FEATURES
that Beth got of the mass number of riders and bikes she ’ d meet the next few days . During our hamburger under a tree lunch , we had an odd fella from New York City sit down to wow us with his amazing journey of his flight to rent a bike in Rapid City and ride Sturgis . I don ’ t think he believed me when I said we ’ d ridden 1,200 miles for 2 days in the rain as he was a fair weather rider . Silly boy . From there , we made our way to our host home with a beautiful lady named Sharyl . Sharyl , like many in that area , opens her home by renting rooms to Sturgis lady riders . It ’ s a nice way to make great friends as she and I have found over the past 2 years .
We headed to Sturgis to check out the lay of the land after unpacking the bikes . The downtown was hopping and I could see my co-rider getting a bit jittery as we worked through traffic and onto Main Street . The street is lined with bikes and packed with bikers walking , taking pics , shopping , eating and partying . The music is loud and the merriment is on high ! I always
14 Thunder Roads Magazine of OK / AR enjoy feeling like “ I ’ ve arrived ” the minute I hit that street . We parked and moseyed around a bit before heading back to our house for a good dinner and long night ’ s rest .
After our long rest , we were rearing to go see as many sights as we could . The first stop was The Buffalo Chip . With Media passes in hand , we spent a bit of time there in the free area , called the Crossroads , shopping with vendors , free breakfast and meeting riders doing the same . This year , they added a nice little drift trike area that was very fun ! I had to spend a bit of time with the field of flags in honor of our veterans and military . This field is beautiful and reflects a bold statement of sacrifices made for American Freedom . Buffalo Chip delivers a week filled with a Legends ride for charity and the Biker Belles Ride for women . Both of these rides are packed with people who enjoy The Chip experience . In addition to rides , the Ampitheater area packs a week of huge concerts , this year , from Kid Rock to Miranda Lambert . There ’ s something for everyone at The Chip . Following their website
at www . buffalochip . com will fill you with information year round . From The Chip we busted our way South through the Black Hills hitting Nemo , Hill City , Crazy Horse , Iron Mountain Road , Pig Tail Bridges and Mount Rushmore . We did it all in one day ! On the way back towards Deadwood , we got to experience an infamous Black Hills Hail Storm . Let me tell you ! When the hail falls there , it ’ s like a giant blocks of ice storm . These things are huge and we were fortunate enough to seek shelter in a tin roofed , side of the road bar that soon turned into a very loud party of wet and cold bikers . When in Sturgis …..
Our trip home went very smoothly over a two day period . We enjoyed the sites of The Wall Drug and the Badlands as we headed out of SD and headed our noses South into the heat of the plains of Nebraska , Kansas and back home . It was a sad departure as the two of us said our goodbyes , but we sure felt blessed to have made this time together on two wheels . I have to give my friend a big compliment as I know she stretched her riding boundaries on this trip and she faired it all very well . Until next time my friend !