Biker Lawyer Norman Gregory Fernandez on his bike at Sturgis 2021

As you all know I missed the 2020 Sturgis motorcycle rally due to the fact that there was a coronavirus pandemic, and I was high risk. At the time of the 2020 Sturgis motorcycle rally there were no vaccines available.

This year with the Delta variant of the coronavirus, there were warnings before the rally to mask up even if you are vaccinated, to avoid large crowds, etc., but that was not going to stop me from going to Sturgis. I had not had a vacation in two years and being an attorney at law is one of the most stressful jobs on earth.

I not only needed a vacation for my sanity, but for my clients as well because they need an attorney with a clear head. I opted to go to the motorcycle rally Delta variant or not.

My wife Little Teri as you all know is in medical school, and is scheduled to graduate in October 2021. Unfortunately for her, her school transitioned back to in person classes as opposed to remote classes, and her clinical training requires her to be on site at hospitals. In other words, she was not going to be able to go with me this year to the Sturgis motorcycle rally, not even for a couple of days by airplane.

Little Teri and I have not been apart since we met. Basically, we had our first date, and she never left.

I told myself after the Sturgis 2013 motorcycle rally, that I would never go alone again. Unfortunately, since Little Teri could not go this year, and she would not let me bring a surrogate 🙂 I had to go alone this year without her.

I could have gone somewhere else, but let’s face it there is no Sturgis motorcycle rally anywhere else on earth.

Motorcycle Accident Attorney Norman Gregory Fernandez riding motorcycle in a montage of 4 pics at Sturgis 2021.

Teri is a cool head and encouraged me to go because she knew I needed the break from work, it was that bad for me. Not only that, but I have an upcoming total knee replacement surgery, so the vacation was imperative.

Frankly, as the time got closer to the rally, Little Teri became a little irritable, because she could not come with me, and she loves it there. I promised her that I would call all the time, that we would do video calls while I was there, plus I would do Facebook live. I will discuss all of this below.

Everybody who reads the Biker Law Blog knows that I go to the Sturgis motorcycle rally every year (except 2020), and that I take my motorhome, trailer my motorcycle, and stay at the Glencoe campground which is the best place to stay when you’re at Sturgis.

This year I started prepping at least two months in advance to get everything ready. Got the motorhome serviced, my motorcycle serviced, had a new rear tire put on my Indian Roadmaster, had the mono shock replaced on the Indian Roadmaster, etc.

I could not wait to go to the rally, but it did suck that little Teri could not come with me.

I have been to the Sturgis motorcycle rally so many times now that it is almost like going home. It is over 1300 miles away each way, and as I get older the drive kind of sucks especially when you’re by yourself. But once you arrive at Sturgis you cannot wait to get on the bike.

Biker Lawyer Norman Gregory Fernandez in the Black Hills

This year more than anything, I rode my ass off at Sturgis. I put over 2600 miles on my motorcycle at the Sturgis motorcycle rally, and my subsequent trip to Yellowstone National Park right after the rally.

Thank God for the Russell Day Long saddle that I had custom-made because without a good seat on the Indian, there is no way I could’ve put that many miles on the bike. You can see my story about the custom seat here.

Unfortunately, on my Russell Day Long saddle part of the ten coloring is rubbing off on one side of the seat. I will be contacting them very soon to get it repaired.

I put more miles on my bike at Sturgis this year than any other year that I can remember. One of the reasons being that I was by myself, and this is the first year that I did not get off the bike on the main drag and walk around like I normally do. I decided to protect myself from coronavirus, not to interact with the crowds on the sidewalk. I did ride my motorcycle up and down the main drag many times.

Also, when I went into stores at Sturgis, for the most part, I wore a mask. What was surprising to me, is that many people in South Dakota were wearing masks inside the stores, not just me.

I rode so many miles on certain days, that it was almost dangerous. Meaning, by the end of the day, I was so tired that it was not safe to ride anymore.

Biker Lawyer Norman Gregory Fernandez’s campsite at Glecncoe Campground, Sturgis 2021

On one particular day near sundown, I rode from Mount Rushmore through Custer State Park, through the Iron Mountain Highway, and took the back route to the Needles Highway, just before sundown. In normal circumstances this would be a super advanced ride. On a scale of 1 to 10 with 10 being the hardest this would be a 10 ride. We are talking first gear twisties.

Just before sundown going in that direction the sun is in your eyes and you literally have to take one hand off the handlebars to block the sun so you can see. I don’t care what kind of sunglasses you have the glare is so bad if you don’t block the sun, you will not be able to see the road in front of you.

During this ride, I had to do this quite a bit. Once sundown hit, I realized that I was the only one on the road. I did this ride on Friday and the last day of the rally was on Sunday, so usually it starts winding down on Friday as far as people on the road. But at this time and at this location, I owned the road.

