Time leave the tiny town of Lusk, but first another free hotel snack. It's there that we learn that the railroad and a women's prison (easy out there you perv's) are the main employers of this small burg. That might explain the nonstop procession of freight trains we saw, each about a mile long when we were cruising into town the day before.....we even got one of the engineers to give a long tug on the air horn..........we honked too..........a mutual salute from one classic American machine to another.
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| Sturgis bound, the morning crowd scene at Lusk's main gas station |
Pulling out of the motel driveway and ......what the heck!? It's a parade......a real live small town, 4H kind of parade, complete with girls on horses, a band on a flatbed, fire engines, an old pick-up truck and a guy riding what can only be described as a mechanized demonic bull.........no really!
We watch, mostly because the road is closed in the direction we need to go...........kids throw candy, haven't they heard of litter, growing landfills? Damn things could put out an eye.........Unruly children gone, we pull out and get on down the road...............we've got to get to the promised land, we've got to get to Sturgis dammit.
Once again the weather is great, hot and humid, but manageable. The scenery is stunning; open countryside, rolling grassland, and low rock formations. No traffic at all as our Harley's cruise full tilt in perfect staggered formation down the two lane blacktop (which actually kind of appeared pink, go figure). It's as though we had an invisible escort, magically clearing the way to Rapid City.
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| Great grub and the entertainment was free! |
A quick stop at the All Star Cafe in Evanston, tough to find a place to park there were so many motorcycles...........Nate and our server could have done open mic night at the Improv, oh yeah, they were funny. Some good chow, lots of laughs and we're ready to split. We're on a mission..............gotta go.
Our charmed ride continues to the tune of a staccato V-Twin orchestra........damn these bikes sound good! Nothing particularly new about that last fact, but there's just something about the low rumble of a Harley cruising in top gear............sometimes I roll the throttle just enough to feel the sound a little more intensely. If you've ridden one of Milwaukee's finest, you know exactly what I'm talking about.
Pinned at 75mph Rapid City comes into view in short order, we navigate to the hotel, no problem, Vince gets us there without a single wrong turn. We roll up to the hotel, Comfort Inn and Suites...........very nice, the room is clean and neat, and the AC is awesome. We're good. A quick pit stop, clean up the bikes a bit......OK, Vince and I are the only ones to actually buff up our bikes, the other guys are proudly sporting their road grime as a badge of pride for the miles they've ridden. Which by the way stands at over 1,450 when we put the kickstands (oops, jiffy stands) down at the hotel. A good friend of the boys, Matt, has arrived as well. He flew in and will be joining the fun.................got a feeling Matt and his rental car will be called into designated driver duty before our stay in Sturgis is over..........hello Full Throttle Bar!!
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| Just a section of the t-shirt wall at Black Hills HD |
Sturgis is about 30 miles northwest of Rapid City, but first we stop at Black Hills Harley Davidson along Highway 90 (it's perfectly located between Rapid City and Sturgis), which has become a destination in its own right. Huge dealership, lots of vendors, some of them big time like Vance and Hines, Dunlop and many more. We score some t-shirts (the first of many no doubt!) and head on down the road to our real destination............the reason for the 1,450 mile journey - Sturgis.
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| Main Street, Sturgis |
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| The action goes on well into the night....sort of |
We roll into town, the "back way", a benefit of having been here before. It's still 95 degrees and the humidity must be at least 90 too. We park on a side street and begin the walk to Main Street. Nate, Paul and Matt are slack jawed, so many bikes, people and sounds, it's hard to know where to turn next..........this isn't Street Vibrations, it's not Laughlin............this is Sturgis, and there's nothing like it......anywhere!!!
You know what they say about photos..............that's why the words are stopping and the viewing should be starting. Take a look at a fraction of what we saw in a couple of hours on Main Street. Be brave, be very brave!
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| Neve Campbell? Nah, happy bear girl |
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