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Industrial grey. Blacked-out. 2019 Road Glide Special. Premium features. Milwaukee-Eight 114 V-Twin engine. Stage II Screamin’ Eagle torque cam. 1,000 mile service. One long, cold 24-hour ride. We took our 2019 Road Glide Special for a test ride - a test ride that was 1,000 miles for our first ever Iron Butt Challenge. We could hear the clock ticking as we filled up the gas tank and gathered our witness signatures for the start of our next adventure; the Iron Butt Association’s “Saddle Sore 1,000” which is 1,000 documented miles within 24 hours. We decided to do this challenge not only two-up but on the brand new 2019 Road Glide Special with Stage II Upgrade. Tuesday, April 23rd, 2019, at 12:22pm, we sat in the saddle of a completely new motorcycle for the first time, and off we went. We left Denney’s Harley-Davidson in Springfield, Missouri with the odometer reading 41 miles and six gallons of fuel in the tank. The weather in Missouri and Oklahoma was clear, which made the beginning of the ride nothing but smiles and wind against our knees. We had a destination in mind and a route that would take us through Oklahoma City, Oklahoma; Amarillo, Texas; Tucumcari, New Mexico and as far as Route 66 would go for our 1,000 mile challenge. Of course, with a brand new motorcycle we feel the 1,000 mile service is the most important and crucial maintenance for a new motorcycle, considering this is the break-in period. The break-in period on a new motorcycle engine is important or you could risk performance and/or cause damage, so we kept the RPM’s down, and for the first 500 miles we didn’t use full throttle or high engine speeds. The bike rode as smooth as any Cadillac that I had ever ridden in, which made cutting across Oklahoma into Texas effortless. As the sun set and the clock kept ticking, we found ourselves 536 miles into our challenge with about fourteen hours remaining. This was great! We had ridden over halfway and still had lots of time left on the clock; however, the temperatures started dropping to the high 30’s/low 40’s and then the rain started. Riding in cold temperatures is manageable. Riding in wet conditions is manageable as well. However, riding in cold temperatures while you are wet are not the best ideal riding miles. We both wanted to stop and get a hotel room but doing that would end our challenge as well as cost us more money than we had budgeted. Agreeing to toughen up and ride farther, we threw on our rain suits. The suits made a huge difference but with several layers, and leathers to stay warm, it is very difficult to move around. Arriving at Tucumcari, New Mexico around 10:30pm we both agreed that food and a quick nap were much needed along with dry clothes for the remainder of our ride. After we grabbed something to eat and lugged our bags into the hotel room, we had three hours to rest. 3:00am Wednesday morning came quick, and our time clock had nine hours remaining with 350 miles left to ride. We departed from the warm hotel bed with a nice outside temperature of 38 degrees. A few hours later the sun finally started to peek up behind us showing the road ahead in Clines Corner, New Mexico. We rolled through Grants, New Mexico along Route 66 about 9:30am with slightly warmer temperatures than earlier. Looking over the route weeks prior revealed our final destination to be around the Petrified Forest National Park in Arizona. It wasn’t much farther after Grants, New Mexico that our odometer reading on the motorcycle was 1,041 miles. Which would be the 1,000 miles we needed. However, the Iron Butt Association verifies mileage with other sources along with your odometer reading. The IBA’s website does not recommend relying on your own speedometer/odometer readings. Just to be on the safe side, we rode an additional 54 miles to a small town in Apache County– Chambers, Arizona. Pulling off of Route 66 into the Chambers Mobil gas station at 9:50am, we were finally finished with our challenge and knew that the pressure was off. Our motorcycle odometer read 1,095 miles which would be 1,054 total trip miles and our MapQuest/Google Map showed 1,014 miles. Either way, we completed the 1,000 miles in 21 hours 28 minutes. What an experience! Without a doubt, the best motorcycle for us would be this Road Glide Special. I can honestly say that Iron Butt Challenges are great and can save you lots of money but we really enjoy sight-seeing and poking along the backroads. Since our Iron Butt Challenge, our odometer reading is right at 5,000 miles. We are enjoying the new 2019 Road Glide Special with Stage II, and are slowly modifying different aspects to fit our needs. For example, we are running with Custom Dynamics lights all around the bike as well as a Mustang seat and a Memphis Shades 6.5” windshield. To see more of our adventures, head over to Facebook, Instagram, & YouTube to subscribe and be part of our story! You can read the original article in Quick Throttle Magazine or from the following link: https://quickthrottle.com/1000-mile-test-ride/

