Our extroverted neighbor at the Chip

Okay, I know what some of you might be thinking by now, “Hey, this is Sturgis you’re talking about. Where’s all the crazy action we always hear about?” Well, there was plenty of that, trust me. I have over forty photos as evidence, but I think I’ll save those for some other forum. Let’s just say, Friday morning began when we noticed our new neighbor sunbathing topless, and then moments later, totally nude. We knew we would be hitting the road for the long ride the next day, so we decided to stick around town, take it easy, and hit all the fun places. Looking back I think our naked neighbor was a harbinger of things to come for that day. Much of the legendary lewdness Sturgis is so famous for lives in its past, however if you’re willing to stay up late, into the wee hours, you can still find it. Law enforcement has cracked down over the years limiting the amount of open nudity Sturgis has become so famous for. Today body painting and pasties have become the new uniform for the more extroverted ladies of Sturgis.

Chuck at the Broken Spoke

After our morning ration of pancakes we headed into town. The traffic getting out of the Chip was now much reduced from earlier in the week. We were also now experts at getting into town without much pain and melting of our engines, so we made it to the Broken Spoke with great ease. Today was my day for buying all the shirts I planned on getting, and I do believe my favorite was the one I got at the Spoke. Meanwhile, in front of the bandstand, an impromptu Popsicle eating contest broke out. Chuck had gone looking for the restroom, so I decided to see what the contest was all about. Three gals stepped up to compete for the $50.00 that would be awarded for the best “performance” eating a Popsicle. Well, contestant number one did a reasonable job, but contestant two raised the bar when she decided to use all of her assets to her advantage. This of course sent a message to contestant three as to what it would take to stay in the game, so to speak. Contestant three did not disappoint, and in a second round of voting contestant one did whatever was necessary to catch up to the rest, but the final prize went to contestant number three. I thought it should have gone to number two, but there were other factors at play which I’ll leave to your imagination. So there. There’s my cryptic way of reporting on a true Sturgis moment of unbridled entertainment.

Contestants three and one prepare
to show what it takes to win.

After the Spoke we walked up Lazelle and Main Street and looked at a lot of shirt places and motorcycles, then worked our way back down to Roscos’s for lunch. Then we got back on the bikes and rode to the top of Main Street and parked, so we could explore some more. From there we managed to walk almost all the way back down the other way. For what it’s worth, we saw more airbrushed girls on this day than nearly all previous days combined. Finally we decided it was time to go back to the bikes and ride to the Full Throttle Saloon.

Your truly at the Full Throttle

The Full Throttle was going strong, but it was earlier in the evening, so the crowd was much more laid back than it gets later on. We hung around for awhile, smoked some more free cigars we picked up along the way and just soaked in some of the scenery. Eventually we decided to head back to the Chip and hang out with Kelly for our last night, but first I needed to stop by Monkey Rock, which was right across the street, to buy a shirt for a friend back in Atlanta. Patrick is probably the biggest Guns n Roses fan I personally know, and he asked me to grab him a t-shirt if I could since GnR was playing at Glencoe this year. I wheeled over across the street and finally found a place to park the bike. Fortunately, they were selling t-shirts with the GnR logo on them outside the concert tent, so I grabbed two since there was a two-for-one sale going on.

View from the iron bridge of the Full Throttle courtyard

A couple of ambassadors for Guns n Roses

Chuck headed on back to the Chip, so I caught back up with him after I left Monkey Rock. We sat back and had a beer with Kelly and then decided to head on over to the corral. Tonight the Scorpions were playing, but we really just wanted to go over to hang out, get some food and have a beer or two. All in all it was a pretty mellow evening. When we got back to our tents we started getting our stuff ready for the ride back in the morning.

My steed, ready for the trip home

When we rose the next morning it was time to pack our gear up, so we lost track of time and ended up missing the pancake breakfast. We wandered over there anyway and had a couple of cups of coffee, then came back to help Kelly hook his 5th wheel back up to his truck. Kelly was going to stay a couple more days, but thought it would be a good idea to get this done while there was someone around who could give him a hand. In no time we were ready to hit the road. We were only going as far as Sioux Falls to stay with Janet for the night, so we didn’t have to hurry.

Kelly, Rick and Chuck.
Until we meet again my friend.

Without a lot of fanfare we hit the road and blew out of the Black Hills on our way to Wall. We almost made it to Wall, but my tank switched to reserve while we were still about 20 miles out, so we needed to pull over for gas. After that we went on into Wall where we stopped for lunch at a little cafe across the street from the drug store. Once we finished our meal we were back on the road. The miles between Wall and the river had very high crosswinds. I don’t know how fast they were blowing, but they were blowing pretty hard and never slacked up for nearly 100 miles. I was pretty worn out from fighting the wind by our next gas stop. Once we hit east river the winds slacked up a bit and we kept on rolling toward Sioux Falls.

