Sturgis North, Canada's Sturgis Motorcycle Rally and Festival, Merritt, BC - Part 4 - Sunday Morning and Ride Back to Vancouver

I wanted a Bruce Coburn Rocket Launcher to kill the generator someone was running at 4 am in the camp grounds. Burton Cummings had finished long after midnight and I think I got to bed in the tent with Gilbert around 1 or 2 am. The music down the row from me was going till at least 3 am.  A large group of people had been dancing outside their tents and RV’s.  Motorcycles stopped driving about around then too but that generator was there every time I rolled over.
Little Gilbert had his body snuggled up to mine, lying on the sleeping bag for comfort. He was warm enough. I thought about getting his coat but decided against it as he seemed just fine curled up beside me on the sleeping bag and hoodie.  It’s just that whenever I rolled over, well, there was the pain in the back and hip to consider, since the ground was hard, then he’d have to realign himself to get the maximum amount of soft sleeping bag under him.  Of course at 7 am, when we normally get up, he was there licking my face, bright eyed and bushy tailed, all ready to go to work.
“Don’t you know it’s Sunday!” I asked him.  “I got to bed after 2 pm” I said.
He just wagged his tail.
I got dressed.  Getting jeans on is one thing in a tent.  Out of the tent I had to dance around getting into socks and my Harley Davidson biker boots.  We both went down to the stream. He had a drink and we both found some bushes to mark. Then I began the slow task of taking down the tent and loading my bike.  I don't move quickly before coffee.
I was actually the first Harley to rev up.  Thankfully no one shot me,too.  I rode out of the campground area seriously considering the possibility.
I parked the motorcycle where they had outdoor toilets and also portable water fountains, just fine for shaving. I used the mirror on my bike.  Then I saw some guys with coffee.  It turned out that they were a group of Gospel Riders.  I approached them saying, “I”ve already found Jesus. Could you tell me where to find a cup of coffee.”
They laughed, which is always a good sign with Christians. Don't want to hang out with the ultra serious ones who think they're the only ones God talks too. Better to be with the laughing set who knew Jesus and the disciples had to love life, being fisherman, carpenters and all. 
“We’re just going to have a  church service," said one guy,  "We'll have more coffee after that. You’re welcome to come along.”  Well I figured I could hear Father Mark at my home church St. James Anglican going “yes!”  Of course I went along.  They wanted Gilbert to come and I go wherever he’s welcome.
I liked the service too.  Jim, a fellow who’d done prison ministries and down town eastside gospel revival played the guitar and sang some of the good old Christian songs I was raised on. “He’s got the whole world in his hands”.  Only he changed that to “He’s got Harley Davidson and all its riders in his hands”.  I especially loved singing Jesus Loves me and hearing the second verse which I don’t recall ever hearing before.  The preacher then talked about love. God’s love as great and great enough for all of us. It was a good sermon. Simple. Uplifting.  Then more songs and that was it.  We walked back to the coffee pot and I got my coffee. Gilbert got a whole lot of petting too. A number of the guys said they had dogs but hadn’t brought them.  They loved that Gilbert rode with me.
We talked about God and Jesus and ministry.  Normal stuff.  I shared about my time with Terry and the West Coast Bikers. Seeing Third Day in concert in Langley.  I’d talked with these Gospel Rider folkbefore  on the Oyster Run. They meet in Surrey Monday night. I really ought to get out for some fellowship. Good guys. I’ve liked them each time I’ve met them and it’s now three or four times. The early ‘“mass” was typically ‘light’ on numbers. They were holding a second service after people had woken up. I saw more people crowding around the stage while I was leaving.
After that the vender wagon opened. I got an fried egg and ham sandwich.  Gilbert got some sausage from the vender and doggie dried duck treats I found in a saddlebag..   Nourished in body and soul we got on the Harley.  I stopped to get Laura a t shirt from Gilbert.  We’d all gone together to the first Sturgis North.  She still takes care of Gilbert from time to time.  She's definitely one of his most favourite human.
Driving into Merritt to fill up with gas there were all sorts of motorcycles.  A whole lot of people had stayed in motels. I’d opted for camping because I thought the motels would have been sold out.  That was the case in Sturgis South Dakota.  Camping is part of the fun but I think I’d rather be the guy with RV and generator next time.  Given I have a truck, an RV Toyhauler that could carry my Harley, I really do hope I can go next year in style.  Merritt sure is the perfect location for a motorcycle rally and music festival.  But a lot can happen in a year.
The Coquahalla with its 120 speed limit, high country views and winds were a real rush of a ride. I’d switched out Led Zeppelin for the Newsboys and was blasting along at 140 passing.  Felt like I was back in northern Montana or Northern Wyoming. Big open country and endless highway. Real motorcycle ride experience.  I slowed down as we began to drop out of the ozone but was surprised how quickly I was coming into Hope. It really seemed like no time the ride was such a beauty.
In Chilliwack I figured Gilbert needed a rest. He’d been such a good dog. We’d done a 170 km and used a half tank of gas.  I called my friend Lorne, another Kilt wearing Scottish descendant. He’d just had surgery so was wearing a cast on his foot after a ligament tear when we met up at Starbucks. With coffee and muffins and Gilbert getting bits of muffin to go with his water we were all a happy crew. It was a sunny day and we were sitting outside in the old downtown Chilliwack reminiscing about how we’d started doing this together 16 years ago. We’d both met through Dr. Bernie and we’d just stayed friends. It was great to jaw and jaw and jaws.  We got all caught up and then some.
Friends are great pit stops.  I’ve got to get together with Lorne more often. We do Robbie BurnsDinners and some Scottish events but it’s been too long since we just talked.  When a cute girl asked him what the cast on his foot was for, I answered “masturbating”.  What are friends for?  We sure did laugh a lot.  16 years is a long time and a whole lot of stories.  We both missed Dr. Bernie, of course. He brought us together and we’d often go to dinners which would mostly be laughter.
Gilbert got back on the motorcycle. I mounted up.  It didn’t take long then to get back to Vancouver.  The traffic was just building up from the weekend return but we got in before the worst.
Gilbert immediately found a yellow ball. I loved walking in and finding that my whole place had had a Mida  miracle. While I was away an angel had come and cleaned and tidied the place.  Gilbert wasn’t as impressed.  He had to spill his toy bag to find a tennis ball. I was co opted to throw while he fetched.  In his world then all was right.
Despite the Friday mini office crisis, thanks to everyone I consulted I have a solution and a new plan.  More work for me in the short term but hopefully a better long term solution.  Time will tell.  What a joy though to ride my Harley to Sturgss North, hear Burton Cummings, go back down the good worm hole of memory lane, experience the rush and high of motorcycling, add in a church service,  a visit with a good friend and spend all that great time with little Gilbert, a great companion and amazing biker dog.

