Sturgis Rider Bio- Rick "Reno Rick" Scaramella

Rick "Reno Rick" Scaramella was born in San Francisco, California. At the age of 2, he went to live with his grandparents. It turns out his mother had given him up so she could ride with the Gypsy Jokers Motorcycle Club. As a kid Rick always had a strange attraction to motorcycles. He had ridden with others for as long he could remember, even though he was barely able to walk, he remembered "hanging on" for brief rides with his mother's friends. Growing up, Rick was overweight as a child, and recalls having a typical childhood for a "Fat Kid" as he puts it. But he never let that get him down, because he rode motorcycles, and they didn't!

    Some of his favorite memories stem from the many road trips he and fellow riders made. He explored California in ever greater range, until he finally branched in to Nevada. Rick recalls always having been into the "cruising scene" and had numerous hot rods, from '56 Chevy's, a Plymouth Fury, V-8 Pinto's as well as Mustangs and more. While he had a love for cars, his passion for two wheels never left!

   Rick eventually got married, but chose not to have a bike at the time. His wife's father was a colorful member of the Hell's Angel's,  George "Chocolate" Hendricks. Before Rick and his wife- to- be Beth met, His future father- in- law was killed in a motorcycle accident after some kids in a car tailgated him, and hit him from behind. He tragically went over the handlebars, and was pronounced dead at the scene.

     There was an empty spot in Rick's soul that not having a bike had left. Upon his eventual separation from his first wife, he was able to once again purchase a motorcycle, and describes the feeling as finding freedom and peace. He states that as long as he is on a bike, the rest of his life is acceptable no matter what his situation. He would go on to recover from his separation and other trials, and start his own business cleaning homes that were to be sold. He eventually moved back to Reno, and was employed as a mechanic at the local Chevrolet dealership.

    One day, while on his lunch break, a Ford Excursion pulled out in front of him, causing him to "T-bone" the truck and lose consciousness. Upon waking up in the ambulance, he was told the paramedics had to "cut" him out of his car. Due to the accident, his hands were severely damaged, and he'd no longer be able to work as a mechanic. The accident cost him several years of rehab and his profession. Rick decided he wouldn't give up, and instead found work as a Security Officer at Boomtown Casino in Reno. He eventually was offered a position in Surveillance. Here he learned the tricks of the casino industry, as well as how to count cards, cheat games, and most importantly, catch cheats. He gained a vast knowledge of the industry as well as people in general. 

    Tragedy would strike Rick again in 2007 when he was involved in a motorcycle accident. He shattered his right knee and lower leg. He required an emergency surgery to save his leg and 3 more surgeries to become stable. He would spend 4 months in recovery from his accident. Just 3 days after being released he was again hospitalized and diagnosed with severe blood clots, that should have cost him his life according to the doctors, yet he survived. He spend 10 days in a cardiac care unit, and had 2 "stents" put in his arteries. Following all of this, he was told by the doctors that he was lucky to be alive, and that he would never ride again. 

     After overcoming all of these adversities, Rick again didn't give up, and due to the damage to his old bike, bought himself a new Electa-Glide Harley, and proved the doctors wrong by recovering, and once again finding the freedom of the road on his Harley. He'll be realizing a life long dream by riding to Sturgis in August of this summer. It seems that no matter what life throws at him, Rick will be on a bike and breathing the air of freedom...

We want our Mummy!

Mummy Cave- Yellowstone National Park

No, not our mommy, our mummy! Yellowstone National Park has many awesome things to see, and we plan on seeing many of them. Though perhaps one of the most unusual things we'll see, is Yellowstone's longest camper. That's right, a mummy. The Mummy nicknamed "Mummy Joe" has been camping in Yellowstone since roughly 800 A.D. And you thought a couple weeks was a long time to camp! The cave is about 150 feet wide and 40 feet long and sits on a volcanic cliff, overlooking the North Fork. This cave was literally used by humans from about 7280 B.C. until 1580 A.D. ! How's that for an old campsite! While this is a very cool place to see, and somewhere we're looking forward to stopping, I think we'll make it brief, as we'd had to end up camping with Mummy Joe for the next 800 years or so. We'll pay our respects to Joe, and move on to our next destination on our epic ride.

