Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/126836
W hen it rain s. t he bikes get wet and people huddle in the storefronts. (A bov e) Uni que transportatio n o n M ain St ree t . (Bel ow) O n the ro ad . Main Street . Sturgis. at the hei g ht of t he 45th Annual Black Hills Motorcycle Rally and Races. lt's about motorcycles . motorcycles an d m o re motorcycles. Street Life Serenades Vignettes from an unreal world By Richard Creed As most of you who read this august jo u rn a l know, the small farming and ranching community of Sturgis, South Dakota, once a year opens its doors and girds its loins for a virtual o ns la ug h t of t wo - w h ee led mounted st ra ngers tha t have, for so me reason. a n n ually de scended o n th is isol ated spot in a sea of nowhere for a week of activity th at primari ly revo lves around (n ice pun that ). a tran sp ortat ion and sport devi ce known com mon ly as. " T he Motor cycle." Sin ce th e reader is no doubt well a wa re o f th e circu ms ta nces a nd hi stor y of thi s prestigious eve nt. herein a fter kn own as th e 45th a n n ua l Black Hills Motorcycle Rally and Races. it wo uld be boring a nd repetit ious to o nce again recant th e well kn own story of its beg innings in J.c. " Pap p y" Hee l's front ya rd or even to o ffer some lengthy bit o f verse regarding th is year' s event. The rac e report appears elsewh ere, I assu me . in this issue a nd for those read ers so inclined, I recommend a sp eed y perusal of its copy. So . . . . . wh ere does th a tleave us? About where it leaves most peopl e who come here aft er traveling sometimes halfwav across the continent. Or further. The big question is. "What do I do now?" T his question is usua lly said in a tone of be wilderment as it follows the statemen t -said wi th pride, " Hev, I'm here ! I made it !" T~ be frank . there isn 't reallv a lo t for a person to do in Stu rg is (j u st ask the peo ple wh o live h ere). if yo u a re interested in mad e-to-order enterta in men t. Th e last p icture show p laye d o u t its run in St u rgis severa l years ago arid ha s since been turned in to an em por iu m sellin g second hand book s, cloth es an d handi craft s. Bar s a nd lounges are certa in Iy plentiful ' the re being a half-dozen in th e fir st two blocks of Main Street. But, d uring Cl assi c Week , especia lly la ter in th e week if it 's hot during th e day or at a ny time during th e even ing. gelling into a wa terin g hol e ca n be a problem . • Of co urse .. th ere are th e .man y a nd (Bel ow) The Main Street River. w ith cu rbs under water. var ied tour is t-oriented busi nesses, mos tly si tua ted a sho rt ride to th e so ut h aro und Ra pid City, Keystone. and Cus ter . But, what Sturgis has to off er th e visi tor is primari ly the experience o f seei ng li tera ll y th ousands o f m otorcycles parked handl ebar-t o-ga s tank . four ro ws wide, for a distan ce o f up to six ci ty blocks. T ha t. a nd. wea the r p ermitting. so me o f th e fin est . freest , a nd m ost cha llenging riding to be found betw een two coasts. The best way to understand th e St urgis event is not through the wor ds of someone else, bu t in person. Barring th at , so me visua l record is p erhaps th e best su bstitu te. For su bsti tute it is. To fu ll y apprecia te Sturgis. it mu st be expe rience d fir st hand. T r ust me. I kn ow abo u t th ese th ings. T en yea rs ago I ca me to Stu rg is. a nd exce p t [or a br ief time o f wandering. I have rem ained h ere. With on ly occasional regrets. T h is is a persona l matter , gra nted. a nd probably o f no interest 10 th e read er ... . bu t before( Co n t in u ed to pag« ]0 ) 17