Glory Road: Ride with the Chester family of Harley-Davidson dealerships

Love that U.S. Route 89, especially Alt 89!

I made a wrong turn today, and had a blast.

Coming up U.S. Route 89 from the south rim of the Grand Canyon, I should have stayed on 89 to Page, just south of the Arizona-Utah border. Instead, 24 miles short of Page, I turned west on Alt 89. When I realized my error at Marble Springs, I thought, what the heck, this could be an interesting option for getting to Kanab in Utah. And so it was, in spades.
Alt 89 sweeps past the Vermillion Cliffs, which truly are vivid red to reddish orange (which you can sort of see in the photo), then runs across the naked dessert, hot and dry like an oven, before climbing and winding up into the coolness of Jacob Lake in Kaibab National Forest. Once the summit is reached at 7,900 feet, Alt 89 snakes down into the next valley, this one green and refreshing, with vistas to take your breath away, and on to Fredonia and into Utah and Kanab.

At Kanab, I found the first eatery of the trip worth recommending: Three Bears Cottage Creamery offers excellent sandwiches and creamy ice cream in exotic flavors. My Ruben sandwich was superbly messy.
It was a long day, almost nine hours, but the first hour and a half was spent poking around the out-of-this-world Grand Canyon. It's the kind of place where you'd want to bring your hiking boots and stay several days at the least.

At Kanab, I picked up Route 89 and took it all the way north to Richfield. It's an excellent highway all the way, with just the last 15 miles merged with Interstate 70. Hey, there's even a Route 89 Appreciation Society!

Distance run turned out to be 371 miles before I pulled into the Best Western in Richfield, Utah. Where the front desk did not know that I should be offered Windex and rags to clean the bugs of the Electra Glide, as per the Best Western/Harley-Davidson promotion.

But the chicken-fried steak was crispy and tasty at R&R Frontier Village Frontier Family Restaurant next door.

—Georgs Kolesnikovs

Staging for Alaska in Idaho Falls

Here's the route E.B. Chester is taking to get to the start of our Alaska ride at Grand Teton Harley-Davidson & Buell in Idaho Falls.

E. B. is already in Beaver Creek, near Vail, where he is a partner in a large ranch. Tomorrow, he, Robert Hobbs and Bob Esrey will depart on a two-day ride to Idaho Falls from where our group will depart for Alaska on Wednesday.

At left is the route I'm following to reach our rendezvous in Idaho Falls.. Today, after I poke around the Grand Canyon, I have 350 miles to cover before I bed down for the night at another Best Western. Why in Elsinore, Utah? Because it's about half-way between Grand Canyon and Twin Falls.

All in all, I'll ride about 950 miles before I visit with Snake Harley-Davidson on Monday and Eagle Rock Harley-Davidson on Tuesday.

By Wednesday morning, we'll be off to Anchorage. That will be fun, and if it isn't fun, it will be interesting.

—Georgs Kolesnikovs

"It is every man's dream, yes?"

Here's the black beauty that will be my ride for the 3,800 miles from Mesa to Anchorage. She's a 2008 Electra Glide Classic.

One of the challenges of riding alone: How the heck are you going to take a photograph of yourself at some point of interest when there's no else around to point and shoot?

No worries. The Lord of the Road , and everything else, does provide. Witness me barreling along north out of Flagstaff, marveling there is still snow at the very top of the Arizona Snowbowl. Where should I stop to take a picture? A few minutes later, around a sweeping curve on Route 180, appears the Chapel of the Holy Dove.
Not only does it give me something visually interesting for the shot, I can take my own photograph reflected in the chapel window facing the forest. Alleluia!
Note the shaft of light descending from above.

But, seriously, it was an excellent first day on the road, just under seven hours, 275 miles from Chester's to Best Western Grand Canyon Squire Inn about a mile from Grand Canyon National Park, South Rim, where I'll be headed shortly. It was a fine ride through some pretty country, several significant elevation changes, dramatic red-rock formations, and twisty canyon roads—with not a single mile on an Interstate.

As I was cleaning bugs off the windshield of the Electra Glide Classic, two middle-aged couples walked up, admiring my black beauty. They were tourists from Denmark. One man was the last to walk away. He stopped, turned back to me, waved at the Harley from front to back, and said, in his accent: "It is every man's dream, yes?"

—Georgs Kolesnikovs

Mesa to Payson to Sedona to Grand Canyon

What a difference altitude makes! At 7 a.m. in Mesa it's already 70F, while at my destination, Grand Canyon, it's a mere 35F.

The plan is to make a day of riding from Chester's in Mesa, enjoying Route 87 to Payson, then northwest to Sedona and on to Grand Canyon. But, first, I must get with Dan Klann to talk about how we can organize photography on Chester's Racing Team for the magazine. Dan races a VRXSE Destroyer while Terry (“Vicious”) Vaughan runs a V-Rod in the All Harley Drag Racing Association (AHDRA) series.