Mummy Cave

Sturgis Rider Bio- Jeremy West

Jeremy was born in Reno, Nevada. He started riding dirt bikes as soon as he was old enough to sit on one, and has been riding ever since. Throughout Middle school and High School, he rode quads and raced motocross in the area, as well as spent hours and hours on weekends off road exploring the forgotten Nevada desert. He has a passion for anything with an engine. Growing up he spent time working on anything with a motor that he could get his hands on. Even an off-road go-kart. Upon graduating from Reno High, he went to college in Idaho to study Criminal Justice/Law enforcement. To the consternation of most of his professors, he spent more time off-road on a bike and in his truck than he did in the classroom, yet still managed to get great grades and graduate, developing a passion for building engines and computers while there.  He continued his college career at Utah Valley University, becoming an Emergency Medical Technician and  graduating with a Bachelor's in Criminal Justice as well as completing the Utah Valley State College Police Academy. 

    Jeremy returned to Reno, and worked in several professions including as an armed crew member on Loomis-Fargo Armored transport vehicles and eventually becoming the Transport Officer for Washoe County Juvenile Probation. While at the county he spent long hours on the road transporting serious juvenile offenders to facilities across the country using just about every mode of transportation possible and in extremely high risk situations, as well as managing the County's electronic monitoring and house arrest program with on average 60 juveniles at a time. He has worked in the gaming industry as a Surveillance Operator at the Silver Legacy, learning the trade of card counting, cheating table and electronic games and how to catch it. Jeremy was a Supervisor at Boomtown Reno, training security personnel in Defensive Tactics, situational response and awareness, as well as medical response, when the opportunity to join LRS came up. 

     Jeremy had the chance to join the Long Ride Shields team as Marketing Manager, and wasted no time as it is his passion to be around anything with two wheels and a motor. He is 29 years old and married to the girl of his dreams, Samantha, who rides a Yamaha FZ6 sportbike. Among his bikes are a Yamaha FZ8 sportbike, a KLR 650 Dual-Sport adventure bike, and a Can-Am DS 650 X desert racing quad. He also spends time working on his monster 2002 supercharged Ford Lightning, restoring it to better than new, and making it well, just a little bit faster...

What do Elves, the sacrifice of a Native American princess, and running water have in common? Multinomah Falls, Oregon

On the outskirts of Portland, Oregon, lies one of the nation's natural wonders, Multinomah Falls. In our quest to Sturgis, we'll be stopping to look for Frodo and Legolas as we visit the location that portions of Lord of the Rings were inspired by and filmed at. While Tolkien spun a good yarn, turns out their are more stories and legends about the falls. 

   

   The Multinomah people have a legend that says their chief had a beautiful daughter. She was his only child, as his sons had all been killed in battles, and he was an old man. He took great care in choosing her a husband, who was a young chief from a neighboring tribe. At time of great joy accompanied her wedding ceremony, but it is said that the happy time was overshadowed, when an illness came over the village. It took the lives of strong men and young children in only one day. "The great spirit is angry with us", the people said to each other. "What can we do to appease the Great Spirit?" they asked. The councilmen of the tribe all agreed that there was nothing they could do, but that they would die bravely, as their people always did. All but one agreed. He was an old man, and told them of the secret to his long life. "A maiden maiden, who is pure, and the daughter of a chief, must willingly give her life, and throw her self from the cliff above the big river, to the rocks below". The chief refused the plan, but his daughter had heard, and had doubts. She wished to live and be married, but she also had great love for her people. 

  As days went by, the sickness eventually struck her husband to be. Faced with his death, and her love for him, she silently left the village and went to the cliff above the river. With a prayer to the Great Spirit, she threw herself from the cliff. The next morning, laughter and joy was heard in the camp, and the sickness was gone. In their joy, they searched for their loved ones, and the chief found his daughter missing. He was distraught and sent his warriors to search for her. They found her lying on the rocks below the cliff, and there they buried her. Her father in his grief, prayed to the Great Spirit for a token that his daughter had found a place in the spirit world. As he spoke, the rush of water was heard high above, and a stream of silver white water broke over the cliff to fall at their feet. The water continued to flow, and so was born Multinomah Falls.