From the Daytona International Speedway to the Atlantic beach boardwalks, Daytona Bike Week brought the bike shows, custom builds, and the epic parties for the 78th Anniversary Bike Week Festival March 8-17, 2019. The ten-day event included live music, food vendors, custom bike builds, demo rides, bike shows, concerts, a bike parade, motorcycle vendors, and unforgettable good times. Daytona Bike Week has been identified as the Sturgis contender bringing in an estimated 500,000 riders. However, coming to Daytona Bike Week is not just the historic Main Street to Midtown ride. Do not get me wrong, it is a must see part of the event; but riding scenic A1A Highway along the Atlantic coast up to the oldest city in America, St. Augustine, is essential! Steph and I rode down to Daytona, Florida from Arkansas over two days stopping in Atlanta, Georgia for the night. Once we arrived in Daytona, we spent the day at the International Speedway which in itself is a one-of-a-kind experience. There is no way that you can visit all of the vendor booths and soak everything in with one visit… plus it is worth going back the next day. With over one hundred vendors and install tents for wheels, LED lights, grips, bars, accessories and more. The vendors at the Speedway parking lots were not the only action, the track was happening as well and you can catch Supercross, Amateur Supercross, Flat Track TT and the Daytona 200 all during the rally. If you are like us, we are always searching for the best deals and ways to save money! Sopotnick’s Cabbage Patch is always hopping and they feature $10 camping right across the road at the Cabbage Patch Campground. We also caught the “World Famous” Coleslaw Wrestling on Wednesday & Saturday. If you have not had the chance to watch the double-elimination tumbling competition with flying coleslaw and strong smell of vinegar, you need to make the trip to the Patch to catch the show! Make sure you watch for the dates as the Coleslaw Wrestling is a special event that does not happen daily and you want to make sure you have a good spot to watch the competition. The patch hosted the preliminaries on Wednesday and then the finale on Saturday. The winner, “Cookie,” took home the title and the CASH prizes of $2,600 for the week. What bike rally event is complete without a bike show or two? There were countless bike shows during Bike Week like Willie’s Tropical Tattoo Bike show, Daytona Beach Boardwalk bike show, Bikes N’ Bass, & KSO No-Class Bike show at the Hard Rock. Each of these bike shows brought the best of the best! Make sure you tune in to our YouTube and catch some of the highlights of these shows. One of our favorite bike shows had to be Willie’s Tropical Tattoo “Old School Chopper” Bike show where they featured twenty different classes for their ride-in style bike show. They had girls, beer, bands, and some amazing bikes with custom artwork. All of this was packed into a five-hour slot from 11am-4pm. One of the coolest choppers that we spotted was a custom build S&S 124 EVO with a 37 degree rake and a paint job that just so happens to match my head tattoo! The owner, Jesse Srpan, of Raw Iron Choppers, told us a little history of the bike “Trepidation” which ultimately took home the “Best Evo” award from the show. The party is not just in one place! Cabbage Patch, Iron Horse Saloon, International Speedway, Main Street, and we cannot forget about Destination Daytona at Bruce Rossmeyer’s Harley-Davidson: where there is always a good time to be had. Each morning of the ten-day rally Bruce Rossmeyer’s features FREE KEGS & EGGS where they provide a free breakfast and beer at 9am. We had planned on heading over to their event on Friday but our bike was stolen Thursday night from Main Street. Follow our social media for more details on that and how it all played out. Overall, Daytona Bike Week knows how to throw a party, and they delivered! https://quickthrottle.com/daytona-bike-week/?fbclid=IwAR1sHSEhSVHGDCYeRusqEQZdXKW4--6d46feqj8vxxvVSqHc7Ib5zpp3Ydo

We first rode to Deadwood and were welcomed by the locals that love the rally just as much as the annual Sturgis motorcycle riders. We noticed that Deadwood was very similar to our little town Eureka Springs back home in Arkansas. Downtown Deadwood has a ton of history of gambling and mining and the streets are brick paved with fascinating buildings. Both towns; Deadwood and Eureka Springs, were built in the late 1800's with narrow streets and quaint little homes built into the mountainside. We always find it comforting when traveling how certain places and even people reminds us of home. Remembering our roots and embracing the beauty all around us! Next, we made our journey through Spearfish Canyon where the roads are well maintained with smooth curves. The speed limit is 35 mph which seems slow but is perfect when viewing the canyon walls & river streams right along the road as you ride! Everything is very accessible & an easy relaxed ride. For never being to Sturgis’... we didn’t know what to expect. The streets are filled with music & laughter as well as eager riders ready to take on many of the rides around the Black Hills National Forest & Badlands National Forest.

