Shark Week 10 (SWX)

https://roadglidenationalrally.com/index.php

Shark Week is a gathering of riding enthusiasts who meet annually for comradery, to ride some challenging roads and to partake in some of the incredible beauty our country has to offer. The idea for Shark Week began in 2010 and is made up of mostly Harley Davidson Road Glide motorcycles (which have a fairing that resembles the nose of a shark).

This year is the ride’s 10th anniversary and happens to be at the same location as the group’s first Shark Week, the historic and quite haunted Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.

Saturday, July 11, 2020

Kat and I are packed and ready to head out to Pittsburgh, PA for the weekend SWX Gypsy Tour. This tour is ahead of the official start of SWX and will include tour of Pittsburgh, dinner at the Famous Primanti Brothers and a ride to the Duquesne Incline with its fantastic view of Downtown Pittsburgh. On Sunday we’ll stop off at the Flight 93 Memorial as we ride towards Gettysburg on the famous Rt 30 Lincoln Highway.

Kat and I rode for about 5 hours to reach our hotel in Pittsburgh. It was mostly a fun, uneventful ride. About about 3 hours in though, as we were crossing a mountain range, we hit about 45 minutes of steady rain and temps falling to the low 60’s. We rode on without rainsuits with only our pants getting wet. At some point in the early afternoon we decided to stop off to fill our tank, grab a bite and get some coffee. By the time we reached Pittsburgh everything was dry but the inside of our boots.

After we checked into our hotel we went to visit the Shark Week attendees who were staying about 2 miles down the road. While it would have been more convenient to stay at the same hotel, I figured I could endure the two miles for the $30 we saved. It was nice finally meeting Shrug, Chis and the others I’d seen on FaceBook or corresponded a bit with.

After a bit of meet & greet we were off on a tour of Pittsburgh by local residents and Shark Week X ride MC, Chris & Kim Hutter. I must say that I was quite impressed by the beauty of Pittsburgh by what I saw and what school teacher and local historian Chris explained. The view from atop the The Duquesne Incline was spectacular with the three rivers coming together at the Fort Duquesne point.

After this treat, and a few laps around town, we were off to eat at the famous Primanti Bros. Restaurant and Bar. By the time we arrived and waited about 45 minutes we were hungry and ready to eat. The Ruben sandwich Kat and I shared was quite good and an enjoyable time with some of the SWX folks. After dinner it was late so we decided to head back to our hotel for a good night sleep.