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Dynamic road trip # 3900 in nine on two

By Bill Plewa-The Good Old Days

This is of course, a story of a five-person motorcycle adventure, con-
sisting of many colors and numbers. My older brother, Tony and his
three sons, Ray, Rich, and Rob agreed to join me (Bill) on this memorable
trip. The blue sky of July 1993 was perfect and was exciting for these
seasoned riders.
Our trusty steeds included Ray’s Honda Gold Wing 1500, Rich’s
Honda VFR 750, Rob’s Honda Nighthawk 750, Tony’s Honda Pacific Coast
800 and my Honda ST 1100. As we left my home, we sported a full pack
of gear, tents, sleeping bags, cooking stuff and rain gear.

We headed west to Ludington on Michigan’s west coast,
(state#1), where we boarded the SS Badger ferry. The deep blue waters
of Lake Michigan and restful hours off the seats of our bikes were quite
soothing.
Manitowoc at Wisconsin, (state #2) is where we started our trek
west across the northern USA states. As we traveled through Minnesota
(state # 3), someone in our group decided to see how fast these motor-
cycles would go, and I wasn’t going to be left behind. With my V-4-1100
cc sport tourer, I was sure to dominate!

WRONG! The two nephews took off like a bat out of Hell as I trailed be-
hind. Their crotch rockets reached speeds of about 150 MPH leaving me
in the dust. I managed to get to 137 MPH at full redline throttle. All was
well until things turned brown, that was my shorts, for when I shut down
the bike, it went into a horrific shaking frenzy almost loosing control.
Bad idea, to say the least, and so much for speeding.

South Dakota (state #4) brought us to the orange and black, the
colors of Harley Davidson and the Sturgis Bike rally. We were one week
early and only got to visit for set up. Wall Drug was a must-see town of
many colors and treats. Next stop was Mt. Rushmore, a spectacular carv-
ing in grey stone of four Presidents, Lincoln, Roosevelt, Jefferson, and
Washington. What a bunch of history!

Wyoming (state # 5), home of the Devils Tower at 5112 feet above
sea level, does occasionally reach into the white of skyward clouds. We
climbed it, a little for fun. It was pushed up out of the earth by volcanic
action to its towering height.

February 2020 The Snomad Page 13