Buffalo Chip

What can I say about Sturgis that hasn’t been said before. Not much. So what I can do is describe my week as it’s sure to be different than most.

Thursday Noon: Point the truck and trailer south, then west.

Thursday evening: Drink beer in the parking lot of Brian Klock’s shop in Mitchell, SD, as mentioned in last week’s blog.

Friday AM: Wake up in the Mitchell Best Western (great motel), shower, shave, have breakfast at Mac and Don’s (they have wi-fi), and then hit the road for Sturgis.

Friday early afternoon: Stop at the Firehouse Saloon in Sturgis on Lazelle, and drop off more Sturgis 70th books to Kimmy Cruz, who sells them over the bar.

It was a somewhat quiet week in downtown Sturgis this year – exceptions include the Broken Spoke Saloon, where Jay and Jay kept everyone entertained while Michael Lichter recorded it all for posterity.

Friday evening: Enjoy a great dinner at Roma’s in Spearfish with a bunch of Shadleys and Shadley friends.

Saturday: Start the day at the coffee shop in Spearfish (Common Grounds, more wi-fi) then head to Sturgis for reconnaissance and to collect my press passes for The Chip and Broken Spoke.

Kimmy Cruz serving beers at the Firehouse, and selling those hard-to find-Sturgis 70th books.

Saturday night: Another fine dinner at Roma’s. Yes, I’m in a rut, but when the food is this good who cares.

Sunday morning: Back to Common Grounds. Then off to Sturgis to find the famous and infamous Bean’re at The Chip. Turns out he’s hangin at the Chip’s waterin’ hole: Bikini Beach, which unfortunately is pretty quiet when I get there. I promise myself a return trip to the Beach but never do make it back.

Sunday night: Attend the American Bagger party on the west side of Spearfish. Lots of lies to tell and people to meet. Including Travis who lives near Vegas and tells me about some great old Nevada junkyards that will make great photo backdrops for my next trip to Vegas to shoot old Triumphs during the January auction. I also enjoy some very interesting conversations with “Little Ronnie” crew chief for David and Jody Perewitz’ Bonneville team. I was ready to stay and listen to Ronnie all night - until I saw the light show start in the western sky.

Registration at the Chip is slow, but when you consider the thousands of people there, it’s surprising it doesn’t take even longer.

Monday: Bean’re told me to meet him in Deadwood, at the Silverado Hotel, at 8 Am, as part of the Legends Ride. I show up at 8:15 and Deadwood is dead….. turns out the ride doesn’t really even get organized until 11. Oh well, plenty of time to drink coffee, take a few photos, and shop. I do meet Bean’re eventually, and chat with cronies like Arlen Ness and Donnie Smith.

Bean’re and pals waiting for the Legends ride to leave Deadwood.

Monday afternoon: As the Legends Ride leaves Deadwood headed for Lead, I turn the other way and take Boulder Canyon Highway to Sturgis and eventually the Broken Spoke campground, sometimes called “County Line.” A media friend asked me to take some “pool shots.” So I did just that. But the weather was cool and the crowd small, good pool shots would have to wait. I did get to say hello to GTP, George The Painter, of Iron Horse Magazine fame.

Tuesday AM: I’m up early, off to the Chip again to meet Chris Callen editor and owner of Cycle Source Magazine. We spend an hour talking about the new book: Custom Bike building Basics, by (yes) Chris Callen and Cycle Source. Chris has a ride starting later that day, so I’m out of there by eleven AM, headed for Spearfish.

Controlled chaos in front of the Franklin Hotel.

By 1:00 PM a small group of us are headed to Belle Fourche and then to the Stonehouse Saloon and eventually Devil’s Tower. Just before we arrive at the Tower, it starts to rain, so we take refuge the little log-house bar on the corner. Eventually the rain passes, we ride up to the back side of the Tower, take the mandatory annual pics and then head for Sundance and The Dime. By eight PM, after a high-speed chase down the freeway, we're all safely ensconced in the Steak house in Spearfish. Tuesday afternoon is definitely the most fun day of my Sturgis week.