Rick in Minnesota

We had one diversion to take care of before we got to Janet’s house however. I had never been to Minnesota, so I wanted to go the extra 20 miles past Sioux Falls across the state line in order to collect up my visit, even if for a brief stop across the state line. We managed to get to Minnesota while the sun was getting low in the sky and get our photos before heading back to Janet’s house. We saw some pretty cool wind generators off in the distance while we were at the visitor’s center as well. After that we headed further into Minnesota to the next exit where we could turn around and head to Sioux Falls. We called Janet for directions in from that side and got there pretty easily—outside of me missing a couple of obvious turns. the most obvious of which was right in front of her house!

Chuck at the falls in Sioux Falls

Janet and Paul had prepared a spaghetti dinner for that night. Unfortunately Paul had to go to work down in Iowa, so he wasn’t there that night. We had a great conversation with Janet and gave her the Sturgis shirt we bought to give to Paul. After dinner and a couple of beers we had a fantastic night’s sleep in real beds for the first time in a week. The next morning we got up early enough to start our long ride to St. Louis. Our goal was to make it to the other side of St. Louis in Illinois, so we wouldn’t have to face Monday morning rush hour getting through town the next morning.

Flash and Chaos hit Nebraska

I had one more state to collect on the trip, so we decided to take a scenic ride through Nebraska on the way back. Hwy 75 wasn’t too far out of the way as it paralleled I-29 between Sioux City and Omaha. It probably cost us a little bit of time, but we got to ride through some pretty fields across the Missouri River Valley and the Omaha Indian Reservation. We stopped at a nice overlook where to chatted with a few other bikers who were passing through. After that we headed on down to Omaha and back into Iowa and on down to Kansas City.

Overview stop for the Missouri River Valley

We pressed hard after Kansas City to get across Missouri with as much daylight as we could hold onto. By the time we got outside of St. Louis it was dark and time for me to pull over and wash the bugs off of my windshield. Once we were back on the road Chuck pulled up beside me and asked for me to drop back and check his luggage. I dropped back and couldn’t see anything out of place, so I pulled back up and told him it all looked good. Chuck told me later what actually happened. It seems he decided to reach back behind him for a small towel he had stuffed in his cargo net, so he could wipe off a section of his windshield. When he reached back apparently his glove got caught on a bungee hook (although at that moment Chuck had no idea what it was hooked on). Suddenly Chuck found himself riding down the highway, at night mind you, with his right hand stuck behind him on god knows what! He pulled and couldn’t get it loose, so he reached back with his other hand in an attempt to feel for what it was hooked on. When his bike began to waver he decided maybe that wasn’t such a good idea. Finally, he decided the only thing he could do was yank the hell out of it to get his hand loose. Fortunately that worked, but he wasn’t sure what he might have unloosened from his cargo net, which is when he pulled up and asked me to check his load. This is what those of us who know Chuck call a “Chaos moment.” And like most Chaos moments he always comes out in one piece—thank god!

Chuck and the Missouri River Valley

We made our way to Illinois and found an exit with a Best Western, so I used my HOG discount and points card to get us a room. After we checked in we went looking for food. To my great pleasure we found another Steak & Shake. After dinner we went back to get a good nights sleep after 636 miles of riding. The next morning we had our complimentary breakfast and reloaded our bikes for the final ride home. It looked like we could make it home by 8:30 that night if we kept a good pace.

Chuck at the Best Western.
Our last official photo.

We indeed kept a great pace all the way into Nashville, where we stopped at the same place for gas we met good old Michael and Bob on our first day. On another interesting note, I forgot to mention Chuck had lost his GPS bracket while we were checking into the Buffalo Chip. He didn’t loose the GPS, just the bracket that used a suction cup to attach itself to the windshield. As we were standing there next to the pump recounting our first encounter with Michael, Chuck looked up and lo and behold, there sitting on top of the fuel pump was the exact same GPS mount as the one he lost in Sturgis. It was like some kind of angel just came and put it there for Chuck to find. Crazy. Whoever left it there was long gone, so we took it as fate it was placed there for Chuck and off we went. My next goal was to get south of Chattanooga for our next gas stop.

As we passed over Monteagle and approached Chattanooga we could see weather on the horizon. So far, outside of two near misses, we had ridden the entire trip without any rain. Would it be possible for us to make it all the way home with only 100 miles to go? It was not to be so. Just as we passed Chattanooga and came up on the Georgia state line the rain started. Thanks for the welcome home Georgia. In the quarter mile we had before we could exit we got hit enough to get my lower legs wet. Dang it. We pulled into the gas station, grabbed some food, made some phone calls and put on our rain gear. With 125 miles to go we were still on time for about a 9pm arrival and by the time we headed out the rain had stopped where we were.

