STURGIS!!!!!!!!!

It seems like only yesterday I was blogging about my trip to Sturgis with Kyla. Another year has gone by and the 67th annual Sturgis Rally is in the history books.

The trip last year was not made without some pain and suffering on both our parts. The '06 Softail Deluxe, beautiful as it is, was not created for long distance touring. So when I mentioned to Jeannie that I would like her to accompany me this year, she wisely declined. Secretly, I was relieved. As diehard a Harley rider as I am, even I didn't enjoy riding it for long distances. Jeannie did allow that were something more cushy and plush to appear in the driveway, she would reconsider the trip. The hunt was on! On the third phone call I scored. A dealer had an '07 Ultra Classic Electraglide he was willing to make a deal on. 24 hours later it's in the driveway and we're packing for Sturgis. Because of prior work commitments we weren't able to leave before Wed. morning. We were loaded down as we pulled out of town at 6:30 am and headed west. The new machine handled everything we asked it to do with comfort and style. Another new addition to the camping gear was an inflatable air mattress, not the self-inflating closed cell kind, but the real comfy kind that are 8 inches thick. I bought a little fan that plugs into the cigarette lighter and pumps up the mattress in under a minute. Sweet! We found a nice shady spot under a tree and we were in business.

I haven't heard the final figures but the numbers were way down for the rally this year. I'm sure the price of gas had something to do with that. Jeannie suggested we print t-shirts that said "I rode my motorcycle to the motorhome rally." It is true, people are not willing to rough it anymore and have the means to travel in style so why not? I guess I would feel the same way, given different circumstances. For now, I like to be self-contained on 2 wheels. I love to tent camp on my motorcycle as I travel. With the new air mattress I love it even more. So camping was great (except for the M80's being detonated next to our tent at 1 am by a drunken pyrotechnic neighbor.) Riding in the Black Hills was great, seeing and being with old friends was great, the weather was perfect except for the morning we left for home, it was cloudy and drizzly. That turned out to be a blessing as the sun eventually came out but the day was moderate temps with low humidity and hardly any wind. It is 387 miles from the campground to our front door and by that time we were both ready to get off. Great trip and I'm looking forward to the next one already.

PS- Jeannie's camera got stolen so we have no pictures but maybe we can share some with a friend that took lots of pics. Thanks Tammy!