind me. As we get off our bikes, Nevada's finest barks, "back on the bikes, kick stands up....now!" At first I don't get it, in California it's always,"......off the bike, keys in your hand, helmet off!" I'm thinking maybe our numbers are making him just a tad nervous. Kinda cool when you think about it, we're making a cop nervous! Which in and of itself is pretty crazy, because unless you think buying the occasional pay-per-view UFC fight can make one a certified badass, we're all pretty much screwed.............with the exception of Nate. He's the nicest kid you'd ever want to meet, but on looks alone, he qualifies as hardcore biker, hands down, end of story. Yeah, he's the reason for the added security, no doubt.

Confident we're not gonna throw down, and probably not caring if we bolt (can't outrun a radio after all) the cop begins with the questions; "Where ya from?", "Where ya going?" Since Vince and I are the closest, we do all the talking. Remember, everyone has to stay on their motorcycles. We tell him what he wants to know. Finally he gets to the pay off.

"Have you boys had any problems with a big rig, maybe harassing one?" WHAT!? Harassing a big rig!? I can't believe what I'm hearing, he's got to be kidding! He goes on to tell us that a trucker had called in a report of five bikers that were brake-checking trucks. How insane is that? What kind of stupid does a person have to be to try to "harass" an eighteen wheeler with a motorcycle, even five.............that's well beyond the dumbest thing you'd ever do while drunk and in high school. Come on!

We assure John Law that weren't the perps he sought.............his attitude improves, "......have a safe ride to Sturgis, have fun!" And with that, our first brush with the law ends. It ends a bit too quickly.............no photo op, damn.

JP rockin' pop's Dyna

Back on the road, it's an uneventful ride into Windover. Breakfast at the Peppermill, quick fill-up and it's a mind-numbingly dull stint across the Utah salt flats. Ruler straight, white lines disappear with assembly-line like rhythm in the mirrors. Ahead, the horizon resembles molten metal, transforming into asphalt just in time for us to continue on our way. Slight breeze, that's good, the cross winds on this stretch of road can be brutal. On we ride, miles counting down.

Winding our way through Salt Lake City we dodge early commute traffic as we crawl through construction zone after construction zone. Is it just me, or have they been rebuilding this particular maze of concrete since Brigham Young first rolled into town? Get it done people! Can't get through town fast enough.......way to many aggressive cage pilots.

Once safely out of town, the scenery begins to improve, the traffic thins, and the sky is finally a proper shade of blue. It's all good. Into Wyoming, and the ride continues to improve, we're making some time and the weather couldn't be better. The heat we were dreading never really materialized. Our longest leg of the east-bound ride was almost over.

Nate with goodies you just don't find in California

We cruise into Rock Springs around 7:00pm, park the Harleys and check in. We're tired, but spirits are high, not too far from Sturgis now, and tomorrow promises some great riding. Time to eat.......Applebee’s looks good, if for no other reason than it's right across the street. No energy to strike out for the local dining hot spot, maybe tomorrow..............