   

   Whether you like the Native American legend, or the great film The Lord of the Rings, there's no denying that Multinomah Falls is one of the great stops on our quest to Sturgis. As we take in the surreal landscape of the falls, we'll keep our sharp eyes peeled for pointy eared archers and small people with large hairy feet. Stay tuned next time for another LRS Myths, Legends and Tales from the Road...

By Jeremy West

We Always Wanted a Fort as Kids...So we found one!

Fort Simcoe- Yakima, Washington


   For those of you who always liked building forts as a kid! I know we did, so we thought we'd stop and see a real one. Fort Simcoe was built in 1850 by Civil War General to be Robert S. Garnett, and was only in use for 3 years. After that it was given to the Yakama Indian Agency, who used it as a schoolhouse unitl the 1900's. It's approximately 200 acres, with 5 of the original building still standing. The buildings are even still furnished with period furniture! The Fort is used for re-enactments throughout the year. Hopefully when we stop here, we don't get an errant musket ball in our direction. The grounds are within an ancient Oak grove and sit on natural springs. Sounded like a good place to grab some shade and rehydrate before continuing our trek. 

Fort Simcoe

Here is a copy of our tenative schedule.

If any one would like to join us even for a portion of our ride, just let us know or leave a comment and we would love to meet up with you.
I cant wait to get out on the road.

A true "drive-through"- Cruiser's Bar and Grill- Post Falls, Idaho

Located on the border of Washington and Idaho, is a unique bar called Cruiser's Bar and Grill. We'll be stopping at the famous Cruiser's to have a drink and some grub. Cruiser's lies right off the I-90 highway, and is literally a "drive through"! The street goes through the bar. This is one of those stops recommended as a must see biker bar, and after reading more about it, it definitely has a reputation to live up to. Cruisers was originally opened to the public in 2005. It's been a well known gathering point for both bikers and hot rodders from all over the United States, as well as Canada. With a road running through the center of the bar, this has to be one of the most unique places we've planned to stop so far, and we definitely won't miss the opportunity to see a legitimate "drive-through"and the first place we've been where it's ever been necessary to "look- both- ways" before crossing a bar!

If you know of a good biker joint along our route, please let us know by emailing us or leaving a comment here on the blog. 

WE ARE GOING TO SHANGHAI!

We’re going to Shanghai…

By Jeremy West

           

Unfortunately, not China. But we are riding to a destination with a shady history, and what biker doesn’t love a city with a sordid past? We’ll be stopping in Portland on our ride to Sturgis, and hidden beneath the rainy Oregon city, is a secret many don’t know about: the “Shanghai Tunnels”. The tunnels start underneath Portland’s popular Hobo Restaurant, which is where we’ll stop on our epic journey.

            The term “Shanghai’d” came from a practice that started in the 1850’s and would last until the 1940’s and upon first hearing it, is almost too much to believe. It became a fairly notorious practice in Portland to “kidnap” unsuspecting men and sell them into slavery as crew for ships anchored in the bay. Many bars, boarding houses, and opium dens had built in trap doors, where the unsuspecting “sailors to be” were literally dropped through the floor, and into the “Shanghai Tunnels”. Here they would be drugged and held until they could be sold to unscrupulous ship captains for around $50 a head. They were eventually sold and put onto ships, often bound for far away lands, such as China, and never to be seen or heard from again… Unfortunately, the same fate awaited many women and children. It’s not known exactly how many people disappeared or died in these tunnels, and many have told the tale of seeing and hearing the ghosts of the missing, walking the tunnels, looking for a way back to the world.

            So while we definitely want to see this legend in person, we’ll be sure to keep an eye on our drinks, and the floor! After all, we want a long ride, not a long voyage to Orient. Stay tuned for our next stop and another LRS Myths, Legends, and Tales from the Road…

           

HELP US PLAN!

So far for this journey we have picked out several great places to go, but what we are lacking is the inside local knowlege of what lays before us.  If there is a great biker bar, restauraunt, worlds biggest pancake or other interesting waypoint along our route, we would love to hear from you about it.

