H.A.R.P. Summer Tour 2015: Day 6

A Little About Us

INTRODUCTION: First, allow me to introduce the members of this group...I'm Mike riding my 2003 Heritage Softail Springer...my wife Juju is on her 2015 Freewheeler...and Ed and Nancy are on their 2009 Heritage Softail. For the purposes of this trip we are referring to ourselves as H.A.R.P. HARP is a made-up name and it simply stands for Hogs And Retired People...and all that means is that we are members of HOG (Harley Owners Group) and we are...you guessed it...retired! The name came about when seven of us made a trip out west, but just the four of us this time. I've done blogs before, and this one will be for the same reason...to refresh our memories in our "Golden Years" (they say the memory is the second thing to go...and I can't remember what the first thing was). What is different this time is the blog is being shared by THUNDER ROADS PENNSYLVANIA MAGAZINE...Truly, an honor. This journey will be a round trip from, and to our home town of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The plan is to travel to the Atlantic coast at Ocean City, Maryland for the "Official" start on U.S. Route 50. We will follow U.S. 50 west for over 3,000 miles to its terminus in Sacramento, California. From Sacramento, we will head a bit further west to the Pacific Ocean before we begin to travel south. California Highway 1 and U.S. Route 101, better known as the Pacific Coast Highway, will be the route for about 500 miles to Santa Monica. At the world famous Santa Monica Pier, we hop on Route 66...The "Mother Road". Travelling about 2,500 miles to the north east, we'll arrive at the end of 66 in Chicago, Illinois. The "Official" end of our journey. From Chicago, it's just another 450 miles and we're back in Pittsburgh. We've made very few lodging reservations, thus eliminating the pressure of trying to get somewhere by some deadline. The whole purpose of this ride to see this country and whatever piques our interest along the way...and we will be looking for that giant ball of yarn! So we invite you to ride along with us. We hope you will find it both entertaining and informative. Please feel free to leave your comments and share this with anyone you feel would have an interest.

Friday, July 31, 2015

Day 6 - July 30

Days without an incident: 1
Days without raingear: 3

Since the bike was in the obviously capable hands of Frieze Harley Davidson, and they didn't open until 9:00, there was no rush to get going this morning.

We enjoyed the hotel's breakfast and at 9:30 the service tech called to tell me he found the problem. The ignition switch was fried. No one in the area had the part, so he said he was going to take one from another bike and it should be ready in about two hours.

At 11:30, I rode bitch on Ed's bike to the dealer. Ryan was there to greet us and deliver my ride. By 12:30 we were loaded and ready to go.

Again, thanks to Frieze Harley Davidson for their quick, and extremely courteous service.

Soon we left the last few miles of Illinois and crossed into Missouri and through St. Louis. The Gateway Arch

was an impressive sight as we approached the city. The homes of the St. Louis Cardinals (Pirates are catching up!), Busch Stadium and the Rams Edward Jones Stadium loomed large to our right.

Leaving the city, we got onto the less populated sections of U.S. 50. Surprisingly, much of 50 through Missouri is set at 55 to 65 miles per hour. Still scenic and still making some time. When passing through a small town, the speed generally dropped to 45 mph. Some towns were small, then there were the ones that literally were missed if you blinked. Rosebud Missouri came in with a population of 409!

Approaching Whiteman Air Force Base, we got to see a Stealth Fighter taking off and fly directly into the sun.

Speaking of the sun, riding west in the early evening, we witnessed one of the