By Biker Lawyer Norman Gregory Fernandez
www.bikerlawblog.com

Riding a motorcycle is more than just transportation—it’s a way of life. It’s freedom, exhilaration, brotherhood, and connection to the road and your surroundings in a way that four wheels can never deliver. As a lifelong biker and a personal injury attorney who rides and fights for other riders, I know the value of a good ride. With that in mind, I’ve compiled a list of the best motorcycle rides in the USA for 2025—routes that deliver unmatched beauty, adrenaline, and two-wheel glory.

Best Motorcycle Rides of 2025

Whether you’re a weekend cruiser or a long-haul legend, these rides should be on your 2025 bucket list.

1. Pacific Coast Highway (California State Route 1)

Location: California
Length: ~650 miles
Why Ride It: Breathtaking ocean views, dramatic cliffs, winding roads.

There’s a reason this route shows up on almost every “best ride” list. Stretching from San Diego to the northern reaches of California, the Pacific Coast Highway (PCH) is pure magic. Start in the sun-soaked city of San Diego and work your way through Los Angeles, Malibu, Big Sur, Monterey, and all the way to the redwood forests of the north.

Pro tip: Try to hit Big Sur during sunrise. The early morning mist over the Pacific is unforgettable. Just be cautious—this road can be technical with tight curves and distracted tourists.

2. Tail of the Dragon (Deals Gap – US 129)

Location: North Carolina / Tennessee border
Length: 11 miles
Why Ride It: 318 curves in 11 miles.

Short but savage, the Tail of the Dragon is a rite of passage for American riders. It’s legendary for a reason. The ride is all about technical skill and control, with blind turns and no intersections. No trucks are allowed, so it’s all motorcycles, sports cars, and adrenaline.

This route is not for beginners, and it demands total focus. But if you want to push your limits and test your riding skills, this is the one.

3. Beartooth Highway (US 212)

Location: Montana / Wyoming
Length: 68 miles
Why Ride It: High-altitude mountain riding at its best.

Beartooth Pass rises to almost 11,000 feet and delivers scenery that will stop you in your tracks—snowcapped peaks, glacial lakes, and alpine meadows. The road snakes between Montana and Wyoming, connecting to Yellowstone National Park.

Riding this in late spring or early summer gives you the best of both worlds: clear roads and cool mountain air. But bring layers—it can snow even in July.

4. Blue Ridge Parkway

Location: Virginia to North Carolina
Length: 469 miles
Why Ride It: Rolling hills, forest tunnels, and scenic pull-offs.

If you’re looking for a relaxing ride with moderate curves and unmatched beauty, the Blue Ridge Parkway is your road. No stoplights, no billboards—just pure riding bliss through Appalachian mountain country. Speed limits are low, but that’s the point. This ride is for cruising, sightseeing, and clearing your mind.

Best time to go: October for the fall foliage. The leaves turn into a blazing sea of orange and red.

5. The Black Hills and Needles Highway

Location: South Dakota
Length: Variable (depends on route)
Why Ride It: Twisting tunnels, granite spires, Mt. Rushmore views.

South Dakota’s Black Hills offer one of the most unique riding experiences in the country. The Needles Highway (SD 87) winds through tunnels carved straight into rock formations, with hairpin turns and narrow passes. Pair this with Iron Mountain Road and Custer State Park, and you’ve got a day of riding that feels like something out of a dream.

It’s no wonder hundreds of thousands of bikers flock to nearby Sturgis each August—this area is tailor-made for motorcycles.

6. Going-to-the-Sun Road

Location: Glacier National Park, Montana
Length: 50 miles
Why Ride It: Jaw-dropping views of glacial valleys and waterfalls.

Open only during the warmer months (typically late June to early October), Going-to-the-Sun Road offers a short but stunning ride through the heart of Glacier National Park. Waterfalls, wildlife, and winding elevation make this one of the most scenic roads in the world.

It’s ideal for cruisers and touring bikes. Stop often, take photos, and remember that this road is a national treasure.

7. Cherohala Skyway

Location: Tennessee / North Carolina
Length: 43 miles
Why Ride It: Smooth sweepers, scenic ridges, and less traffic.

Often overshadowed by its neighbor, Tail of the Dragon, the Cherohala Skyway is a hidden gem. It offers high-speed sweepers with much less congestion. The road climbs to over 5,400 feet and passes through the Cherokee and Nantahala National Forests (hence the name).

Tip: Combine this ride with the Tail of the Dragon for a full day of high-thrill mountain riding.

8. Coastal Route 1 – Maine to New Hampshire

Location: Northeast Coast
Length: 200+ miles
Why Ride It: Quaint fishing towns, lighthouses, ocean breeze.

The rocky coastline of New England delivers a more laid-back but equally rewarding ride. Lobster shacks, colonial towns, and miles of Atlantic views make this a soul-recharging route. Route 1 is well-paved and accessible, and the small-town vibe is a big change from the usual hustle.

Ride in late spring or early fall to avoid peak tourist season, and enjoy a chilled-out coastal experience.

9. Route 66 (Select Segments)

Location: Illinois to California
Length: 2,448 miles (original route)
Why Ride It: Nostalgia, Americana, and roadside charm.

While the full Route 66 is more of a time capsule than a complete route these days, riding parts of it—especially in Arizona, New Mexico, and California—still captures that classic American road trip feel. Think: neon signs, diners, old motels, and open skies.

Perfect for history buffs and anyone wanting a taste of 20th-century Americana on two wheels.

10. Highway 550 – The Million Dollar Highway

Location: Colorado
Length: 25 miles (between Ouray and Silverton)
Why Ride It: Steep drop-offs, no guardrails, pure adrenaline.

Not for the faint of heart, this stretch of the San Juan Skyway offers breathtaking views and heart-pounding riding. It’s narrow, there are no guardrails, and every turn feels like you’re flying off the edge of the Rockies.

If you’re an experienced rider and want to add a thrill to your 2025 calendar, put this one high on the list.

My Final Thoughts from the Biker Lawyer

These are just ten of the best rides in the United States—but the truth is, every road can be the best road if you’re on two wheels with the wind in your face.

As always, ride safe. Wear protective gear. Maintain your bike. And if you’re ever injured because of someone else’s negligence, know that I’ve got your back—on the road and in the courtroom.

See you out there.🏍️
Norman Gregory Fernandez
Biker Lawyer | Personal Injury Attorney
📍 www.bikerlawblog.com
🌐 www.thepersonalinjury.com

The post The Best Motorcycle Rides in the USA for 2025 first appeared on Biker and Motorcycle Accident Lawyer Blog.

When planning a motorcycle trip to California, there are several options to choose from. These options range from riding on the Pacific Coast Highway, to traveling through the mountains of the Sierra Nevada, to riding on the infamous Malibu Canyon Road. But how do you pick the best rides for your California adventure?

Yosemite National Park

There are many things to do in the Yosemite National Park area. You can take a scenic ride around the valley, enjoy hiking and biking, or try a mule ride. However, the best way to experience the park is by bike.

One of the most beautiful drives in the US is the Yosemite Park road. It’s a short drive from San Francisco and you can explore the park in one day. The park is a huge tourist destination with over 4.1 million visitors a year.

While you’re in the park, you can visit the famous Valley Visitor Center. Yosemite NP also offers several other visitor centers, including Tuolumne Meadows, Soda Springs, and Mariposa Grove. Each visitor center has maps and information about the park.

There are also bike rentals available. You can rent a tandem or two-seat trailer at the Yosemite Lodge Bike Stand. Also, the Yosemite Airways company has a scenic flight for riders.

If you plan to take a hike, you can check out Lower Yosemite Falls trail. This loop trail gains about 50 feet of elevation and provides gorgeous views of the final drop. Another hike you should consider is Columbia Rock, which has a fantastic sunrise.

Palo Alto to Soquel (Santa Cruz)

If you’re looking for a rad ride, check out the half moon bay to Santa Cruz route. This paved and dirt route stretches from Half Moon Bay to Santa Cruz and traverses a number of fun and fascinating inland roads. While not as snazzy as the Pacific Coast Highway, it provides some great perks. For instance, the town of Davenport is a great place to stop for a bite to eat or a brew.

The ride is not without its qualms. You have to make sure you’re wearing a helmet and there are some traffic issues to deal with. Nevertheless, the scenery is worth the hassle. Among the most scenic spots are Capitola Beach, Shark Fin Cove, and Point Reyes. A good surfing instructor will help you take advantage of the area’s waves.

As for the cheapest liboricles, you’ll have to stray off the main road a bit to make it to the best bets. There’s one that may be more than a mile away from downtown Santa Cruz, but it’s well worth the effort. Luckily, you can always head back down the highway once you hit Soquel.

The best part is, you’ll have the opportunity to “live like a local” and catch the sea breezes and sunsets without the high cost of a rental car. To get you started, you can hire a bike or buy one from the many options available.

Half Moon Bay to Santa Cruz

Located along the Pacific Coast Highway, Half Moon Bay is a perfect spot for a motorcycle ride. Getting to Half Moon Bay is easy by bus or taxi. The town’s Main Street offers a variety of stores, restaurants, and galleries.

Half Moon Bay is known for its incredible beach and surf. The city is also home to several breweries. It’s a small, but lovely town. A great place to explore is the Big Basin Redwoods State Park. Several of the area’s farms can be found along the route, making for an interesting day trip.

During the fall, a pumpkin-filled wonderland emerges in the town of Lemos. This Western-themed destination is home to a haunted house and hay maze, as well as a petting zoo. Guests can also visit the Elverhoj Museum of History and Art, which explores the Danish heritage.

While there, try sampling some local wine. Many of the vineyards in the area are family-owned and offer tasting rooms. Some of the favorites include Tobin James Cellars, Margarita Adventures, and Niner Wine Estates.

There’s also a farmers’ market to check out in Half Moon Bay. Several local vendors sell everything from granola to skincare products.

Pacific Coast Highway

The Pacific Coast Highway, also known as US Route 101, is one of the best motorcycle rides in the world. It offers amazing coastal views, historic sites, and quirky fishing and surfing villages.

Although it is only one of several routes through California, it is considered to be the king of the highways. Riders can enjoy spectacular views of the coastline as they travel through the state’s most iconic cities.

The road is mostly unspoiled and offers great views of the coastline. Many people ride from San Francisco to Los Angeles. This is an easy route and you should expect to complete it in less than three days.

While the PCH is a fantastic roadway, it is also full of twists and turns. A number of short one lane sections are used for road repairs. You should also be prepared for a lot of stoplights. If you are a solo rider, you should not hesitate to jump the line and get out of the way of other motorists.

If you are looking for more excitement, you may want to try a loop route. The Ventura County Loop is a good option. There are numerous twists and turns and the route also passes through the ocean.

Malibu Canyon Road

Malibu Canyon Road is one of the most popular motorcycle routes in California. It offers outstanding views and deep etched canyons. In addition to that, it is easy to ride. Whether you are a beginner or an experienced rider, Malibu Canyon is the ideal route to take.

The route takes riders through the Malibu Creek State Park and the Paramount Ranch. From there, it leads to the spectacular beaches in Malibu. You will also have the opportunity to ride through Cold Canyon, King Gillette Ranch, and Reagan Ranch.

Aside from that, Malibu Canyon is home to the Waves of Flags display. Here, you will find over two thousand national flags, representing every country in the world. There is a rock store at the end of the trail, too.

If you want to avoid PCH and the traffic, you can ride on the Mulholland Highway. This route is a short one, and it’s perfect for beginners.

