Head hurts, mouth is dry...oh yeah, I’m feeling the effects of living at Full Throttle! Couple that with the fact that I was blogging (at least I hope that's what I was doing!) until about 5am, and I'm in no shape to go on any long sight-seeing ride today. The good news? Neither is any one else in the crew...well, truth is that Mark is pretty spunky, but the rest of us are through. Plans change – Mt. Rushmore is gonna have to wait until another trip. No big deal, we'll regroup.
We’re getting the first cool day of the trip, overcast sky, temps in the low 70's, the result of a major storm that rolled through in the night just north and east of us. The lads have hit the civic center to look at all the 09 Harleys and catch a stunt show (stunting a Harley – think about it!). Now they’re hanging with Nate while he gets some more LEDs mounted up to the mighty Road Glide, and we three old guys are heading to downtown (Rapid City) to check out a gun store.
The store is impressive. Lots of stock, cool stuff you can't get (legally, anyway) in the People's Republic of California. I take advantage, and now we’re walking down the street to the Firehouse Brew Pub for lunch. A very tasty buffalo becomes a burger for me, and we’re treated to card tricks after our meal. The kid is good, real good.
Not to be out-done by the young ones, we take a short jaunt to the civic center to look at the new rigs. Way cool stuff: the new Screamin' Eagle Road Glide is sick (we know for a fact that Nate is already calculating how he can score one) and the mods for the touring line are pretty trick, too. I harass a couple of HD engineers about the new XR-1200: "So, when are you guys gonna release it in the states, huh, huh?" Nothing. They don't give up a thing, but one of them does say he's put a lot of miles on a test mule. "It's a real sport bike, nothing like the Harleys we know.” Dare to dream, I suppose.
Feeling somewhat better, we head to Sturgis to wander around and see what we haven't yet seen (like the Louvre, it would take at least a week, so we're kinda kidding ourselves), and pick up some last-minute swag. The sky has cleared, but it's still not nearly as hot as it's been, so it's a little easier to walk the streets.
And the streets are full, the Rally crowd really starting to swell. It's total gridlock in all directions from the center of town. The scene is even more over-the-top – more crazy bikes, more freaks and characters, more woman almost wearing clothes...and a few that should rush back to the motel and put on some more. We're just digging the sights, and the cops have the street in front of Pee Wee's blocked, over twenty of them including dogs. H.A. guys everywhere, a stand-off, a show of force from both sides. And just as quick, the cops split. "Guess they showed us," one of the H.A. members sniffs.
More and more club guys can be seen: Boozefighters, Sons of Silence, and more. They keep to themselves, yet they help the posers feel tough, sort of a “badass umbrella effect” I guess. We decide to blow off the Buffalo Chip and Kid Rock because we're still tired and we've got to do about 300 miles tomorrow. One more soft serve cone and it’s a bun-run back to Rapid City. We need to eat and pack.
Regrouped, we dine at the Ruby Tuesdays next to our hotel. Good meal, friendly server. Early night tonight – there will be no bloggin' until 5am. We're on our way to Hardin, Montana tomorrow and I'm told the roads are fantastic. Time to turn in...
