Monday, August 2, 2010

Meeting A Fellow Blogger

Last night, I had the great pleasure to meet Gary France of http://garysusatour.blogspot.com. He is riding his Harley named “The Leading Ladies” across the US for the next few months and plans to cover 15,000 miles during that time. He’s nearly half way on his trip now. I am very jealous!

Gary France and his Harley Road King
A slightly out of date map of his route:
Garys Route 01[1]

His bike is named “The Leading Ladies” because of all of the movie stars painted on it. I had seen the pictures previously, but the real life version is much better. You can read about the paint job, and see some better photos than I took here
IMG_5773  IMG_5769

I took him around Minneapolis and St. Paul on the Ural, which he absolutely loved. Like my wife, he commented that riding in the sidecar was much of the fun of riding a bike, but without the stress - only the wind and the great scenery to enjoy. He took a bunch of pics and some video. Check his site out for those later.

We had a great time talking about bikes, travelling, and blogging. We stayed up way too late chatting, so it was a bit rough for me this morning. Chai to the rescue! 
IMG_5775
I wish him well on his trip. If you have not checked out his blog, you really should. It’s been a good read so far. He’s riding west to Granite Falls today and will eventually end up at Sturgis in a few days.

Gary leaving
Thanks for visiting Gary. It was great fun!

UPDATE: Gary's post on our meetup

8 comments:

  1. Hi Chris. I had a great time meeting you, dinner, talking about bikes and blogging and especially riding the Ural and going in the sidecar! It was a blast and I loved it. It was a great opportunity for me to find out more about you and your everyday riding. Thank you very much for your hospitality and have a great time on your huge river trip. I will watch you r blog with keen interest to see how you both get on. Best wishes. Gary

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  2. Thanks Gary. It was a great time! Good luck on the rest of your trip. Did you find the bridges we saw on Sunday night?

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  3. Yes, thanks - I found the bridges easily. They look better at night though with the lights on them!

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  4. Yes, they do. I wish the I-35W bridge had the lights on for you. Here is a pic I took earlier this year of it at night all in blue!
    http://www.flickr.com/photos/wraithpreza/4160506784/

    The other bridge you liked is here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/wraithpreza/4156553603/

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  5. Chris:

    It's great that you managed to meet Gary. As I look at that last photo I would imagine that it was hard to see him go

    bob
    Wet Coast Scootin

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  6. Bob: We had a fun time together. Hoefully I will get to meet some more bloggers on our great river ride.

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  7. Nice to meet you Chris! I loved the ride on the Ural!! That was a hoot on the tore up road!!
    I too love the picture of Gary on his way back on the road!

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  8. Eve: The Ural is really magnificent on "rustic" roads. :) Where are you in AL? Your blog looks interesting, I added it to my list.

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