For more challenging rides, you can head up Decker Canyon. This route has plenty of turns and sharp curves. However, it can be quite dangerous. That’s why you should hold on tight to your bike.

Another good option is to head up Latigo Canyon. This road starts in Malibu and ends at Kanan Dume Road. Although it is not as long as the Malibu Canyon Road, it is full of twists and turns.

Sierra Way to CA-190

When planning a motorcycle trip to California, there are several routes to choose from. However, the most popular route is the Double Century. This is the original 200-mile route in Southern California. The ride is challenging and beautiful, taking cyclists through the deserts, mountains, and peaks of the state.

The route has many advantages, including its quaint towns, easy riding, and relatively light traffic. There are also bailout options for beginner riders.

It is a great choice for anyone who likes to climb and explore the lesser known parts of California. Riders can start in Santa Ynez or Ballard. They will travel through the back roads of Santa Ynez, Los Angeles, and Lompoc.

The double century route takes riders through the most scenic parts of Southern California. They will experience the beauty of the deserts, the peaks of the Sierras, and the coastline.

One of the best features of this ride is that it has no traffic lights. There are ten rest stops along the route. You can find a number of volunteers who will allow you to finish the course. In addition, the course is marked with a number of helpful signs.

Another great feature of the course is that it is one of the safest in the state. This is especially true for novice riders. Unlike some other California motorcycle rides, there are no speed bumps and there are no traffic lights to worry about.

Mountain Hamilton Loop

Mountain Hamilton Loop is a scenic bike loop that runs up and down Mount Hamilton in the greater Bay Area. This ride offers amazing views of the Pacific Coast and the Los Angeles area. The course features rolling hills, technical riding and plenty of bailout options.

Starting in Santa Clarita, the route takes cyclists through parts of Los Padres National Forest and through Santa Maria and Ventura County. Once through Los Padres, the route winds through a series of river canyons. Riders will then join the traditional Spring route on Foxen Canyon.

Those who enjoy a challenge will love the route. After the first 150 miles, riders will encounter the Sierra Road, the steepest climb in the country. A rest stop is located at the top of the mountain.

Another challenging road is the Lompoc-Casmalia Road. It is a section of the Vandenberg Grade. It starts at River Park Campground, and diverges from Highway 1.

There are three rest stops on this ride. Each location is open for a limited amount of time, so riders need to be able to reach the stops while they are open.

If you want to ride this ride, you’ll need a bike that’s rated for mountain biking. You can check with the ride organizers for more details.

California Biker Lawyer Norman Gregory Fernandez 

California Biker Lawyer Norman Gregory Fernandez

 

If you have been injured in a motorcycle accident anywhere in California call us now for a free consultation. Norman Gregory Fernandez is the original Biker Lawyer that Rides. We are expert motorcycle accident attorneys, 800-816-1529.

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The post Best Motorcycle Rides in California first appeared on Biker and Motorcycle Accident Lawyer Blog.

Stock seat on 2017 Indian Roadmaster at the time of purchase.

My wife and I purchased a new Indian Roadmaster in approximately June 2017. You can see the stock seat on the motorcycle in this picture. (click on any of the pictures to see large size)

We rode for one year on the stock seat with no problems, plus the stock seat which is Indian Tan in color, was custom in of itself, and an integral part of the motorcycle look.

I have owned many motorcycles in the past, and on every one of them I purchased an aftermarket seat. I always chose Mustang for my seats. Mustang is a one size fits all solution as is Corbin, although they do take special requests for custom seats.

On my last motorcycle, which was a 2008 Electra Glide Ultra Custom, I purchased a premium seat for it from Harley-Davidson, and sold the stock seat. The premium seat was just fine for the years I had the motorcycle.

My wife and I were at the Sturgis motorcycle rally in August 2018, and put over thousand miles on the Indian roadmaster at that time. Let me tell you something, the seat on the Indian Roadmaster became a brick. Whatever support and padding the seat had in it was gone within a year. and It became so bad, that both of our asses were hurting after each ride at Sturgis. It literally became torture to ride on the stock seat for extended periods of time.

The outside of the Russell Cycle Products factory on the day we rode our motorcycle in.

I undertook looking for a new seat for the Indian Roadmaster.

I initially purchased a Mustang saddle for the Indian Roadmaster off the J P Cycles website, but the seat that I received was a different color brown than the Indian Tan color that is the color scheme on my motorcycle. Why would Mustang make a seat that does not match Indians color scheme? I immediately returned it.

My problem was not only that my tour pack back pad was Indian Tan, plus I have what is called Captain Inch heat shields for my motorcycle which are made out of leather, and they match the Indian Tan. I was not willing to replace all of that just for a new seat that was the wrong color. Plus, Indian Tan was the color I wanted not a dark brown it would take away the whole ambience of the bike.

No other motorcycle that I know of has the Indian Tan color on seats, that is exactly one of the reasons I love the Indian. The look sets it apart.

I talked to Mustang about their off color brown seat and they told me that usually their customers replace their stock black seats and the tour pack pad on the Indian all together to change from black to brown as a customization, and that their color was not intended to replace the Indian Tan color. What is bizarre is that they have Indian Tan for another model Indian, just not the Roadmaster. Anyway…….

A picture of the craftsman at Russell Cycle Products who made our custom seat at the factory.

They told me they could make a custom seat the same color as the Indian Tan, but they quoted me some exorbitant amount of money to do so. At the time of the writing of this article, which is a year and half later, they may have a matching seat now I’m not sure. Another thing to mention about a custom Mustang is that it was not a custom like the Russell Day Long, see below.

I looked at other options, and at the time there weren’t that many for the Indian. I looked at another manufacturer who sells one size fits all seats, but there were mixed reviews, and to keep my stock heating element that is built into the Indian seat, it would cost me just as much money to have a custom motorcycle seat made.

One thing I forgot to mention is that on the Indian Roadmaster, it does have a heated seat. Therefore, every aftermarket seat for this motorcycle is approximately $1000 plus or minus. They are expensive,unless you choose not to keep the heating. If you are going to pay 35k out the door for a motorcycle, why would you dump a feature like a heated seat?

After hours of research and one failed purchase that I returned, I chose to have a custom motorcycle seat made at Russell Cycle Products. Their seat is called the Russell Day Long.

One thing I should note about Russell Cycle Products, they can custom make a seat for you any way you want it, you can choose the type of covering material, the color, you can have custom stitching and embroidery, the sky and your imagination is the limit.

As for me, I wanted something that matched the stock seat as closely as possible.

What Russell does is they take your stock seat and make a custom seat from it utilizing you and your passenger’s measurements, your weight, and other criteria.

craftsmen inside factory making custom seats

You can either order their seat by mail, and send in pictures of you and your passenger on the motorcycle, with precise measurements along with your old seat for customization, or for lucky people like me who live in the same state, or in other close by states, you can ride in and have a custom seat made.

Hell you can also take a road trip just to get your custom seat made at Russell.

If you want to ride your motorcycle into their factory, you have to make an appointment with them first and pay a small deposit to ensure you will show up. I had to reschedule my appointment one time and they accommodated me.. They contact you to confirm before your appointment.

Because of the special nature of riding your motorcycle into the factory to have a seat made, they say they require an entire day.

I made my appointment which was months in advance. They were busy 🙂 I also conversed with them back and forth via email. They told me that if I wanted the Indian roadmaster with a diamond pattern like the stock seat has, that they would need two days to do the seat. (Turns out it only took one day) I told them no problem, we would take our motorhome from Southern California, put the bike in the trailer, and stay overnight in a local campground. Their factory is near Redding California which is a beautiful area.

View of new Russell Day Long Seat at factory without backrest on.

When the time came to go to the factory, we loaded up the motorcycle into our enclosed trailer, jumped in the motorhome and took off the night before. We ended up staying at a great campground just one freeway exit away from Russell’s factory.

We went to Russell’s in approximately December 2018 to get the seat made. I waited one year to write this review.

Russell Motorsports is in Northern California, whereas we live in Southern California. It is much colder in Northern California this time year, matter of fact some of the local mountains there had snow.

Many easterners will probably laugh at this part of the article but for a Southern California boy like me we are not used to snow, it is alien to us. Cold is alien to us 🙂

The morning of our appointment I was feeling a bit under the weather because we drove 12 plus hours in the motorhome, it was cold, and I was not feeling well , nonetheless, my wife and I took the bike out of the trailer and rode it to Russell Cycle Products for our appointment first thing in the morning.

When we got to the factory, everyone there was really cool. They opened a door on the side, and I rode the motorcycle in. They asked my wife and I what we weighed, and asked us to sit on the bike. They took pictures, and measurements. They also asked me to put my feet on the floorboards like I ride, and on the highway bars like I ride, and took measurements and pictures as well. It was a pretty quick process, they know their stuff.

Side view of custom Russell Day Long seat at factory

They told us the seat would be ready the next day, so we took a Lyft back to the campground. I am an attorney, so I ended up working in the motorhome, my wife worked remotely as well.

The guys at Russell, called me a few hours later and told me the seat pan was ready and asked me to come down to sit on it to see if I wanted to make any adjustments. My wife and I took a Lyft back to the factory from the campground.

When I first sat on the seat, it felt like the padding was pushing up into my nuts and it was very uncomfortable. Good thing they had me come in for a test sit.

The fabricator took the seat pan in the back and shaved the padding in that area. He brought it back and it felt okay.

Frankly, I was feeling under the weather, and I had never done a custom seat like this before. When they ask you to sit on the seat without a cover, with just the padding, it was really hard to tell what it was really going to feel like. Nonetheless, we accepted it, and took a Lyft back to the campground so they could work on the seat.

Surprisingly, the guys at Russell called a few hours later the same day, and told us that the seat was finished. It was supposed to take two days to manufacture, but they had the fabricator, and the gal who did the actual stitching of the motorcycle seat in the factory that day, and they took the time and effort to get the seat done in one day, which my wife and I really it appreciated.

We took a Lyft back to the factory again. (By the way the Lyft driver was an older guy, it was his first day driving for Lyft, and it was kind of funny that he kept on picking us up)

I was excited as we approach the factory to pick up my motorcycle..

View of new Russell Day Long Seat at factory right side

You will see many pictures of the seat here at the precise moment I picked up the motorcycle. Other pictures were taken a year later.

First off, before I go into the next section of the review, I want to say that I care about looks, and function on a motorcycle. I feel the same way about my cars, that is why I only drive Mercedes-Benz.

There are some guys that care more about function. There are some guys that care more about looks. I have seen guys with literal bricks as seats on motorcycle’s, and they probably cannot ride more than 10 miles without taking a break, but because it looks really good, they keep it on their motorcycle.

The Indian Roadmaster is a $35,000 motorcycle out the door, and I get nothing but rave reviews about it’s looks wherever I go from Harley-Davidson riders and everyone else. Even 2.5 years later everyone gives me a thumbs up when they see the Indian Roadmaster. They love the look.

The stock Indian Roadmaster seat looks like a work of art, but it turned into a brick to ride which is why got the custom seat. Who cares if it looks good if it causes you pain to ride? It does have the Indian logo pressed in to the leather.

View of Russell day long with my stock rider backrest at factory

When I first looked at the Russell Daylong seat when I went to pick it up, my very first impression was that it simply did not look as good as the stock Indian Roadmaster seat.

It obviously had a bigger area for my butt, it obviously had more padding, the lower back support was much more substantial, however the thread that they use wasn’t as thick as the Indian thread. This was only a first impression, I since have come to love the appearance.

