Sturgis Or Die, Day Six.....Full Throttle Baby!!

No early day today.....at least not for Vince and I, up way too late the night before, talking and blogging.....until 5:30am to be exact. The lads took off to the Rapid City Civic Center to look at all the new Harleys, while Mark rode off to see Ft. Hayes (was used as a set in Dance's with Wolves). Don't want to rush, but can't waste the day.....there's so much to see and we've only got one more full day in Sturgis.

Vince and Mark mug for the camera

While Vince does his best Fred Sanford imitation.....it's not really a walk, and it's not quite a shuffle.....but it is entertaining, I try and finish up some last minute blog details. Ready to go, the three of us (Vince, Mark, and myself) head back to Sturgis to see more of what we missed the day before. It's a great ride in, only t-shirts, but I did wear sunscreen, so safety wasn't completely abandoned for the sake of biker style.

Not much parking on Main Street

The lads we're gonna take Matt's rental in to Sturgis later and meet us if it worked out. Cruising into town, we find a shady spot to park (sweet!) and set off walking. It's noticeably more crowded today, folks are beginning to roll in and the streets are filling up. Talking to vendors, the mood is apprehensive, business is already off from last year, but there's still quite a bit of the Rally to go, so it may yet turn around.

But looking around the Corbin Seats display you'd never know business was off..............five guys standing around, and me (the only customer in sight) wanting to purchase a gel seat for the ride home.....my trick custom unit is just a little tough on this old bod, and I can't get one staffer to give me the time of day......no seat for me, no business for them. Too bad all around.

The temperature is in the low 90's with humidity about the same..........think convection oven. We amble around taking in the sights, stopping off at the Jack Daniels display for some fun and swag.........first class marketing, these guys know their business. Mark is searching for a painter to do some custom lettering, it's gotta be just right, so not just any hack will do, each candidate must be vetted..........doesn't look like anyone is gonna make the cut. The boys kind of weave in and out, they're around for a bit, then they disappear.

The best part? I scored the scarf!

I go down to the Broken Spoke Bar to check out the action and pick up a long sleeve t-shirt for the trip home. Walking back to meet Mark and Vince it occurs to me that there is virtually never a moment that the sound of a Harley motor is out of ear-shot. No B.S., no hype.........it's total immersion Milwaukee style. And that's what makes this place so great, it's all about Harley's and the lifestyle, simple as that. No apologies, no "...yeah buts". Go Harley, or go home.............and they saw it was good.

I finally get it, what makes the Sturgis Rally special; it's not about the half million dollar motor homes and trailers, accountants playing badass for the week, the MILF's with way too much tan and boobs, posers that shouldn't be on a Vespa let alone an overweight motorcycle with sketchy brakes, muscle bound pretty boys, wanna-bees, or never were’s, hardcase old timers. It's about all those people coming together to share the same experience, and in that moment all barriers come down and folks that would never cross paths in their "normal" lives are sharing stories and beer. Magic. Enough philosophy........gotta  buy a sticker.

We stroll along Main Street drinking in all the people and machines, the truly cool and the incredible weird. It's all here. Vince picks up a cool t-shirt and does some shopping for a friend that couldn't make the trip. Scoring my stickers.......I wish I could tell you what they say, but it's not that kind of blog (well almost not).

Time for some ice cream cones (soooo good, must have been the heat, but we all swear they were some of the best we'd ever tasted), check out the new Indian's (hope they make it this time) and we reach our bikes. Time for the short ride to Deadwood. Only about 20 minutes along a sweet stretch of asphalt that winds its way through a canyon bordered by rock and thick forest..........they could make car commercials on this road. But today it's all ours, the cars are out-numbered 50 to 1, the way it should be.

Street action in Deadwood

If you've never been, Deadwood is a worthwhile look-see. While not quite like going "back in time", it's about as close as you're gonna get.......Main Street's buildings alone are just amazing, and there are always costumed characters walking the streets (at least during the Rally). And the bikes, streets lined with only bikes........hard to believe there are that many in the entire country. We park and start walking. No real purpose, just taking it in. Mark looks at wallets, Vince at belts, there's a fair amount of really nice leather goods in these parts and one never knows what treasures are in the next shop.

Those things aren't loaded, right!?

I score a nifty Sturgis "road sign", perfect for the garage....Vince another t-shirt. Mark's more selective, nothing for him. The lads have decided to head up to Deadwood as well, just as we're leaving...........sometimes that's the way it goes. We'll all meet up in a few hours to take in the vibe at the Full Throttle Saloon.......oh, yeah, that'll be fun! The three of us fire up our machines, take the reverse route back down the mountain, hit I 90 .......and see our first motorcycle accident of the trip.

As quick as a thought, there's a bagger on the opposite side of the freeway that's drifted into the center grass median, for a brief second, I think he's coming all the way over and we might just meet...........but the tall grass and steep "V" of the terrain have other plans. Just as he passes, his machine begins to swap violently at the back, and as I look in my mirrors, it goes down and he goes over the bars. Vince and Mark, who were behind me, saw that the rider to get up.......so no tragedy.

But a reminder of how quickly things can turn to doody on a motorcycle, and why you've got to respect it every moment.............and if that didn't get our attention, the freshly killed dear carcass on the side of the road about a mile from the downed rider sure did. We're focused.

Focused on throwing down some beer and cutting lose..........quick rest at the hotel, and we're off...........Full Throttle! What you say!? The dead deer, the dude hitting the deck.......have you forgotten already? Nope, fear not. Matt has rented a car (he's Paul and Nate's friend that flew in for a few days) and will be our designated driver for the night. See.....no worries.

The lads should look happier, yes?

The Full Throttle is an open air bar that sort looks like Andy Warhol meets Tombstone......a whacked out rodeo arena, but instead of livestock there's bikes everywhere (you can ride your bike up to a bar if you were so inclined. There's a school bus planted straight up in the ground, a bridge to nowhere, bars and stages everywhere, a burn-out pad where you can smoke the tire's literally until the wheels fall off...........trust me, you've never been to a bar like this.....unless you've been here.

You should recognize this lovely......

Tonight, there's an AC/DC cover band; "Big Gun", that's actually doing an amazing job. The joint is thumping, the bartenders who happen to all be women, are friendly and fun...........we're diggin' it. It's all just a huge show and we're part of it...........although how much is subject to strict editing! Nate and I down a fair number of beers (only Corona for me, gotta be loyal to our team!), while Vince and Mark cruise the many vendors, JP and Matt snap photos and make new "friends".

We cap off the night watching JP and Nate get launched about 200 feet straight up into the sky in a steel ball...........very cool. We can still hear JP laughing. Time to slink back to the hotel.......it'll be light soon.