Unfortunately, about 20 miles south we hit new rain. That’s when I realized I had the wrong glasses on. I had to pull over inder a bridge to switch out my glasses with a pair that could do a better job keeping the rain out from inside the lenses. Minutes after that we rode out of the rain and for awhile I was in hopes maybe we put it behind us. At this point we had only ridden in it for a total of only 5 or 10 miles. We managed to ride rain free for the next hour or more until we finally came into metro Atlanta. Now it was dark and around Barrett Parkway the rain started back. This time it wasn’t going to let us go. From there onward the rain poured harder and by the time we approached the I-75/285 interchange we were surrounded by the typical asshole drivers of Atlanta, at night, on the interstate, in the pouring rain. I can’t tell you how much this sucked.

We crept along at the safest speed we could maintain to maneuver our way through the interchange and then down 285 to the Hollowell Parkway exit. When we got to the first traffic light we both breathed a sigh of relief and it was there we took our different routes home. I went south to take Riverside Drive, and Chuck decided to stay with Bankhead Highway. When I hit Riverside I had forgotten there were no reflectors on the lane markings which made the road far darker than I had hoped. I finally had to eschew my riding glasses because of rain inside and outside of them. And of course I had to pass a deer along the way—looked like a nice eight point buck—just so every possible hazzard could be thrown at me during the last 20 minutes of the entire trip.

At last I pulled into my garage safe and sound. After being greeted by Pam I eagerly awaited the phone call from Chuck so I would know he made it home safe. Happily only a few minutes later Chuck called to let me know he was home. With that, the trip was officially complete and despite the last 40 miles of rain a total success along with memories for a lifetime. All I can say, is thank god Chuck stopped and rescued my rain gear!

STATISTICS:

Total miles traveled: 3,780*
Miles traveled during the rally: 600
Miles traveled in the rain: 45
States entered: 12
Objects lost: One set of rain gear, two Macanudo lighters, one Macanudo cigar and Koozie, one Jagermeister bandanna, one water bottle, one GPS windshield bracket
Objects recovered: One set of rain gear, one Jagermeister bandanna, one water bottle, one GPS windshield bracket

* Miles traveled are based on Rick’s tripometer. Chuck’s had a few extra miles on it.

Our new location behind Kelly's RV

It was Thursday morning and Camp Ohio was packed up and ready to go. Chuck and I visited with the guys a little before seeing them off. The Indians never showed this year, so we were all a little disappointed, but that’s how they roll I guess. Kim, Tim, Les, Steve and Fudge all headed out to their respective homes in Main, Chicago and Cincinnati. Kelly, Kim’s brother, stayed behind with us. Kelly had a RV about 100 yards down from us, so Chuck and I decided to move our camp down there. We piled a bunch of stuff on our bikes and rode them down to Kelly’s site, and of course I dropped a water bottle somewhere behind that Chuck found and brought to me. Then we un-staked our tents and drug them over.

A well earned coat of dirt

After sharing a cup of coffee with Kelly we decided to go down to the Son’s of Light for our usual morning pancakes. We didn’t move so fast this morning, instead we lingered at the pancake tables and chatted while I downed a few more cups of coffee. Today we decided to go collect on our free meal in Deadwood, then go up and see Wild Bill’s grave and then ride Spearfish Canyon, so there was no hurry. Once we were ready we saddled up and headed to Deadwood again.

Calamity Jane's grave at Mt. Moriah

When we got to Deadwood the first thing we did was go on up to Mt. Moriah cemetery to see the graves. I’ve already talked about this in an early blog, so I won’t go on about it except to say it is on top of a crazy steep hill, way up above everything, so that was pretty cool. We learned a little about Calamity Jane from one of the ladies in the visitor’s center. Her dying request was to be buried next to Wild Bill, so we, like most people assumed there must have been a great friendship or a love interest of some kind between them. It turns out they barely knew each other. By all historical accounts it appears they may have only met once. Jane however, had a bent for tall tales, and had told many stories about her and Wild Bill. She claimed to have birthed his child at one time, but it turned out the child was born years after Bill died, and to boot, it wasn’t even her child! She was a “hard drinking woman who had a foul mouth and didn’t shower much” according to the lady at the center. Sounds like a girl who would have been fun to hang out with if you ask me.