Secondly, the sides of the seat on the stock Indian Roadmaster actually have a piece of leather that hangs down a bit above the side covers and are attached via side bolts on inside of the side covers if you want to remove the seat. I never really liked the fact that you would have to remove the back screw and side bolts to get the Indian seat off, but hereto for I had never had to take the seat off.

On the Russell Daylong seat, they do away with the side bolts, and the piece of leather that hangs down above the side covers. I am ambivalent to this because now all I need to do is remove the back screw to get the seat off, plus it is easier to get the side covers off, and it is easier to polish the side covers. However, a trade-off is that there is no leather hanging down to cover the top of the side cover. For me it really doesn’t matter. Some people might like the aesthetics of the stock Indian seat better with respect to this regard.

If you take a look at the top picture with the stock seat and the pictures below it of the Russell Day Long, you can see on the side of the seat on the rider part, where the stock seat has the leather that comes down and kind of covers the side panel, whereas the Russell does not.

Now my first impression sitting on the seat was that I had made a big mistake. Rather than sitting in the seat like I did on the stock Indian Roadmaster seat, on the Russell Daylong I felt like I was sitting on top of it.

Further, it raised me up a bit which I did not like, however, it also pushed me back a bit which I liked. I always felt too cramped forward on the stock Indian Roadmaster seat. With the new seat I have more leg room now. (Turns out now that I am used to the seat, I like  that it raised me up a bit as I will discuss below)

Close up of Russell Day Long Motorcycle Seat after break in

The seat felt kind of hard, but it was not uncomfortable. I was thinking to myself, well they just destroyed my stock Indian Roadmaster seat, and now I might have to go get another one 🙁

The way they custom design the Russell Day Long, it also makes it harder for you to take your legs and put them on the side of the motorcycle seat like on normal motorcycle seats.

The reason for this is they make a very big distinct place for your ass which is a bit raised on the sides. You can see by the picture how wide it is where your ass is. You actually have to put your legs forward a bit to get your legs on the ground. It actually makes you feel like a kid at first. If you look at the pictures of the Russell seat you will see the area in the front there you put your legs down. It took me a while to get used to this.

Frankly, at first, I was not too pleased. I felt I had made a big mistake. When I rode the motorcycle back to the campground, my initial ride on the new seat, which was just a few miles away, I was disappointed. Now that I look back at it, it was simply a total change from the stock seat, and I was not used to it.

Turns out it was like walking in a new pair of shoes. They are not comfortable until you break them in and get used to them.

Close up of back of Russell Day Long Saddle

The guys at Russell specifically told me that the seat would not be totally broken in for the first 1000 miles. They told me if after breaking in the seat, I wanted to make adjustments, I could do so free of charge for 18 months.

When we got back to the campground, I kept the motorcycle outside of the trailer, thinking that my wife and I would take a ride. It was actually getting to be dark and very cold. We decided not to stay the second night and to just go home.

I got on the bike again to ride it into the trailer, and I was seriously thinking that maybe this was not the seat for me. We packed up the motorhome and went home that night. For us, it was a long 24 hours of riding in the motorhome.

Later, after a few rides on the new seat, I quickly changed my opinion of the seat. Turns out, the Russell Daylong is a great seat for riding your motorcycle. Not only do I feel no fatigue on this seat, but it is downright pleasurable to take long multi-hundred mile rides a day on my motorcycle in all weather conditions with no problem.

Picture of Russell Day Long Saddle with Russell custom embroidered backrest

This seat gives a huge amount of lower back support which makes all the difference in the world when you are riding your motorcycle. Look at the pictures of the new seat on here. I could not imagine riding without the Russel Day Long seat now.

The issue of feet placement when putting your feet on the ground when the motorcycle is stopped, is not a problem now that I am used to it. I would rather have a great seat that is comfortable when riding, then have a trade-off of a seat that is easy to put your legs side to side when stopped but is not that comfortable to ride. You do not put your feet down when you are riding.

We took the bike to Sturgis, 2019, and did a lot of parading (stop and go for extended periods of time) with the new seat, I quickly got used to the new set up of putting my feet on the ground when the bike is stopped. We rode well over thousand miles in the week we were in Sturgis and Yellowstone in August 2019. Plus, we have ridden to many other places since.

Closeup of the custom embroidery gy Russell Motorsports on backrest

On the issue of the seat raising you up a bit, I am 5’11,” and probably around 6’1” with motorcycle boots on.  Prior to getting the Russell Daylong I could easily get both feet on the ground by placing my legs on the side of the seat. The new seat, the way it was designed for my weight (I paid for the heavy weight spring), pushed me up one to two inches.

At first, I did not like not being able to have both legs on the side of the seat, with both feet stretched on the ground like you can do when your bike is real low.

I can still get both feet on the ground, but the seat is higher. I am quite sure Russell can make the seat lower you, keep you the same height, etc., but they used my criteria when I went to the factory.

Now, I like the seat a bit higher because when riding I have more leg room from feet on the floorboard to my body. So, what I give up when stopped which is not much, I now have more comfort when riding with more legroom on the bike.

The seat is broken in now, and I love it. No more wincing in pain at the end of a long day’s ride. I have no fear taking very long rides now.

While at the Sturgis motorcycle Rally 2019, we were at some gas station at a remote stop, and some guy came up to me and asked me what kind of seat I had. I told him it was the Russell Day Long. He told me he thought that’s what it was, and showed me his seat which was from the company that I was looking at prior to choosing  the Russell Daylong.

A view of entire Russell Day Long with Custom Backrest by Russell

His seat did not have the stock heating because he did not pay for that option, which was available on his seat from that manufacturer, whereas I purchased the custom seat that retained the stock heating. His seat manufacturer (one size fits all design) offered keeping the heating which made it cost as much as the custom Russel Daylong.

Frankly, his seat did not look that good, I think the Russell Daylong looks better. I told him how I felt about my seat which at that point was a 10 out of 10 for rating. Hell we were in Sturgis riding hundreds of miles a day with no pain like the year before.

I should say that prior to leaving Russell Cycle Products for home, I picked out a custom embroidery design for my Rider back rest and left a deposit. It would take a week to do the custom Eagle embroidery, and we were planning on leaving the next day, however, we ended up leaving the same day as stated above.

I ended up shipping my stock rider backrest to them after I got home, they did the embroidery and new cover, and returned it promptly back to me.

Here are a couple pictures of the custom embroidery that they did on my rider back rest.

Back side view of Russell Day Long lighting effects image

When we got the seat, I ended up purchasing a seat cover from them as well, which we actually needed to use in Sturgis a few times because of the rain.

I have never used a seat cover on a motorcycle seat before, but the guys at Russell told me that any motorcycle seat has threading and stitches that create holes in the covering, and water will leak through the holes into the padding, which ends up destroying the inner padding, and decreasing the longevity of your seat.

I now use the seat cover while washing the motorcycle as well.

So, here is my final review of the Russell Daylong seat for the Indian Roadmaster. I give it a 10 out of 10. It cannot get any better.

Now that I am used to the look of the seat, but more importantly how comfortable it is while doing short and long rides, I could not imagine having to endure the pain of the brick which was the stock seat again.

I must mention my wife and how she likes the seat.  Many guys put their old ladies on a brick pad, hell I have seen guys make their old ladies ride on a friggen fender. If you want to take long rides with your women and hear nothing but bitching all day, then make her ride on the back of a bad seat. It you care about your woman and want her to be happy as well, get her a good seat to sit on.

My wife Little Teri absolutely loves the Russel Day Long saddle. As a back seat rider she says that she has no more fatigue or pain like she had on the stock seat. Further, she likes this seat better than the seat on my old Harley Davidson Electra Glide Ultra Custom. Russel customized the seat for her as well.

It was well worth the money and the trip to get a custom seat made by Russell Cycle Products if you are a motorcycle rider that rides.

If you do short bar hops and that is your thing, you may not need a seat like this. They do not call it a Russell Day Long for nothing.

I highly recommend getting one of the seats for any motorcycle.

My closing thoughts are that the guys and gals at Russell Cycle Products are geniuses when it comes to motorcycle seats. They have been making custom seats for many years and know exactly how to make a custom seat that fits your exact measurements and needs.

I have not been paid by Russell for this review, nor have I received any discounts or accommodations from them. This is just an honest review.

Here is a link to the Russel Cycle Products website: https://day-long.com/ , their phone number is: 800-432-9566

By California Motorcycle Accident Attorney, Norman Gregory Fernandez, Esq., January 2020

The post My review of the Russell Day Long, Custom Motorcycle Seat for Indian Roadmaster, by Biker Lawyer Norman Gregory Fernandez first appeared on Biker and Motorcycle Accident Lawyer Blog.

California Motorcycle Accident Lawyer Norman Gregory Fernandez at the Sturgis motorcycle Rally 2019

This year was no different from the last eight years in that at the end of July, I traveled from Huntington Beach, California to the Sturgis motorcycle rally in Sturgis, South Dakota. My wife accompanied me; this was her third consecutive year.

I must admit it is something I look forward to every year. It is almost like a kid in a candy store. Now if you are not a biker, there is no way that you are going to understand what the Sturgis motorcycle rally experience is like, or the yearning that you have each year to go is, unless you have actually been to the rally.

I always tell my friends that they must go to Sturgis at least once in their lifetime. Most of my friends always tell me that they are going to go one day, or that they want to go one day, but none of them actually ever go. Where I live in Southern California, it is 1355 miles each way to Sturgis. Many people who go to Sturgis are closer than we are, or further away. I guess for the average Joe, it is difficult to go to Sturgis for a week, and then spend maybe another 5 to 6 days traveling. But believe you me, for those of us that go, it is well worth it.

I remember my first few years going to Sturgis, it was a lot different for me. I was not married so I had special friends accompanying me 🙂 and it was all new to me. Actually, I should clarify that, after two years I pretty much knew the main parts of the rally, but each year after that I have still learned new rides every time I went.

Biker Lawyer Norman Gregory Fernandez’s campsite at Glencoe, Sturgis 2019

We usually stay at the Glencoe campground. When I first started going to Glencoe in 2013, they had major bands playing the venue every night, the main drag had all sorts of debauchery and nudity happening at night, and it was packed. Every year except 2015, the 75^th anniversary, it seems like there are less and less people at the rally, and the people do not stay as long as they used to. Glencoe still has good bands playing the venue at night, but they are not major headliners like they used to be. There is another campground called the Buffalo Chip that charges much more money, and has all the major bands, that may be the main place to stay now, I do not know, I have not stayed there. Frankly, my wife and I are not in to standing for hours to watch the same bands that we have listened to for the past 30 years. We do not go to Sturgis for concerts.

I guess what I’m trying to say is that from my observations there are a heck of a lot more trikes than they used to be, the crowd at Sturgis is getting older, and it seems to me that the bikers are dying out more and more each year. Don’t get me wrong, there are still lots of young people that seem to be riding bobber type of motorcycles, however, the crowd is definitely much older and a little less and less each year.

The majority of motorcycles by far at Sturgis are baggers, and this year there were lots of Indian Motorcycles all over the place.

California Motorcycle Accident Lawyer Norman Gregory Fernandez is wife Teri at Crazy Horse, Sturgis 2019

I hate to say that according to the official Sturgis news, the crowd size was down from last year. But I did not need to read the news to know this, I could tell the crowd size was down.

Make no mistake, the Sturgis motorcycle rally is still huge, the main drag is still packed with bikes, and there are motorcycles all over the place, just not as many as there was let’s say back in 2013, 2014, etc.

