To me, and for thousands of other riders, Sturgis and the Black Hills represent just that, the land of the free, and the home of the brave. I have seen countless documentaries about Sturgis, and I have yet to see anyone capture the essence of what keeps this 50 year old woman coming back summer after summer. For me the Black Hills hold a magical, spiritual beauty and energy that you don’t find cruising Main. But with the tough economy, the girlfriends that often accompany me on the ride out couldn’t make it. My new boyfriend wanted to be practical and attend to business at home. I contemplated not going myself………. But it was the 70th Sturgis rally, my 50th birthday, and I hadn’t missed the rally in over 20 years. And then there is my old Pa, who just turned 80, and his health isn’t so good. In the past few years we’ve started a tradition. After the rally I head over to Minnesota to visit my mom, sis, and youngest brother & family. Then I fetch my Pa, and we do a road trip back to Wyoming to visit the older of my two brothers and his family in Lander, Wyoming, where he works as a deputy sheriff. So I decided as I almost always do, to cast fate into the wind, and head on down the highway.
My first stop was Hotchkiss, Colorado where my Uncle David and Aunt Shelia have a horse ranch, and where I am moving in October. I stopped in to see the new place, and hung out down at Dave’s trout ponds. It’s a view I have grown up looking at, and am excited that it is about to be the view I wake up to every morning.
Ken Conte from Rise Above Consulting has been kind enough to get me accommodations at the Buffalo Chip the past few years to cover the events going on there. So I had this keen idea to utilize the pass to its full extent, and see what it would be like for a woman to camp out by herself at the Buffalo Chip all week. Having only been to the Buffalo Chip a limited amount, I held the illusion that I might find myself a quiet corner under a nice tree to pitch my little tent. And upon arriving, I did try……………and I gave it an honest engine one nights sleepless effort. Holy Moly! At 50, I decided I was simply too old to appreciate the Buffalo Chip! I think at 20 I was too old to appreciate the Buffalo Chip! The Buffalo Chip never sleeps, and neither did I. I crawled out of my sad Walmart tent, and asked a group of guys where the nearest bathroom was. “Beetsie? Betsy I am Carlos, your Facebook friend from Chiwawa, Mexico! I can’t believe it’s you! Can we take the picture together?
That first day I headed over to the county line Broken Spoke for Michael Lichters’ ride with Sugar Bear. Bean’re and all of my buddies from the Limp Nickie Lot, and the Wall of Death were all staying there. I decided I would move out to that campground in hopes of a more peaceful rest. The ride took us down some scenic roads for Michael to do what he does best, which is shoot great pictures. After you reach the hot lemonade girl, you turn back and head for the drag strip.
At the drag strip, anyone that wanted to drag their own bike was invited to do so. Bean’re and Chris Callen of Cycle Source Magazine had a mean competition going on. Before they even took off, Chris got his pant leg caught up in his belt, and they had to cut him out of his own pants. Now that’s what I call a Drag Race! I don’t remember who won, being that they kept challenging one another to yet another run. They might still be out there on that track!
After a long afternoon of watching the races in the blazing sun, I decided to move my camp on down the road to the more relaxed fields of the Spoke, but as I was passing Bear Butte Mountain, I looked up and remembered my favorite times on that spiritual place. I fell in love on that mountain, and it will always hold the magic of those memories. I turned in without hesitation, and went up to walk the trail. I stayed there for a long time and looked out over Bear Butte Lake. I remembered the first time I went skinny dipping in that lake, and tore my shirt to make prayer offerings and head bands for us. I decided to stay there in the energy of the Mountain, and headed down to make my quiet camp.
The campground has no facilities other than a non flushing toilet. The quiet enveloped me, and I slept like a baby! The only sound I heard that night was a lone cow mooing in the distance. I woke up to a golden sunrise, and went for a long swim. There were a handful of other campers around, and only a couple had motorcycles. There were frogs all over the lakes edge soaking in the sun, so I tried not to disturb them as I tip toed in for my early morning swim. Then I headed over to the Legends Ride in Deadwood.
The Legends ride was jamming! PeeWee Herman was there with his bicycle. I am not sure why. The crowd seemed to really love him along with the guy who won “Survivor”, who was also one of the legends on hand. Lorenzo Lamas was there with his new fiancée Shauna, and his business pal Chad Greulash of Lorenzo Cycles.
The Legends ride did a loop through Nemo and back through Sturgis. It was attempting to head out to the Buffalo Chip but got stuck in a lot of stand still traffic, so I pulled over to buy a glass of lemonade from a little boy on the side of the street for 50 cents. Gilby Clark and his pals pulled in just behind me to do the same. I told the little boy that the cool guys walking up were Rock Stars from Los Angeles, and that he could charge them $5 for a glass of lemonade. “Do you really think I could?” he asked. By the time they all finished, I think Gilby gave him $30, and the little boy almost went pee in his pants he was so excited! “I gotta go make more lemonade!” he said as he ran off.
