Yesterday, Tuesday, was windy and cool with a dark sky full of storm clouds, but there were still a lot of riders out on the road, scouting around. Today the weather was beautiful - clear sky, cool breeze, and warm sun.
My slumlord's been trying for months to evict me from my roadside chateau on Route 66, so I spent half the day at a seminar on landlord/tenant law - with a bunch of elderly, greedy landlords. Ugh! But at 4 o'clock I cut loose and headed for Laughlin.
After reading newspaper reports the last few months, I wasn't sure what to expect - a locked-down police state? But this morning's local paper had a few surprises.
One was a road-level rumor that "the two major clubs involved in last year's violence have withdrawn from the event". If true, it's an impressively classy move. 80,000 riders don't need to have their good times spoiled by bloody warfare in the middle of the Run.
Another surprise was the "colors ban". It seems now that it's time to do it, nobody wants to put their name on it, and nobody wants to be the one to enforce it. OK.
I motored on up to the Laughlin bridge keeping an eye out for the clutches of the police state. Fast ride, no problem. Police spokesmen claimed they'd have checkpoints on the roads into Laughlin manned by ATF agents and weapon-sniffing dogs. Well, today the federal dogs were AWOL. In fact, the police presence was lighter than on any ordinary day.
I rode down Casino Drive and pulled into the Riverside Resort - HQ for Harley-Davidson operations, with their traveling museum and demo fleet. Right away I started seeing dozens of the most beautiful women on the planet, dressed to die for. Tomorrow there'll be hundreds, and thousands, and tens of thousands...Yes!
The Riverside's got secured free motorcycle parking for about 200 bikes - if yours is worth it, better get there early.
There were 16 V-Rods lined up in the demo fleet. I tried to get a date for a V-Rod and Buell Lightning tomorrow, but no go - "We have to give everybody a fair chance!" So tomorrow, I'll be there early. #*@~+%* a fair chance!
Next stop down the road was the Colorado Belle, with about an acre of free fenced and guarded motorcycle parking out front. And FREE LIVE BLUES!! The Belle has three bands lined up for continuous live blues from noon to 10 p.m. for the duration of the Run - free.
Nothing's free, right? Right - I spent $3 for a cold 24oz. MGD draft, kicked back at a table in front of the stage, and spent an hour listening to some of the best blues I've ever heard.
I sipped that cold beer while the band set up. Then the "Boogeyman Band" started off with a wild rush - Albert Collins' "A Good Fool is Hard to Find" -and Sid Bishop's first hot sweet guitar licks brought tears of joy to my eyes. Yeah! That's what I like!
Their front man's got a powerful presence and voice - keyboard and lead guitar players pulled vocals solo and harmony - Jim Hall on sax played it rippin', wailin', and sweet-talkin' so I could feel every ripple of the reed. By the time they hit Muddy Water's "Got My Mojo Workin" the place was rockin' like a big engine flying down the road. That's art.
After an hour of that I had enough good feeling to last me til tomorrow. I took off and rode out, down the Needles Highway toward the Avi at the usual high rate of speed. Not a cop did I see.
Tomorrow I'm gonna try to arrange a day's "Demo Derby" - riding iron dinosaurs from Indian and Victory; and the V-Rod; and the Buell Lightning.
And some more blues!
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