Part of the Sturgis motorcycle experience is being a part of a huge gathering of fellow motorcycle riders. There is no way to explain what it feels like to be with hundreds of thousands of other people who share the same love of motorcycle riding that you do. This is what keeps me going back to Sturgis every year. It’s almost like a drug addict getting a fix. You tell yourself during the year that you will do something else this year for vacation, but you find that Sturgis starts to call you to come back. You know that you must go, and then a couple of months before Sturgis you get really excited planning your trip to Sturgis.

Now with respect to the Glencoe campground where I have stayed each year except for 2015, it has been disappointing the last few years. As I stated before, they used to have major headliner bands, and the place was booming until the wee hours of the morning. They call the main drag tittie alley, or perverts’ row within the Glencoe campground, because when the lights go out lots of women cruise up and down the row either topless or fully nude, and a bunch of guys give them beads and take pictures.Guys on motorcycles do burnouts, spin their tires, and rev their engines.  You should see some of my early pictures from perverts’ row. For the most part, except for a few stragglers, perverts’ row is now dead compared to what it used to be. Now it’s not that I am a pervert or anything like that, but it’s sad to see that all the campers are all set up on the row with their beads like they were in years past, but there are empty spaces where before it used to be packed, and literally after Wednesday during rally we, there is really no action going on perverts row anymore except for a few stragglers.

Motorcycle Accident Lawyer Norman Gregory Fernandez at Sturgis 2019

It’s almost sad to see the people waiting for girls to come by and very few go by compared to what it used to be before. Literally by Wednesday, the campground is already emptying out whereas before it started later in the week. What it signifies to me is that the rally is not what it used to be. At least I can say and remember what it used to be.

It is still a great rally to go to however compared to any other rally in the country.

Again, the rally still has hundreds of thousands of people, but it is definitely not as big as it used to be. The year 2020 will be the 80^th anniversary of Sturgis, and I can see now that many of the venues have raised their prices in anticipation of a big crowd for the 80^th anniversary. I made the mistake of waiting too long in 2015 to make my reservations for the 75^th anniversary and ended up having to stay in Deadwood in a campground that was dead because Glencoe and others were sold out, and because the action was down in Sturgis. You can read my article about 2015 here, it was way overcrowded, a sausage fest meaning, all dudes and very little females, and I’m quite positive 2020 may be the same.

One of the fun things about going to Sturgis is checking out all the babes even if you are married. Nobody including me wants to see a bunch of dudes all over the place. It seems like every dude and their friends went to Sturgis 2015 without their old ladies. Hopefully 20/20 will be different. As of the writing of this article, I have not made reservations yet for 2020, and I am not sure if I will go to 2020, I will discuss that below.

Biker Lawyer Norman Gregory Fernandez wife little Teri at campsite in Glencoe, Sturgis 2019

As I said earlier, every year I go to Sturgis since 2012, I have discovered new rides in and around the Black Hills, Spearfish, Rapid City, etc. This year I discovered a couple of more. My wife and I rode over 1000 miles on the motorcycle just at the rally. We took our motorhome and trailed the motorcycle to Sturgis like we do every year.

I will quickly talk about those guys who never go to Sturgis, the backseat quarterback guys on motorcycle forums and Internet discussion groups, knocking and degrading us because we take our motorhome’s and trailers to Sturgis rather than ride to Sturgis even though they never got off their ass to go to Sturgis themselves. I will admit when I was much younger, let’s say 20 years ago, I used to say the same thing, however I was a hard-core rider. Hell, when I was in my 30s, I rode a soft tail with no windscreen, from Chatsworth California to Durango Colorado and back again no problem. I talked the talk and walked the walk unlike the internet backseat quarterback guys I am talking about.

The problem with riding your motorcycles to rallies such as Sturgis, is that either you have to stay in a motel, or camp. On the way to Sturgis from where I live it is a 2 to 3 day trip each way, and sometimes there is severe weather on the road. When I was younger-no problem, I would simply find a Motel 6 when I needed to crash. But it used to be a hassle to find a motel, unpack the gear from the bike, reload the gear on the bike in the morning, etc., and there is no doubt it is still a hassle even for the younger, and other riders who decide to ride to the rallies.

Biker Lawyer Norman Gregory Fernandez and wife at Mount Rushmore, Sturgis 2019

I used to write like the backseat quarterbacks mentioned above about how I was not a trailer queen, and I used to knock guys who trailered their bikes as being “not real bikers,” etc. 20 years later, I realize that I was wrong. Now that I have a class A motorhome and an enclosed trailer to travel with, I have a whole new perspective.

In the past, I rode everywhere on my motorcycle no problem. Now that I am in my 50s, I actually get tired more quickly, and the aches and pains in my body from years of playing pop Warner in high school football and other sports, practicing martial arts, being in the military, and working out, are taking their toll.

Now that I have a motor home and a covered custom trailer, it is much more pleasurable and convenient to go to rallies in the motorhome with the trailer. Obviously, if I am going to a rally that does not require overnight travel, I will still ride, but it is much nicer for overnight trips to take the motorhome. All your stuff is in the motorhome, no need to pack and unpack, plus all your food is in the motorhome and you can eat while traveling rather than stopping.

California Motorcycle Accident Lawyer Norman Gregory Fernandez and wife little Teri at Sturgis 2019

The reason I am bringing this up is that many people bring motorhomes or fifth wheels, or campers and trailer their motorcycles to Sturgis, and many ride to Sturgis. My Sturgis perspective is from that of someone who brings a motorhome and trailers their motorcycle. I stay at the campgrounds, and this is where the action is. I kind of feel sorry for the guys and gals who are staying in hotels, it must be a more somber and boring motorcycle rally experience.

Bottom line, I highly recommend going to the rally whether you ride or trailer.

The motorcycle industry reports that sales of motorcycles are down in the United States. Apparently, the millennials are too chicken to ride motorcycles. This may explain why there are not people coming up from the youth to replace the older motorcycle riders that are dying out, which would explain why motorcycle rallies around the nation have less crowds than they used to.

So, with respect to the Sturgis motorcycle Rally 2019, notwithstanding the fact that the campground was not as active, it emptied out sooner, the crowd size was not as big as past years, we had a fantastic time.

Motorcycle accident lawyer Norman Gregory Fernandez wife little Teri at Glencoe campground, Sturgis 2019

In December 2018, I had a custom saddle made at Russell Day-Long for the Indian Roadmaster motorcycle, because last year after a few days the stock Indian saddle felt like a brick and we got real sore. (I will be writing a review on the Russell Day Long custom motorcycle saddle soon)

The new Russell Day-Long saddle made this year’s Sturgis motorcycle rally a much more pleasurable experience than last year. We put on over thousand miles on the motorcycle at Sturgis, and Yellowstone, and neither of us had a sore butt the entire time. It was fantastic.

If you are going to go to Sturgis, plan on riding many miles, not only make sure your motorcycle is serviced before the rally, your tires have proper tread, but also make sure you have a comfortable seat. In a motorcycle rally where you are riding, this can make the difference between having a great time and having a miserable time.

We rode to hell and high water. I am a sober motorcycle rider; I have been sober approximately 21 years. My wife quit drinking almost a year ago. We are not the type of couple that hangs out at bars. I actually feel sorry for the people that sit through the rally getting drunk at bars, but I am not here to judge, and that is the subject for a different article. Just do not drink and ride.

Biker Lawyer Norman Gregory Fernandez and wife little Teri on the main drag Sturgis 2019

The reason I mention sitting in bars and drinking is that some people ride to Sturgis and spend the whole rally hanging out all the bars. My wife Teri and I spend the entire rally on the motorcycle. We are hard-core riders. I was lucky to find a wife who enjoys riding is much as I do.

Will I go to the Sturgis motorcycle Rally 2020? At this point I do not know, and I have not made reservations yet. Look, I have been going to Sturgis for the past eight years straight. It not only costs a lot of money, but it is a two week plus commitment, and although I really love the rally, and the riding, a break may do us good so that if we decide to go back again it’ll be more fresher if you know what I’m trying to say.

At least for us, we have been talking about trying something new instead of going to Sturgis for 2020. Further, I see that Glencoe has raised their prices so that the cost will be at least $300 more just for the campground than it was last year, this includes camping and the required wristbands.

At this time, I am just not sure if I will go back for 2020, but usually what happens is somewhere around January, I started getting the in itch, I make my reservations online, and then I end up in Sturgis again 🙂

Biker Lawyer Norman Gregory Fernandez on the Needles Hwy., Sturgis 2019

Even as I type this review, I miss being at the Sturgis motorcycle rally. It’s kind of odd the way it works, pretty much when you’re at Sturgis and riding on the last day, you have ridden so much that you are utterly exhausted, you know it’s time to go home. As you are leaving the campground you know that when you pass through downtown Sturgis that it will still be packed, you can tell on the main road there are much less people and it is time to go.

This year we left on the final Saturday, and drove our motorhome and trailer set up to the Little Big Horn Battlefield in Montana, where we camped for the night, and then due to rain, decided simply to tour the battlefield in the motorhome and trailer, and then depart for Yellowstone which we do every year.

We camped at the Yellowstone Valley Inn as we do every year after Sturgis, but we discovered that it was under new ownership, and that they were charging hundred dollars a night which to be frank it is outrageous for an RV campsite, but we figured since it is in an ideal spot between Cody Wyoming and Yellowstone, we decided to eat the extra cost.

We rode the Yellowstone national forest the next day, but I made the mistake of thinking it was going to be a warm day and did not bring my cold-weather gear on the bike. That was a big mistake. When we left the campground, it was in the low 80s within 20 miles the temperature had gone down to the 60s and I was kind of suffering a bit being a Southern California boy used to warm weather. It actually got down into the 50s further into the park. My wife was smart enough to bring her cold-weather jacket, I had a sweatshirt hoodie, and later on put a rain jacket over that which worked pretty well. We put a lot of miles on the bike that day in Yellowstone, but we did not stop at most of attractions, since we go there every year, we opted to just ride rather than stop.

California Motorcycle Accident and Biker Lawyer Norman Gregory Fernandez with wife little Teri on their motorcycle main drag, Sturgis 2019

We did not get out of the park until it was getting dark, and I can assure you it was getting real cold. I usually don’t leave the park that late and it was a bit eerie knowing that there are wolves, bears, cougars, and other creatures in Yellowstone. Not only that, there are dear, Moose, and other creatures that like to run in front of motorcycles.

We got back to the motorhome at around 9:00 PM after a cold and bug filled motorcycle ride back to Yellowstone Valley Inn from Yellowstone national forest. I strapped to the motorcycle into the trailer, and we left the next morning for home.

I am attaching some of our pictures from the trip into this article. This year we took less pictures than we normally do, because we were on the bike more than we were stopped. Usually I go up and down the strip taking pictures of the custom motorcycles. This year we just walked up and down the main drag a few times and enjoyed it rather than stopping to take a ton of pictures.

Keep reading my Biker Law Blog to see if we decide to go for the Sturgis 2020 motorcycle rally.

By California Motorcycle Accident Lawyer, Norman Gregory Fernandez, Esq., October 6, 2019

The post My annual pilgrimage to the Sturgis motorcycle rally, 2019 first appeared on Biker and Motorcycle Accident Lawyer Blog.

Here is a Slideshow movie that I do every year on our trip to the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally. This is Sturgis 2018. My Wife Teri and I have a good Time. Enjoy.

Norman Gregory Fernandez, Esq.

The post Sturgis Motorcycle Rally, 2018, My annual Slideshow Movie, Enjoy. first appeared on Biker and Motorcycle Accident Lawyer Blog.