So then Gilby and his friends invited me to tag along to go backstage at a new place called the Monkey Bar. They were headed to see a band called the “Darling Stiletto’s”. They were as sexy as the Pussycat Dolls, and certainly kept the boys mesmerized.
That night Baker Drivetrain held a burn out contest out at the County line Broken Spoke, and my friend Kevin Aslop of Big Bear Choppers impressed the crowd with his seemingly effortless skills at bringing his bike to its ultimate performance level. Kevin was nursing fresh road rash from going down after hitting a deer the day before. Not much seems to faze the man!
The next day Chris Callen and the Cycle Source boys did their own ride out to the Nemo Horse Ranch, where we had a BBQ lunch. Everyday was sunny and filled with friends and laughter. Several of my pals were working at the Broken Spoke in town, Sasha Mullins and comedian and host Jack Shit, but they were able to sneak off that day to be on the Cycle Source ride with us.
Tuesday night was Micheal Lichters show of his lifetime work of Motorcycle photography out at the Buffalo Chip. It was as always impressive and takes you back in time to the changes that have occurred over the years in the lifestyles of riding. The most important people in the world of motorcycling turned out to show their support of everything Micheal has done.
After the show, Genevieve, Masyn, Diva Amy and I went out into the sea of people at the Buffalo Chip to watch Bob Dylan warm up the stage for Kid Rock! We were not close enough to the stage to get the most out of being at a Bob Dylan concert, but when Kid Rock hit the stage, the crowd went crazy! Now that is a rock star! The man really does what he does well. He had four middle aged women who are all in relationships saying, “yup, I get it……….” Somehow that skinny white trash boy from Detroit is all kinds of sexy!
The Hall of Fame breakfast came early the next day, but I didn’t want to miss it as my good friend Kiwi Mike was an inductee, and was seated at the head table next to Willie G. Davidson and his wife Nancy Davidson, who was also being inducted. I always love to hear the stories of the lifetime passion the inductees have for the sport of motorcycling, and this was no exception. I was proud to be there with Kiwi’s family, Grace and friends to see him honored that way.
Later that day my friend Athena had her bike build going on at the Broken Spoke downtown, so I stopped in to see the girls working up on the stage building one of her bad machines under the pressure of time, the grueling heat of the day, and hundreds of people watching. The Broken Spoke downtown has always been my favorite place in town to find friends, and it was a great day just hanging out there.
My last and favorite day was spent with the Limp Nickie Lot boys, and we did a “Ride to the Rez”. It was on Friday, and many people had already pulled out for the week, so we had a small group. Chris Callen was leading the ride, but had a back tire malfunction, so the bike went onto a trailer. I offered Chris my bike, and I rode bitch on the back of my own bike through the Badlands to the Pine Ridge reservation. There was a group of kids waiting to meet us at the Boys and Girls Club, and we all headed out to a baseball field where we played ball and gave motorcycle rides to the kids around the outfield. The kids were so enthused that it made the whole trip very rewarding. I fell in love with a young girl named Shayla that looked like Pocahontas, and gave her a long ride thru the wheat fields of the rez.
Every one of those kids told me that someday they wanted to have a motorcycle, and they all got to choose the bike they liked best. The Pine Ridge reservation is a very impoverished place, where even clean running water is a resource we take for granted that they do not have. The Hoka Hey ride this year was meant to bring awareness to this problem, but as yet has not solved it. Bikers as a group can make a difference when they band together for a greater cause. This is an important one, as we took their land and gave them nothing in return except empty promises. We continue to enjoy and use their Black Hills, while they continue to exist on very little. I hope the Hoka Hey ride has a second year, and that it helps to bring greater awareness in the form of actual change.
Bean’re and I rode back to Sturgis thru the Badlands as the sun was setting. It was a most perfect ride, day, week……. rally. I absolutely NEVER get tired of the Black Hills. The beauty still leaves me in awe, and the energy will always be magical. My friends in the motorcycle community are like a huge family. Every year it is like renewal of existence for me. It recharges my battery and helps me to put everything else around me into perspective. If you allow yourself to be alone with your thoughts, surroundings, and the open road, a calm knowing happens. Instead of seeking answers to your life questions, the open road has a way of bringing clarity.
My old Pa doesn’t have the energy to ride on the back of my motorcycle anymore, or to come to Sturgis during rally, so I threw my bike on the trailer and went and fetched him in the truck. After visiting the prettiest girls in the Midwest, my nieces Sienna & Maddy, I brought my Dad to Crazy Horse to see the progress being made on what will eventually be the largest, most meaningful monument in our country. Dad was overwhelmed with the whole museum and the story behind it all, and we spent the whole day there. We went on to spend some quality time at my brother Joe’s with my nephews shooting grasshoppers, fishin, wandering though Ghost towns, wading in streams, roasting marshmallows for smores, and taking motorcycle rides! And every year I re-learn that it is as much the going, as the getting there that is good.
I hope you enjoyed riding along! You can find me on Facebook, or at:
Happy trails!