Chaos with the Bunnies

After the cemetery we went back down the hill to cash in on our free dinner at the Silverado Casino in the Franklin Hotel. It was a pretty darn good buffet I must say, but being free made it all that much better. It was while we were eating that we heard the announcement the Playboy Bunnies would be available for photos upstairs, so when we finished we found our way back to the main entrance where they were set up. It just didn’t seem right to ignore those nice ladies for coming out there for this, so we thought we’d go ahead and let them get their picture with us.

The Spearfish Canyon Scenic Byway

Rick on the Road

Well, after moseying around Deadwood a little while longer we decided to head out to Spearfish Canyon. 14A connects Sturgis to Deadwood, and it also runs all the way to Spearfish by way of Lead. Lead has an elevation of 5320 ft. so it’s even higher than Deadwood. After Lead you continue to climb as you go through Cheyenne Crossing and Savoy where Spearfish Canyon essentially begins. At that point you drop back down through the canyon for 19 miles on the way to Spearfish. It’s a beautiful and rather easy going ride. Big sweeping curves on a road that’s in great shape. We rode all the way through on the first run and decided to go back through it again the other way. Only this time we decided to take pictures of each other. One of us would ride up ahead of the other and then wait for the other to come riding by and grab some motion photos. That was pretty fun, and we got some pretty cool pictures in the process.

Chaos in Flight

Flash & Chaos in Sturgis

We were riding in the late afternoon, so the light was warm against the cliffs and the air was cool. It was another one of those times you felt like you could ride forever, but the light was getting low and the Chip was beckoning us with another concert for the evening. Tonight would be the Lord of Darkness himself, Ozzy Osbourne. Yes, somewhere out there our old friend Michael was whipping out his VIP passes for his chance to get up close with the Oz. On the way back to town we finally managed to pull over and get a picture with the Sturgis city limits sign as well. We passed it a zillion times and kept forgetting to stop, but we finally remembered this time.

Ozzy exorcises the crowd

I have to say ol’ Ozzy put on a pretty good show. He had the second largest crowd of the week, and I think he really liked looking out at it too, as the stage lights would periodically blast the crowd with intense light so he could see who was out there. I’ve never actually been a hard and fast fan, but it’s hard to deny he didn’t play a big part in the sounds of my youth, and I do love “Paranoid” which he held for his final encore.

Kostas Karamitroudis, aka. Gus G.

After a number of songs Chuck and I decided to retreat to the big deck up at the roadhouse and listen from there to get out of the crowd, and frankly, I think the sound was better from back there. It was actually here, this night, that I met the Jager Girls I mentioned in the last chapter—I guess I mixed up my notes there a little. Oh well, same place, different night. I still got a bandanna out of the deal. I met a dude from Australia while watching from up there as well. That dude was so happy to be at Sturgis he couldn’t stop smiling. I told him how much I love Australia, and all he could say was how much he loved America. Pretty cool.

Another good day of riding and adventure topped of with a good concert and a few rounds of beers.

To be continued…

The unbelievable crowd for Kid Rock

The crowd leaving after the Kid Rock concert was the most animated crowd of the week. Kim and the boys of Camp Ohio (or maybe I should call it Camp Mexico for that one night) had some fun watching them all file out. Chuck and I hit the sack before most of the late night frivolities. We were tired after a long day of riding and we knew we would do more riding the next day.

The next morning we awoke to the usual sound of motorcycles and the heat that runs you out of your tent once the sun comes up. We greeted a few of the guys returning from their trip to Mexico and then worked our way to the free pancake tables. We watched the heavy crowd slowly trying to exit the Chip while we ate our breakfast and when the line seemed at least a little shorter joined in to make our departure. Today we would go south, down to Custer Park, explore the central hills and Norbeck National Scenic Byway.

Chuck at Crazyhorse. Check out the dirty bikes!

After heading through Deadwood once again we cut south onto 385 and headed toward Hill City. There’s really no such thing as a bad ride in the Black Hills, so it sounds repetitive when I say what a nice ride it was, but hey, it was. We got to Hill City and stopped for some water and a hot dog, and like all the other towns in the area there were vendors and bikes everywhere. It reminds you that this rally isn’t only about Sturgis, it is as its name suggests, the Black Hills Motor Classic. Also, it’s just another reminder that you cannot possible do and see everything in a single trip to Sturgis.

Chaos and Flash at Crazyhorse

When you leave south out of Hill City you enter into the Norbeck Scenic Byway which pretty much circles Custer State Park, but for now our goal was to head down 16 a bit to see the Crazy Horse Memorial. I wasn’t sure what to expect when we got to Crazy Horse, but it sure didn’t disappoint. When we rolled in and paid the $5.00 we were once again guided into the park area by the Christian Bikers Association. Have I mentioned yet how impressed with them I am? Anyway, the first thing you realize is you can’t get too close to the carving. It’s at a pretty good distance, but there is a great view from the visitor center deck. If you want, you can pay $125.00 to be escorted right up to the carving and walk out onto Crazy Horse’s arm. I saw photos of Willy G. up there last year during Sturgis along with a hand full of other HD execs. It would be cool to do that, but I’d rather do it on other people’s money. Now all I have to do is make friends with Willy G.