Now I don’t know if any of you have ridden through a forest like what exists as you are heading up to the Needles Highway in the Black Mountains through the back route, by yourself, with no one on the road, just after sundown, but it is almost like a scene from a horror movie. I knew that if I ate it, no one would probably find me until the next day, there is no cell phone service in this area. Secondly, all the forest critters come out at night at this time, and they own the forest in the dark. It was downright eerie. I am not a man that is afraid, but I knew I was not in a very good position and needed to get through there and back to the main highway to Deadwood as soon as possible. You definitely do not want to get stuck in the Black Hills at night, because of deer, Moose, bighorn sheep, and other critters that roam around there, especially at night.

California Injury Attorney Norman Gregory Fernandez at Needles Point, Sturgis 2021

Long story short, I learned my lesson, and I will never do that ride again just before sundown. It was a great ride, but I was kind of anxious to get out of there before it got dark. That is not the kind of ride you want to rush.

One thing I do want to say about Glencoe campground, and the rally overall, is that it is simply not the same as it used to be. They claim that the crowds were much bigger than last year, I do not know, I was not there last year. I can definitely say that the crowd was not as big as it was in 2015, that the rally is steadily losing attendance, seems to be dying out sooner, and there are many more trikes, and older people that then there used to be.

Simply put, we bikers who attend rallies such as Sturgis, are getting older, we are dying out, and we are not being replaced by the newer generation. The demographic at Sturgis is older than it was when I first started going there, then again, I am older is well.

Do not get me wrong, this trend is occurring all over the nation at every motorcycle rally, not just Sturgis. Further, Sturgis is still the mother of all motorcycle rallies. It is definitely packed, just not like it used to be.

When I first started going to Glencoe there was all sorts of adult debauchery going on at night, now the debauchery lasts only one or two nights maybe three, and then it dies out. By Tuesday the main drag at the Glencoe campground is dead compared to what it used to be. The main rally is still off the charts, but the campground dies out.

This could be due to the fact that Glencoe does not have name band acts like it used to, or simply that everyone is getting older.

Biker Lawyer Norman Gregory Fernandez on his bike showing a little muscle at Sturgis 2021

Another factor is the rally is longer than it used to be. The rally used to be only one week, whereas now it is 10 days.

Obviously, I always recommend going to Sturgis. I have tried to get my friends to go with me every year to no avail, hopefully this year they will come.

Now with respect to Little Teri, I was able to do video calls with her, video calls while I was riding so she could actually be a part of it, and Facebook live videos.

I know she was bummed that she could not be there, but she is in a heavy-duty school, and she will be done soon. When I was in law school which took four years, all I cared about was getting through school, you kind of get used to sacrificing when you are at that level. Like I told Teri it’ll be over soon and next year you’ll be able to come with me.

I hope you enjoy this article and pictures that I posted with it.

God forbid if you’re in an accident anywhere in California give me a call at 800-816-1529, extension 0.

By California Personal Injury Attorney, Norman Gregory Fernandez, Esq.

The post Sturgis motorcycle rally, 2021; a vacation without my wife :-) first appeared on Biker and Motorcycle Accident Lawyer Blog.

For the last four weeks, I have been going to motorcycle club events, and riding with my brothers all over Southern California. I pretty much started going out again approximately two weeks after my second dose of the Pfizer vaccine.

The first event I went to about four weeks ago, I wore my mask for most of the event. Now with the new CDC guidelines, I am no longer wearing the mask.

I am a long-time motorcycle rider and biker. There are many things in life that give people pleasure such as eating, sex, vacations, conversations, etc. For me apart from sex, the thing that gives me the most pleasure is getting on my motorcycle and riding.

Since last March 2020 due to pre-existing conditions and my age, I was hunkered down socially distancing, and not going anywhere. I personally know two guys in a motorcycle club who died, one of my wife’s high school friends died, and almost 600,000 Americans have died of coronavirus. No matter what your politics are, the coronavirus does not care.

Many guys in my club are much younger and lower risk for coronavirus then I am. They have been riding and going out all long as though nothing was wrong. I don’t know what I would’ve done if I was their age because I’m not. I do know this; my wife and I are alive. The precautions we took mean that we are okay and alive.

Both of us are fully vaccinated and in the last few weeks we have loosened up. All of our meals since last March 2020 were home cooked. We have now begun ordering food and picking up food. I have actually gained a few pounds from all the junk food that I was not eating for over a year.

Another big thing about being in quarantine since March 2020, I got out of shape big time. When you are younger and you sit around and do nothing, you can bounce back in a few weeks when you start working out again. When you are older it takes longer to bounce back, and you have to go at a slower pace when you start working out again. I have not begun working out again I will do so this Monday.

The reason I am telling you all about this is because after each ride that I did over the last four weeks I was completely spent afterwards. The average ride was approximately a hundred 160 miles round-trip which is not a long trip. Some are little bit more; some are little bit less. Plus, when I got to the events where motorcycle clubs are hanging out standing around there for a few hours in the sun takes it out of you as well.