Our first time to Cleveland Ohio; the reason why? The Fuel Cleveland Motorcycle show!! I am “The Ornery One” along with my wife, Stephanie. We traveled from Northwest Arkansas to Cleveland Ohio hoping to see some kickass bikes and meet some inspirational people. Not knowing what to expect we went in with eyes wide open. Honestly, I do not think I blinked from the moment we pulled up. We arrived around 3:00pm and the streets were full of bikes and people. Any type of bike you could think of or dream of was there. It was already getting a little rowdy and the characters I saw throughout streets made me feel like I was going to fit right in. We walked through the chain-link gates of the parking lot in front of the warehouse which is where I thought the show began. However, little did I know, these were people that rode in and parked out front. There was so many rad bikes in the parking lot and outside of the venue, that it took us over an hour to make our way to the entrance. Once we stepped into the warehouse, the atmosphere and the excitement filled the air. The warehouse walls alone were fascinating and lined with great artwork and inspirational photographs. I was SOLD! The Fuel Cleveland show was not what I had planned but bigger and more impressive than I had imagined. The freakin bikes, I was taken back with. Each individual bike held so much originality and uniqueness. You could tell that every piece was well thought out and designed just for that bike. I walked through the entire warehouse seven times; my feet and my back where starting whine. From there we moved onto the vendors, which were unique themselves and more than willing to take their time with you and share stories. As we made our way outside there were several food trucks which provided a variety of grub to select from. Just on the other side of the food trucks was what looked like another warehouse. I was shocked as we walked into the “Skidmark Garage” and being able to walk through this ongoing working community to see first-hand personal bikes being built. This community garage is where different skills can be learned and used to build the best bike, a place where everyone can feel comfortable with no regard of their skill level and where art comes to life! Towards the end of the garage, we found their sweet lounge and bar which was perfect to relax for a moment, listen to live music and enjoying a cold beer. As we sat there kicked back, taking in our surrounds… I could not help but think how every town needs a Skidmark Garage. The evening was not over and the night was young as everyone made their way over to the after party at Hoopples. We ate, we drank, we laughed, and we made lifelong friends. Hoopples is a small quaint bar with an awesome outdoor patio and an amazing view! The only down side of Hoopples: they do not have pickles for your hamburger. Overall, the entire experience of Fuel Cleveland definitely left a mark on our lives and was a remarkable event!

At the beginning of each year we plan our riding schedule that includes Rallies, Meet N’ Greets, Poker Runs, and our Pay It Forward events. We thought this year’s Sturgis Motorcycle Rally would be the perfect place to help a fellow biker and complete our Pay It Forward event. Months before the event, Stephanie and I posted on our social media and our website that we were taking nominations for our Sturgis Pay It Forward. The stories started to flood our email inbox shortly after we announced our Pay It Forward in Sturgis. After reading several stories of families and individuals with heart ache and troubled situations; there was one story that really stood out to us. A nomination that was actually submitted on behalf of her friend and not herself. Little did she know, we wanted to know more about her story. This is the story of Tia Van Pelt: Tia Van Pelt had learned about our Pay It Forward event online and quickly knew she needed to write into our website. She wanted to nominate her friend! A friend that had helped her during a very difficult time just last year. You see, Tia lost her husband, Tom, on Mother’s Day 2018 in a tragic motorcycle accident. We were so thankful to hear the story of Tia’s friend. A friend that was so unselfish and made herself available to Tia and their children. Tia explained: “Marcy has been an amazing support and friend since I lost my husband in a motorcycle accident last year. She has been here for me every day and asks for nothing in return. She has an amazing kind heart and huge passion for helping others….. Tia” It warms our heart to know there are individuals in this world that step up and ask for nothing in return. Stephanie and I have seen this first hand and so many times within the motorcycle community. There was something about Tia that pulled our hearts and our desire to know more about her own situation. This is what Tia