Today is Adventure Day! The first true day of Route 66. The rest of the group loaded up and headed out to Glendale, CA to pickup their bikes. Hans & I waited around a bit and went to IHOP for breakfast. Not that we were avoiding the group, but there was no reason for us to leave at the same time, since we had our bikes already.
All good, so far. Well, unfortunately, the Lowrider decided to be a pain. We stopped to get our bearings and I turned off the bike and she decided that she was done. Not Cool... Since I totally believe that everything happens for a reason, here is why - having the battery take a crap on Joey now, was OK, since we were within a short distance of the Harley shop and it was merely $130, but it was in a safe place and while the rest of the group was getting settled in with their bikes, I switched out the battery. Not happy, but done and done.
We were finally ready to roll. Everyone was saddled up and anxious to get going. Since the Harley shop was in the middle of a traffic filled area, it was, um, "interesting" to get everyone going. I finally got the full realization that there were 26 bikes, (Electra Glides, Street Glides, Heritage Softails and of course, 1 Sportster and 1 Lowrider), 4 cars and 1 van pulling a trailer. That rundown will be important later on in our story, I swear.
In a moment (or more :)), of gloating, well, maybe not gloating, but a sense of being different, (like that Ever happens for Joey), the Lowrider stands out, for a couple of reasons. A. She's a Lowrider and 2., She's Blue! All the rest of the bikes, Electra Glides, Street Glides and Heritage Softails are black. No doubt, Black is very cool, especially on a Harley, but it's Good to be different!
OK, we head out from Glendale, CA and our destination tonight is Las Vegas. Those of you who know Route 66 know Route 66 doesn't go to Vegas. Well, really, the thought is this, most of the group is from Norway with a few from Denmark. When you are this close to Sin City, why not take a detour and stop over for a couple days. There you have it, that's the plan.
Our first stop was outside of the main mess that is (or can be) LA and outlying areas. This was a very new experience for Joey. Stopping the 26 bikes, 4 cars and the van is a bit along the lines of stopping the Titanic. Certainly doable, but not very quickly. Something else that became evident VERY quickly was that if you're the last bike or so to stop, Do Not wait until gassing up to go pee...everyone else is ready to go by then. I hate when people wait on me. Extra pressure...
Fast forward; we're rolling into Las Vegas as it's starting to get dusk-ish(?) We were staying at the Stratosphere and some of us thought it odd, when some of the riders and car drivers from the middle of the line, went right past the hotel. Now, I know, I'm just the guy in the back, but it's pretty hard to miss the hotel. As we finally got into the parking garage, apparently, we "lost" a bike or two. We got everyone together and checked in. Nice hotel and Vegas is, well, Vegas, so lots of lights, neon and people. Another thing that I had forgotten was that there's still smoking in the casinos. While it's not all together bad in some of the newer casinos, a somewhat older casino makes the smoke just hang around and smell things up.
We drag our "crap" up to the room, oh yeah, of course Joey went past the elevator and had to ask directions...hate that! Up to the 11th floor, down the hall and done. Time for a shower and meet Morten & Hans for a bit of dinner. Since no one was really up for a walk around, we ate Mickey D's. Well, that is Hans & Joey ate, Morten tried and ended up with a nice splatter on his shirt. NOW, I know how Hans manages to be somewhat "challenged" when it comes to neatly eating. LOL!
Time to get some shut eye and take it somewhat easy tomorrow, since we're spending another night in Vegas.
That's it for another day. Time to hit the sack.
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