Although my wife Little Teri is still in school, I have already made reservations and purchased a camping spot at the Sturgis motorcycle rally 2021. I am just now building up my endurance and getting my sea legs back on the bike. I am still a little leery about riding in the pack with my motorcycle club, opting to ride in the back until I get my sea legs back. Let me tell you, the club I ride with are hard chargers on the road, riding side-by-side, and inches apart from each other front to back. In Southern California traffic, when the hand single is given, we will split lanes in a single file line. We’re the only state in the union that allows this, and it is much hairier when you’re in a club pack.

Finally, yesterday, I started feeling really good being back on the motorcycle again. Don’t let anybody fool you, riding a motorcycle is not like riding a bicycle. It takes time to get back in the saddle again if you have not ridden in a while. I ride an Indian Roadmaster, which is a very big and heavy bike.

Even riding with a club brother to me was uncomfortable at first because I felt like I needed the lane to get used to being on the bike again. Yes, in California we ride side-by-side in one lane.

If you have been off the motorcycle for a while, I suggest riding on your own to get your sea legs back and become comfortable again before you join a pack. Most of you when you ride in a pack are in a staggered formation with civilians which is fine. But if you going to ride with a hard charging club you definitely want to become comfortable on the motorcycle again before you join the pack. Don’t let peer pressure take you beyond your comfort level.

I don’t want to speak precipitously, but it looks to me like the coronavirus pandemic is winding down here in the United States. There are still too many deaths and two cases per day, but it looks like it is winding down.

You would be an idiot not to get a coronavirus vaccine at this point. Over 30% of Americans have been vaccinated which amounts to over 100 million. The vaccine is obviously safe otherwise many many people would have either died or become sick from the vaccine. There are still dumb shit’s who will not get the vaccine. It is these people that will make the coronavirus continue to spread, and these people who will die when they simply could’ve got a shot to avoid it.

Who knows how long it will take for life to get back to normal both here and throughout the world? At least in my world things are slowly returning back to normal. On the work and my law firm is super busy. As a matter fact, we have never been this busy before. This is a good thing for most businesses, but for us the coronavirus pandemic has made things a bit more difficult because we are remote working.

All I can say is at this point is I cannot wait to ride my bike this summer and to be in Sturgis again and I thank God for those scientists who created the vaccine so that this could be possible. I hear that we may have to take a booster shot again within a year, and that is fine.

For you loyal readers of the Biker Law Blog, there will be more articles forthcoming because I am back in the saddle again.

For all you on the road riding your motorcycle be safe and God be with you as we enjoy being bikers.

By California Motorcycle Accident Attorney, Norman Gregory Fernandez, May 23, 2021

The post The Pfizer vaccine has brought life back to a new type of normal, riding again. first appeared on Biker and Motorcycle Accident Lawyer Blog.

Frankly, nine months after this coronavirus pandemic started, and being in the midst of a massive second wave of infections here in Southern California, it’s kind of hard for me to say happy new year.

At the present time over 350,000 Americans have died from the coronavirus pandemic, and here in Southern California lockdown orders are in effect. There is in two counties, Los Angeles and Orange county with populations of over 12 million people (more than 40 individual states) combined, less than 20 ICU beds available, and ambulance drivers have been instructed not to transport people to the hospital that cannot be revived in the field, or that they do not think will survive.

This is a disaster for our country. At no time during a war, or other natural disaster except for the Spanish flu pandemic of 1918, has our nation faced such a catastrophe of dead and sick.

There are idiots running around in Los Angeles protesting basic mask wearing requirements, and acting like nothing is wrong.

It is hard for me to talk from a personal level about the fact that I have not had a vacation in over a year for the first time since I can remember. I have not stepped into a gym in approximately a year. I missed Sturgis last year, and my wife and I have not gone out to eat or had prepared food delivered since March 2020.

I have ridden less miles on my motorcycle in the last nine months then when I went on active duty in the United States Air Force.

My wife is in medical school so the pandemic has been both problematic and helpful to her in that she did not have to go to school since March of last year, they had class remotely, but she did have to suit up and provide medical care during clinicals at nursing homes where there was coronavirus. Right now they have stopped clinicals because of the second wave of the pandemic.

Luckily for me, my wife Little Teri is a good cook and a gracious wife. She has cooked meals for me since March, she makes coffee, and she is a great companion and a great wife. I would not want any other woman with me during this time, nor can I imagine being with anyone else.

Even though I am high risk for major complications if I do get coronavirus, my wife and I even though the present situation sucks, have it better than many people who have either gotten sick, have lost their jobs, have died or had family members who died, have no money, or have or will lose their homes or places of residence.

It really is hard to talk about motorcycle riding during the nightmare pandemic that we are going through. I did take a motorcycle ride about a month ago to get service done on my Indian Roadmaster, and it was a great ride believe me. I did wear and N 95 mask underneath my modular helmet and did not smoke cigars like I ordinarily would do while riding, but it was without a doubt most excellent.

As I write this so-called happy new year 2021 article, two vaccines have been approved for general use on emergency basis, and my wife and I are waiting as are millions of other Americans, to get vaccinated so that we can go on with life.

