We were packed and ready to go pretty much straight away and as I went out the bikes I could see there were about 10 Harley's lined up and everyone was talking about the same thing - Sturgis. Yesterday on the road we saw a few bikes heading East but this morning I could sense the anticipation and excitement building and got caught up in it as well. In the warm early morning air I could hear Harley's starting up all down Main Street as Sturgis bound bikers left their various motels and began heading east. It was time for us to join them.
We rode out of Ely shortly after 8am. The sky was clear and you could see it was going to be another hot one. It was good to be on the road with a chance to run up some serious mileage before the heat hit us. In the light of day Ely revealed some of its past glory. You could see that it had once been a thriving town but many buildings on Main Street were empty. This first leg of the journey was a continuation of the Loneliest Highway and we knew just how to take it on - fast but steady. As we left Ely the road opened up before us and we were on the way to the Salt Lake Flats.
At one point we pulled over and stood there for a while and took it all in. We all noticed it. It was absolutely silent. Not a sound. It was almost surreal. We could see the Salt Flats in the distance and were immediately struck by how enormous they were. If there has been a common geographical theme so far it has been the sheer size of this country. We have ridden in different parts of the US but not here. This is a whole new experience.
We hit Wendover around 11am. This is the little town that Burt Munro holed up in before breaking his first world speed record at Bonneville. It ain't little no more with casino's dominating the skyline. We fuelled up at a Chevron gas station and the Harley's started arriving from all directions. Not only were there the young and old, male and female loaded up and pushing East but there was also the holiday camper trucks, buses and vans all towing trailers loaded with Harley's. As we pulled out and headed to Bonneville it was clear to all of us that Sturgis is going to be big. Bonneville is only a short ride down Interstate 80 and we had to go and see where Burt made his Indian the world's fastest. As a first timer to Bonneville I wasn't sure what to expect - would there be buildings, garages, petrol head museums - what? Well it was pretty simple - just a sign and an amazing stretch of salt flats.
But it was that sort of place that if you just shut your eyes you could almost hear the cars and the bikes that have made this primeval salt basin a part of motoring folklore. We were all pleased to have taken the extra time to come down here.
Out of Bonneville and straight to Salt Lake City. This stretch of Interstate was blisteringly hot, well past a 100 degrees. We had to cover a fairly large distance but did it with only one stop for water - which we desperately needed. While we were there we were joined by many other bikers seeking refuge including two couples from New Zealand - also on their way to Sturgis. We pushed on - at times were caught up with other groups of Harley's and rode with them for a way. This is only the beginning but when you think about it roughly 500,000 bikers have to get to Sturgis by next week so we are going to start running into them in their hundreds if not thousands as we get closer.
We hit serious big city traffic as we approached Salt Lake City with a myriad of motorways and spaghetti junctions to get though we did it like old hands and got through it in one piece. We made a stop at the Harley Dealer (as you do) and some more shopping - then it was straight to Logan about 100 miles further on. The heat was relentless and as we approached Logan we got the chance to remove the helmets and ride with our hair in the wind (or what's left of it anyway). Bloody fantastic - Utah has no helmet laws and while you might think us stupid we did it and enjoyed every minute of it. Even Glenys got in on it and that is saying something.
We called in briefly at the local Harley dealer so Bo could get a screw - one for the back of her seat at least. Once again we downed a few in the motel car park and talked about the ride. To have completed the Loneliest Highway all the way to Wendover was special. The Salt Lakes were special. Seeing all the Harley's beginning to muster was special.The taste of the Coors Light was special. We were hot, dusty and dirty. Time to unpack and have a swim. We finished up with dinner at Chuckarama. This is a franchise unique to Utah and Idaho and is based around the old cowboy chuck wagons.
$11 each for all you can eat and drink (no alcohol) and hell it was good. We nailed four courses each and regretted the excess all the way back to the motel. We did 359 miles today and were in the saddle for 5hrs 44minutes. We have now clocked up 1111 miles (1789kms) in four days. Tomorrow we ride through Yellowstone - bring it on. LTGTR.
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