Day 6 - Day At the Museum

The museum tour officially began with our arrival in Milwaukee and the subsequent day's visit to the Harley Davidson Museum.  Our crew that had assembled in Omaha, plus several other Road Gliders making their way to Maine, had consolidated at the Ramada Inn in downtown Milwaukee and we numbered approximately 13 bikes and 18 persons.  The museum has been over 100 years in the making and only recently was opened to the public.  For all but two of our assembled crew this was the first visit to this hallowed place.  Our museum tour leader, Raygar (Had Mr. Garvin been born in the sixteenth century, he would most definitely been a Viking - quite possibly one of the Berzerkers - so he shall be referred to in future posts as "Raygar," as in Raygar The Horrible.) in an effort to make our tour an efficient one, had requested that the tour members depart the hotel early in the morning so that we could get to the museum before they opened, thus avoiding a line.  That time was 8:00 a.m.  The tour members dutifully complied, assembling promptly at 7:45, riding all of three blocks in parade formation to the museum, and indeed we avoided any lines.......because the museum does in fact not open until 9:00 a.m.  On the plus side we got some of the choicest parking spots one could ever ask for and plenty of chances to gaze at and take pictures of the famous Hill Climber statue that sits in front of the museum. 

The Hill Climber statue and an intruder.

Oh, we took pictures.  There was, in fact, nothing else to do but take pictures.  We might be able to start out own museum of the statue in front of the museum, we took so many pictures. 

Finally the museum opened, and we ventured in to view the items on display.  For the true Harley enthusiast this is without doubt the place to go.  The early history of the Harley-Davidson Motor Company is surprisingly well detailed in its presentation, and the evolution of the bikes from the first crude model, most of which pieced together and displayed in a gleaming case, to the models presently being offered are laid out in superb fashion.  If you love Harley and everything associated with the "Harley Lifestyle," a visit to the museum is highly recommended. 

After our visit, which was only about three hours, too little time, really, we were summoned to depart.  But before vacating the city of Milwaukee it was decided that we should make the trek over to Harley headquarters, several miles away from the museum.  The headquarters building is located in the exact same location where the very first Harley was put together by William Harley and the Davidson brothers.  A trip to headquarters for the Harley rider is essentially a visit to the biker Mecca.  One can pose with the bike on the corner for a unique photo that is sure to constitute the bikers version the family Christmas Card.  With our large group it was decided that the tour members would line up, riding to the photo spot one by one, where yours truly would snap a photo, then shoo the member away, allowing the next member to pose similarly. 

At this point it must be explained that not all bikes on our little tour were in fact Harley-Davidson motorcycles.  Ben, our youngest (and by definition most naive of our members) saw fit to ride his Triumph on our little tour.  As the tour members took their turns getting highly desired photos taken at the biker mecca, Ben, showing no regard whatsoever for the protocol of the bikers, dutifully took his place in front of the Harley-Davidson Bar and Shield sculpture, apparently believing that he was in fact riding a Harley. 

What's wrong with this picture?

It is believed that much like the stories of young children who have been raised by wolves actually believe they are wolves, Ben, having spent so much time with real bikers, apparently believed he was also on a Harley.  We didn't have the heart to tell him otherwise, and we allowed him to have his Triumph photographed in front of Harley headquarters.  The security guard standing nearby could only shake his head in total disbelief. 

Finally we were able to escape Milwaukee where more tour members on the way to Maine joined us at Doc's HD of Shawano County.  Doc is clearly a disturbed man, for this is not your everyday Harley dealer....unless you consider having a museum, a lighthouse, and a zoo normal fare for a motorcycle dealer.  And don't forget the Harley powered picnic table and the famous Timeline Motorcycle, which seats ten people and has one each of the motor company's different engines.  This is an actual working bike that was ridden into Sturgis in 2009. 

The Timeline motorcycle is just one of Doc's bizarre creations. 

We were too stunned to spend any more time at this wonderland and decided that we had to get going so that we could get north so that we could view and cross the Mackinac Bridge, the famous bridge that connects Michigan's upper and lower peninsulas.  But you'll have to wait until the next installment when we present the Michigan portion of our adventure.