Sturgis North, Canada's Sturgis Motorcycle Rally and Festival, Merritt, BC - Part 3 - Main Stage - Moxy, Molly Hatchet and Burton Cummings

It was truly epic to be at Sturgis North in Merritt. This is a great venue.  Beautiful mountains, regular John Denver location with Colorado high and idyllic mountain stream   But, and this is the clincher, John Denver, bless his soul, wouldn’t naturally bring to mind a stage ringed by massive Harley Davidson motorcycles.  This is Buffalo Chip outdoors.  Big boy arena.  No bicycles, sandals and shorts with pretty sweet vegan cute college girls who haven’t quite graduated.  This is leathers and men and women. Lots of vets. I love that the Hells Angels, no colours mind you, but you know whose who, and the RCMP are all there, kind of mixing. A bit like a soccer game between combatting soldiers on a Christmas Eve in a long standing war.  Everyone is nice. There’s ambulances and security otherwise.  This was a well run concert.  Really well run.  But like a  Sons of Anarchy movie truce, everyone was listening to the Biker Mommas. The Katie Sagal's had told everyone to behave or else.  All the women were here to strut their stuff and dance and have a good time. All the boys were told to leave their guns at home.
I love Sturgis for this.
Mostly, over 99% of the folk there aren’t part of that other scene.  There’s a whole lot of Veterans who ride Harley’s. They’re a central part of these festivals.  My favourite ride is the Vets Ride. The Christian bikers were out in force too.  Lots of Gospel Riders and Christian Motorcycle Association folk.  A whole lot of professionals ride big bikes. They can afford them. They're also really popular with the rural townsfolk.  City guys like the crotch rockets. They were there too but Harleys dominated. A whole lot of music lover too. Then there were the beer drinkers.  I didn’t see a lot of evidence of drugs.  Pot. Pot smoking all right. But the whole atmosphere didn’t have any of the Downtown Eastside flavour of cocaine, crystal meth or heroin.  I doubt people into heavy drugs could get their asses out to music festivals.  They certainly can't afford the vehicles, gas or price of adminission.  They’re living in poverty somewhere on the couch dreaming of being cool one day when they can kick their habit.  Lots of recovery folk come to these rallies. I expect there were AA and NA meetings happening somewhere. I didn’t key into them like I did at Sturges, South Dakota where they’re just part of the fabric of the place. Here it seemed that Jesus Loves You was more in evidence. That and the Siks. You can tell them by the steel plated turbans.
A friend said the Harley was the favourite Aryan vehicle.  Only here there were blacks and Aboriginals on the Harleys as well. The Asians I saw still seemed to favour big Yamaha’s and Suzukis whereas the Siks had Harley’s and Victories. My motorcycycle buddy Chiropractor Richard Cho rides a Harley but I wonder if there is a profile to different bike choices.  I see Harley’s wherever I travel in the world, most recently even in Russia.  I figure the true Aryan might ride a BMW but just about anyone rides BMW’s as they do the Italian Ducatis.  I think it’s more like a preference for performance. I think there’s nothing like my Electraglide for the American Highway.  My Turkish friends who rode through South America sure loved their BMW.  The english Triumph was the preferred bike for Africa.  My friend loves his Honda crotch rocket in downtown Vancouver traffic.
There’s just something special about a Harley sound too. Especially when it’s used for applause like it was at the Sturgis in South Dakota and here at Sturgis North. Besides Gilbert and I love our Harley. 
Moxy was playing early.  I’d known the band. They’re famous. I just hadn’t appreciated them until tonight.  What an impressive performance.  Real solid group.  Great vocals.

