Sturgis 2002 Trip Report - Monday August 5th 2002
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| Whew I feel much better this morning. A bit less action the night
before really did me good today. Shit it's raining again. Well the
routine yesterday seemed to work. I headed to the food area about 9:30am
and drank coffee until about 11:00am. I'm really not that detailed that
this is important to know except that traveling alone time with others who are
solo and in groups is actually something fun. For me the couple hours I
spent during my trip each day let me listen to the travel stories and tell my
own. It's not unlike visiting a strange bar by yourself and striking up a
conversation just to hear a story. The difference is no booze and your
still trying to wake up and figure out why it's still raining in South Dakota. Fuck it, I brought my gear so I put on the full face helmet, rain gear etc and headed for Wyoming. After a sweltering bake down Lazalle and making sure I'm headed West on I-90 this time I head towards Wyoming destination, Devils Tower and Hulett. Along the way I notice the opportunity to hit HWY 14a. For those of you who have not been there anytime you see an option to take a hwy numbered 14 or 14a as in 16 or 16a always take the "a" route if you have time. It means alternate route and it's always beautiful. As it turns out 14a takes you through Spear Fish canyon which is an excellent biker road. It's very curvy but not so much that you can drive 65 on a Harley. Your deep in the canyon and I guarantee you'll find it amazing. Of course my helmet and rain gear is keeping the rain away so I finish the route and head to Wyoming towards Devils Tower. I was actually more amazed cruising along the road (HWY 24) in Wyoming. I thought the Black Hills were beautiful but they can't match the sky in Wyoming and the distance you can see. It seemed that no matter where I was I could see farther than i'd ever seen before. I got to Devils Tower and found it to be nothing great. I had been told that but the drive to the tower was excellent so what the hell. I then hit the getting famous town of Hulett. Hulett is the town people go to because you can't drink or show tits in Sturgis. I expected a blowout but found about 50 bikers who made the same trip I did. It was more of the typical shopping and eating with the occasional live band and beer. I talked to the guy selling the BBQ Pork (Which was excellent) and I guess Wednesday is the day everyone from Sturgis makes the trip and lets it all hang out. ** Remember go to Hulett on WEDNESDAY otherwise you'll miss the party. ** After eating dinner I headed back when it started to rain. The more I drove the harder it rained. I didn't give a shit because I still had my gear on. I was amazed at the speed other bikers traveled with only a windshield or bandannas protecting them. I had it easy with my helmet etc. I figured these guys would have to hole up until the rain stopped but they kept going. Once back in Sturgis it was about 11:00pm and it was raining harder than ever. I headed back to camp rather than the Full Throttle where Nazareth was playing. The road to camp was a literal mud pit. My bike looked like those four wheel drive trucks who haven't been sprayed. I got to camp, jumped off and sat in my dry tent and used the time to get some sleep.
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