said: “Tom and I LOVE Sturgis! It was our vacation and yearly getaway. We were able to spend time together and see friends from all over the country as well as make new ones. We have been attending the Sturgis motorcycle rally together since 2003; he also attended a few before we meet. It was always his dream to live in the Black hills, near Sturgis was even better. We were married Aug 4th, 2007 in Mitchell then headed to Sturgis to celebrate with friends. Memories were made that year! Tom was an amazing father. He has 2 daughters from his first marriage, Aliyah is 22 and a new mom of Alma, and Hannah is 20 and attending college at Black Hills State University in Spearfish. I am extremely lucky that I am able to co-parent with their mom. They are great kids and their dad would be proud. We have two children together Tessa is 13 and Levi is 9. Tom instilled such great values in both of them and taught them so much in their short lives. Our kids attend school in Piedmont which is part of Meade County (Sturgis). We moved to the Sturgis area in December of 2014, found our dream home and loved our cabin in the woods and laid back life. We made amazing friends who are more like family. After I lost Tom I could not imagine being anywhere else this is our home and this is where we were happiest. This is also why I choose to lay him to rest in Sturgis. He has a great view of Sturgis and is always here for the party. As for me this is home this is where I’m happy and where my kids are happy. I couldn’t imagine raising them anywhere else. We have found such great support, help, love, and friends here. I love helping others and doing what I can for them. I struggle some days but I have so much to keep me going and so much to be thankful for, which I am.” Tia and Tom loved Sturgis! They loved the atmosphere and the motorcycle community. The thrill of meeting like minded riders and enthusiast! What better way to celebrate a Pay It Forward in Sturgis than to celebrate Tom’s love for Sturgis and his life!! We moved forward with our Pay It Forward by setting a date and locations during the rally. We planned on August 8th, 2019 at the Law Tiger’s Tent right outside of the Sturgis Motorcycle Museum and Hall of Fame. Our event was to take place from 4pm-6pm. This allows time to gather and mingle before we handed over Tia our Pay It Forward collection. Months prior to the Sturgis rally, Stephanie and I sold our Ornery One shirts along with accepting tax-deductible donations for Tia and the children. We were so excited to share that Custom Dynamics, Denney’s Harley-Davidson in Springfield Missouri, RickRak, and Sena contributed towards Tia. We had Quick Throttle Magazine that donated space to run our Sturgis Flyer as well as Law Tiger that allowed us the space to hold our event. At the event, we were able to raise more funds and hand her over a little Pay It Forward. We had several individuals that follow our story and adventures online that contributed as well. We appreciate everyone that helped make this event so grand and memorable. The rest of Sturgis 2019 Attending such a large event like Sturgis can be overwhelming and costly for first timers. We are going to break down some of the most expensive items and give you a better look at how to plan for such a long stay of riding, activities, attractions and entertainment! We left out of Arkansas on Tuesday, July 30th in order to meet up with some other riders along Interstate 90, right out side of Sioux Falls, South Dakota. We traveled West to attend the Pre-Sturgis Party August 1st in Mitchell, South Dakota. The pre-party is hosted by Klock Werks and is planned to be an annual event for Mitchell and the Corn Palace. If you can catch the pre-party, it is very worth going!! Music, stunts, food, vendors, and perfect atmosphere. We then rode on into Sturgis on August 2nd. This is where we would call home for the next week and a half. August kicked off with ten days of pure adrenaline for any motorcycle enthusiast and we were there for all of the action! It does not matter which highway or interstate you travel on in South Dakota, you can hear the rumble of motorcycles all around. The 79th annual Sturgis event is usually held for an entire week at the beginning of August. Lodging: The Sturgis Rally is so spread out that we took advantage of staying out of the main town of Sturgis. Mainly for the cost benefit but also for some shut eye. Some of the surrounding towns include; Spearfish, Deadwood, Piedmont, Rapid City, Belle Fourche, and more. The hotel lodging options are unlimited but be sure to plan ahead and reserve your room in advance. Some prices will increase the closer the date of the event is. If you would rather camp and have that authentic rally experience during your stay; you have even more options! Just to name a few Broken Spoke Saloon and Campground, Glencoe