Day 3 - Ride Prep, Meetings and Dealer Party

Everyone has arrived for the ride and we spent the day reviewing group riding signals and protocal, meeting the Harley executives that rode out from Milwaukee for the ride, and from representatives from Cody, WY about the plans while in Cody.
Everyone was in the motel parking lot right after the Rider's meeting and you can see the bikes from every state and 7 countries including Australia and United Arab Emirates amongst others.

The Billings HD dealer hosted a party for all the Iron Pony Riders as a way to kick off the ride in earnest. You can see that the city has welcomed us warmly with sins like this all over town. The parking lot was crammed, and the food was good ol' western barbecue. Met a couple from Lakewood, Colorado and had a great time talking about their neighborhood as it is right in the backyard of the high school that I attended. I met two guys from Austin, TX at the car wash this morning, and they told me of the rain that they hit while coming up through Denver. Spent some time at dinner with John from Sonoma, CA. He has been on the road for over a month from up in Banff, Canada through much of the northwest and midwest so far, having just come to Billings from Sturgis. He is riding the same bike as I, except a different color. He lost his wife to cancer about 9 months ago, and this is his way to honor her memory as she used to travel with him on trips throughout the southwest.

There are clouds on the horizon, so will be checking the weather report on the internet this evening. Plans are to leave around 6:30 in the morning for Red Lodge, MT for a pancake breakfast that the HD Dealer then off to Cody , WY. to establish a base camp at the hotel for the next several days. The road we will be taking is truly "world reknowned" for it's spectacular views and numerous "S" curves called Beartooth Highway. The next few days promise to provide the most spectacular scenery and views, between the wildlife and the views. I will be adding a complete photo album online and will provide the link in the blog sometime over the next day or two.