2007 HOG Posse Ride
By
Rick Shipley

George Cameron (Ultra), Mike Henke (Road King), and yours truly (Road King) proudly represented the Sunset Chapter at the 2007 HOG Posse Ride, July 13-30. After picking up our bikes that we had shipped to Mike’s Famous HD in New Castle, Delaware, we set out with approximately 550 other Harley riders and passengers that took us from our starting point in Wilmington, Delaware through a Northwesterly route, ending up at Paradise HD in Tigard, Oregon. Officially, we started the ride on Monday, July 16, and finished on Sunday, July 29th, and had a farewell breakfast on Monday, July 30th. The ride was planned for about 3200 miles, but many riders (including us), logged many more miles than that because some roads and scenery along our country’s highways looked too enticing to pass up. In fact, we logged well over a thousand extra miles, and finished between 4K and 5K total.

The ride took us through a bunch of cities and states, with Dealer parties at 11 destinations. There was plenty of food and drinks at each stop, and each dealer offered up a different welcome theme. Bike washes, massages, and lots of friendly smiles were prevalent. For our $500 entry fee, we each received commemorative shirts, collector pins, coins, leather bandanas, cargo nets, and other prized goodies and discounts. During the kickoff breakfast at the Wilmington Convention Center, several Posse staff members spoke, and the CEO of HD even welcomed us and wished us well. Then we took the official Oath, signified our allegiance with a “Hell yes”, and were off to participate in a 550+ parade from Wilmington to New Castle for the first party. George videotaped much of the journey, while Mike and I took many photographs. It was an awesome sight and sound extravaganza, and the memories will last a lifetime. Of course anytime you travel so closely together you encounter TMI (Too Much Information) about your fellow riders, and much of what happened on the Posse Ride will stay at the Posse Ride.

First up was a party at Mike’s Famous, and when the three of us were exposed to that biker bash, we knew we were in for a good time for the next couple of weeks. Mike brought in the Marshall Tucker Band, a mechanical bull, cheerleaders (i.e. professional strippers that barely kept their clothes on), a bikini boot shine booth, bikini dunk tank and bikini oil wrestling pool, an actual bikini contest, and much more. Did I mention the bikinis? The three of us were even entertained that evening in our hotel swimming pool, but you’ll have to personally ask one of us what that story is about. At any rate, Monday, the 16th arrived, and our first leg took us on Hwy 30 (AKA the Lincoln Highway). Dave from New Mexico wanted to ride with us, so he and his Ultra joined in. We stopped for a HD factory tour in York Pennsylvania, and also at Gettysburg. It was at that time that George and Mike realized that I, in some other life, must have been a History Major, because I wanted to see all of the historic sites in route. Each of us led some legs of the entire trip, and it was quite a contrast to see Amish horses and buggies using the same roads as us on our Harleys. Did someone say, “Giddy up”? We heard that a truck had lost its transmission fluid, which caused four bikes to do down, but we weren’t involved. The heat was on, and the construction was heavy. Arriving in Greensburg, Pennsylvania, we attended a dealer party at Z&M. The fond memory here was the fabulous banana splits. After dinner, a beer or two were in order, but it was predominantly a dry county, so the restaurants didn’t serve any. George went thirsty, while I got sick on sweetened ice tea. Mike found some brew somewhere.

Next up was a ride to Fort Wayne, Indiana, and we followed Neil and Margie, two professional truckers riding 2 up on their Road King, who navigated through all of the freeway exchanges in Chicago. Also joining us was Robert from Houston on his Ultra, so the score was three Ultras and three Road Kings making time together. Robert had a GPS and even a Ham Radio set up on his ride. With the beacon on, his wife could track him from home and then use Google to look down upon him wherever he was at. That’s a neat toy, but some of you would be turning that beacon off I bet! Jim Bailey’s in Fort Wayne provided a band, fantastic food, cakes representing each of our stops, and a banner for each rider to sign. We encountered heavy rainfall and wind, and a lot of tolls, including one for $10.25!