There are guys in my motorcycle club that are younger than me, and that run around with no masks on an act like everything is normal. I guess if I was young still and was not a high risk person, I would probably do the same thing, but that is not an option for me right now. I kind of envy the guys that don’t have to worry about what could happen if they get the coronavirus. I do tell some of my brothers that there are young people dying from the coronavirus as well, you never know how bad it could be. But then again, the vast majority the people that do get the coronavirus recover quite well. Then again, I have heard reports about young people who get the virus that have said it was the worst illness that they have ever had.

The way I see it, I can wait it out until we get the vaccination.

It is urgent for all of you to get the coronavirus vaccine as soon as you can. The only way that we will get to herd immunity and back to normal is to shut the coronavirus down. I am not sure if the coronavirus vaccine prevents the coronavirus from being transmitted, but it is supposed to prevent you from becoming seriously ill from the coronavirus.

My dream for my family and I as well as the world is returning back to a world of normal living.

I am planning on going to Sturgis in August, but since my wife is in school she will probably have to fly out there to meet me. The Sturgis trip is dependent upon both my wife and I getting the vaccination before the rally. We would probably still wear masks at the rally, but that is okay.

All in all it is not really a happy new year right now, probably the worst New Year’s I have experienced in my entire life. I’m quite positive that many of you if not all of you are going through a similar thing. My wife says that when she goes out it is downright dreary and weird seeing everybody wearing masks, but for now it is the new normal. I am sure that eventually we will return to normal.

May God be with all of you and my family and I and hopefully we will all survive this coronavirus pandemic and other calamities, and hopefully sometime this year we will return to somewhat normal.

By California Motorcycle Accident Lawyer Norman Gregory Fernandez, Esq.

The post Happy New Year 2021 from the Biker Law Blog 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.

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 have been riding Harley-Davidson motorcycles for quite some time, off and on, for over 30 years. My last bike was a 2008, Harley-Davidson Electra glide Ultra – Classic,

I decided to take a look at obtaining a new motorcycle, partly because I wanted to see what new technology was out there.

I finally narrowed down my search to two possible motorcycles, a 2017 Harley-Davidson Ultra – Limited, and an Indian Roadmaster.

In my research, I discovered that the 2017 Harley-Davidson Ultra – Limited had the new Milwaukee 8 motor, which has water-cooled heads, which means it runs months cooler than the current motorcycle that I have, has 11 more cc inches of power than I have now, a redesigned engine mount which lessens vibrations, a redesigned fairing which is said to be more stable, updated hard saddlebags, and an updated head unit with Bluetooth capability.

Frankly, I did not like any of the color schemes that came with the Harley-Davidson Ultra – Limited. With a motor cycle manufacturer such as Harley-Davidson, I would’ve expected more choices, or even custom options.

If I chose to get the Harley-Davidson, it would basically be getting the same motorcycle I have had for the past 12 years, with an updated engine, fairing, stereo, and saddlebag openers.

In my mind, there is no way to justify paying approximately $30,000 for an updated Harley just because of the few things mentioned above.

When I looked at the Indian motorcycles, frankly I was very surprised to see how far they’d come. The Indian motorcycles in this class have a 111 c.c. motor which is called the ThunderStroke. It puts out 119.6 foot-pounds of torque, and has approximately 90 hp. Although it is air cooled like the old Harleys, and heats up like the old Harleys, this engine is a beast, trust me it has some punch, it is fast.

Further, when I looked at the Indian Roadmaster, I saw many built-in features that would cost thousands of dollars to get on a Harley-Davidson as add on extras.

The head unit on the Indian is incredible, it has GPS built in, a much bigger screen, and shows you all engine functions, including a multi-function display, right on the front bike.

Basically, the Indian Roadmaster is a beautiful bike.

Lucky man that I am, when my fiancé found out that I liked the Indian Roadmaster, she decided to buy one, for me to ride, with the only condition that she be the only female I allow the back. Of course, I said yes 🙂 this lady is about to become my wife anyway.

We went to a dealership locally called “Indian Motorcycles of Orange,” (More on them in part two of this article.)  to look at the Indian Roadmaster.

They had in stock, a black Roadmaster, a black and ivory one, and a red one, however, I wanted the green and ivory color Roadmaster.

I told Indian Motorcycle of Orange County that my fiancé was a cash buyer, and we wanted to buy a new motorcycle within a week.

The sales manager told us that he would call around to his other dealer friends, and if anybody had one, he could have it within a couple of days.

I figured that the dealer would be very excited to have a cash deal on their most expensive motorcycle, and that he would have jumped right on it trying to find the motorcycle that we wanted.

I called him the next day, and he told me that he had not had a chance to check yet, but that he would, and that he would get back to me.

3 days later I still had not heard back from him, so I decided to take matters into my own hands.

I went online and looked at the inventory of all of the local dealerships myself. I discovered that only Spirit Motorcycle of San Jose California had the motorcycle I wanted in stock, the green and ivory motorcycle. Unfortunately, it was 450 miles away.

