Riding, Day 5
Saturday, August 2, 2008
It’s time to leave the tiny town of Lusk, but first we’re having another free hotel snack and we learn that the railroad and a women’s prison are the main employers of the small burg. That might explain the nonstop procession of freight trains we saw, each about a mile long, when we were cruising into town yesterday. 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.
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.
We watch, mostly because the road is closed in the direction we need to go. Kids in the parade throw candy – haven't they heard of litter and 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, no civilization at all, just rolling grassland and low rock formations. No traffic at all as we 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.
A quick stop at the All Star Cafe in Evanston. 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 fact, but there is nothing like the low rumble of a Harley cruising in top gear...sometimes I roll the throttle just to feel the sound a little more intensely. If you've ridden one, 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 getting us there without a single wrong turn. We roll up to the Comfort Inn and Suites...very nice, the room is clean and neat, and the AC is awesome. A quick pit stop, clean up the bikes a bit...OK, so Vince and I are the only ones to actually buff up our bikes while the other guys are proudly sporting their road grime as a badge of pride for the miles they ridden. By the way, that count stands at over 1,450 as we put the kickstands down at the hotel.
The boys’ good friend Matt has arrived as well – he has flown in to join the fun. I’ve 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!
Sturgis is about 30 miles northwest of Rapid City, but first we stop at Black Hills Harley Davidson (perfectly located along Highway 90 between Rapid City and Sturgis), which has become a destination in its own right. Huge dealership, lots of products, some of them big time like Vance and Hines, Dunlop and many more. We score some t-shirts and head on down the road to our real destination – the reason for the 1,450-mile journey – Sturgis.
We roll into town through 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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