Just got back from our favorite bike rally event, Johnstown Thunder in the Valley. It's our favorite for a bunch of reasons, although the home fries at the Corner Coffee Shop would be enough to win it. But the Laurel Highlands and Appalachains are some of the best riding in the country, and when you're back in town for the night, it's nothing short of a love fest. The locals all come out to see the sights, and all the hotel and waitstaff in all the local joints find biker shirts to wear. Law enforcement keeps a watchful eye out but prefers to stay in the background. Despite Donna riding the mechanical bull with one of the hired hoochie mamas and getting Jagermeister poured straight down her neck, and the craziness that goes on at the ABATE party across the Stoneycreek River, it's a pretty reasonable scene. You don't have to worry about getting run over by a drunken idiot doing a burnout or getting caught in the middle of a gang fight. And with three stages spread across the easily walkable downtown, there's something fun everywhere you turn.
In the process, I rode out and back with WAY too much gear for a 4-day trip. Donna mounted her windshield, which she swore she would never own, and of course I did as well. I never swore that same oath, although I did say it would be a cold day when I put saddlebags on that bike. Yet I did, and despite the fact that like the windshield, they are easily removed without a trace in seconds, I suppose it's a slippery slope from here to owning a geezer glide.
But those bags needed to go along, along with the tank bag which had served me well for all those miles on my old Sportster. That had also never been on the new bike, and where it fit the Sporty perfectly, it only fits "upside down" on Gretchen. All because this new configuration needed to be tested "locally" (being a relative term) so I wouldn't find out that it doesn't work for shit three days into our 2014 road trip, which will be... well, check back and see. It's gonna be epic.
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