I called and talked to the owner, Martin, who was very helpful, and we worked the deal out over the phone. Within 2 days, I was on a plane to San Jose to go pick up the bike.

Ironically, the day I was about to leave to go pick up the bike, Indian Motorcycle of Orange called me and left a message, but it was already too late, the deal was already done with Spirit, and I was on my way to San Jose to pick up the Indian Roadmaster.

Had Indian Motorcycle of Orange called me back sooner, they would have gotten the deal.

If you are a motorcycle dealer, I doubt you are so busy that it would take you days to find a unit for a customer, or at least call them back to let them know you are trying. It took me less than 15 minutes to find the motorcycle I wanted.

If you snooze, you lose. More on Indian Motorcycle of Orange below, and in part 2 of this article.

When I got to San Jose, they picked me up at the airport, brought me to the dealership, you can see from the pictures here that this is what I picked up. It is the most beautiful motorcycle I have ever rode I think.

The dealer sent his expert out to teach me everything I needed to know about the motorcycle before I took off on it, I had the service department install infinity Highway pegs on the motorcycle before I left.

This dealership bent over backwards to make sure I was happy. Since I did not bring a helmet with me, I purchased an Indian DOT meanie helmet with the built-in visor for the road.

How many of you have obtained a brand-new motorcycle and then rode it 420 miles plus home :-)?

When I got the bike on the road I discovered that the floorboards seem to sit a little bit higher than the Harley-Davidson Electra Glide Ultra-Classic that I have, and because this motorcycle has a rider backrest installed, I could look not lean back as much. It was a riding position I was not yet used to. However, It took all of 5 minutes to get used to it 🙂

Even though this motorcycle has stock exhaust, due to the size of the engine, it still stock makes a loud low noise that lets you know you have one hell of machine between your legs.

I was told that the 1^st 500 miles on this motorcycle is a break in. The 1^st 100 miles you’re not supposed to give it more than ¼ throttle, or keep it at the same speed for too long of time. After 100 miles, no more than one half throttle, and after 400 miles, no more than three quarters throttle.

I broke it in riding it home from San Jose.

The only complaint I had about the motorcycle was that I could not figure out how to get the cruise control working. I stopped and read the manual while taking a break on the road, and discovered it worked just like the Harley-Davidson cruise control. You first turn it on, then hit set, it appeared my cruise control was not working, a little upsetting on a brand new 35k bike, but I was not worried because I have a five-year warranty. Turns out I have a lot to worry about. See my write up on Indian Motorcycle of Orange in part two of this article.

With respect to riding the Indian, here are my impressions. It is one hell of a fast motorcycle. The pickup and go on this stock motorcycle will blow away most of my Harley riding friends who have had serious custom worked on their motorcycles.

The motorcycle does not vibrate like the Harley-Davidson which is actually a pleasure. On the Harley-Davidson when you’re at a stop light, at least with my 2008, the whole damn thing is vibrating like hell. The Indian is smooth as a button.

The handling on the Indian is about the same as on my Harley, except my Electra Glide has a much tighter turning radius than the Indian. The Indian does have fatter tires.

Above all, the Indian is as far as I’m concerned, is a far more advanced motorcycle when it comes to rider amenities.

The stereo is mind blowing, it comes with the 200 W, 4 speakers, Bluetooth enabled, advanced head unit built-in, with a cell phone holder above it, and allows you to plug your cell phone into the motorcycle and charge it.

The Indian also has remote control locking and unlocking of the tour Pak and saddlebags, as well as keyless starting so long as your key fob is close by.

There are way too many other amenities that I have not included. I absolutely love my Indian Roadmaster.

I’m going to write another part 2 article about the horrendous and outrageously priced service I received for my 500-mile service, and my attempt to get the cruise control fixed, at Indian Motorcycle of Orange soon. This is the same local dealership that did not timely call me back when I tried to buy a motorcycle there.

The reason I’m going to write this article is to warn you all of you about this local dealer, who treated me very poorly, and to I strongly recommend my Biker Law Blog readers not to patronize.

A final word of closing for now, I still love Harley-Davidson don’t get me wrong, but I am now an Indian rider, and I think that many of you once you go check it out will also be an Indian rider. This competition is good because now it will force both manufacturers to produce better motorcycles.

By Biker Lawyer Norman Gregory Fernandez, July 2017.

The post I have switched from Harley Davidson Motorcycles to Indian Motorcycles; Part 1 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.

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.

As you all know, I drove my RV alone from Huntington Beach, CA to the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally 2013, in Sturgis, SD from July 31, 2013 to August 16, 2013. I also drove to Custer, Montana, and to Cody and Yellowstone, WY.

This marked my first big trip since becoming a single man again.

Once at my destination, I rode my motorcycle over 1000 miles. Below is a video montage of the pictures I took at the Sturgis 2013 Motorcycle Rally. A couple of pics had to be edited to add pasties so Youtube would not delete the video. Look for my big write-up on the trip, and actual video footage taken from my various cameras to be published soon. Enjoy the video. Pictures were taken at Sturgis, SD, Full Throttle Saloon, Glencoe Campground, and all over the rally.

