S2K - Sturgis 2000

Suzuki Bandit 1200S

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WEDNESDAY, 9 August

Set out this morning to test-ride a Buell but we had other stuff to do and the line was too long, so that didn’t happen. Signed up to do a Ducati ST4 and Honda VFR800 in the afternoon but didn’t make it back in time – I’ll try again Friday.

Penny was disappointed because I didn’t want to make the long trip to the Badlands & the Pine Ridge Reservation; I sort of made it up to her by going to the Journey Museum in Rapid City and not even remotely rushing her through it. It’s not a big museum, and has nothing to do with the band (ha ha). Maybe 35-45 exhibits. We were in there a solid few hours. It’s a local museum – covers everything locally from the rock formations that make up the Badlands and Devil’s Tower to recent efforts of the US government toward giving the Indians some autonomy while still helping them. I liked the Old West kind of stuff the best but I guess that’s not very politically correct. There was a whole room full of stuffed animals – all kinds of birds, rodents, ferrets, and small wildcats. It was eerie and icky and cool all at the same time, but a very thorough record of wildlife in this area in the late 1800s. They even had a bald eagle and some really big hawks.

After the museum we searched a bit for this used bookstore, got frustrated, then asked directions. Instead of going right there we got lunch at the Firehouse – a brewpub & restaurant right on Main Street in Rapid City near the Civic Center. Breaking our chain of bad diners, this place had good food AND our waitress was very good.

We got to the bookstore – Everybody’s Books or something like that. I found a cool late-1970s book on Soviet air power. I love those Cold War era hysteria books. I also got a book on the beginnings of the Euro-Indian-African relations in the New World, more research fodder for an eventual book. Penny found a nice, thick, and recent book on Indians.

After the bookstore we went to the Civic Center to watch the freestyle motocross jumpers Brian Regan (Keegan?) and Eric (?) Faisst. They were awesome – I shot almost 2 full rolls of film. It was funny to hear a few Harley guys voice their astonishment at the tricks these guys were pulling off – including no-hand landings and letting go completely of the bike in mid-air. They were jumping an 80-foot gap between a wood/steel ramp and a huge dirt landing ramp & run-off area. It really was stunning.

We went inside the Civic Center to look at the shiny 2001 Harleys but they shut down at 5 p.m. and the freestyle demo ended at 10 til. Maybe tomorrow. I still want to take a picture of Penny sitting on a big ol’ Harley.

2 Aug - 3 Aug - 5 Aug - 6 Aug - 7 Aug - 8 Aug - 9 Aug - 11 Aug - 12 Aug

Photos of bikes & people I encountered.

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