I perform my usual routine and by now I'm sweating bullets.  It's at least 95 degrees, probably more.  I look at the traffic which has now doubled or tripled from the past day.  I can't stand to sit in traffic and I'm not spending another hour at the Full Throttle.  I gas up and head the only direction no one wants to go EAST!

When in Sturgis if it's hot you ride.  Your not there to sit in movie theaters or shop in the mall.  If your hot go for a ride and that's what I did.  I decided that I'd be leaving soon and would not want to sit in traffic on Lazalle waiting to get on I-90 West with all my gear.  I figured I'd use the time to scout a way to head back to I-90 via HWY 34 east bypassing all traffic. 

As it turns out this ride was longer than I thought but was a good time and ate up all the hot afternoon.  I took HWY 34 fifty miles east from Sturgis and fueled in Union Center.  I then kept east   Along the way I hit a soon to be truck stop where the locals pump your gas, tell you how much and then rely on you to park and walk to the restaurant to tell them how much you own them.  You can write your name on the semi that's parked here which would be your only indication this wasn't an abandoned gravel lot.

After getting fuel and more water I headed headed south on 73 which cuts straight down to I-90.  I stopped for lunch in Phillip at a small malt shop.  Due to a labor shortage they only had burgers. (Anyone seeking employment in Phillip, they pay $8.00 for help.  Then bikers can get more variety)  The owner was nice enough to loan me her garden hose so I could get the mud out of the cooling fins on my motor.  Leaving I had a choice.  Take 73 South to I-90 or Take 14 West through Wall to I-90.  Since I was headed to Sturgis not leaving this was a no brainer, I took 14.  After getting back on 90 West I stopped at my favorite travel place on Exit 61 in Rapid City, the Flying J truck stop.  I got gas and realized how scummy the hot sun and sunscreen collected dirt had made me.  I also realized that the drag racing was going to start in an hour and I'd never get a shower in.

Trip Tip:  For a $10.00 deposit (You get five back when your done.) You can grab a shower at this truck stop in your own clean private bathroom. (Towels included)  Since I carry my personal shit in my bags I had myself a shower and shave in way better accommodations that I was getting at Glencoe. 

When I left the temp had eased to maybe 80 degrees, a real nice night.  I headed for camp and hit the Sturgis drag way by 6:30.  This is a nice place because they have plenty of seats (bring earplugs) and are continuously serving beer in the stands for a mere $2.50.  The racing was great, my respect goes out to the girl driving the FXD that kept beating the hell out of the guys.

After the racing I decided it was too early for bed and I had too much to drink to drive to the Full Throttle.  My trip back to camp took me the reverse direction through "Titty Alley".  I hit the food area, had a burger and grabbed a case of beer.  I dropped my bike off at my site and walked with my case to the lit area of the alley.  The rest of the night is a blur as I saw the campground I knew as a sedate well mannered camp in the morning turned upside down.  People riding naked on bikes.  People walking naked down the road and of course plenty of drinking and other things going on.  The people hanging out were really cool, I ended up just walking from place to place hanging out with people there.  To say I had a blast would have been an understatement.  If your staying at Glencoe I guess this starts at around 7:00pm and ran very late.  I had always left camp for activity and probably could have spent the weeknights here and never seen the same thing twice.