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Cruiser
Posts: 95
Alberta, Canada | This summer I was able to have two longer road trips on my 2008 Midnight Cherry Victory Vision. What a blast!! The first trip took me down to Great Falls, then Kennewick, Wa. then down to Eugene, Oregon, where I visited for two days with my cousin I hadn't seen in 30 years. Oh I better mention that the Columbia Gorge is a wonderful ride as well! One of the most beautiful rides I had was from Eugene to Florence on highway 126. The pavement was brand new, lots of gentle twisties, a couple of cool tunnels and at the end a breath taking view of the ocean. This trip was the 2nd week in June so I really appreciated the heated grips and heated seats which made the journey very comfortable. I was never cold or stiff even though I encountered varying degrees of rain almost everyday!! The trip up the coast was phenomenal and one that every biker should try and do. The smell of the ocean, the scenery and the several points of interest stops. I had one of the best omelets I have ever had in Pacific City overlooking the ocean!!! I spent the next night in South Bend and was able to get away in the morning before the rain set in, and set in it did!! Looking forward into the mountains the clouds were socked in. Then the first sign I read was "Entering Washingtons Rainforests"!! Oh joy I thought, it looked wet!! Then I hit a long section of highway that was under construction that had signs that read, "Motorcycles Use Extreme Caution"!! Double whammy!! The road had the top layer stripped off so I was riding on groves and there were tons of potholes. My maximum speed through there was 40 mph. I didn't encounter any other traffic for a couple of hours and that began to worry me!! Finally got out of the rain and even though I didn't have on my rain gear I was remarkably dry! Good old Vision!! I arrived in Port Angeles 6 hours before the ferry arrived to take me to Victoria, Canada. Spent that night in Sidney and got up early to catch the ferry to Vancouver only to find the ferry had some mechanical problems and was delayed 2 hours. Finally arrived in Vancouver at noon and from there it was non-stop to Red Deer, Alberta, 13 hours later and 11.5 hours of saddle time. Close to 800 miles! Believe it or not I wasn't stiff!! The trip through the BC and Alberta Rockies is still some of the BEST scenery I have seen anywhere in the world. MY VISION RAN LIKE A CHARM WITH NOT A SINGLE GLICH!
Fast forward a couple of months and I am heading down to Strugis, SD. Still encounter rain but also 96 degree plus weather. The Vision took it all like a soldier! Rained and hailed going through Yellowstone and there where several construction delays making for a long day. Every place I went to attracted onlookers admiring my ride. Highway 89 through the Belt Mountains is a great ride as well!! Down in Strugis I saw very few other Visions, lots of Harleys though and I think I passed every single one of them!!! Coming home I was racing a Screaming Eagle and I know I could have taken him easily from the sound of his engine pulling and the feel of thrust I had left when I let him fly over the hill only to come across him in a minute or so pulled over by a cop!!! (ha,ha) I guess my sixth sense kicked in! Managed to see Mount Rushmore, Needles Highway and the Custer Wildlife Loop. Visited Rice Victory in Rapid City, where I stayed for 3 nights and spent a day in Strugis itself. A person could use a few more days to take in all of the sights.
I was amazed at the number of people that came over to admire my bike. Its almost embarrasing, almost!! LOL. In my motel at Rapid City the party one night was based around my Vision. Everyone else had HD's. I have mine totally chromed out so it does look really sweet! My baby did not miss a single beat in over 10000 miles this summer and kept me very warm and dry when required and storage space was never a factor. I truely think that this is the best touring bike on the planet and now have the miles to prove it. Point of interest: my front tire which is original now has 15000 miles on it and there is still tread left!! Happy riding!!! |
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Cruiser
Posts: 95
Alberta, Canada | Pics of my holidays!! |
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Cruiser
Posts: 95
Alberta, Canada | Sorry, can't figure out how to reduce the size of my pics in order to download them here!! |
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Tourer
Posts: 412
Fargo, ND |
I had an excellent time in Sturgis this summer (as usual) and thought I'd post a couple pics...
