Trip to Sturgis Day 1, Part 2

We rode from the H-D Museum to Capital City Harley. The route was straight up I-94. When it's just the two of us we try to stay on the back roads but we thought it would be fun to ride with this group no matter which route they took. But getting a group this large to stay together in Milwaukee traffic is difficult and we did get split in two separate groups. We were towards the front of the second group. Four bikes were in front of us, all with North Carolina plates. We knew they couldn't lead (they were switching into lanes that didn't make sense by the stadium) so at the first opportunity Jeff and two others passed them to take the lead. There was plenty of construction near Madison so it made for a stressful ride. Just before Sun Prairie, there was a travel bag lying on the white lane markers. Luckily it was between the lanes so no one would run over it. Somebody on this ride lost their luggage. That's gonna suck.

When we got to the Madison store, we talked to the North Carolina group and they were grateful that we got in front of them. They rode up to Milwaukee just to ride with Willie G. to Sturgis. I am surprised anyone would do that but I guess I should be surprised especially by the many people came out to greet the Davidsons. There were camera crews from the local news, reporters, and local fans. They were disappointed when we showed up without the majority of the Davidson family. So the reporters did an interview with the CEO, Keith Wandell.
20 minutes into our visit, the Davidsons pulled up on their motorcycles. The crowd went wild with applause. Even the Wandell interview stopped to turn the camera on the Davidsons.
As everyone crowded around them I stepped back and took a walk. It was nice to stretch, sit under a shady tree and enjoy the quiet. Just as I started walking back towards the building, a photographer approached me and asked if he could take my photo. I said yes, he took the shot, looked at the results and asked if I would be willing to do a series of shots. I needed more info first and he told me he is the photographer for Harley Davidson and he does all their promotional material. Then he asked me to sign a release form. So I did it.

After I found Jeff we saw Karen Davidson with just a few people hovering nearby. We took the opportunity to introduce ourselves as Jen's parents. The first thing she said was, "doesn't she make the most amazing cupcakes?" (Yeah, Jen and her Iron Cupcake competitions.) We had a nice conversation. The group started to get back together to head out and on the walk back to the bike, a reporter from Janesville approached me and started to ask questions. I gave her the details the best I could starting with the pancake breakfast. I am again surprised at the interest.