Crazyhorse in his current glory

There is a museum inside the visitor’s center that really makes it worth the trip. It’s not only about the history of the carving, but it’s an entire museum of the history of Indians in North America. There is also a collection of Korczak Ziolkowski’s sculptures along with works from other artists. Korczak was asked by Chief Standing Bear of the Lakota Nation to do the sculpture while he was one of the artists hired to work on Mt. Rushmore. The museum also includes his cabin and sculpture studio.

Rick with the scale model on the deck

It’s easy to become overtaken by “white man’s guilt” while you’re walking through the museum. Chuck and I passed an Indian biker as we were looking for a restroom. We were talking about what age Crazy Horse was when he was murdered. As Chuck was saying he believed Crazy Horse was around 30 years old, the Indian biker spoke up as we passed and said, “He was 32.” Now call me a romantic, but I was somehow moved by the brief words spoken by the man. In those three words I heard a firmness, not anger mind you, but something more like an assertive proclamation. It caused me to pause in my step, and for a moment I wanted to ask him what more he knew of the Crazy Horse story, but fear of sounding patronizing stopped me from asking. I felt his pride for that moment. I imagined if I were an Indian visiting this place how might it feel. He must have felt deeply moved, a touch indignant and very proud. I wanted to hear him say more, but in a way he said enough. So here’s my plug: Go visit the Crazy Horse Memorial and pay the money to go inside.

The approach to Needles Highway

After we left Crazy Horse we headed back up 16 to turn onto 87 and take it to Needles Highway. Again, stunning scenery. When we arrived at the entrance to Needles they were charging $10.00 a bike to ride through. We stopped to discuss it and it was my opinion there were too many nice roads in the area to make it worth the money for the 14 miles of Needles Highway. Chuck agreed, and we decided to head on down 89 and take Alt 16 around to Keystone and Mt. Rushmore. I’m sure Needles would have been nice, but I was throwing a lot of money around and I knew we would have to pay to get into Mt. Rushmore as well, and frankly the ride we took from there was awesome. However, when I go back I’ll spring for the ten spot and do the ride.

One of the many tunnels on Iron Mountain Rd.

Along the way we came across a couple of buffalo and I stopped and managed to get a photo of one of them from a relatively safe distance. Eventually Alt 16 becomes Iron Mountain Road and there are two very cool features along this section. The first are the crazy switchbacks, and I don’t mean the type you come across riding the Dragon’s Tail in Deals Gap. These switchbacks, which I found out are called “pigtails,” are actually complete loops where the road literally goes around and then under or over itself. There are three of them along the way. I couldn’t figure out where to pull off and take a picture, but here’s a link to someone else’s picture I found courtesy of Canyon Chasers. They were freaking awesome to ride!

Mt. Rushmore through one of the tunnels

Anyway, the other cool feature was all the tunnels cut through rock. I lost count of them, but there are two in particular where when you begin to ride through them you end up looking straight into Mt. Rushmore—very cool. I should state however, that if you want to see this effect you need to be approaching from the south. A lot of people tend to ride in the other direction and miss this cool effect. Even though we passed on Needles Highway, I can’t recommend Iron Mountain Road enough, but be warned, you need to pay attention to the road. There are some areas with little or no guardrails and some serious drop offs.

Chuck at Mt. Rushmore

So this brought us to Mt. Rushmore. Besides the tunnel views of Rushmore there are one or two other places where you get a decent view along the way, but not many more. If you want to see the mountain in all it’s sculpted glory you’ll have to pay to park to get into the main viewing area. It’s my understanding it used to be free to go up to the viewing deck, but an independent company built the very ugly parking deck that gets between you and the presidents. Well, I wanted good pictures, and I’m a sucker for visitor centers, so Chuck and I sprung for the ten spot that we saved for not riding through Needles to get in. As expected there’s a touristy vibe as you approach the mountain, but I can live with that—it’s mostly the parking lot that sucks. We went up and took the necessary pictures and checked out the visitor’s center, found Korczak’s name on the plaque dedicated to all the sculptors who worked on the project and refilled out water bottles. Some people say they are disappointed when they first lay eyes on Rushmore, but I have to say it’s pretty much what I expected to see, and I mean that in a good way. One criticism I’ve heard is how small people thought it looked, but I thought it looked plenty big. I love art, so crappy parking lots be damned. Plus, the lady ranger at the visitor’s center was very nice.

