By Lulu

EVERYONE should do Sturgis at least once in their lifetime! My fifth trip, TJ’s ninth, and Ken & Jeani’s second and every time is simply awesome. Gator Ken and Jeani trailered up and back. We flew out later because of distribution for the August issue. Tommy hauled our bike so we could ride the whole way back with a side trip to Pikes Peak & The Garden of the Gods in Colorado and two nights in the Ozarks. Quite a trip! Staying at Camp Kristen is like coming home! Bill Grotto & Kimmie, Gator Ken & Jeani, Tommy & Susan, Doug & Christine, all called it home for a week or so. It was Bill’s birthday before we got there, so Kristen saved a homemade ice cream Strawberry Shortcake that Bill had raved about, and boy was it delicious.

Sturgis is known MOSTLY for one thing…the riding. Can’t go without hitting Mount Rushmore, the breathtaking Badlands, Spearfish Canyon (more than once), Custer State Park for the buffalo walking on the road like we are in their way, Devil’s Tower, Crazy Horse, and Needles Highway. We even took a day trip to North Dakota for lunch just because it was the only state T.J. hadn’t been to.

The second thing that people enjoy in Sturgis is the party scene! Bars like One Eyed Jacks, Iron Horse Saloon, the original site of Jay Allen’s Broken Spoke, Knuckle Saloon, The Dungeon, and the Gas Monkey are all worth drenching your thirst at right downtown. A short ride out of town you have Steel Pony Campground complete with a pool, the world-famous Buffalo Chip and Michael Ballard’s Full Throttle Saloon. In Downtown Deadwood you have Saloon #10. Obviously if you hit them all, which I think we did, you do a bit of damage to your liver! Music is plentiful, although TJ would rather spend all day on two wheels, have dinner and visit in the garage with our friends. So, we only hit Nickelback at Buffalo Chip. By the way, I had no idea who they were and was impressed by the show. Ken & Jeani were much better at heading out at night, they hit Jackyl and Disturbed at Full Throttle, and Jasmine Cain at Kickstand. They are much better night owls than us.

We visited my friend, Sherry who oversees The Steel Pony when she is not running events at Broken Spoke in Daytona and made a quick dash into see Doug at Sickboys in Deadwood for a present or two. If you make it to Sturgis, you have to see his permanent showroom. Ken and Jeani hit Wall Drug & Hill City for some shopping with friends from Pennsylvania, Joe & Lisa, and Jamie & Shelby. We had our own little posse who came from faraway places to spend some time on the highway with us, Paul & Yolanda from Texas, Brian from Florida Bike Life out of Michigan, and we made a new friend Jen from Thunder Roads Michigan.

Needless to say, the 1100 miles we put on burning up the highways was enjoyable every moment of the way. The 3100-mile ride home wasn’t quite as easy, although I am glad to say I did it. The roads weren’t as well cared for, lots of potholes, chilly rain for a full day, and a back rest that TJ said I broke made for an aggravating few days…BUT Pike’s Peak was awesome, and the Garden of the Gods was too. There was also an amazing ride through Estes Park, the Gateway to Rocky Mountain National Park that had towering walls of rock on both sides of the roadway. Didn’t have my camera charged, so there are no pictures of that. AND you need to know you need a reservation for a timed entrance into the park itself. Take a walk on the wild side if you haven’t done Sturgis or Colorado yet…get on your bike and ride!

A special thank you to Wade and Kristen for their hospitality and friendship, to Tommy and Doug for hauling our bike, to Bill Grotto for introducing us to Wade and for my jacket, and to the church that is walking distance from the house that serves full breakfast every day for donations!