Little Teri on left, Biker Lawyer Norman Gregory Fernandez on right, Sturgis, 2018

If you are a reader of the Biker Law Blog, you know that I attend the Sturgis motorcycle rally, in Sturgis South Dakota, every year. This year was no different.

I actually was contemplating not going this year, because the last 2 years of the rally have had a sharp decrease in attendance, most likely due to the fact that everybody went to the 75^th anniversary of the rally, in 2015.

As usual, I ended up making reservations early, and went on my annual trek to the rally with my wife this year.

This year also marked the 2^nd year that my wife Little Teri attended the rally with me.

Many people wonder why people like me go to the Sturgis motorcycle rally every year. As a matter of fact, I was stopped for speeding by a South Dakota state trooper in 2015, and we had a conversation in his patrol car about this exact subject.

By the way, if you do get stopped anywhere near the Sturgis motorcycle rally, you will find that the law enforcement officers in vehicles, will invite you to sit in the front seat of their patrol car for quite some time while they evaluate you. I venture to guess that they’re checking to see if there’s a smell of alcohol, or have dilated eyes to indicate drug use, etc. This is another subject.

Little Teri wearing an injuredbikers.com T-shirt at Sturgis 2018

If you are a motorcycle rider, you may not want to say that you are a biker, but you are a biker. I don’t care what kind of motorcycle you ride. Many people think that a biker dresses a certain way, looks a certain way, etc., however, a biker is a general term to describe people who ride motorcycles. There is much debate on the Internet about what a biker is, I thought I would set the record straight here and now.

Getting back to why bikers and motorcycle riders go to Sturgis every year, Sturgis is a small city of approximately 7000 people in South Dakota, which swells to over half a million during the rally, the answer is simple, Sturgis calls us. It’s almost like that movie Close Encounters of the 3^rd kind, we are driven to go by an internal voice, which is hard to explain.

1^st rally goers hear about the rally from friends, magazines, the Internet, etc. Once you go, you get the bug to continue returning.

Now as for Sturgis 2018, at least for my wife and I it is a hell of a drive from Huntington Beach California, Sturgis South Dakota.

At least for us, the Sturgis motorcycle rally experience includes camping in the RV at the Glencoe campground. You’ll hear a lot of guys squawking about “you mean you do not ride to the rally?” But these guys have no clue. If you ride your motorcycle to the rally which is a great experience in of itself, you either have to stay in a hotel, rent a room or a house somewhere, or camp in a tent. You can also rent a cabin at some of the campgrounds. I can assure you that it is not the same as staying smack dab in the middle of Glencoe in an RV amongst all the other rally goers.

Brian on left, Biker Lawyer Norman Gregory Fernandez on right

Part of the Sturgis motorcycle rally experience is the party at the campground amongst all the RVers. There is a lot of partying going on at the campground after hours that people in hotels, rented homes, or in tents just are not going to experience. Another pleasure of being at one of the major campgrounds, is that you can sit out with whoever you go to the rally with, barbecue, listen to music, look at the stars, and relax in preparation for the next day’s ride.

As for Little Teri and I, Sturgis, 2018 was mostly about a shit load of riding. We put about a thousand miles on the motorcycle during the 8 days we were at the rally. Only on one day due to weather, did we end the ride early. I have been going to Sturgis for many years, but this year I discovered some significant rides that I have never done before. Even after 6 prior years of going to the rally, it was truly nice to be able to find new rides that were not only substantial, but also advanced with respect to curves and twisties.

A brother from my motorcycle club, Brian, showed up with his old lady, and we rode together part of the day. They rode their motorcycle from the inland Empire, California, to the rally. This year the weather was super-hot going through the Western Desert and it was in the upper 90s in Sturgis. My bro told me they had quite a time getting to the rally.

Little Teri on left, Biker Attorney Norman Gregory Fernandez on right

It was much hotter this year at the rally, then last year. Within 3 days, a thunderstorm came through and destroyed my flag pole along with many other people’s tarps and awnings.

This year I was able to shoot some virtual reality, 360° video of many of the main rides in Sturgis, including the main drag.

Rather than dump all the video that I have into this post, I will make separate blog postings, with each video. Each virtual reality video will also be posted on my profile on Facebook, and my YouTube channel. You can either watch the videos here on the Biker Law Blog, or on Facebook, or YouTube.

As usual, I will also be producing a video slideshow of our Sturgis, 2018 trip. This year we got many more pictures than we did last year, it will take me a bit to go through the pictures and decide what to include.

I was worried last year that the Sturgis motorcycle rally was dying out, I was pleasantly surprised this year that the rally was much bigger than last year. The official estimates are that more than a million people attended the rally this year.

I noticed that there were many more trikes this year than in past years, the baby boomers are aging, and many of them cannot ride on 2 wheels anymore. I say go for it, God forbid if I am not able to ride on 2 wheels in the future, I will also switch to a trike if need be.

California Motorcycle Accident Lawyer Norman Gregory Fernandez, Sturgis motorcycle rally 2018

I also noticed that there are many more women riding motorcycles. I remember a time before the year 2000, when it was very rare to see a woman on a motorcycle. Back in 2000, and 2001, the women that you did see on a motorcycle, were usually riding small Japanese cruisers, or Harley-Davidson sportster’s.

Times have changed, many women are not only riding all sizes of motorcycles now, but they are also riding big baggers. There are still many more men on bikes than women, but I am sure one day it could equalize. As for me I think it is sexy this see a woman on a motorcycle. My wife without a doubt wants to stay on my backseat, and I like it like that, but it’s nice to see men and women on motorcycles.

Another thing I noticed this year was that Indian motorcycle has gained a substantial portion of the motorcycle market compared to last year. At the rally, Harley-Davidson is still King, but there are Indians all over the place now. Unless Polaris goes out of business, sells off Indian, or discontinues the brand, at this rate I predict that in the next 5 years Indian may make up almost 50% of the domestic American made motorcycle market for cruisers.

Little Teri in the Black Hills, Sturgis 2018

I think there is a genuine competition now between Harley-Davidson and Indian, that Harley-Davidson can no longer ignore. This will make it much better for American made motorcycle consumers.

Teri and I talked about whether or not we will go to the rally again next year in 2019. The plan is that we will go back to the rally. At this point we are still recovering from the Sturgis 2018 motorcycle rally. I am quite positive in a few months my dander will get back up, and I will make the reservations for 2019.

The 2018 Sturgis Motorcycle Rally for me stood out most on two counts, (1) It is back, there were much more people, and (2) the riding was excellent.

I look forward to your comments on this article.

By California motorcycle accident attorney, Norman Gregory Fernandez, August 2018.

The post The Sturgis motorcycle Rally 2018, a great time. first appeared on Biker and Motorcycle Accident Lawyer Blog.

Here is my yearly video slideshow from Sturgis and Yellowstone, 2017. 2018 here we come…….

Motorcycle Accident Attorney Norman Gregory Fernandez, March, 2018

The post Biker Lawyer Norman Gregory Fernandez at Sturgis and Yellowstone Video, 2017 first appeared on Biker and Motorcycle Accident Lawyer Blog.

I recently acquired a virtual reality camera, and experimented filming my 1^st motorcycle ride in virtual reality on December 17, 2016.

Since this was my 1^st attempt, I screwed up the settings on the camera, and had the camera set for time lapse photography. Unfortunately, it condensed the 35-minute ride from Malibu California to Neptune’s net on Pacific Coast Hwy. in California, to just over 4 minutes.

I promise the next time I will do better.

If you look at the posted video on a cell phone or tablet, you will literally be able to move your cell phone or tablet and see anywhere in the video.

You can look at my passenger and I, you can turn and look at the front of the motorcycle, you can look to the side, and you can look up and down. Basically, it’s like you were in the driver seat, except for you can actually see better than me it’s a 360° sphere.

If you have virtual reality goggles, you simply need to click on the goggle icon on the bottom of the video, and you will take a time-lapse ride with me in virtual reality on my Harley-Davidson Electra glide. On a desktop you will just see it all at once without the virtual reality experience.

I will be producing many virtual reality movies in the future. Stay tuned.

Please feel free to comment below and let me know what you think about the video.

By California biker lawyer and founder of www.injuredbikers.com, Norman Gregory Fernandez, Esq. December, 2016.

The post My first attempt at Virtual Reality, 360 Degree Video first appeared on Biker and Motorcycle Accident Lawyer Blog.

This is a Movie showing Italy in pictures, produced and directed  by California Personal Injury Attorney Norman Gregory Fernandez, http://www.thepersonalinjury.com  .

Attorney Fernandez is an amateur  photographer and journalist who took almost 2000 pictures and put them into a Ken Burns style photo movie showing Rome, Florence, and Venice, Italy.

His movie show detailed pictures of the  museum, The Colosseum, the Forum, Victor Emmanuel II Monument, Arch of Titus, Arch of Septimius Severus, Piazza del Duomo, Palazzo Vecchio, Uffizi Gallery, Accademia Gallery, Arno River, Ponte Vecchio, SAINT MARK’S SQUARE, SAINT MARK’S BASILICA, THE DOGE PALACE, THE GRAND CANAL,. The movie features the music of Beethoven and Mozart as it shows detailed pictures of some of the greatest art in the history of mankind.

This is not your normal biker style movie, but enjoy anyway!

By Biker Lawyer and Producer of the Italy Movie, Norman Gregory Fernandez, Esq.

The post My trip to Rome, Florence, and Venice Italy, December 2015 first appeared on Biker and Motorcycle Accident Lawyer Blog.

Check out my annual 2016 Sturgis Motorcycle Rally and Yellowstone Video on You Tube. Best to watch in full screen format. The quality is not as good as it should be because they compress it. Click the link below. Enjoy.

The post Sturgis 2016, and Yellowstone Slideshow Movie first appeared on Biker and Motorcycle Accident Lawyer Blog.

California motorcycle accident attorney Norman Gregory Fernandez at the 2015 Sturgis motorcycle rally

I always look forward to my annual trip to the Sturgis motorcycle rally. For the last 4 years I’ve taken my RV, and trailered my motorcycle. This year was no different.

However, what was different this year, was that because it was the 75^th annual Sturgis motorcycle rally, everything was completely sold out months in advance.

I usually stay at the Glencoe campground. However, this year, all they were offering for $1200 was an RV site with electrical hookup, and water, but no sewer. If you wanted to dump your RV, you’d have to notify them and wait for them to come.

I could’ve went to many ordinary RV parks in and around the Sturgis area that provided full hookups, but as in previous years, I wanted to be in the middle of the action, and in an RV park that offered concerts, recreation, and other amenities.

California biker lawyer Norman Gregory Fernandez and friend at the 2015 Sturgis motorcycle rally

I found that the Broken Spoke Campground was advertising a full hook up RV site without sewer just like Glencoe was advertising, but their price was only $899. You would also have to purchase a $200 wristband per person if you were to stay at the broken spoke campground, whereas Glencoe was charging $300 for the wristband.

Basically sites like the Glencoe, Broken Spoke, and others, have premium concerts every night, so they charge for wristbands on top of the charge for the actual RV site.

I ended up choosing the Broken Spoke Campground because it was approximately $800 cheaper than Glencoe. It turned out to be a big mistake see below. The total price was approximately $1400 including the wristbands.

This year I purchased a new RV 3 months before Sturgis. The damn thing was constantly in the shop up until a few days before Sturgis. There were still a few bugs with the unit that were not fixed prior to leaving, oh well.

California motorcycle accident lawyer Norman Gregory Fernandez at Mount Rushmore, 2015 Sturgis motorcycle rally

As in previous years it was kind of hectic getting ready for the trip. For the most part I think it’s all a mental thing. I, and I’m sure a lot of other people get so excited before the rally, that just preparing to leave is exhausting.