The four presidents in all their splendor

On our way out we briefly went the wrong way on 244, but it was a cool mistake because we came upon a really neat view from slightly behind the sculpture where you could see Washington’s profile jutting out from the mountain. We pulled over to get a picture before turning around to go back to 16 where we needed to go to get to Keystone and follow it on out to Rapid where we would get on I-90 to head back to Sturgis. We went through another cold patch between Keystone and Rapid as well and somewhere along the way I lost my Jagermeister bandanna I got at the Tennessee HOG Rally. I didn’t even feel it blow off, so I have no idea where it happened, but it was a freebie, so I’d get over it. I did seem to be developing a habit of having things fly off of me or my bike during this trip however!

George's profile from hwy 244

By the time we hit 90 the sun was setting, so it looked like we might get back to camp right before dark. Then all of the sudden traffic came to a stop. There was a sign saying an accident was up ahead, and it appeared to be pretty far up. We sat there in traffic for a little while as it continued to get darker until we saw a few bikes cutting off of the interstate and slipping onto an access road that ran parallel to it. We figured, what the hell, and decided it was better than sitting where we were, so we followed along. Some of the bikes before us jumped the curb and there was a guy pulled over looking for something that must have popped off of his bike. Some others were stopped, puzzled about what to do, until Chuck found a small gap in the curb that allowed us to roll onto the access road. We took off up the access road for about a mile or so until it came to a road with a ramp back onto the interstate. Problem was, traffic was still backed up as far as you could see. There were two choices at that point, pull into the traffic again or continue straight on a dirt road.

Black Hills National Forest

Oh great, another dirt road. Well, it was completely dark now, but we opted for the dirt road. We kept going for what felt like a couple of miles and kept passing cars and occasional bikes going the other way. It was starting to feel a little strange with so few vehicles going our way, but way too many seemed to be going the other. At that point a bike passed us going the other way and the rider yelled something out. I couldn’t quite make out what he said, so we kept going. Then it appeared—a dead end—in the middle of freaking nowhere. Great. We turned around and backtracked all of the dirt road until we were back at the ramp we passed. There cops were directing everyone to the other side of the freeway to follow the other access road, which at least in this case was paved. After following the stop & go for a good distance we finally saw where the accident was. I couldn’t really tell what had happened, but I saw a completely burned out semi off the road just past a rest area. Never did find out what it was, but at least we were back on the road and got back to camp pretty quickly after that.

Flash and the Jager Girls

The band that night was Motley Crue. We really didn’t care less, so Chuck and I went down to the roadhouse across from the concert stage to just get a beer. Then there they were, the Jager Girls. Last time I saw them was in Chattanooga where they gave me a free bandanna. We went up to them and got a picture, then I told them about losing my do rag out on the road, and lo and behold they gave me a new, nicer one. Sweet! Anyway, after that we headed over to the other bar on the far end near the Rat’s Hole booth. Yes, my former employer was there. Earlier that week we stopped by and I had a nice chat with Ted Smith, son of Big Daddy Rat, Karl Smith. I was glad to see Ted trying to keep his dad’s dream alive, but he said it was a lot of work. Ted was only 14 back when I painted t-shirts for Karl in Daytona. I wish him all the luck in the world. After a few drinks at the bar we headed back up to Camp Ohio and hung out with the guys since all of them but Kelly were leaving the next morning.

To be continued…

Rick at the Wyoming state line

Probably the most distinct thing about the Sturgis rally that separates it from the rest is not only the commitment it takes to ride to it, but the riding people do once they’re there. For the next three days Chuck and I tried to cover as much territory as we could, but the first thing you learn about Sturgis is you just can’t do it all in one trip. This didn’t stop us from covering over 600 miles during our stay though, but I’m already thinking of the rides we’ll have to put under our belts when we go back.

Chuck at the Wyoming border

After having our pancake breakfast at the Sons of Light camp Tuesday morning we decided to hit the road for Devil’s Tower in Wyoming. There was just something about this particular day for me that was perfect. I felt like I could have ridden for an eternity all the way to sunset. We decided to take a “shortcut” to get around Sturgis and find our way to Hwy 34 up above Whitewood and take that all the way into Wyoming. Once we got out of the Chip we headed north on Hwy 79, right past Bear Butte. We saw a cut-over on our map using Bighorn Rd. to go around town and eventually hook up with I-90 which shared 34 for a few miles, then break off on 34. What we didn’t realize was nearly every alternate road in South Dakota is a dirt road! Bighorn was no exception, but it didn’t stop us or the half dozen other bikes that were moving along with us.