California Motorcycle Accident Lawyer and Biker Lawyer Norman Gregory Fernandez, December 29, 2013

The post A Video montage of Photos I took at the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally 2013 first appeared on Biker and Motorcycle Accident Lawyer Blog.

I have been at the Sturgis motorcycle rally since August 2^nd, 2013. Due to very intermittent Wi-Fi service where I am staying, I have not really had a chance to blog since I have been here, not that I really wanted to anyway. I have been too busy riding and having a good time. I will be here until August 12, 2013. Once I return home I will write an extensive article on my great trip to Sturgis 2013. I have many videos and pictures to share.

My next destination will be the Little Bighorn National Battlefield Monument in Montana.

Norman Gregory Fernandez, Esq.

The post Norman Tidbits, August 9, 2013 first appeared on Biker and Motorcycle Accident Lawyer Blog.

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Well my custom enclosed motorcycle trailer is almost finished, and I must say that it is frigging awesome.

Today I picked up the trailer from Monster Image of Huntington Beach. They are the company I chose to do the wrapping of the trailer. They also designed the wrapping with my advice and consent.

If you ever want to get a vehicle wrapped, Monster Image of Huntington Beach should be the place you go. Make sure you talk to Scotty or Bobby, these guys are professionals.

If you take a look at the pictures you can see their handiwork. At the front of the trailer you can also see the diamond plate trailer tongue box I had installed. If you look at the back of the trailer near the top, you can also see the wireless video camera I had installed so I can see the back of my now 50 foot rig, including RV.

Next I am going to get my RV wrapped.

There are still a few things I need to wrap up before Sturgis, but they are not things that will prevent me from going. I still need to get a spare tire for the trailer, and a spare tire holder. I am also looking at shelving systems for the inside of the trailer, but unfortunately, since I am leaving for Sturgis this Tuesday morning, it is probably too late, we will see.

If you look at my phase 1 article by clicking here, and my phase 2 article by clicking here, and compare the pictures on each article, you can see the various aspects of my customization.

I also added a wireless tire pressure monitor to my RV, and the trailer, so I will have a computerized readout of all tire pressure for the RV and trailer tires, along with their temperature. If there is a leak or some other problem, the unit will show an alarm automatically.

So there you have it, a custom motorcycle trailer in less than a month.

I am really excited to try out the Biker Bar Strapless Motorcycle towing system, and meet up with the guys who manufacture it, and sell it in Sturgis. They told me they will be at Black Hills Harley Davidson, so that is where I will meet them.

Stay tuned, I will be blogging about my entire trip to Sturgis. I plan on posting video and a whole lot more.

The Biker Law Blog is now a recognized motorcycle industry and news publication. I have received press credentials to aid me in my work. So I am now not only a nationally recognized Biker and Motorcycle Accident Lawyer, I am also a reporter.

I never really considered the stuff I write for the Biker Law Blog to be news, but others do.

Stay tuned for one hell of a trip to Sturgis!

By California Motorcycle accident Lawyer and Biker Attorney Norman Gregory Fernandez, Esq., © July 25, 2013

The post Custom Motorcycle Trailer, Phase 3 Completed first appeared on Biker and Motorcycle Accident Lawyer Blog.

Oatman, AZ on the last day of the Laughlin River Run 2013

I attended the Laughlin River Run 2013 this year as I do most years. The Laughlin River Run is billed as the largest motorcycle and biker rally on the west coast.

This year’s motorcycle rally was different than most past years rallies because the turnout appeared to be smaller than past years rallies, motorcycle club patches and soft cuts were not allowed anywhere near the strip, and there were a gaggle of what I call fake biker lawyers with booths set up at the event just waiting and hoping for those in attendance to refer their motorcycle accident cases to them.

I had for the most part a great time at the event. This was the second major motorcycle rally I have attended in many years, where I drove my motorhome to the motorcycle rally and trailered my motorcycle behind on a motorcycle trailer.

In the past when I rode to motorcycle rallies like this, I basically just rode my motorcycle to the event.

I will tell you that I have learned a valuable lesson in why it is better to take an RV and trailer the motorcycle to major motorcycle rallies. I no longer have to pay 0 a night for hotel rooms and hotels that just wait to poach money off of bikers, I put more miles on my motorcycle at the event than I ever have in the past, and there is much more fun happening at the RV parks than the hotels! I no longer have to worry about squeezing a weeks’ worth of toiletries and clothes onto my motorcycle; it all goes into my RV now.

This year I arrived at my RV Park in Bullhead City, AZ on May 24^th, 2013 and proceeded to set up camp. I put up my Star Spangled Banner, California Republic, and POW/MIA flag above my RV, took the motorcycle off of the trailer, unrolled the awning, and we were ready to rock and roll.

The first thing I saw when I rode my motorcycle to the strip which was just across the river from Laughlin, NV, was an electronic sign stating that no this was a no MC Colors event, soft cuts not allowed, and bait motorcycles were being used to catch thieves.