It is very hard to find people that can take a week to 2 weeks off work to travel with you to the Sturgis motorcycle rally. Many guys plan trips like this years in advance. Last year I went with a friend to Sturgis, she was able to do the entire trip with me. This year my new female friend was unable to do the drive with me due to work, but was able to fly in on Tuesday night, and then fly out on Sunday night, September 9, 2015 the last night of the rally.

Although I like to travel with friends because it’s much better, I’m the kind of guy that is no problem packing up and going across country by myself. Done it many times, no problem.

California motorcycle accident lawyer Norman Gregory Fernandez and friend having fun on the Black Hills Scenic Byway

I love the drive to the Sturgis motorcycle rally, it’s the excitement that gets you. Many moons ago before I got into the RV scene I would traditionally ride to events like this on my motorcycle. There’s something to be said about doing either. I love riding don’t get me wrong, but 1700 miles each way wears on you a bit. At my age, I prefer taking my RV. At motorcycle rallies the big party happens in the campgrounds anyway.

I have done this drive many years in a row, so all the sites along the way are becoming familiar to me now, almost like old friends and landmarks. This year it took me a bit longer to get to the rally because frankly I was burnt out on the 2^nd night of driving and stopped at a rest stop in Wyoming to sleep for a few hours.

Sturgis, South Dakota was about 150 miles from the rest stop. Excitement was in the air in the morning. In years past I went through this area at night, let me tell you the drive from the Wyoming to the South Dakota border was beautiful. Coupled with the fact that there were thousands of bikes on the road made it even better. You could just tell that this year was going to be special.

The view from our table at Mount Rushmore Sturgis 2015

Ordinarily every year I get off of the freeway and drive on the main drag through downtown Sturgis to go to the Glencoe campground and set up. This year it kind of sucked because as I pulled off the traffic was much worse than any previous year that I’ve seen. It took me an hour to get from the freeway to near the Glencoe campground. It was bumper to bumper motorcycles the entire way. Being in a big RV above the action was kind of cool because I could see all the action but the traffic was horrible.

This year because I was staying at the Broken Spoke Campground, I passed the Glencoe campground for a couple miles then made the turn off to the Broken Spoke Campground. It was on the way to the Broken Spoke that I became concerned. I was basically in the middle of nowhere and there is barely any motorcycles on the road.

Biker lawyer Norman Gregory Fernandez in Custer National Park, Sturgis 2015

Finally about 15 miles down the road, the Broken Spoke arose out of the country rolling hills. It was exciting, and it was packed.

I was directed into the check-in area and proceeded to go from my RV to the check-in area. This is where my nightmare began.

The girl at the Broken Spoke campground check-in immediately told me that they had no spaces with water, and that if I had a problem with that I could go online and request a refund. I told her “what are you talking about, I paid for a full hook up space, and my RV is almost that of water.” She told me that there is nothing that she could do, and that if I placed a certain flag in front of my RV there would be somebody coming around to pump water. Imagine, all of Sturgis was sold out this year. I was pissed.

I thought to myself this is complete bullshit. I would’ve never stayed at this place had I known there was no water for the RV.

California motorcycle accident attorney Norman Gregory Fernandez Sturgis motorcycle rally, Sturgis 2015

I’m not going to waste a bunch of space in this article to talk about what bullshit the Broken Spoke Campground was and how it almost ruined my trip this year, but I will say that after wasting 2 days of the rally there, I found another RV Park with full hookups in Deadwood, South Dakota, for $600 thank god, and high tailed it out of the Broken Spoke Campground as soon as I could. I felt sorry for the poor shmucks stuck there waiting for water for 4 days. Screw that.

The Broken Spoke Campground was a dustbowl in the middle of nowhere. I am sure if it wasn’t so crowded it might’ve been an okay place to be, but they grossly oversold it knowing full well they didn’t have enough spaces to accommodate what they were selling. I was able to get a refund of a thousand dollars from them via PayPal a week after I got home. I will give them credit for that they did refund me for the campground part of the trip. I never did recover the cost of the wristbands and lost $400 on that deal because I never went back.

Biker lawyer Norman Gregory Fernandez with friend at Mt. Rushmore, Sturgis 2015

Suffices to say I will never stay there again, I highly recommend that you find another place to stay if you are ever at the Sturgis rally. Now if they come to me and make me an offer I might give them another chance but right now I am highly pissed off at them still over a month after the fact.

I went and stayed at a place called Whistler’s Gulch in Deadwood, South Dakota which is about 16 miles from the main drag in Sturgis. I love this place, but it is a bit of a drive to and from Sturgis.

As far as the rally this year went, frankly, it sucked compared to previous years. The Broken Spoke Campground nightmare was part of it, but also it was a sausage fest, meaning there was at least 4 to 5 guys for every one gal at the rally and most of the gals of the rally were not hotties like I am so used to seeing at motorcycle rallies. There were only a few hot gals there. Seems like every guy in the country and their friends decided to go to Sturgis this year and left the gals behind. It was a complete sausage fest.

California motorcycle accident attorney Norman Gregory Fernandez with friend 75th annual Sturgis motorcycle rally

Further, the traffic was so bad that it was horrendous. I did ride about 3000 miles on my bike during the rally. I’m not the bar going type of guy. I’m a rider. When I get into the Black Hills and start riding, which is my passion. I rode my ass off this year as in previous years.

I rode my old favorites, Mount Rushmore, Custer National Park, all through the Black Hills, the Black Hills Scenic Byway, Crazy Horse, and many places off the beaten track. As usual I found hidden places to ride for many miles on dirt roads with my gal riding shotgun on the back. As usual we found a couple secluded spots to enjoy each other as well, which is kind of tough in the Black Hills because there are really are no places to hide.

Staying in Deadwood this year definitely changed the ambience of the rally for me. It was a lot mellower this year than in previous years, because in previous years I would’ve been at the concerts every night until 2 in the morning. Hell last year after the concerts ended I went to the only gym in town to work out in the middle of the night.

California biker attorney Norman Gregory Fernandez at the Old Faithful geyser in Yellowstone national forest just after Sturgis 2015

Now this rally totally sucked compared to all the other rallies I’ve been to in the past at Sturgis. The main culprit this year was just flat-out shitty weather. It was cold and rainy over 50% of the rally this year. Just flat-out shitty weather. The rain caused many people to leave after a couple days, and by the end of the rally the place was pretty much empty. You can’t do anything about Mother Nature. This year the weather really sucked. In previous years there was rain for one or 2 days at Sturgis, but nothing as bad as this year.

I definitely got some good riding in, and had some good times, but this year was definitely not worth the time and effort as in previous years. I’m hoping next year will kind of calm down a little bit. What may sound like a sacrilege is I may not even go to Sturgis next year. It remains to be seen. I’ve always wanted to ride Alaska during the summer, so I may take my rig and do an Alaska trip will see.

My lady friend and I had a good time on this trip. She was the one good thing about the rally other than the great riding. We had some good times between each other as a man and women do, which I’m not going to describe here but I’m sure you can let your imagination run amok.

Motorcycle lawyer Norman Gregory Fernandez 75th annual Sturgis motorcycle rally

Rallies like this are about adult pleasure. If you go by yourself without a woman to a rally like this the chances of actually hooking up with a woman at the rally or are almost impossible, because most of the women are hooked up with men. So all these guys showing up with all their buddies just kind of ruin it.

On the last day of the rally, Sunday, I struck Camp and drove my RV through town to the Rapid City Airport to drop my lady friend off who had to fly back home to be at work the next day. It kind of sucked to watch her go but they get then again I was excited, because I was now headed towards Cody Wyoming and Yellowstone.

I should’ve just parked the RV when it got dark and camped out for the night but I figured if I was able to get to Cody straightaway I could spend 2 days riding Yellowstone instead of just one day. That’s exactly what I did. I rode my 36′ Class A motorhome with 12 foot trailer, total length of about 50 feet through the Greybull National Forest which goes up to about 90,000 feet in pitch darkness.

75th annual Sturgis motorcycle rally

I had an accident 4 years ago where I lost the brakes on my motorhome in the same forest and almost got killed, see the article about that experience by clicking here.

I Rode the same exact route, and actually stopped in the middle of the night at the spot where I had the accident 4 years earlier just to contemplate what happened. Let me tell you something, it’s eerie in the Greybull National Forest at night, there was nobody else on the road with me. If anything would’ve happened nobody would’ve discovered me until probably the next morning. The time I got to the Yellowstone highway through Greybull, I was spent and could barely keep my eyes open. I got to the Walmart in Cody, parked the RV and crashed out.

When I woke up the next day and went to the Yellowstone Valley campground set up camp, got my motorcycle out of the trailer, and rode the Yellowstone national forest. I was able to ride Yellowstone for two days before heading home. This article is not about my ride through the Yellowstone national forest, but I will just say that I’ve done it every year after Sturgis and I love it.

I definitely had a good time riding Sturgis this year but it was not as good as previous years. Nothing is perfect, but I had a good time.

By California Personal Injury Attorney and Biker Lawyer Norman Gregory Fernandez, Esq., © 2015

The post My trip to the 75th annual Sturgis motorcycle rally. July 30, 2015 through August 12, 2015 first appeared on Biker and Motorcycle Accident Lawyer Blog.

On July 31 – August 13th, 2014 I traveled to the 74th Annual Sturgis Motorcycle Rally and to Yellowstone for the 3rd consecutive year.

The below movie is a slideshow movie of the pictures I took at the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally and Yellowstone.

This year I took less pictures than last year because I concentrated more on riding, and I was rained in for about a day and a half on this trip.

Enjoy the movie.

By Biker Lawyer and California Motorcycle Accident Attorney Norman Gregory Fernandez, Esq., © August 31, 2014

The post My Sturgis Motorcycle Rally and Yellowstone Picture Movie first appeared on Biker and Motorcycle Accident Lawyer Blog.

I almost hit this bastard doing 100mph. When I stopped he stared me down for at least 2 minutes. Thank goodness he did not charge.

So far you have read about my 2013 trip to the Sturgis motorcycle rally, to the Little Bighorn National Battlefield Monument, and now I will tell you about the third leg of my trip, to Cody, Wyoming, and the Yellowstone national forest in August, 2013.

Ride video is at the bottom of the article.

When I left Hardin, Montana, on August 13, 2014, I drove my motorhome, with my Harley-Davidson Electra glide in my enclosed trailer in tow, to Cody, Wyoming.

Due to road construction, and the fact that part of this trip was through mountain roads, the trip took me approximately 3 to 4 hours. It was a good ride, and I was looking forward to getting to Cody Wyoming.

When I got to Cody, Wyoming, it was like seeing an old friend again. This trip marked my second year in a row coming to Cody, Wyoming, to ride the Yellowstone national park on my Harley-Davidson motorcycle.

Biker Lawyer Norman Gregory Fernandez at the first lake north of the south entrance to Yellowstone, 8-2013

This time around I selected an RV Park which was closer to the center of Cody Wyoming, whereas last year, I stayed in RV Park on the north end of Cody.

I stopped in the local Walmart, to get a few supplies, and headed to the RV Park. By the time I checked in, got parked, removed my motorcycle from the trailer, and set up camp, it was starting to get dark, and the sky was overcast.

I got my portable barbecue from the basement the motorhome, fired it up, and made some burgers and hot dogs on the grill.

