Hey all,
im pretty much new to the site- though i check in every other day or so- and i always enjoy a good story- that being said- i thought id share my experience-

as i kid, my dad had a harley- and i rode with him often. i was also fortunate enough to have a dirtbike of my own- my love for riding started early on- needless to say- life took over and time for bikes disappeared- until about 3 yrs ago-  i finally purchased a 91 sporty- for a meager 2500 bones- it was my first bike since high school - nothing fancy but a bike- last winter, inspired by the horse magazine- i did some mild chopping on her and had a pretty nice look scoot- ditched the front fender- chopped the rear- added 12 inch apes- chopped and wrapped the pipes and installed hard tail struts- 
so it was only logical to want to take a road trip- i couldnt find any riding buddies that could take time off from work- so i mounted the hard tailed scoot with a set of throw over bags, one backpack- a gas can- and i hit the road- where was i going? well i was headed to the smoke out west in santa rosa NM.  it was a long 3 day ride. 
i left spokane wa- made it to idaho falls in about 8 hrs-  the last 2 hours were pushed through a tremendous amount of rain- (no front fender made it that much more intertaining) - it sucked ass- but inside and between gasping for breath beneath a soaked bandana- i was grinning ear to ear!!! the next morning the skies were still 8 shades of gray, but i managed to get to salt lake without getting wet!!!! i thought i had it made- until i stopped for a bite to eat- (and to rest my sore ass)  i then heard that the entire state was in for a wind advisary-- 50 mph winds sustained with gusts to 60!!! i had a time line to keep on and my dad was meeting me in nm, so i pressed on----  lemme tell ya --- a loaded down sporty in cross winds accross the barren utah landscape was interesting to say the least-  but i made it to moab without any grief!!! just a sore ass- 
the next am was great - sunny, cool , and promising- 
that is until my first gas stop - and i noticed that my shift peg had worn loose and fell out of the shift arm-  a little lock tite- and i was back on the road- that turned out to be my only maintenance issue the whole trip-  by late that afternoon- i was zipping accross I-40 with the wind at my back- social distortion in my ears- and santa rosa on the horizon- 

the ralley was small- nothing fancy- the bikes were for the most part- all garage built chops- of all makes and models- triumphs, bsas, harleys, hondas- you name it - it was there-  my dad and his buddy met me there- and it was a great time- 
3 days later- all of us mounted the bikes to head back to spokane- first leg of the trip took us north into durango colorado- then to silverton colorado-  now i gotta tell ya that stretch of road is by far the hairiest section of high way i have ever been on- the road is narrow and crosses 2 passes over 11000 ft-  the white line on the right side of the road is half missing- and the drop is way over 100 ft on most of the curves-
breath taking views though- well worth the pucker factor- if ya know what im talking about

the next day was cold as hell- left early- continued up through grand junction- and there shortly after- dads trailer wheel caught the edge of the shoulder in a 20 mph curve-  the trailer pulled him and his bike off the road- twisted the tongue of the trailer and threw dad about 35 feet from the bike- he was behind me - so i didnt see it happen- but i did see a cloud a dirt in the rear view mirror---
now- let me say dad is fine- several fractured ribs- and verterbrae but nothing serious----   i had to get back to work- so dad headed home- with jake- and i had to press on alone to spokane-

the rest of trip was uneventful- and i had alot of time to think ---- i
the trip was one of the best times in my life- and even though it didnt pan out as planned- i thoroughly enjoyed the ride---

ps- we are planning another adventure in the near future!!!! 

respects
dave

Sounds like a great trip, even with the weather issues. You'll find that it is really hard to cross that section of the country without hitting wind and/or rain! Although the first picture doesn't look like it was planned!!!

Glad to here you made it back to riding after many years away. Hope you have many more great trips in your future!

i hope to get to some of the bigger rallies and meet some of yall at some point! scheduling is the hardest part these days-

well rex, i am now riding the 05 fatboy- since the trip, my wife has taken the riders course- so the sporty has undergone yet another transformation- Shocks- new seat- pegs etc.......... and she is starting to ride a bit around our small town- it was goal of mine to ride cross country on a hard tail- i did- ONCE and prolly never again! LOL

thanks for that great story

Well, here is Dad! Risen from the bed and back in the saddle. Great story Dave told and I am living proof the you can sometimes get up and walk away. Thanks for the get well comments. I don't think at my age I could have hard-tailed from WA to NM like Dave did, but I am glad he made the trip. Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Ride Safe!!!!!

You too, Wishbone!

Great adventure and as Rex said well told. I like your style and the trip sounds like one my wife and I took lol. Glad your dad is ok! We live in western Montana and have friends in Spokane.Let me know if ya plan on headin east:-)

hey wolf- thanks- it was a helluva trip- and eventually id like to hit up the testical festival in your neighborhood next yr if im around-