I do not mind going after motorcycle thieves but I certainly did not like the fact that a major event such as this managed to ban all motorcycle patches from the strip. I think it is a violation of the 1^st Amendment right to Freedom of Speech.

Notwithstanding the affront to motorcycle club members, this year’s event was a great time. There were plenty of fine looking ladies all over. Obviously there were guys for all the gals as well. There was the usual full line up of good bands and plenty of booze all over the place.

Those that know me know that I do not drink alcohol or use drugs. I would rather ride than sit around watching a bunch of bikers get shit faced at the bar.

Ride is exactly what I did throughout the entire event. I put on almost 1000 miles during the 6 days I ended up staying in Laughlin/Bullhead City. I found a road that is off the beaten track near Oatman, AZ called the scenic byway. My companion and I literally owned this road on Sunday. You are basically in the middle of the desert with no contact to the outside world for many miles. It was a great and hot ride.

During the ride in the desert I kept thinking I hope nothing happens to my motorcycle because here I would be up shit’s creek without a paddle. I opted to take a more populated route back to the RV on the way home since it was getting dark.

I managed to win over $70 dollars as well on this trip where ordinarily I always lose at the casinos.

On a down note one of my friends was arrested on Friday night /Saturday morning for Disorderly Conduct and another charge. They were transported from Bullhead City to Kingman, AZ to the county jail there. There was a weekend judge on duty. Suffice is to say I got almost no sleep on Friday night / Saturday morning, and I had to go bail them out on Saturday afternoon and give them a ride back to Bullhead City. Saturday night was spend crashed out in my RV recovering from helping my friend out.

Aside from bailing my friend out and losing Saturday night, I had a good time this year at the Laughlin River Run Motorcycle and Biker Rally. I will be going to many rallies this summer including Sturgis, Las Vegas, and Palm Springs.

See you on the road.

By California Motorcycle Accident Lawyer and Biker Attorney Norman Gregory Fernandez, Esq., © May 1, 2013

The post The Laughlin River Run 2013, a Good Time for Most first appeared on Biker and Motorcycle Accident Lawyer Blog.

The scene of my RV accident on US-14 above Greybull, Wyoming in the Big Horn National Forest. This shows the damage after my RV was pulled off of the embankment.

** This article was written on August 30, 2012, 2012, but it is being published on December 18, 2012. There will be one final article to be published soon about the rest of my epic vacation. There will also be a post of many videos from the vacation. Again, this article was written on August 30, 2012.

First off, before I get started, let me follow-up with my status on August 27, 2012.

Liz and I toured all over the Black Hills of South Dakota. We visited Mount Rushmore, the Crazy Horse Memorial, Sturgis, and Rapid City. We had a good time in South Dakota especially on the motorcycle. The Black Hills offer some great riding in what I consider to be intermediate twisties. I think the twisties we have where I live in the Angeles National Forest or in some places in the Santa Monica Mountains are much more difficult to ride than the Black Hills.

All in All though, the Black Hills are beautiful and I will be back next year.

We left South Dakota on August 29, 2012 for Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming.

When we reached the mountains off of US 14, I knew we were in for some exciting views. These are the steepest mountains I have taken my RV on since getting the RV. We went up to an altitude of 8,900 feet.

The trailer after my RV accident. It jackknifed into the rear bumper causing a crack and a small scratch on my lower, other than that there was no damage to the motorcycle thank god.

On the downside of the mountain, there was a sign showing a truck on a downgrade stating that it was for the next 17 miles. Another sign stated for trucks to switch into lower gears. I shifted into 2nd gear.

The downgrade was extreme. I pumped my brakes rather just holding them down. I cannot describe what it is like to try to slow down a very large 35’ RV with an Electra Glide and trailer in tow, on declines such as the one we were on. It was scary.

On the way down, we both heard a noise that we could not identify. Later on, I felt the brakes get a bit mushy but they still worked. We came to a visitor’s area where there were waterfalls and a viewing area. I told Liz that I was going to stop to check out the brakes.

It was around 6-6:30pm or so and starting to get a bit dark in the mountains. Since the sun was going down Liz did not want to stop or possible or get stuck in this desolate place. I told her we had to stop. I got the rig slowed down and turned right into the area, I downshifted to 1st gear to slow down more without using the brakes, when I pushed down on the brakes to stop, the pedal went to the floor and to my horror were gone. We were not slowing down and we were not stopping.

Had I kept on going straight in my RV instead of intentionally crashing my RV to the left, this is the cliff we would have went over, at about 300 feet we both would have died. God was with us this day.

In my 49 years heretofore, I have driven or ridden many cars, trucks, motorcycles, you name it, nothing that I have driven or ridden has lost all brake power before, nothing.

Here I was heading for a sheer cliff straight ahead, literally a sheer cliff, and I had no brakes. I yelled to Liz that we had no brakes. I tried shifting the rig into park; it just made a click click sound but did not slow down.