It was with great anticipation that I ate, thinking about the great ride to Yellowstone national park I was going to make the next day. Although I intended to go to the rodeo that they have every night and Cody, Wyoming, that evening, instead, I opted after dinner to kick back in the motorhome and watch movies. By this time in my trip, I was burnt out to say the least.

The best most beautiful motorcycle riding in the world. At over 8,000 feet, My Harley Davidson Electra Glide Ultra Classic, Yellowstone National Park, 8-2013

The next morning on August 14, 2014, I saddled up on my Harley-Davidson Electra Glide Ultra Classic, and rode through Cody, Wyoming, which is a Wild West town whose sole existence relies on the tourist the travel to Yellowstone national forest each summer.

I stopped and got some gas, and proceeded to start my 70 mile ride north to the south gate of the Yellowstone national forest. Unlike last year, where I rode with my now ex-wife in cold cloudy rainy weather, this year the ride was sunny and nice.

Although there were some ominous clouds in the sky, by the time I got to Yellowstone they were all but gone.

The ride north of the main highway from Cody to Yellowstone is an awesome, awe-inspiring ride which words cannot describe. There were beautiful mountains, rivers, rock faces, the kind of scenery that makes you want to cry it’s so beautiful. This type of scenery, makes you know that there is a God, because only God can create such beauty.

My Harley Electra Glide in Yellowstone at first gas station about 28 miles from South Entrance to park. This is where later the bikers were surprised that I was riding out of the park so late. This pic was taken on my way in.

The ride from Cody to Yellowstone National Park is an event all by itself let alone the actual ride through the Yellowstone National Park. It was awesome.

When I finally got to the Yellowstone National Park south entrance, I waited my turn to pay the entrance fee to the Park. When it was my turn to pay the fee to get into the park, I paid my fee, then hit the restroom at the entrance.

At this point I was very excited to be back at the Yellowstone national forest.

I entered the park, and had one hell of a great ride. For the heck of it, I stopped at the same Lake that I stopped at the year before with my ex-wife. This time however, it was nice and sunny, and I got some great pictures.

Biker Lawyer Norman Gregory Fernandez at Old Faithful in Yellowstone, 8-2013

There were a lot of cars on the road this time around. As usual, there are your ubiquitous what I call Sunday drivers, who drive slower than the speed limit, and block everybody in behind them. It was with great pleasure, that I passed the Sunday drivers when I got the chance.

Yellowstone has some of the greatest riding in the world. As you can see from the pictures throughout this article, and my ride video below, it is awesome.

A few years back there was a massive forest fire in Yellowstone national forest. Much of the vegetation is been burned in many parts of the park. I am quite positive that the Park was much more beautiful before the forest fire that it is right now because the vegetation is burned, however it is still beautiful.

I rode over the Continental divide, and to Old Faithful, where I along with many other tourist enjoyed the geyser.

Motorcycle Accident Attorney Norman Gregory Fernandez at the Continental Divide, Yellowstone Park 8-2013

I actually rode so many miles in the park that I lost track of time, and suddenly it was late in the afternoon. I knew that I had at least an hour ride to get out of the park, and then another hour to get back to Cody. Further, the entire ride consists of twisties through beautiful mountain ranges.

It was with great trepidation, I began the journey from Old Faithful, to the south entrance of the park. Many of the tourists actually camp within Yellowstone National Park, so the ride out of the park at this time in the afternoon was really easy. As a matter of fact, there were no other cars on the road it was kind of odd.

I stopped to get gas at the last gas station, and the last stop before you ride to the south park entrance.

A view from my motorcycle in Yellowstone National Park, 8-2013

There I met a couple other or motorcycle riders who were on Harley-Davidson’s, they were surprised that I intended to ride out of the park at this time in the afternoon. They were staying in the park.

Let me tell you, I’ve ridden all over the country, at all times of the day and evening. Unless it is snowing, or pouring rain, I have no fear of riding at any time whether it be day or night.

I knew it would be a hard ride back to Cody, but I was looking forward to it.

As a left the gas station a few miles down the road, there were Buffalo smack dab in the middle of the road. As you can see from the first picture in this article, a bull Buffalo basically stared me down for a couple of minutes.

My last stop before riding out of Yellowstone, the view of the edge was awesome.

Now I will admit, on the straightaway leading up to where the Buffalo was standing, I opened my bike up. I must have been doing at least 100 miles an hour. At that speed, you have to have your shit together.

When I saw the Buffalo, I basically locked my breaks up, that’s how fast I was going, and that’s how fast the Buffalo appeared. My heart was beating rapidly to say the least. I stopped in time luckily.

It was an ass puckering moment in time that only bikers know.

There is nothing more exciting than having a huge bull Buffalo that probably weighs a ton or more staring you down while you are sitting on a Harley-Davidson motorcycle.

I had nowhere to go, he was blocking the road. There was no way to safely turn around.

Another view of the buffalo that almost took me out, Yellowstone, 8-2013

My plan if the beast decided to charge me, was to drop the bike and run like hell. If you know anything about Buffalo, you know full well that these things Buck each other head-on during mating season, and can run a hell lot faster than I can.

Basically, I was worried that the beast would mistake my motorcycle, for another Buffalo and try to buck me. I was screwed.

I stood my ground and did not move. The Buffalo just stared at me.

Take a look at the picture how would you react? In a car you’re protected, on a motorcycle you’re screwed.

Thank goodness the Buffalo lost interests after a while, and moved on. As soon as he moved on I moved on.

As I was riding the twisties out of the park, I contemplated my close call with the Buffalo both as I speeded up towards him and locked up my brakes at high speed to avoid hitting him, and as he stared me down.

I knew I was lucky to have made it out of there without either hitting the Buffalo, or having him hit me.

Sundown was fast approaching, as I was leaving the park, about 20 miles from the south entrance, I came upon a grand Valley, and Canyon. You can literally look down thousands of feet and see the most beautiful valley that you have ever seen in your life. I must stress that there was no other cars on the road, I owned the road. I finally got to a steep Canyon Road at around 8000 feet elevation, and parked my bike on the side of a steep cliff to get a couple of pictures.

The beauty was just so unbelievable, that it makes you want to go back year after year. I knew that I would not see this site again for another year and I took it in before finally doing the final ride back to Cody.

I was still in Yellowstone National Park.

At this time I unleashed my leather jacket from the saddlebags, and got ready for the 70+ mile ride back to Cody Wyoming.

I took it easy on the ride back to Cody, and just took it all the sites, and really enjoyed the ride. I love Wyoming.

When I got back to Cody, it was already dark. I passed the rodeo on the way in. I could hear the announcer, and see the tourists at the rodeo. I had a long day in the saddle, and I was very tired.

When I got back to the RV Park, I fired up my grill and made some burgers. I met a couple of people at the RV Park who were going to ride the Yellowstone national forest the next day.

After saying good night, I went into the RV, and watched a movie, knowing that the next day I would be headed towards Las Vegas, and ultimately home in a few days.

The next day I struck camp and began the long journey home.

I’m looking forward to riding Yellowstone national forest again in about 45 days.

Check out some of my ride video below, which includes GoPro footage taken from my motorcycle while riding the Yellowstone National Park in August, 2013.

By Motorcycle Accident Lawyer and Biker Attorney, Norman Gregory Fernandez, June 26, 2014

The post Face-to-face with a Wild Buffalo, my trip to Yellowstone National Forest, August-2013 first appeared on Biker and Motorcycle Accident Lawyer Blog.

The grave of General George Armstrong Custer

Last year I did a solo trip to the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally, in Sturgis, South Dakota, The Little Big Horn National Battlefield Monument in Montana, and Cody Wyoming-Yellowstone national Park.

You can read about my trip to the Sturgis motorcycle rally by clicking here now.

Soon, I will write about my trip to Cody Wyoming, and the Yellowstone National Park in August 2013. I’m a little late writing these articles, because it is been a very hectic year.

When I left Sturgis, SD on August 11, 2013, it was late in the afternoon. I was in my 35 foot class A motorhome, with my enclosed custom motorcycle trailer, and Harley-Davidson in tow.

The Little Bighorn Battlefield National Cemetary

I was excited about the trip I was about to take, but I was a little bummed out when leaving Sturgis SD, because the motorcycle rally had ended, and I had such a great time, I did not want to see it end.

By my calculations, the trip to Hardin, Montana would only take about two hours. As it turned out, my calculations were a bit off.

On the way in to Hardin, Montana, I stopped at a Walmart and stocked up on supplies. I also stopped and filled up the RV with gas.

My trip from Huntington Beach, California, to Sturgis, SD, to Hardin, Montana, and to Cody, Wyoming, cost about $1300 in gas, not including all the gas I put into my motorcycle in the thousand plus miles I rode while on this trip. Unfortunately, motorhomes eat gas like Carter eats pills.

Big Sky Country, Little Bighorn National Battlefield Monument

Although I thought I would get to Hardin, Montana while the sun was still out, it started to get dark while I was in Indian country. The trip from Sturgis, SD to Hardin, Montana takes you through beautiful country, and a couple of Indian reservations. I could feel the history as I drove from Sturgis to Hardin.

As I was driving my motorhome, I could sense that I was entering a historic place. I had the same feeling when I toured the Gettysburg national battlefield in 2012.

I arrived at the RV Park in Hardin, Montana, in the evening, at around 10 PM. On the way in I passed the Little Big Horn National Battlefield Monument, but because it was dark, I could not really see anything.

The lady at the RV Park gave me a pull through space which is easy to get in to and set up in with the motorhome. Since it was on a gravel pad, I know I would have to be very careful taking my motorcycle off of the trailer in the morning.

Grave Markers at Little Bighorn National Battlefield Monument

In the morning when I woke up, I prepared to go to the Little Bighorn National Battlefield. I had a quick breakfast in my RV, and some coffee. I quickly took my motorcycle out of my enclosed motorcycle trailer.

The battlefield was only about 10 miles from the RV Park up the interstate.

I rode hard and fast, like I love to do, to get there. I did not wear a helmet in South Dakota, or Montana.

During the day, it started to become quite warm.

Outside of the Little Bighorn National Battlefield Monument, there is a gas station on the Crow Indian reservation. I stopped there to fill up my motorcycle. The reason I’m mentioning this gas station, is because the potholes in the surface of the gas station were so bad, and I had to be real careful so that I did not drop the motorcycle.

It’s not something you want a ride a motorcycle on too slowly because you will drop it.

There were some Native Americans with a small tractor working on the road outside. I knew I was on an Indian reservation, and I could feel that I was in a historic place.

A view of Last Stand Hill from the bottom of the Hill

Directly across the street and up the road just a bit from the gas station, is the entrance to the Little Bighorn National Battlefield Monument. When you pull into the entrance, you have to drive up a ways to get to the actual visitor center below the main battlefield cemetery, and monument.

I did not know, but the Little Bighorn National Battlefield Monument, stretched on for miles, and even through private property. It was a much better experience than I expected.

When I initially got in, I parked my motorcycle at the visitor center. I noticed the park rangers were giving a talk to a bunch of visitors at the visitor center. It looked like a scheduled class in a way. There were at least 100 people at the visitor center.

I decided to walk up the road to the main resting place of General Custer on Last Stand Hill.

The grave markers at Last Stand Hill, Custer’s is the black one

You cannot help but see those famous graves as you walk up the hill.

I walked around and got many pictures and video which can see in this article and below, of my experience at the Little Bighorn.

After touring this area above Last Stand Hill, I went and got my motorcycle and rode back up to this area again on the top of the hill.

After taking in the sights, and trying to imagine what it what it must have been like for those doomed men as they were slaughtered many moons ago, I got on my Harley-Davidson and rode very slowly South through the battlefield.