If you would like to send us a message, give us a suggestion or simply say hi. Please leave us a comment here on the blog or email us at lrssturgis@gmail.com

Destination: Thelma's Sidewalk Cafe

While researching some good stops for us on the PCH, I came across the legend of Thelma Todd and Thelma's Sidewalk Cafe. Who was Thelma Todd you say? She was a young actress, popular during the 1930's, starring in several Marx Brother's comedy films until her death in 1935. She also, however,  ran a cafe called Thelma's Sidewalk Cafe, located on the PCH. When we heard this, we had to investigate it further!

     Thelma Todd reportedly died under extremely mysterious circumstances, the official report stated carbon-monoxide poisoning. She allegedly committed suicide, but to this day, there is speculation that she was actually murdered, and the evil deed covered up. In December of 1935, her body was allegedly discovered in her car, parked in the garage of Jewel Carmen, a former actress herself, and suspiciously the ex-wife of Thelma Todd's lover Roland West according to what I could find of old police reports. Nobody can say for sure why she would take her own life, or why anyone would want to murder her, but according to reports she was found with blood on her face and dress from a wound. While a grand jury ruled her death a suicide, there has been speculation that she was the victim of extortion, and refused to pay. Her ex-husband was Pat DiCicco, a gangster with alleged ties to New York crime families, as well as relative of James Bond producer Albert Broccolli. There continues to be reported sightings to this day of Thelma Todd's "ghost" walking the stairs of her cafe, as well as in the garage where she tragically lost her life...

     Not only does the Pacific Coast Highway run along some of the most beautiful coastline in California, it appears that along this beautiful road, there lies dark history and secrets.  We'll be following SR-1 for a short time, until it turns into US-101 as we cross into Oregon and Washington, and hopefully leave the ghosts behind! 

The Matt/LRS special edition iPod mount...

Matt came up with a clever handle bar mount for iphones for the bikes. He made it using a clip holster, a windshield bracket and a hose clamp. Go iPhone McGyver.

The Matt G Custom Built iPhone mount

A Delicious Stop in our Journey...Tillamook

Since every rider needs a break for good food, we decided to stop in Tillamook, Oregon  at the Tillamook Cheese Factory. What can we say? Our inner fat kid took over the planning at this point. So while we ponder all that delicious cheese, we thought we'd look into the history of Tillamook to take our mind off eating.
     The Tillamook factory has over 1 million visitors every year! Tillamook county's first cheese factory was established in 1894 by T.S. Townsend and Peter McIntosh. This co-op continued to evolve and eventually the Tillamook Cheese Factory was built in 1949 and has been producing delicious cheese ever since. They recently just celebrated 100 years in business. And we thought we'd stop by and help them celebrate a little belatedly by sampling some of their cheese. So there you have it, the cheesiest stop on this entire ride. Stay tuned for the next waypoint on the Long Ride to Sturgis...

The Beginning of the Journey- The Pacific Coast Highway

 Along the rugged and beautiful coastline of California trailing north into Oregon and Washington, lies one of the most amazing rides in the United States. The Pacific Coast Highway (California State Route 1) and US Highway 101.  The highway starts in Southern California as State Route 1, and follows the West coastline out of California where it becomes US-101 and continues all the way into Washington. It will also be home to the first leg of our journey to Sturgis.

     The Pacific Coast Highway or PCH was originally envisioned during the World War I era. It has been know by several other names, and each section had it's own name up until 1964 when the section running through Orange County California, was officially labeled the Pacific Coast Highway, and the term caught on to describe the entire stretch. The beginnings of the highway were built with labor from convicts from Folsom Prison, that were housed in fenced and guarded camps from roughly 1930 until 1936. The Highway was designated as an All American Road by the US Government in 1966.

     Not only does the Pacific Coast Highway run along some of the most beautiful coastline in California, it has also played host to many of the cycling events in the 1932 Summer Olympic Games.          

We'll be following SR-1 for a short time, until it turns into US-101 as we cross in to Oregon and Washington. Enjoy the pictures of this majestic coastline, and stay tuned for the next leg of Long Ride to Sturgis, an LRS adventure of a lifetime...