During my three-day ride north to Idaho, I plan to road test the Best Western-Harley-Davidson alliance.

—Georgs Kolesnikovs

Across the U.S. of A., the longest way

Like father, like son, they love to ride.

E.B. Chester and his older son, Craig, principals with younger son Cliff in the Chester family of Harley-Davidson dealerships in Arizona, Idaho and Wyoming, are getting ready to head north to Alaska from Idaho Falls next Wednesday.

Earlier this year, they rode from Phoenix to Daytona Bike Week via Key West. The highways between the Mesa dealership in Arizona, their ranch near Vail, Colorado, and the Idaho dealerships in Idaho Falls, Pocatello and Twin Falls they have covered many times.

By the time they connect the dots on the map from Key West to Anchorage, they will have ridden some 7,000 miles within four months, almost always in the company of friends and customers.

There will be five us heading north to Alaska from Idaho Falls next Wednesday. Be sure to ride along via the updates we'll post here.

Before then, I have to get myself and my Electra Glide Classic up to Idaho from Arizona, something I'll enjoy doing over the next three or four days.

--Georgs Kolesnikovs

When WTF is most appropriate . . .

. . . even if we are getting better than 50 miles to the gallon.

What kind of mileage are you getting with your Harley? Let us know, using the comments form in the next line.

A special day for riders of the female persuasion

Over the past decade, women have increasingly embraced the sport of motorcycling—seeking the freedom and empowerment associated with riding solo on the open road. Today, in celebration of the growing presence of women in the sport, Harley-Davidson is participating in International Female Ride Day and encouraging female riders around the world to allocate time to hit the open road.

International Female Ride Day is devoted to women riders of all ages and experience levels—spotlighting their passion for and involvement in the sport of motorcycling. The event celebrates women of all ages who take life by the handlebars by encouraging them to ride, no matter what type or style of motorcycle. This is the first year the Motor Company will be involved with the event, started last year by Vicki Gray of MOTORESS.

"The growth in the number of female riders over the past two decades is exciting, from 4 percent in 1990 to 12 percent today,” said Leslie Prevish, Women’s Outreach Manager for the Motor Company. “Our participation in the event is our way of embracing and acknowledging women motorcyclists worldwide.”

The Motor Company will celebrate International Female Ride Day by providing special parking for all female riders, gathering an employee ride in Milwaukee and hosting a Garage Party in the afternoon for female employees interested in motorcycles.

The Harley-Davidson Garage Party is a women’s only event held at dealerships nationwide to help women learn more about motorcycling and to meet others who are interested in riding. Attendees experience activities that are both entertaining and educational with topics including a review of the basic motorcycle controls, how to customize a motorcycle’s style and ergonomics, how to pick up a motorcycle and how to gear up for a ride.

For more information about women rider activities or Garage Parties, visit the Chester family of Harley-Davidson dealerships.

Marvin, not Brando, was the wild one on a Harley

Harley-Davidson remains the most popular motorcycle in the U.K., with the V-Rod being the top-rated model, according to a British motorcycle website. But the news service Sky News, in reporting on the survey, makes a mistake that is annoyingly common.

In the famed 1953 movie, The Wild One, it is not Marlon Brando who rides a Harley but Lee Marvin. Brando's character, Johnny Strabler, and the Black Rebels Motorcycle Club he heads ride Triumphs and other British motorcycles. In fact, Brando rides his own personal machine, a Triumph 650 Thunderbird, in the film.

It is Chino, played by Marvin in a striking striped shirt, and a rival biker gang he heads who ride Harleys.

Speaking of dueling biker gangs . . . Sonny Barger has been in the news recently as he is suing HBO over a new biker series set in Arizona that is about to start production. The high-profile Hells Angel, who resides near Phoenix, claims he and a writer pitched the idea for a series to the cable network but it turned to the writer to create it, cutting him out of the picture. Meanwhile, another biker gang show is in development at FX.

If you're looking to buy into the raw Dark Custom theme that the Motor Company has introduced, such as Cross Bones at left, you'll find insight into the design process in, of all places, the mighty New York Times. The Times also recently reviewed the chopper-profile Rocker C.

Another new model, the XR1200, unfortunately is available only in Europe where it has been described as a gem, somewhat flawed, but a diamond nevertheless.

If you like stats and numbers, take a look at this take on Harley-Davidson over the years published by the newspaper in York, Pennsylvania, where one of the Motor Company's seven factories is located.

As you may surmise, I've been away for a few days and have been playing catch up with the news.

—Georgs Kolesnikovs