As with my tour of the Gettysburg national battlefield, my tour of the Little Bighorn National Battlefield Monument would not even be close to the same in a car; you must do this type of tour on a motorcycle.

My Harley Davidson Electra Glide amonst the grave markers at The grave markers at the Little Bighorn

Considering the fact that this battle was mostly on horseback, except for the parts of it where the 7th Calvary, and the Indians dismounted, it is only right to tour it either on horseback or on an iron horse, a motorcycle.

As you go further south on the road, there are grave markers scattered all over the battlefield. There are also signs and placards showing significant places throughout the battlefield.

There are wild horses scattered throughout the battlefield monument.

On a couple of occasions I had to be real careful, because the horses were crossing the road right in front of me, and then right next to me, and there was no fence to keep a them away. I did not want to spook these guys. Check out my GoPro video footage of my ride through the Little Bighorn National Battlefield Monument below.

Throughout most of my tour of the battlefield, or at least this part of the battlefield, I owned the place. I guess most of the tourist stayed at the visitor center. There was one couple in a small RV that pretty much stayed near me the entire time and at each stop miles down the road, you can see them and their motorhome in some of my video below. I did some very slow riding through the battlefield monument. I was in no rush, I wanted to take it all in.

More grave markers at The Little Bighorn

Throughout my tour of Little Bighorn National Battlefield Monument, I tried to imagine what it must have been like the men of the 7th Calvary.

I not only took still pictures, I also took some GoPro video from my handlebars, and some handheld video with my camcorder.

When I got back to the visitor center after riding the Little Bighorn National Battlefield Monument, I parked my motorcycle near the visitor center, grabbed a cigar, and went to listen to the class that the park ranger was giving to another group of tourist.

The park rangers described in graphic detail, how General Custer, his brother, and his men were slaughtered by the Indians during the battle. These guys were basically butchered. You Can’t really blame the Indians, to them General Custer and his men were an invading army, and the Indians who were present at the Little Big Horn had their family and children with them on site, to them it was a life or death fight against an invading army.

Last Stand Hill as seen from the visitors center

There was about 3,000 Braves on horseback, against a couple hundred seventh Calvary men on horseback.

General Custer did not really know what he was riding into when he approached the Little Big Horn. I think it is safe to assume he thought it was just an ordinary Indian village.

When he crested the bluffs, and got real close, he must’ve then realized, the bad situation he put himself into by splitting his troops up. He tried to send a messenger back to Reno but by this time it was way too late, he was already doomed and he did not even know it.

After hearing the park rangers give their speech about the battle, I went into the main cemetery, sat on a bench where you can perfectly see Custer’s grave along with his other men’s graves, and had a fine cigar. I took it all in.

Looking at the graves from the top of Last Stand Hill

After I finished my cigar, I walked back up to my Harley-Davidson. I saw that there was a bunch of other motorcycles there as well. I said hello to all the other bikers, and introduced myself.

I then mounted my motorcycle, to go find somewhere to eat. In this part of Montana, there is literally nothing around. Hardin is the biggest town close by, and it is tiny.

There are no restaurants anywhere near the battlefield monument, so I jumped on interstate to head back to Hardin where I was camped out, because I saw some what I thought were restaurants there, on the way to the battlefield.

When I got to Hardin, there really wasn’t much of a selection. There was a fast food restaurant, so I decided to ride through town to see if I can find anything else. This was a tiny town to say the least. I saw a sign that said Chinese buffet, so I decided to go in.

Another view from the Little Bighorn

When I got inside the Chinese buffet, there was no air-conditioning, it was hot, humid and stifling inside. I got some food started to eat.

I found myself talking to a Native American woman inside the Chinese buffet which is the reason why I even brought the story up.

Turns out she was a honcho in the Crow Indian tribe. She said she was a princess.

She told me that in three days they were going to be having a major Indian powwow on the Crow reservation. She invited me as a VIP guest of the tribe. I had a good conversation with this lady.

She mentioned that in the town of Hardin, Montana, that there were still problems between the town folk, and the Native Americans.

The Monument Marker on the top of Last Stand Hill

There were a couple local people in the Chinese buffet at the time the Crow Princess mention this.

I also met a couple from Canada at the Chinese buffet, the female was one was beautiful woman I’ve ever seen. They were very nice to me, and extremely interested in the fact that I was traveling so long of a distance alone.

They were on a Harley Davidson Road Glide and had also been to Sturgis. They were much closer to home than I was.

To be frank, I felt kind of uncomfortable, when the Crow Princess told me about the problems between the town folk and the Native Americans. One of the town folk was actually sitting at the table listening to her talking. It was almost like being in a Billy Jack movie.

I have seen enough movies to know that I did not want to get into any beefs between the town folk and the Native Americans. She told me that there were killings still going on.

More grave markers on the other side of Last Stand Hill

I seriously considered either staying for the powwow, or going to Cody, Wyoming, and the Yellowstone national forest, and coming back for the powwow.

After I finished my meal, I went back to the motorhome, and did a load of laundry. I had a cigar and watched the sun go down. I heard on the radio that there were expecting severe thunderstorms in Hardin, Wyoming, big sky country, where I was.

They were not wrong. As I was watching a DVD in the motorhome at about 10 PM, the wind started blowing the motorhome severely. I had the jacks down, but the motorhome was still swaying from the wind. The rain started pouring down like thunder, and there was a severe lightning storm. I have never heard of any tornadoes in Montana, but it sure felt like there was one coming.

I hunkered inside the RV, knowing the next day I would be departing for Cody, Wyoming, and the Yellowstone national forest.

The next day, on August 13, 2014, I put them motorcycle in the trailer, struck Camp, and departed for Cody Wyoming. It was a beautiful sunny day, after a night of thunder, lighting, and severe wind.

In the end, I decided not to stay for the major powwow on the Crow Indian Reservation. I felt that a three-week trip away from the office, was long enough, it wouldn’t be fair to my partner to stay for an additional week. Hell, I was gone almost two months the summer before this one.

My trip to the Little Bighorn National Battlefield Monument was something that I’ve been wanting to do for a long time.

As you can see from the pictures throughout this article, and the videos below, it is a beautiful and historic place.

I have been all over the world. I’ve ridden my motorcycle all over the world. No matter where I’m gone, the most beautiful country on earth, is the United States of America.

Nowhere on earth is there better motorcycle riding, or a better place to ride, then the good old United States of America. I enjoy sharing my trips will all of you. My next article will be about my trip to Yellowstone national forest that I took right after the trip I just described. Look for it soon.

Below are some videos i took at The Little Bighorn National Battlefield Monument. The last two videos are videos I took with my GoPro Hero 2 HD video camera attached to my Harley Davidson Electra Glide Ultra Classic on the handlebars.

You can actually ride through the Little Bighorn Battlefield with me on my Harley.

By California Motorcycle Accident Lawyer, and Biker Attorney, Norman Gregory Fernandez, Esq., © June 17, 2014

The post My Trip to the little Big Horn National Battlefield Monument, August 11, 2013 through August 13, 2013 first appeared on Biker and Motorcycle Accident Lawyer Blog.

California Biker Lawyer Norman Gregory Fernandez in Oatman, AZ on April, 25, 2014 for the Laughlin River Run Motorcycle Rally

This year the Laughlin River run was held on April 23 through April 27, 2014, in Laughlin Nevada. I have been to this rally so many times, I don’t remember the exact number of times I have been there.

I love going to the Laughlin River run, because starting in April, this rally marks the beginning of the official motorcycle rally season each year.

It’s not a big rally compared to Sturgis or Daytona Biker Week, but it is a decent size rally. There’s nothing like going to a place like Laughlin, Nevada with tens of thousands of other bikers, running around, and having a good time.

This year I prepaid for a camping space at the Riverside RV resort, in Laughlin Nevada, which is part of the Riverside casino and directly across the street. Last year I stayed in an RV Park in Bullhead City, Arizona.

My plan this year was to take my 35 foot class A motorhome, hook up my motorcycle trailer, put my Harley-Davidson in the trailer, and drive to Laughlin and campout for the rally. That is exactly what I did. Although my plan was to leave on April 23, 2014, I ended up leaving on April 24, 2014.

California Motorcycle Lawyer Norman Gregory Fernandez in the middle, with some friends to the left and right

The ride to Laughlin in my motorhome was uneventful. Because I left late, I ended up getting to Laughlin in the late afternoon of April 24, 2014. I set up my camp, got the motorcycle out, and took a ride around town.

As usual, there was excitement in the air. There is nothing like the very beginning of a motorcycle rally, especially when the motorcycle rally is the first one of the year. There were thousands of bikers from all the Western states present. Although most of the bikers were from California, there are many from a lot of other states.

This year I knew that some of my friends were to be at the rally, and I looked forward to meeting them there.

Hogs and Heifers, Lauglin River Run 2014

As usual, there were motorcycle vendors at every casino on the Laughlin strip, and there were biker bars set up and down the strip as well. The most famous one was the Hogs and Heifers.

There were bands playing, girls dancing, bikers walking up and down the street, and your ubiquitous thousands of bikers riding up and down the street. Another great time.

After riding around a bit, I found a place to park motorcycle, and proceeded to check out some of the bands up and down the strip. Since it was, late, I figured I would wait until the next day to call my friends.

My campsite at the Riverside RV Resort, Laughlin River Run, 2014

The next day I hooked up with my friends, and spent my time running all over the place. We rode the Oatman, Arizona, and basically did the grand tour.

On Saturday night, we had front row seats to a band called Great White.

Overall the Laughlin motorcycle rally to be quite frank is the same every year. It is truly exciting and inspiring, to see so many motorcycles all in the same place. It’s excellent running down the road with hundreds, and thousands of other motorcyclists.

Great White on Stage, Laughlin 2014

As a biker lawyer, and motorcycle accident lawyer, I have noticed over the last few years that a certain so-called association of motorcycle lawyers’ organization has ads, and banners plastered all over the motorcycle rallies. I’m not going to mention them by name, but I’m sure everybody who has been to the rallies knows who I am talking about.

It really makes me sick to my stomach seeing other so-called motorcycle lawyers trying to drum up business at a place where everybody’s having a good time.

I talked to this so-called association of lawyers a few years back. They told me if I paid a yearly fee I too could be one of their so-called (lion lawyers). The name of the animal has been changed to protect it J

I do not need to plaster banners and advertisements all over motorcycle rallies to prove that I am a real biker lawyer and motorcycle accident attorney. You can read this blog and see for yourself I am the real deal.

I know that the rally organizers are just collecting cash from these people so I am sure we will continue to see these advertisements all over the rallies. However, if you want a real biker lawyer, or a real motorcycle accident attorney who is an expert in the field, and rides like you do, give me a call.

I just had to mention this phenomenon, because it makes me sick to my stomach.

On the last day of the rally my friends took off on Sunday, and I had an itch to ride some more. I rode to Oatman, Arizona again, took the Arizona scenic highway to Lake Havasu City, and I rode the back route to Laughlin.

Sunday night at the rally, it was all basically over. I went to the Riverside casino and the remnants of the people that were left were pathetic. I may re-think my practice of staying extra days at motorcycle rallies, after the rallies are over.

I left for home on Monday, April 20, 2014.

As usual, I had a fantastic time at the Laughlin 2014 motorcycle rally. I am sure I will see you all again there next year.

By California motorcycle accident attorney, and biker lawyer, Norman Gregory Fernandez, Esq., © June 4, 2014.

The post The Laughlin River run, 2014, my review first appeared on Biker and Motorcycle Accident Lawyer Blog.