Next up was Dubuque, Iowa, and after riding along the Mississippi River for many miles and seeing many cornfields, the dealer party was never more welcome, as we had live music and food, including unbelievable corn on the cob. George and I tried a small mix of ethanol in our tanks (my bike had definitely marked better performance with the mix), but Mike and Dave opted for the pure petroleum product. A major storm blew in and a tornado watch was in effect that evening, but we headed out the next morning ready to take Mother Nature head on. Duluth, Minnesota was our destination, and we spent a couple of nights there, doing destination rides, laundry, and resting a bit. We hit fog, saw several deer, and it was hot and muggy, but Lake Superior was, well superior!

Moving further West we headed for Fargo, North Dakota. Why does anyone really go to Fargo? I guess it’s because it sits between Duluth and Dickinson. Well the Dealer Party was great for sure, but the wind was ferocious. George won’t let me waste words and tell you about my helmet getting blown off my bike and breaking the visor. We did see a lot of deer, and although we didn’t see any “bears” as Dave had thought when he saw a black cow early in the journey, we did see a lot of livestock. Also, we occasionally encountered gravel and more heavy construction throughout the routes.

Dickinson, North Dakota was our next stop, and it was here that we borrowed the official “Posse Ride” magnetic sign from the official “Posse Ride” vehicle, for an official “Posse Ride” picture of us outlaws outside of Jamestown. The sun was dominant, and the crosswinds were severe, but we made good time! We elected to forgo the 35 mile trip to Medora, North Dakota and a trip to the Cowboy Hall of Fame, for a side trip to Sturgis, South Dakota. We were there a week and a half before bike week, so we got to see the streets and bars as a subdued venue. The flies were thick in Sturgis, and the vendors were getting ready.

Catching back up to the rest of the contingent, we rode hard to Billings, Montana, taking time to satisfy our history quest at Custer’s Last Stand at Little Big Horn. This is an awesome monument and memorial, and represents both the Indian’s and the White Man’s perspectives. The next day we headed to Missoula, and the plan was to be there for three nights. We went over Beartooth, after buying our pins at Red Lodge. The views from the mountain pass were incredible; George and Dave had gone up the pass the day before from Billings, but a storm turned them back. We encountered rain, fog, a little snow, and then heat. We then made a pass through Yellowstone, seeing some Buffalo (or Bison), and a few other creatures. We then landed in Missoula, and the official Posse Ride Group Photo was taken at Seely Lake airport (grass airstrip). Note that the sign was returned to the vehicle. Some of us made the Missoula Loop around Flathead Lake, Summit Lake, etc., and attended the Dealer Party, which included members from the Banditos and Hermanos, and a classic tire burnout contest. We all departed for Kennewick at different times and via different routes. George met with some relatives in Idaho, and Mike and Dave searched out Glacier. Neil and Margie just wanted out of Montana. Robert and I started out together taking the scenic river route, but then separated during a search for gas. I think his GPS may have let him down because it didn’t alert him to the station I turned towards. At any rate, the Snake River canyon was superlative.

At Kennewick, we were welcomed with some fellow Sunset Chapter members, who escorted George and I back home to Paradise, while Mike, Dave, Neil, and Margie hung and rode together. The view along Highway 14 was as usual spectacular with the Oregon and Washington canyon wall borders hovering above the Columbia River, and Mt. Hood standing proud in the background. The Luau at paradise was very nice, with a bikini bike wash, band, dancers, and great food, and more fellow Sunset members welcoming us. At the end of the road we were tired, but jazzed about thinking about our next such ride, which we were already planning.

All in all, we three didn’t experience any significant problems (we were well prepared), although the weather was not always pleasant. Mike did have to make numerous adjustments to his aftermarket suspension, but finally got it dialed in right. For others on the ride there were some accidents, some mechanical breakdowns, and some accommodation glitches, but all in all it was an excellent ride, and one that conjures up agreement with one of the final lines in our Oath, “And finally, I will always have fun”.