Father and son set off on motorcycle adventure

For years Ed Keller has grown accustomed to the traditional family barbecue, but this Father’s Day he will be one week into an unforgettable father-son adventure.

He and his son Gregg Keller embarked on a two-month motorcycle trip Monday that will take them across 48 states. The Novato residents mapped their route around meeting family, friends, camping at national parks and catching a few Giants games on the East Coast.

On Father’s Day they hope to be camping near Pike’s Peak in Colorado, about 1,400 miles into the trek.

Gregg Keller, 24, said as far as a gift, “Maybe we will find a Foster’s Freeze and get an ice cream cone,” he joked.

But the ultimate goal is to end up at the 75th annual Sturgis Motorcycle Rally, a week-long motorcycle festival in South Dakota, before heading back home.

Ed Keller, a 55-year-old father of three and husband of 32 years, said the trip to Sturgis was inspired by his brother in-law Stan Vaughn, who rode with them to the August rally last year. Vaughn died from cancer a month later.

“Four of us went. We had a really good time,” he said. “We did about eight states last year, and we were talking about doing the states we missed. Gregg said lets do 48.”

In memory of Vaughn, the Kellers planned the trip and are carrying some of his ashes to share the experience. This was something he would have liked to have done, they said.

And for the Kellers, the timing was right.

Gregg Keller just graduated from San Jose State University, and his father retired from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, where he worked as a supervisor for the environment, earlier this year.

Mardy Robbins, another one of Ed Keller’s brothers in-law, was among the group of four last year. He couldn’t make the whole journey with the Kellers this year, but he admires their relationship.

“They’re really close,” he said. “In 1994 my son died on a motorcycle, and that trip with them last year brought back memories of riding with my son.”

Robbins said he is going to try to meet them in Missouri. Karen Keller, Ed’s wife, is flying out there so they could all ride to the Sturgis rally together.

Gregg Keller said there were plenty of activities from last year’s event he didn’t get to do, such as zipline over rows of motorcycles and go to bike demonstrations. He is hoping to have an opportunity this year.

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But already, he said he is seeing how the trip is an overall learning experience, like many he has had with his father before.

He talked about the years they spent together when he was a Boy Scout and his father volunteered. He remembered when they rebuilt a 1957 Mustang, and how three years ago they resurrected his father’s 1982 Honda CB 750, which Gregg Keller is riding on this trip.

“I told him, ‘If you keep teaching me these things, by the time I’m your age I’m going to be smarter than you are.’ He said, ‘It’s not a bad thing, to be smart,’” Gregg Keller said. “Everything I know I’ve learned from my dad.”

To follow the Kellers on their journey, go to www.june15sturgis.blogspot.com.

Father and son set off on motorcycle adventure