Folsom Prison labor camp

Coast along Pacific Coast Highway

The Search for the Best Sportster Seat

We're searching far and wide for the best possible seat for the Sportster to use on the upcoming epic trek to Sturgis. Here's the the link to the thread on HDForums.com, we'd love to hear your input so leave us a comment here or join the discussion on the forum! We want to know what you think the most comfortable Sportster seat for extreme rides is! So far our leader seems to be the Mustang "Tripper" and the Mustang "Vintage" . Weigh in below!

Thread on the best Sportster seat-Click this link to join the discussion at HD Forums!

I am trying to do some research today into which drives and dives are good along our route.

If anyone out there knows about or likes a specific Biker bar, resauraunt or cool place to grub, please let us know or leave a comment.

High Desert Sunset

A picture I took of the high desert sunset over the mountains behind my house...Hopefully an omen of the good things to come on this trip!

Picture of rider Reno Ric and his Electra-Glide

Some Facts About Glacier National Park- a waypoint

Evidence of human use of Glacier National Park land dates back over 10,000 years according to the National Parks Service. The land was originally controlled by the Blackfeet Indian nation as well as several other tribes. Several early european explorers also explored the area. in 1891 The Great Northern Railroad was completed, allowing settlers and explorers greater access to the heart of Montana. This beautiful land was signed into protection as a National Park in 1815 by President Taft, and remains to this day, one of America and Canada's most beautiful natural parks.

Avalanche Creek- Glacier National Park

Here is the story I wrote for our LRS newsletter. After thinking about it, I think I'll get the other two riders a bell as a gift for this ride, just to make sure we all make it safely. Perhaps we'll need to have Custom Long Ride to Sturgis bells made....Enjoy the story. I think it's a good one, and a good thing to remember as preparation for this trip continues.

For Whom the BELL tolls  History of the Gremlin Bell The roar of a motor, the sound of the wind rushing past, and the tinkling of a bell? Perhaps that last sound doesn't belong with the other two when it comes to talking about the sensation of riding a motorcycle, but as it turns out it does. Follow LRS as we dig into another of the Myths, Legends, and Tales from the Road, as we take on the Legend of the Gremlin Bell.          As one walks down the row upon row of bikes at any given motorcycle rally or event, you'll no doubt see motorcycles with amazing paint, chrome and many times if you look closely, a small bell. Throughout the motorcycle community, a legend has emerged. That a small bell, hung from the bike close to the ground, wards off evil spirits or "Gremlins". We have heard the story as no doubt many of you had. But we wanted to know the history and the facts behind the tradition.      In my research, I came across many different stories, of which I'll share later in this blog. But I also came across some history. It turns out the belief that bells or chimes ward off evil spirits, has it's roots deep, stemming all the way from Roman culture to ancient european and asian cultures. The Romans believed that hanging a bell or windchime in gardens and doorways warded off evil spirits. Ancient asian cultures also used "windchimes" and bells to ward off evil spirits. More recently, I found, some pilots in World War I and Word War II adopted this custom of hanging a small bell near their motors. They believed it to be a good luck charm to ward off "Gremlins" which would cause mechanical failures and wreaked havok on anything mechanical. Now that we've uncovered the history behind the bell, lets get to the part we all really care about, how does a bell help us bikers? The belief is that mechanical problems are caused by evil spirits, or "gremlins". The bell hung low to the road is said to attract these "gremlins" with it's shape and trap them within. The gremlins are also said to have very sensitive hearing, so when the bell tinkles, the gremlins go insane and fall to the ground, forming a pothole. This is explains how the bell works. But I wanted to know the story of why one rider gifts another with the bell, and so was born, The Legend of The Gremlin Bell!     " Many years ago, on a cold December night, a crusty old biker was returning from a trip to Mexico with his saddlebags filled with toys and other assorted trinkets for the kids at a group home near where he worked. As he rode along that night thinking how lucky he had been in life, having a loving riding partner that understood his need to roam the highways and his trusty old pan that hadn't let him down once in the many years they had shared the road together.       About 40 miles north of the border, in the high desert, lurked a small group of notorious little critters known as Road Gremlins. You know, the ones who always leave little obstacles like, one shoe, boards, and pieces of old tires on the road, and also dig pot-holes for bikers to run over and crash, thus giving the road gremlins a chance to rejoice in their acts of evil.       Well, as the lone biker rounded a curve that moonlit night, the gremlins ambushed him, causing him to crash to the asphalt and skid before coming to a stop next to one of his saddlebags that had broken free. As he lay on the ground, unable to move, the Gremlins made their way towards him. Well, this biker, not being one to give up, started throwing things at the Gremlins as they closed on him. Finally, with nothing left to throw but a bell, he started ringing the bell, in hopes to scare off the dirty little Gremlins.      About a half mile away, camped in the desert, were two other bikers, sitting around their campfire talking about the days ride, and remembering the freedom of the wind blowing in their faces as the rode across this vast country. In the stillness of the night, over the crackle of their fire, they heard what sounded like church bells ringing! They decided to investigate, and came upon the old biker, lying on the roadside, with the Gremlins closing in on him. Needless to say, being part of the biker brotherhood, they proceeded to fight off the Gremlins until the last ran off into the night. Being grateful to his two guardians, the old road dog offered to pay them for their help, but as all true bikers do, they refused to accept any type of payment from him. Not being one to let their good deed go unrewarded, the old biker cut two pieces of leather from his saddlebag tassels and tied a small bell to each one. He then placed them on each of the biker's motorcycles, as near to the ground as possible. The tired, old road warrior then told the the two travelers that with those bells placed on their bikes, they would be protected from the Road Gremlins and that if ever in trouble, just ring the bell and a fellow biker would come to their aid.      So, whenever you see a biker with a bell, you know that he has been blessed with the most important thing in life- friendship from a fellow biker..." This is the legend as many have told it to me. Amongst the stories, this one stood out the most for me, and no matter who I asked about the legend, the fact that the bell "must" be given to you to have the most effectiveness was always present. So it seems, the bell has deeper meaning than I thought. Not only is it to protect you from evil spirits and mechanical problems, more importantly, it's a sign of friendship from your biker brothers or sisters. Its a symbol that no matter what you ride or who you are, you are part of a biker family and a reminder that as riders, we all share the road together. So look out for one another, and most importantly, be safe... Tune in next time atwww.LongrRideShields.com for another piece of LRS- Myths, Legends, and Tales from the Road... Written and compiled by Jeremy West- LRS

