Mount Rushmore & Sturgis!

Yesterday was a fully-packed day.  After I posted my last blog I took the road to Mount Rushmore.  What an excellent ride!  The highway climbs up to the village of keystone and continues on for another five kilometres to the National Monument.  There was a lot of traffic but everyone moved along smoothly and finding a space in the parking area was really simple.  It isn't a long walk to the viewpoint but it certainly has been developed since the last time I was there in 1977 with my Uncle Jim and cousin Steve.  There is also an admission charge as well but at eleven dollars it is bearable.  One this hasn't changed though, and that is how impressive the massive faces that Borglum carved into the face of the mountain.  One fellow that I met said, "You don't get to mess up on a job like that."  My response was, "Not unless you want to start over on another mountain."

Washington, Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, & Lincoln on Mt. Rushmore

Close up of Jefferson, Roosevelt & Lincoln

Me at Mount Rushmore

After seeing Mt. Rushmore I rode back in to Keystone.  One of the first things I saw after stopping for a Subway sandwich (I've been living on those things!) was an old saddle tank steam locomotive that runs from Keystone to Hill City several times a day.  It's adverstised as an 1880s train trip but the railroad isn't big on historical accuracy as the locomotive was built sometime between 1910 and 1935, but the people get to ride on a train pulled by a steam locomotive and see some beautiful scenery. 

Steam locomotive at Keystone, SD

The number of motorcycles is incredible.  As I rode I would see group after group of up to twenty riders going the other way and often I would find myself in the middle of the same kind of group.  It's strange to be in a situation where motorcycles outnumber cars and everyone is aware of motorcycles on the highway. 

Main Street, Keystone, SD.

Main Street in Keystone, SD

Leaving Keystone returned to Rapid City.  On the way I saw a huge black cloud to the east.  It was clear and sunny where we were on the highway so I was somewhat surprised to see a bolt 'out of the blue' almost literally crack the sky.  Closer to Rapid City the road was really wet.  Apparently we missed another of those typical afternoon flash rainstorms, once again.

The Harley-Davidson dealer here makes a big deal out of this week because it is the biggest one of the year for them.  The parking lot had several thousand bikes, about 99% of them Harleys parked side by side over a huge area. The display area included all sorts of after market modification you could think of from painting, to wheels, to air cleaners, exhaust systems.  You name it and it was there.

Parking lot at Rapid City H-D.

Buffalo Bike!

Show bike

I didn't buy anything because I didn't have the money and because I really didn't need any of that stuff, but a lot of people were getting work done on their bikes.   Apparently money isn't an issue for may Harley riders.  And judging from the numbers of people who had expensive trucks and trailers and were hauling their bikes to Sturgis some people are doing quite well. 

People are staying anywher up to fifty miles away from Sturgis and riding in every day.  Many, like me, are camping, but a lot of people are paying the exorbitant room rates and staying in motels, many of them close to Sturgis.

I finally rode in to Strugis and parked on a side street near the Harley dealer.  Upon stepping off my bike I found a Kodak point & shoot camera, so I turned it in to dealership because I didn't want to deal with it.

So, after 10 000+ kilometres, I finally arrived in Sturgis.  The real week doesn't start until Monday, but already every street has bikes parked side by side for their whole lengths  and double parked down the middle of the street.  Add to that the constant roar of Harleys with after market pipes cruising up and down and you have the most incredible, never-ending sound of Harley-Davidson engines.  It is constant and everywhere.  The streets are crowded with people and the whole town is a market place selling T-shirts, patches, alcohol while reminding everyone to drink responsibly and not drink and drive, as if that's going to happen here.

Main Street, Sturgis, SD

Main Street, Sturgis, SD

The police are a presence here on every street corner and it is probably justified considering the number and variety of motorcycle gangs and their members here.  I must have seen 400 Bandidos and their affiliates here including Vaqueros and several othe clubs whose names I can't remember. I did find out however, that none of the Bandidos who went down on Friday evening were seriously injured.  You never like to see someone getting hurt on their bikes, even if they are outlaws.

Police presence in Sturgis!

I stuck around Sturgis just taking in the atmosphere of the whole thing.  It's really intoxicating to be someone who is part of something so large and where everyone has one focus, and that is just to have fun on their bikes.  I did notice that except for the gang members and a few others, there are very few people under forty years old here.  And there are quite a large number of trikes. 

I stopped at the Slash-J bar for a burger then rode back to campsite, arriving there after dark.  I turned in around 10:00 pm.  Around 2:30 I was awoken by the sound of thunder and flashed of lightning but it rained for about 10 minutes before it stopped.  Today was a day of many new experiences and I thoroughly enjoyed every one of them. And Sunday promised to be even better.