Wednesday: I spend most of the early afternoon watching guys on everything from Baggers to eight-second real-race bikes, drag race on a closed off highway. This is almost as much fun as Tuesday afternoon except that they’re racing and I’m taking photos.

Back side of the Tower, with rain clouds receding in the distance.

Next stop, County Line Campground and the world’s biggest biker pool. As I walk up to the pool area they are just starting the “belly flop contest.” I can only say it’s good to see grown men doing their best to act like fourteen year old boys. Though I never have seen a fourteen year old with a beer-belly like the ones I saw descending into the pool. The resulting waves were titanic in size and scope. In fact, the first one forced me to move back lest I drown the expensive digital camera.

Some serious iron running in the street drags. Close lane Is Crazy John on his “FXR” complete with S&S 145, slick for a rear tire, and a big bottle of ha-ha gas.

Thursday morning, 5:30 AM: I tip toe out of Tom and Mary Jo’s house in Spearfish, trying not to wake anyone up. As I go out the door all I can hear is Tommy snoring. Twelve hours later (I took a break in Mankato, Minnesota) I pull into the drive. As always I have a couple of thousand images to sort through – and a lot of sleep to catch up on.

Who has more fun than Bikers?

My mornings in “Sturgis” stared with coffee, either outside the motel room or at the small café/beer garden set atop the hill overlooking the Iron Horse Motel in Whitewood. Each day the three of us went through the options and decided how many events we could cover, and who was going to do the actual work. Usually we would end the day with another staff meeting, only this time with adult beverages, at the Chip or the ‘Spoke.

On Tuesday we all attended the Michael Lichter opening at the Chip, then took in the excellent double-bill concert that followed. I was ready for a rather boring concert with Bob Dylan, I mean I’ve been listening to Dylan songs for over 40 years, how exciting could it be? Turns out it could be, and was, pretty damned exciting. Though I didn’t have the correct media pass, I managed to wiggle my way into the space reserved for the sound guys, set dead center back from the stage. It wasn’t exactly a front row seat, but the sound was awesome, and because we all stood on a concrete slab I could shoot above the heads of the thousands of people separating me from the stage.

Old songs sung new – Dylan is the man and he’s still got it going on all these years later.

Dylan managed to take the same old songs we’ve been listening to for all these years, and twist them until they sounded fresh and clean. Kid Rock, concert number two, put on his typical high-energy, over the top, performance, complete with shooting flames and music that ran the range from rock ‘n roll, to rap, and country.

In fact, the music available all week might be the second or third best thing about Sturgis. A partial list would include .38 Special, Dave Mason, Black Oak Arkansas, Credence Clearwater, Motley Crue, Ozzy, and the Doobie Brothers.

The crowds this year were definitely up when compared to the last few years. When I did a little shopping downtown near the end of the week, all the vendors reported good sales and big crowds all week. The bars were full of people and the whole place had that buzz of bikers having fun.

Rock ‘n roll with pyrotechnics, Kid Rock at his best.

Every year when I arrive in Sturgis I think to myself, “wow, I’ve got a whole week to ride, visit with friends, work, and play.” And then somehow the space/time continuum is compressed and suddenly in what seems only a day or two, I realize that it’s almost time to head home.

I can only say that the three fools working on the Sturgis 70th Anniversary book had a great time. We took more photos than can possibly be used, and collected enough information to fill three books.

Ernie, the non-biker of our little threesome, was a complete convert by the end of the week. When we assembled on Friday evening, he was sporting a sleeveless black biker shirt and a new tattoo. And I think he’s shopping for a Softail. Unfortunately, he also had an encounter with one of South Dakota’s finest on his way back to the motel.

I ask you: “Who has more fun than bikers.”

Like life, Sturgis is a mix of good and bad, happy and sad. The highs, whether induced through the simple pleasure of riding with friends, or with help from chemicals, are high indeed. But to quote Bean’r (more later), “if you take any risks in your life, you’re going to have highs, and lows. The only way to eliminate them is to live a totally safe and boring life.” In other words, if you’re going to ride a motorcycle you’d best be ready for the ups - and the downs.

Ernie went home with a new piece of body art, and a little love note from the state highway patrol.