Chuck on the road to Hulett

The amazing thing about the dirt/gravel roads in this area is the speed limit signs read 55 mph. It was all we could do to maintain 35 miles an hour on these roads! I will say this for them, for dirt roads they were in really great shape. We ended up following this road to another and yet another, going miles further than we expected and pretty much loosing track with exactly what road we were on, eating dust all along the way. Finally it dumped us out on to a paved road and to our amazement it put us directly on 34 just north of Whitewood, right where we wanted to be without ever even using the interstate. With that we headed on past St. Onge and Belle Forche and made it to the Wyoming border in no time.

Hulett, Wyoming

After stopping for photos at the border we moved along past beautiful landscapes on our way to Hulett. Hulett is a destination unto itself and caters to bikers all through the week of the rally with a particular emphasis on Wednesday. We stopped here to have lunch and talked to some of the locals. We told them we were interested in working our way up to Montana and they informed us that it was Topless Tuesday in Alzada at the Stoneville Saloon. Well…with that in mind we headed south to Devil’s Tower and figured we would come back through Hulett on our way to Montana.

Chuck near Devils Tower

Devil’s Tower is an awesome sight as you approach it. It really does just come out of nowhere. The hardened magma shaft of a volcano that is no longer there—at least that’s popular science for now. There’s a great trading post as you approach the tower and just beyond it, after you enter the park, is a massive prairie dog village off to the left. There are hundreds of prairie dogs popping up out of their holes looking to see who’s going by. They’re pretty used to people so it’s easy to get close to them for photos. Once past that you round your way up to the visitors center where the Christian Motorcycle Association guys are there to guide you to park your bike. Devil’s Tower is phenomenal and we were able to walk up the path that takes you right up to the base. Inside the visitor center you can learn about the Indian legend of the giant bear that made the “claw marks” down the side of the tower.

Devils Tower up close and personal

Prairie dog near Devil's Tower

Stoneville Saloon, Alzada, Montana

Back on the road after Devil’s Tower we headed back through Hulett and up 112 to Montana. Another beautiful ride through big sky country. We stopped at the border for the usual photo ops and talked to a couple of other bikers who were doing the same. One of the passengers, Anna I believe, had gotten the jump on topless Tuesday with nothing to wear but two heart shaped pasties. (I would post pictures, but I’m trying to keep my blog on a moderately family friendly format). Anyway, from there we headed into Alzada and found our way to the Stoneville Saloon, where yes indeed, the bartender and table server who were working outside, were topless. We were informed Montana has no hard and fast nudity laws. Gotta love the wild west, that’s all I can say.

Chuck on the road back to Wyoming

We left Alzada to head back to Sturgis via 212 which would take us back into Wyoming and then into Belle Forche. From there we would take 34/I-90 back into Sturgis. The road back from Montana into Wyoming was fantastic and Chuck and I were able to take a number of photos of each other while we were riding. I took a good bit of video of Chuck as well which I plan on editing into a video retrospective of the trip if I can ever finish these blog posts!

Bob Dylan at the Chip

So we made it back to the Chip pretty happy bikers with a fantastic field trip under our belt. Bob dylan would be playing that night and we wanted to get back in time for his show. Strangly enough, he was opening for Kid Rock. It didn’t make since to me, but I have to admit Kid Rock drew an enormous crowd—not just bigger than Dylan’s but bigger than any act that week. Dylan put on a great show and it was a fine topper to a great day with a great ride. I’ve never really understood the whole Kid Rock thing, and I’m still not really that into him, but I’ll admit he put on a dazzling show. Frankly, as a musician or a song writer I don’t think he counts for much, but I’ll hand it to him as an entertainer. What songs he may sing that aren’t covers—which accounts for most of them—he pretty much rips off the riffs and melodies of other bands. But like him or not his crowd was gigantic and after about four “songs” I had to get out of the fray. We had managed to get pretty close to the stage during Dylan and had no idea how big the crowd had grown behind us.

Kid Rock appealling to the masses

Meanwhile, back at Camp Ohio, the boys had all “gone to Mexico.” A Sturgis tradition at camp when the Tequila bottles come out and transport everyone to virtual Mexico. We’re talking good Tequila too, not just your everyday stuff. As for me, I lit a cigar and took a sip. Just enough to get a very distant glimpse of Mexico. Just enough to have enjoyed the evening, but tomorrow there was more riding to do.