The support for our ride continues to grow. We've had several member on HDForums.com give us great information for our waypoints along the way, and things they recommend we see. We've also had several customers who said they'd be in areas along our route, and would like to meet up. If you'll be in this area or live around our route and would like us to meet up with you or stop and say hi, let us know! We'd love to meet you!

The planning for the trek to Sturgis continues today. Rider Reno Rick will be coming by to talk with us about his shield design for his custom Sturgis shield and to get his bike set up with a pair of our "Hawg Wings" for the long trip, to make sure he rides in absolute comfort without buffeting... We'll also be acquiring the two new Scala Rider G4 headsets that we'll be taking on the trip to link in with Jeremy's set. Research on the beautiful waypoints to see on this trip continues as well.

Another rider joins the team...

LRS is happy to welcome Rick Scaramella (Aka Reno Rick) , a close friend and customer of LRS on our ride to Sturgis. Rick will be joining us with his Electra-Glide on our trek to Sturgis. Since posting this blog, we've had several customers and friends mention that they'd be in areas along our route. If you'll be in the areas we will and you'd like to meet up with us, let us know!!! Tomorrow we'll be working on the custom design shields that will be going on the three bikes for the trek to Sturgis, so stay tuned!

Long Ride Shields, and Man-Venture.com are planning a trip to Sturgis.

The ride should be approximately 10 days long. We plan on taking our time (approx 400 miles per day) and stopping along the way to see what we can, and meet interesting people who we have learned about. The main idea is to travel from Reno Nv, to the Pacific coast highway, Portland, Mt. Rainier, Glacier Nat. Park, Yellow Stone, Sturgis for the Motorcycle Show, then back through to Tetons and Jackson hole. from there a trip through Idaho and back on into Nevada. The total trip should be about 3,586 miles plus or minus a few.

Stay Tuned as we plan this awesome trip

Click here to see the whole map

THE ROUTE