Camp Resort, Creekside Campground, Iron Horse Campground, Pappy Hoel Campground, Steel Pony and several more. Keep in mind that several of these campgrounds offer deals for you to get more bang for your money; the longer you stay the better the deal! Another tip that we have done in the past, get all your buddies together and just pile in a room. We were able to stay the entire ten days but we know several people that came for just a few days. If this is you, no need to worry! There are several lodging options for just a weekend package or a 3 day pass. This year, we stayed at the Mineral Palace in Deadwood. The hotel is a little dated but holds so much history and up to date accommodations. In our opinion, we would so much rather stay out of downtown Sturgis because of the crowds and noise. Deadwood has shopping and bars as well as some amazing food. Mineral Palace also offers secure parking that is extremely convenient. Rides: The traffic in and around Sturgis increases as early as two weeks before the official start date of the rally and will usually continue for as late as two weeks after the rally’s end date. This is because a lot of riders come before and after the actual event to ride the Black Hills. Some of our favorite rides that we try and explore every year are: Custer State Park, Crazy Horse, Mount Rushmore, and Badlands. Attractions: Mount Moriah Cemetery in Deadwood is the resting place for several wild west legends including Wild Bill Hickok and Calamity Jane. We take advantage of these attractions that are free or a very low attendance cost. The Mt. Moriah Cemetery is only $1 admission fee. We have not explored the Mining Museum of the Black Hills but it is on our to-do list. The museum is in Lead and is only $5 admission. Motorcycles as Art Exhibit is an awesome event that is completely free and open to the public! The exhibit is curated by Michael Lichter and has a different theme each year. Concerts: where do we even start? If you want to catch some live music… you will not have to go very far. Concerts will be going on throughout the Sturgis Rally and in almost every bar and campground. Eating: We try and limit the amount of food that we buy on the main street of the rally. There are several restaurants around town that offer great rally food at great prices! Are you from the South or love sweet tea? Jambonz Grill and Pub in downtown Sturgis will be the only place to find sweet tea! If you are looking for cheap cold beer, the VFW is your place! Also, we go to the grocery store to buy water and a few essentials such as breakfast bars or small snacks that will fit in our saddlebag. Do not forget to pack Sunscreen for sure! Rain Gear is also a must because the weather in Sturgis is very unpredictable. There is too much beauty not to snap a few pictures so make sure you have a camera or your phone to record! The jam packed outrageous party will continue! The 80th Annual Sturgis Motorcycle Rally will be August 7-16, 2020! "Paying It Forward" has been one of our signature events and has a very special place in our hearts. If you are not familiar with our Pay It Forward events or our back story, we encourage you to check out our website, YouTube channel and our social media to learn more. Check out our YouTube channel The Ornery One to see all of our travels, our Pay It Forwards & even when we had our bike stolen this year at Daytona Bike Week in Florida!

Several people have asked about our luggage bag & system that we run coast to coast on the Road Glide! This luggage bag is the answer that we have been looking for! We wanted something that could expand with height depending on how much gear we have but also hold it's shape if the bag was empty... we also wanted something that was easy to install or tie down. The RickRak Top Deck II with the Quick Attach system has been the perfect size & fit for us. It is extremely easy to use & saves so much time & effort trying to secure a luggage bag to your bike. The bottom of the RickRak bag as the quick connect system attached which makes it super easy to install on your luggage rack. We have ridden with this bag for almost 2 riding seasons now (2020) & have traveled through rain, dust, high wind, etc & the reversed coil zipper keeps dust & dirt out of the bag! The bag also comes with a rain cover which is perfect & doesn't let any water into the luggage. This video gives you a quick run down of the features & quality of the bag & attachments. To find RickRak follow the link below: https://www.rickrak.com Be sure to check out RickRak on Facebook & Instagram as well. Largest bag on the market for your tour-pak!! Hands down... our favorite luggage bag! Link below for the Luggage Bag:

"Ride Between The Pigs" will be happening again in Eureka Springs, AR during Spring Fling! This will be our 3rd annual "Ride Between The Pigs" guided ride between the Eureka Springs Harley-Davidson store & the Pig Trail Harley-Davidson store. We usually take a scenic route through the Ozarks for our "Ride Between The Pigs" ride & this year we will be featuring the "Rocker Ride" Let's take a little ride in our mind before the actual ride - follow along with the map! We will be leaving Eureka Springs Harley-Davidson at 10:00-10:15am in which the Eureka Springs Police Department will be stopping traffic there on E Van Buren/US-62 as we make a right turn heading towards Green Forest, AR. Once, in Green Forest, AR our route will be taking us North on AR-103 & continue onto AR-21 into Missouri. Please note: Missouri has discontinued their Motorcycle Helmet Law for anyone over the age of 26 &/or anyone who is operating a motorcycle under an instruction permit regardless of age. Once we are in Missouri we will be taking State Hwy 86 W traveling through Dogwood Canyon Nature Park (needs to be added to your Biker Bucket List) then hitting State Hwy 39 N as we head toward State Hwy 76 W followed by State Hwy 112 S which takes us through Roaring River State Park (another Biker Bucket List item). State Hwy 112 S will take you to Seligman, MO so we can take a left onto State Hwy 37 that brings us back into Arkansas. You will come to a crossroads as soon as you enter Arkansas: Gateway, Arkansas to be exact because it is the "Gateway" to & from Arkansas. :) We will be continuing straight on AR-62 until we reach Pig Trail Harley-Davidson to grab your SWAG Bags. This is a great opportunity to fill those gas tanks again if need be. Riders are welcome to hangout with us for a few minutes at Pig Trail HD to finish the "Rocker Ride" with us or take off in any direction that their hearts desire. When we leave Pig Trail Harley-Davidson we will be heading back to Eureka Springs but not the exact same route as we took... instead we will be riding towards Hobbs State Park on AR-12 (another Biker Bucket List guys!) After AR-12 E we will be taking AR-23 N into Eureka Springs. The Rocker Ride is one of Pig Trail Harley-Davidson's mapped rides that showcases a few highlights of the area including: Dogwood Canyon Nature Park - 10,000 acres of paradise!!! Roaring River State Park - one of Missouri's most popular state parks which is perfect for camping, fishing, canoeing or hiking... oh & 1 of 3 state parks that is stocked with rainbow trout! Mark Twain National Forest - 1.5 million acres of public land that maintains Missouri's natural forest... ready for you to explore it! Pea Ridge National Military Park - 4,300 acres battlefield honoring those who fought & died to help decide the fate of Missouri - most pivotal Civil War battle west of the Mississippi River! Hobbs State Park-Conservation Area - Arkansas's LARGEST state park with 12,054 acres! Turpentine Creek Wildlife Refuge - refuge for big cats & bears! Are you in Eureka Springs, AR during Spring Fling Motorcycle Rally? If so, then mark your calendars to join us on Saturday April 22nd to "Ride Between The Pigs" Feel free to download the Rocker Ride map & ride through the Ozarks next time you are in Northwest Arkansas! * Lunch will be provided for the registered riders! Lunch location will be announced - we are very sorry for the short notice of changing lunch this was unfortunately out of our control. Lunch will be provided for those who have registered but please note that there will be other menu items that can be purchased on your own as well as for non-registered riders.

Looking for boots? Stephanie has shopped around for the perfect riding boot. Jordan at Denney's Harley-Davidson in Springfield, Missouri helped answer several questions & find that right fit: Kirtland Harley-Davidson Women's Riding Boots Of course, Denney's Harley-Davidson had a great selection of footwear but the staff is super knowledgable & took their time with her. The Kirtland HD Riding boot is offered in Black or Brown leather. Other features include: Adjustable back laces allow for a customizable calf fit. Full grain leathers and a mesh lining keep your feet happy on and off the bike. Plus... they are tall, dark and …sexy!.

100 Proof of Ornery with a Double Shot of Love! Our adventures wouldn't be anything without human connection & the genuine love with people we have met along the way. We welcome you to follow our journey & be a part of our story!! With saying that, we are normal everyday people that travel on a budget & we want to share that with you! The Ornery One Patreon membership's will go strictly to our brand, "The Ornery One." Our goal is improve content & production as we continually grow. We want to become better & we can achieve this with your help. With 2 tiers to choose from; you can stay up-to-date & get exclusive offers!! https://www.patreon.com/TheOrneryOne Is the place to find all the cool happenings!! Stay tuned in & up-to-date!!

