Davidsons and desert heat on the Ride Home
Relatives of co-founder lead group to Arizona
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. – It’s about 100 degrees outside, a dry heat, of course, and Bill and Karen Davidson roll up on their Harleys.
The great-grandson and greatgranddaughter of Harley-Davidson Inc. co-founder William Davidson, Bill and Karen are leading a Ride Home to Milwaukee for Harley’s 115th anniversary celebration that kicks off Aug. 29.
They left San Diego, Calif., on Tuesday with a small group of Harley riders that’s growing at each stop along the way to Milwaukee.
Wednesday, they took a break from the blistering desert heat, stopping at a bike dealership in Scottsdale.
“In real hot weather, we have hydration vests on. … It acts like an air conditioner. And you have to drink a lot of water,” Bill Davidson said.
For the 115th celebration, HarleyDavidson has four organized group rides to Milwaukee from the “four corners” of the U.S.: Seattle; San Diego; Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.; and Portland, Maine.
Some people will make the entire journey to Milwaukee, while others will do part of it based on their interest or other commitments.
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and USA TODAY Network has a journalist on each of the rides.
In Scottsdale, Bill Davidson talked about some of the epic rides he’s done over the years.
“There have been so many. I have been blessed to ride in so many parts of the world, and I think one of the greatest surprises is the unexpected, when you come around a corner and you see a beautiful scene of nature. It’s awe-inspiring,” Davidson said.
“When you’re on a motorcycle, nature is exaggerated because it’s all around you. You feel it, you smell it, you see it.”
Riding from Scottsdale to Overgaard, Arizona — at an elevation of 6,627 feet — the temperature dropped to 73 degrees.
Karen Davidson, creative director of general merchandise for Harley, has been testing various products in the crazy range of temperatures.
“It’s all about the technology. … We’re looking for one product that does it all,” she said.
“Is there one? We’re trying. We’re trying.”
On the Ride Home from Portland, Maine, are Lucy and Tony Baker of Wells, Maine.
They’ve been married 13 years. Their first long motorcycle trip together was to Harley-Davidson’s 105th anniversary party in Milwaukee in 2008, and now they’re headed here again to carry their Harley Owners Group flag to the 115th celebration that gets underway Aug. 29.
They’ve been doing this every five years for Harley anniversaries.
Tony, 63, is a retired CIA polygraph examiner and former senior duty officer for the White House Situation Room under President George H.W.
Bush’s administration.
As a kid growing up in Deer Isle, Maine, he always wanted to ride motorcycles, especially after his mother tried to squelch his desire to own a minibike.
“I kind of always had that burning desire” said Baker, who has a garage full of toys, including a 2002 Corvette, three Camaros, a 1979 Harley-Davidson FLH 1200 and a 2013 Harley Anniversary Edition CVO Ultra that he and Lucy will be riding to Milwaukee.
The Bakers are collectors. In true New England fashion, you have to walk past their shrine to the Boston Red Sox before you get to their Harley-Davidson room.
“I have more items, but I just can’t fit them all in here,” said Baker, who has meticulously lined up pins, medallions, Harley-Davidson issued beer cans, Zippo lighters and other memorabilia marking thousands of miles in riding and collecting.
They’ve taken a 30-day trip to the Grand Canyon on their bike, and by comparison, the ride to Milwaukee is like a short hop across town.
They’re choosing their own route instead of the official ride route that leaves from Portland on Thursday.
Wednesday: It was pouring rain in Portland, not a good day to start a ride.
On the ride from Tacoma, Wash., to Milwaukee, is Dana Smith, from Belgium, Wis. He rode his bike around Washington state for a while Tuesday without realizing there was a helmet law — and he wasn’t wearing a helmet.
He figured it out by looking it up on the internet.
Smith is a long-distance biker. He recently rode from his home to Pittsburgh to check out a houseboat he might buy.
Then, he rode nearly 2,600 miles to Tacoma, so he could ride to Milwaukee.