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Tourer
Posts: 412
Fargo, ND |
Speaking of 'going Darkside'
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Cruiser
Posts: 95
Alberta, Canada | Thanks for posting those pics Flatsix!!! Mount Rushmore is cool to see eh!! I want to go back next year and see "Devils Tower". |
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Visionary
Posts: 1308
Sand Rock, AL United States | Devils Tower is amazing! |
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Visionary
Posts: 8144
New Bohemia, VA | Great pictures! That is one of my desired destinations, to see the Big-Headed Monument. I can't help but think they'd be smiling if they rode a Vision. |
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Tourer
Posts: 412
Fargo, ND | ? Here is a shot of the entry to Devils Tower... ? 
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Cruiser
Posts: 95
Alberta, Canada | Cool picture of Devils Tower. Did you guys remember that Close Encounters of the Third Kind was filmed there!!! It's where the aliens landed!! |
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Fountain Inn, SC United States | Plumley - you can resize your photos here: http://www.vicindex.com/cgi-bin/resize.cgi |
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Iron Butt
Posts: 725
Reno County, KS | Nice pics of the scenic stuff. As far as Sturgis goes, there's nothing in that town I wanna see. Especially during the summer months. I'm sure some people go for the "other" types of scenery but I don't see anything too appealing about 10,000 pairs of leathery, 50yr old funbags stuffed into sweaty HD tank tops (or sometimes bare). LOL And my coworkers think that I'm politically incorrect. Ha. |
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Cruiser
Posts: 74
MN. | Been to the Sturgis area 4 times in the past 4 years. Twice during bike week, and the other times during quieter times. MUCH perfer the riding "off" bike week. We stayed in Deadwood those years, and the riding is SO nice without the traffic. Went to Devils Tower for the first time this year, really something, and the ride out there is beautiful. But there is something about bike week... |
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Iron Butt
Posts: 725
Reno County, KS | Yeah, I'd like to go in the Fall time when the place is empty. |
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Cruiser
Posts: 95
Alberta, Canada | Nice comments guy's!! Anyone ever road the "Million Dollar Highway"? |
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Tourer
Posts: 412
Fargo, ND |
Another worth while stop is the Black Hills National Cemetery located a couple miles east of Sturgis?to remember our country's heros...
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Cruiser
Posts: 95
Alberta, Canada | Yes it's a sad reality!! Where have all the flowers gone!!! |
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Tourer
Posts: 363
Goldsboro, NC | Plumley - 2010-08-26 10:28 AM
Yes it's a sad reality!! Where have all the flowers gone!!!
You don't flower a soldier's gravesite. Wreath on a special occassion. Flag if you flag all of them. That's about it. You don't want to make a particular soldier stand out from his brothers. |
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Visionary
Posts: 8144
New Bohemia, VA | That would be a ride to make one day, visit all the National Cemetaries around our nation to remember those who gave it all. I have a cousin in Arlington and an Uncle in Culpeper. Anytime I pay a visit it takes me down to understand the sacrifice that was paid for my freedom. Plumley, thanks for sharing your trip, great read! |
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Cruiser
Posts: 95
Alberta, Canada | Good to know about the flowers and wreaths, etc. Thanks. I was just making a play on the song, "Where have all the flowers Gone"!! |
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Cruiser
Posts: 199
Salt Lake City | Plumley - 2010-08-24 7:27 PM
Nice comments guy's!! Anyone ever road the "Million Dollar Highway"?
Rode it two years ago with two buddies on a "four corners" ride. Beautiful part of the country, and the road(s) are stunning. Silverton was cool. |
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Cruiser
Posts: 95
Alberta, Canada | I hope to ride the "Million Dollar Highway" next summer as well as "Bears Tooth Pass". Was going to do the "Bear" this summer bot got delayed in Yellowstone due to construction. |
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Cruiser
Posts: 95
Alberta, Canada | New question, new thread!!! |
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Summer and Strugis