A spontaneous conversation, during lunch time in our living room, lead us to the wild idea of planning a trip for 2 people on 2 wheels for 2 weeks with a small budget while attending 2 motorcycle events. Questions arose such as: “How do we pack for two weeks on a motorcycle and what do we pack?”, “Where are we going to stay on the road?”, “Is it possible to do this trip on our budget?” and then the most important question… “Can we pull this trip off?” As the story unfolds, you will see we have had to put ourselves out there on social media and with blind faith rely on the motorcycle community. This is called our Shoestring Budget Road Trip and we welcome you to follow along. One of the first planning stages of our trip was to determine our route and how much ground we could cover each day. We had to break each day down into cost, mileage, lodging, and points of interest. This where we decided to put our idea out onto social media for suggestions and ideas. Within 24 hours our plan manifested into an actual road trip and adventure of a lifetime. Responses blew us away as individuals opened up their homes and lives by offering a place to crash for the night or just rest up for a bit. During the whole time, we were in deep discussion about our safety and if we really trusted people that we had never met. We always had the nearest campground on our GPS in case we needed it. Our route included 14 nights on the road with nightly stops every 350-400 miles. We believed this is the amount of miles we could travel each day comfortably and within a timely matter which allowed us to sightsee. Our road trip would be divided into 3 legs. From our home in Arkansas to the Fuel Cleveland Show, from the Fuel Cleveland Show to Sturgis, and then from Sturgis back to our home in Arkansas. We would leave out of our hometown in Northwest Arkansas and arrive at our first event in Cleveland Ohio in 3 days which was 845 miles. During this first leg of our journey we wanted to stop and see the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Indiana. Our second leg would consist of 4 days with 1,283 miles to travel from Ohio to South Dakota with a ton of sightseeing in Chicago. Our plan is to spend 3 to 4 nights in Sturgis and ride as many of the Black Hills routes as possible. With the last leg being our journey home it would take us 3 days 975 miles to make it back to our bed. Little did we know that our road trip plan and route would be altered once people started reaching out and inviting us to stay with them. This gave us an opportunity to meet more individuals in the motorcycle community and hear their stories. This is when we quickly discovered that this trip was going to be so much more than a trip but an adventure of connecting hearts and touching lives. With $1,200 on our debit card, we knew we had to get creative to make this number grow and stretch for the whole 2 weeks. Our goal was to go with the number 2. Why not? 2 people, 2 wheels, 2 weeks, 2 events, $2,000. This sounds like a lot of money but after you start adding lodging, eating throughout the day as well as eating at the 2 events… our $2000 budget would be depleted fast. We had originally looked into hotels for our trip and quickly realized that it was not possible to travel on our budget with hotel stays. Staying with people along our route and camping in our tent was the only way we could make this work. We had no idea what the final cost would be and we knew we had to stay within $100 per day. Was it really realistic for 2 people to travel on such small budget? To get our $1,200 to turn into $2,000 was going to take some hustling. We decided to reach out to local businesses for sponsorship and offered to promote their business during our trip in exchange for their support. Which to our surprise; worked perfectly and our $1,200 quickly grew. We needed to make certain the Road Glide was road worthy and get an inspection before we hit the road. On our previous trip we had installed a tuner with a new breather and we felt we needed to open up the exhaust. The header was taken off, removed the catalytic converter and modified the Screamin’ Eagle slip-ons by removing all the packing then drilled a series of one inch holes in the baffles. An inspections was needed, which include an oil change, it was during this inspection we found the mid frame bolts loose which was a result of all the washers being cracked. We replaced the washers and tighten the mid frame bolts. It was also time for new tires in order make this 4,000-mile journey safe and we decided to run the Dunlop American Elite motorcycle tires. Thanks to Blue Collar Choppers for being our mechanic and sponsoring our trip with these tires. Our motorcycle luggage is not fancy by any means. A Coleman 40L hiking bag and an Ozark Trails 60L hiking bag is what we had and we were determined to make them work because we did not have the extra funds in our budget to purchase motorcycle luggage. Packing took a little extra time and effort to ensure equal weight distribution on the luggage rack. The luggage rack is an aftermarket brand that we fabricated a sissy bar to in order to support the heavy load and tall hiking bags. Packing included: Coleman 2 man tent designed for hiking which is lightweight, small and compact. 