Editor My $100 Ride “Where you go<strong>in</strong>g?” he asked as he sidled up to my Buell ® Ulysses ® on <strong>the</strong> shoulder of <strong>the</strong> Interstate. “Back home to Milwaukee,” I answered politely. “Com<strong>in</strong>g from Indianapolis? “Yessir.” “What were you do<strong>in</strong>g down <strong>the</strong>re? “Work<strong>in</strong>g at <strong>the</strong> GP race,” I replied, stretch<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong> truth a bit. “Where do you work? “<strong>Harley</strong>-Davidson.” “Then why are you <strong>rid<strong>in</strong>g</strong> a BMW?” “Uh, it’s a Buell, sir.” “Hmmm. Been dr<strong>in</strong>k<strong>in</strong>g tonight?” “Nope,” I said, which was <strong>the</strong> god’s honest truth. “Okay. Wait here.” The Indiana State Trooper who stopped me <strong>for</strong> do<strong>in</strong>g 70 <strong>in</strong> a 55 at 11:30PM on I-65 had no idea how close he came to blow<strong>in</strong>g my $100 Ride down to <strong>the</strong> Indy GP, but quick th<strong>in</strong>k<strong>in</strong>g and a little bit of luck saved <strong>the</strong> day. Five m<strong>in</strong>utes later after grill<strong>in</strong>g my <strong>rid<strong>in</strong>g</strong> partner with similar questions, we were back on our way, ticketless, on <strong>the</strong> last leg of a 23.5-hour, 605-mile jaunt down to <strong>the</strong> Indiana Mile flat track race and <strong>the</strong> Indy GP MotoGP race. Between tolls, gas, cheap seat tickets to both races, and five or six cans of Red Bull, my itemized expenses came to about $86 <strong>for</strong> <strong>the</strong> whole deal. For less than a hundred bucks, I def<strong>in</strong>itely got my money’s worth of rac<strong>in</strong>g memories. A few highlights <strong>in</strong>clude lean<strong>in</strong>g aga<strong>in</strong>st <strong>the</strong> guardrail <strong>in</strong> Turn One at <strong>the</strong> Indy Mile with flat track legend Gary Nixon, gett<strong>in</strong>g pelted with rocks and dirt as <strong>the</strong> bikes flew by at about 140 miles per hour lap after lap – until we f<strong>in</strong>ally got shooed away by AMA officials; see<strong>in</strong>g Nicky Hayden, a <strong>for</strong>mer dirt tracker and 2006 MotoGP World Champion, take a few exhibition hot laps around <strong>the</strong> Mile; and root<strong>in</strong>g <strong>for</strong> Scream<strong>in</strong>’ Eagle ® <strong>Harley</strong>-Davidson ® factory flat track rider Kenny Coolbeth, who f<strong>in</strong>ished third <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> ma<strong>in</strong> event. I even got a blurry photo of <strong>the</strong> great Valent<strong>in</strong>o Rossi at <strong>the</strong> speedway to prove we were both <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> same place at <strong>the</strong> same time! With more than half <strong>the</strong> hours of <strong>the</strong> trip spent blast<strong>in</strong>g down a concrete slap, <strong>the</strong> <strong>rid<strong>in</strong>g</strong> itself was hardly memorable, but <strong>the</strong> stories become more epic with each retell<strong>in</strong>g … if only <strong>in</strong> my own m<strong>in</strong>d. Like <strong>the</strong> drunk we saw at a remote gas station <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> middle of <strong>the</strong> night <strong>in</strong> Who-Knows-Where Indiana who had no idea who or where he was. I felt almost as sorry <strong>for</strong> him as I did <strong>the</strong> cop who showed up to sort it all out and found out <strong>the</strong> guy got dumped <strong>the</strong>re by a cop from ano<strong>the</strong>r county. Noth<strong>in</strong>g much good ever happens at 3AM, as <strong>the</strong> old say<strong>in</strong>g goes! The last couple hours of <strong>the</strong> ride home were a bit of a blur, and <strong>the</strong> sun was just start<strong>in</strong>g to pop over <strong>the</strong> horizon when I rolled back <strong>in</strong>to my driveway a half hour short of a full day s<strong>in</strong>ce I’d left. Thanks to that lenient trooper, I still had 14 bucks left from <strong>the</strong> C-note I’d started with and a pretty decent story about a motorcycle trip that cost less than $100. If you have a $100 Ride story of your own, send it to us at hogmagaz<strong>in</strong>e@harley-davidson.com or share it with a million-plus <strong>Harley</strong> ® fans on our Facebook page. We’d all like to hear it. copyright 2010 H-D ON THE COVER: The <strong>2011</strong> CVO Road Glide ® Ultra features a powerful 110 cubic-<strong>in</strong>ch Scream<strong>in</strong>’ Eagle ® eng<strong>in</strong>e and all <strong>the</strong> accessories you could ever dream of. Learn more about <strong>the</strong> entire <strong>2011</strong> CVO l<strong>in</strong>eup start<strong>in</strong>g on Page 34. Photography: Kev<strong>in</strong> Netz Director, H.O.G. and Consumer Events Kris Schoonover Executive Editor Paul James Editor Matt K<strong>in</strong>g Design and Production GS Design Visit <strong>Harley</strong>-Davidson Motor Co. on <strong>the</strong> Internet at www.harley-davidson.com. We care about you. Ride safely, respectfully, and with<strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> limits of <strong>the</strong> law and your abilities. Always wear an approved helmet, proper eyewear, and protective cloth<strong>in</strong>g and <strong>in</strong>sist your passenger does too. Never ride while under <strong>the</strong> <strong>in</strong>fluence of alcohol or drugs. Know your <strong>Harley</strong> ® motorcycle and read and understand your owner’s manual from cover to cover. HOG magaz<strong>in</strong>e is published by <strong>Harley</strong>-Davidson <strong>for</strong> owners of <strong>Harley</strong>-Davidson ® motorcycles and anyone <strong>in</strong>terested <strong>in</strong> news about <strong>the</strong> Motor Company, its products, and activities. Subscriptions are limited to <strong>the</strong> U.S. We reserve <strong>the</strong> right to edit all submissions <strong>for</strong> publication <strong>in</strong> HOG. 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