To be continued…

Rick on the elevated burnout pit at the Chip

Having ridden nearly 1600 miles getting to Sturgis we decided to just stick around the area on our first full day. Before leaving the Chip we rode down to the burnout tower and rode up onto the scaffolding to get pictures of ourselves in the burnout pit, then it was off to town. Our first stop was the obligatory visit to Main Street in Sturgis. For the entirety of the week bike traffic backs up for a couple of miles in both directions going up and down both Main St. and Lazelle St., but the real traffic, we found out, was simply getting out of the Buffalo Chip. We managed to figure out many a shortcut through town, but there was only one way out of the Chip. But hey, it’s the biggest motorcycle rally in the world, so you deal with it.

The long line leaving the Chip

We made our way to Lazelle and found parking pretty quick at the Sidehack Saloon where we had lunch. From there we worked our way up the street looking for the Harley Owners Group pin stop location at 3rd and Lazelle. The amount of vendors and shops is nothing short of overwhelming. Once we arrived at the Harley-Davidson village we checked out the custom bike competition and found our way to the pin stop. After that we got a free Macanudo cigar, along with a koozie and a cool lighter from the war veteran’s tent, so I stuffed them into my inside vest pocket to enjoy later.

Chuck in front of the HOG pin stop

After walking up and down both Lazelle and Main Street and taking lots of pictures and looking at a million t-shirts we decided to take a trip down the road to Deadwood. The curvy rode up to Deadwood is a nice short ride. Deadwood is 1,097 feet higher in altitude than Sturgis, so it can be a bit cooler there at times. When riding through the Black Hills you’re constantly going up and down in altitude and there were occasions where Chuck and I noticed considerable drops in temperature. You can go from really hot sun to nearly needing your jacket all within only a few miles.

The famous Main Street of Sturgis

Chuck in the famous Saloon No. 10

Once in Deadwood we lucked out and got some good spaces right across from the Harley dealer. From there we worked our way up the street to Saloon No. 10—the famous saloon where Wild Bill Hickok was murdered in 1876 by Jack McCall while holding a pair of aces and eights, now affectionately known as “The Dead Man’s Hand.” Inside the saloon are lots of artifacts dating back to Wild Bill’s time. Besides a myriad of photos and other knickknacks the two most impressive pieces are the chair Bill was sitting in when he was shot and one of the original wooden headstones from his grave (they were repeatedly vandalized over the years). The wooden headstone has now been replaced with a bronze bust of Wild Bill along with a bronze plaque. We talked to the bartender and learned the original Saloon No. 10 had burned down along with much of the whole city years ago, and the site of the original saloon was across the street from where we were, but all of the artifacts along with a recreation of the fireplace Wild Bill was sitting next to are in the new location.

Wild Bill's Death Chair

Chaos on Main Street in Deadwood

After a couple of beers we worked our way up Main Street until we were in front of the historic Franklin Hotel. On a side note: the grandfather of my former business partner in Nashville, Kevin Endres, helped build this hotel. While we were standing in front of the Franklin Chuck looked down and noticed a police walkie-talkie lying on the sidewalk. No owner appeared to be nearby, so Chuck picked it up and started broadcasting over it for anyone who might be listening. Finally, a woman’s voice came on and asked who he was. Chuck informed her he had found the abandoned walkie on the street. She asked him where we were and then asked him to raise his hand so she could spot him. She came over from across the street, grateful for Chuck letting her know, and gave us both free dinner passes for the restaurant in the Franklin. Awesome!

Rick at Wild Bill's Grave

We ended up returning to Deadwood more than once and finally made our way up to Mount Moriah Cemetary to see Wild Bill’s grave, along with Calamity Jane’s the day we came back to collect on our free dinner. Not only that, but while we were in the Silverado Casino in the Franklin Hotel we managed to get our photos with a couple of Playboy Bunnies. But for this day we went back into Sturgis where we had a steak dinner at the Knuckle Saloon, before heading back to camp.

Flash with the Playboy Bunnies

When we got back to Sturgis I noticed my free cigar, koozie and lighter had blown out of my pocket somewhere on the ride back from Deadwood. Chuck remembered something flying out and seeing a small black thing (the lighter most likely) nearly hit his leg as he tried to catch it. I was bummed out, because I really wanted to try that cigar, so we went back to the Macanudo tent to see if I could get a new one. I figured the truth was the best policy here and they indeed gave me replacements. Somehow, however, by the time I got back to camp I came up missing the new lighter even though I still had the cigar and the koozie. I guess me having that lighter was just not meant to be.

ZZ Top breaks out the fuzzy guitars

Back at the Chip Buckcherry was playing the opening act for ZZ Top. ZZ Top are perennials of Sturgis and I suppose the trip isn’t complete without seeing them perform there. I have to give those boys credit, they still have it. They put on a great show, after which we returned to Camp Ohio to smoke our Macanudos. The next day we planned to do some riding, so we didn’t stay up terribly late.

To be continued…