2 NEMO equipment sleeping mats 2 Coleman Cloudcroft mummy sleeping bags Rain Jacket & Leather Jacket Small tool set 10x12 tarp Each Hiking bag: 3 pairs of jeans 8 pairs of socks 8 shirts 8 underwear 1 extra pair of shoes Small misc. toilette Charging cords Planning any trip can be stressful however ours is a little different. Because we were staying with people off of social media only; we had to do some cross referencing and studying. We all know, Instagram handles are not always the individuals real name neither is Facebook. Facebook and Instagram posts sometimes overlap. We needed to be certain that places we stayed was along our route and intricate planning of time frames for each day. At this point, we had the Road Glide road worthy, our bags packs, our route organized, adrenaline pumping and our nerves shot. We were ready to embark on this journey. Like always… Stay Ornery! Follow along: Instagram: @the_ornery_one and @the_ornery_squaw Facebook: The Ornery One YouTube: The Ornery One Shoestring Budget Road Trip Sponsors: Blue Collar Choppers Elements of the Old Soul Brick Oven Pizza Yamaha of Harrison Botox & Co Vintage Biker Gear Ride the Ozarks Russ Brown Motorcycle Attorney Source: https://quickthrottle.com/shoestring-budget-road-trip-part-one/

September 15th 2018 was a day for Harley Davidson enthusiasts to rally together and bring home the Guinness World Record for the largest parade of Harley Davidson’s in the United States! The US does currently hold the record for the largest parade of Indian motorcycles which is Harley Davidson’s biggest competitor. However, the American motorcycle, Harley Davidson largest parade record is currently in Greece with a total of 2,404 Harley Davidson motorcycles. A little over 8 years later, we attempt to bring this record home. Saturday was filled with the rumbling sound of Harley’s as they make their way to Paris Harley Davidson (PHD) just northeast of town in Paris, Texas. Pre-registration was open and encouraged through parisharley.com as well as at the PHD Pre-Party Friday evening from 6:00 pm – 10:00 pm. Riders could register as early as 8:00 am Saturday the day of the parade. The parking lot was already filled with lines of riders to register and take part in making history! Registration consisted of $15 fee including VIN of Harley, Driver’s License, and contact information. All of the proceeds were given to combat Veterans of Motorcycle Association (CVMA). As thousands of bikes pulled out of the PHD parking lot and into the parade route; members of the Paris community and surrounding areas gathered along the parade route to wave and cheer on the riders. The parade started at 2:00 pm and departed PHD which lead the riders for 2.8 miles wrapping around the North Lamar campus for the Guinness World Record checkpoint. The riders then continued along until they reached Choctaw Casino and Resort in Grant, Oklahoma. Here at the Choctaw Casino and Resort, thousands of bikers awaited eagerly to hear the final results. Many high fives, hugs, and tears where shared as the news was announced that we in fact did not break the record. There were certain rules that needed to be followed and technicalities that were present. The total official click count of consecutive Harley Davidson’s was 1911. There needed to be at least 2,404 Harley Davidson’s back to back consecutively for the record to be broke. PHD had 2,200 motorcycles registered and the town of Paris estimated that there was between 2,500 – 3,000 motorcycles in town that weekend. Regardless to breaking the record, the Parade and rally was in fact a success! There was a little over $32,000 raised for CVMA!! Until the next attempt, Harley-Davidson’s enthusiasts will continue to rally and work together to bring the record home. http://quickthrottle.com/DMAG/CA_November_2018/QTCA_NOV18.pdf

The latest Biker's Pay It Forward campaign is over but you can still help! Biker's Pay It Forward ran a "Pay It Forward" campaign from mid-december to the end of January however you can still donate through J.R.'s gofundme page. Here is the link: https://gofund.me/0d981728 With your help, Bikers Pay It Forward can reach this goal and continue the work we’ve set out to do for J.R.! J.R. Thompson & his wife Loretta; which most may know her as "LT", were a huge part of our motorcycle community especially here in Arkansas. If you attended any motorcycle event, ride, campout, benefit ride or rally then I am sure you have heard of J.R. & LT! Together they created Arkansas Wind Therapy & Biker Ladies of Arkansas - they both were an enormous impact in our moto community and the loss of LT leaves a massive void. We wanted to say a HUGE thank you to everyone who has donated in honor of Loretta! Your donation has made a difference & lessened the burden for J.R. & we thank you so much for that! Sharing our Pay It Forward posts, donating towards the cause & simply spreading the word makes a statement & goes so far in helping our motorcycle friends!