I told Liz that we were going to crash.

I intentionally steered the rig sharply to the left so that we would hit the side of the road which were rocks rather than go off of the cliff. I could not believe that when I made the sharp turn to the left that we did not tip over on our side.

I told Liz to brace herself. Literally from the time I realized I had no brakes until the time we crashed was just a few seconds.

I noticed a white thing where we were headed, I steered to avoid it.

We jumped up onto a curb, crashed through a wood fence, and by the grace of god were finally stopped by two beefy barriers that the National Park Service has planted along the sides of the road.

After the initial impact we kept going until we hit these barriers. We did not stop right away.

After the impact we just sat there. I was freaked out about the damage to the rig, Liz said “Norman don’t worry, we are alive.”

Let me tell you, had I steered wrong or stayed on the road that day, I have no doubt we would no longer be here on this earth. What if I would have lost the brakes on the road? I would have gone 35-40 mph or faster right over the edge. If anyone has ridden the US 14 in Wyoming, you know what I mean.

Two days ago I lost my brakes on a severe downgrade on US 14 in the Big Horn National Forest in Wyoming. I had to intentionally crash my RV in order to get the rig stopped.

This is the front bumper on my RV after the accident. It was destroyed. A new bumper has to be fabricated from scratch to fix the damage.

Thanks to the fine people of Greybull, Wyoming, we were towed off of the mountain into a KOA RV Park last night, and the same guy came this morning to pick up the rig to repair the brakes. The parts won’t be in until tomorrow, so the repair guy is allowing us to bunk down in the RV on his property.

I have fallen in love with Greybull, Wyoming and so has Liz. The town has about 1100 people who all seem to know each other. Went to dinner tonight and ended up meeting some of the town folk. I was invited to attend a shooting event on a private ranch. The people here leave their keys in the car, and will bend over backwards to help you.

I rode up to the crash site twice today, from Greybull, Wyoming east on US 14 up into Big Horn Forest, once by myself, once with Liz. This ride is the most beautiful and awe inspiring ride I’ve ever taken in my life. No words can describe the wide vistas, the ancient canyons, the trees, and the waterfalls. It was as if I was in the most beautiful place on earth on my Harley.

Getting back to the accident; had I not turned the way I did Liz and I would not be here. There was a sheer cliff in front of us when I lost the brakes. It was a scary experience. The RV sustained damage to the lower front where it hit, and the back where the trailer fish tailed. We are not injured. I was told that many RV’ers lose their brakes up here every month; live and learn. I lost my lower lights in the front and some fiberglass. It can be repaired.

If the parts come in tomorrow and the RV is otherwise safe to drive we will be heading to Cody, Wyoming, where I will set up camp. Saturday we will ride the Harley through Yellowstone from the east entrance. Until then….

By California Biker Attorney and Motorcycle Accident Attorney Norman Gregory Fernandez

The post We almost died in Big Horn National Forest first appeared on Biker and Motorcycle Accident Lawyer Blog.

Deadwood, South Dakota

We arrived a few hours ago in our home for the next few days and nights, an excellent RV resort in Deadwood, South Dakota, within the Black Hills. We are about 12 miles from Sturgis, South Dakota and about an hour away from Mount Rushmore.

Deadwood is a happening town when the Sturgis motorcycle rally is not happening. There are many casinos and bars and an actual nightlife. It is a historic place high in the Black Hills, whereas Sturgis is a small town except during the rally.

The Black Hills happen to be the oldest mountains on the North American Continent.

My last update had us staying at an RV park in Illinois. Last night we spent the night in what was basically a muddy mess in Minnesota.

Since my last update we have driven through or stayed in Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, and South Dakota.

All of the States we have driven through have been beautiful.

South Dakota is probably the most desolate state by far with respect to places to stop, traffic, etc. It is truly a plains state. We went through hundreds of miles of corn fields before South Dakota. Once in South Dakota it switched to endless grasslands. To be frank South Dakota reminds me of the drive from Los Angeles to San Francisco in a way, but it is still unique.

The Sturgis motorcycle rally was August 6 – 12, 2012 this year. The rally ended two weeks ago. It is amazing to me that there are still a bunch of die-hard bikers here. I saw many bikers on I-90 as I was driving in.

I guess I will still have much fun riding my Harley Davidson Electra Glide amongst other bikers while I am here.

Tomorrow before I do anything, I will have to wash my motorcycle in place on the trailer before taking her off. She picked up a thick coat of white paste in Iowa, and rinsing it with water, nor rain in Iowa and Minnesota did not wash it off. So I will be delayed for at least an hour washing her. Once she is washed I will be off.

I plan on getting GoPro helmet footage of my ride as well as standard HD footage when stopped. I will post it on the blog when I get home.

That is it for now. Time to relax; it was a long 500 mile plus drive in the RV today.

By California Biker Lawyer Norman Gregory Fernandez, Esq.

The post In the Black Hills of South Dakota for a few days first appeared on Biker and Motorcycle Accident Lawyer Blog.