I confess I didn’t know Molly Hatchet though they’re really famous.  One of their songs took me way back. I’d heard it on the radio hundreds of times but I’d never associated these great tunes with the band name.  And I loved their music. Really Southern US country rock and Louisiana Alabama upbeat blues hillbilly metal rock whatever. It was fantastic and the whole crowd was dancing. It’s stomping music.  I’ve got to get their records.  I just loved the beat.

But what I came for was Burton Cummings. And he was worth it.  Hell I rode a Harley a whole day to see him but he’s such great pinnacle of a musician, song writer, entertainer that he’s worth the whole climb up the mountain. I”d heard him first at 17 when as head of the entertainment committee on the student council executive it came to me to hire the Guess Who for our high school dance. They’d  gone from being Chad Allen and the Reflections to the Guess Who.  I remember “Shaking All Over” but I believe the dance was 1969 or 1970 and that’s when they released ‘These Eyes” which became the US #1 single.  I confess I had tears in my eyes when Burton Cummings sang “These Eyes’.

The first time I heard Burton Cummings sing was when he was with Deverons and put out the song “Blue is the Night’.  To an adolescent boy with pimples and unrequited love, there has never been a better song to sum up the true angst of the world in which love exists but not for you.  I couldn’t get enough of that song.  When you're young and a wannabe poet a song like that can really help you suck the very teat of depression dry and come out the other side ready to fall in love all over again.
Moments at a time I was wafted back to high school. it was like the Vincent Massey High School Reunion where we’d all danced and I felt totally dissociated back to 17 again.  1969 was a very special year.  Then 1970 was too.  The whole early 70’s were something else. All that time before Medical School. After I got into medical school it was a whole different world. There was simply no time for rock and roll.  My party days were over and life because a serious business.
Then there I was at a Vincent Massey High School Reunion with all these other folk in our 50’s telling stories of high school.  It was a truly special time.
Like this concert.
Denise was the girl sitting beside me. She told me she’d grown up in Grand Forks, little town in interior BC.  She’d driven here with her sister in the side car and her son on the back of her 800 motorcycle, possibly Russian vintage.  “It’s like driving a big lawnmower on the highway.”  Having got rid of the one Gilbert and I had, our Ural, for just that reason, it’s really work to drive at high speed, I could only admire her for making the day trip here.  “I just had to hear Burton Cummings”, she said.
“I love his voice. His voice is one of the greatest singing voices of all time. 4 octaves.” I said.
I love America but I loved when American Woman came out. I loved that it was banned across the states. I loved that it was this strong peace message spoken to our own allies.  We weren’t against our military back then despite the song Universal Solider and Where Have All the Flowers Gone. We just didn’t like the ‘policies’ of war that wasted young lives.  I loved American Woman.  Burton Cummings and his band did it and the crowd went wild.
Clap for the Wolfman certainly went over with this wild bunch too. Hand Me Down world was a moving tribute.  Burton is an amazing pianist.  Canada’s Elton John in that regard. Stand Tall was a real show stopper. Indeed every song he and his band did was perfection.  It was a mystical time.


An incredible experience. I was up and dancing. Gibert was safe from all the cheering and dancing, curled up under a chair.  I was dancing, taking pictures, dancing, shouting.  Everyone was.  Burton Cummings is to Canadian music was Wayne Gretsky is to hockey.  No wonder he got the Order of Canada. In that regard he’s like “SIR” Paul McCartney in Canada.  A true life time achiever.
And there he was , a guy making music at a high school dance. Now a world star.  He went on to greatness like so many people I knew in those days.  It was a joy to see him at Sturgis North. He closed with Mother Nature.  Another great song.
“I never thought I’d be still doing this at 66" he said, "thank you for making it all possible.”  What a gentleman.  And no I didn’t think I’d be riding a motorcycle with a little dog into the wonders of Northern BC and camping outside in a pup tent beside a mountain stream after listening to a truly great Burton Cummings concert.  Life can be so sweet.