8.4.06 - The Indians Are Mad

So I'm sitting on the bike, sipping a Corona last night, and I get to thinking, what a wonderful place this is...until October 15, when the temp drops to zero, it snows one foot, and the wind cranks up to 50 mph. No wonder Clamity Jane was half in the bag all the time, and what about that crazy German bastard who hung offa a rope with a chisel in his hand... for 50 years...? Can you say boilermakers? Going tent to tent yesterday, we were offered MOONSHINE, (booze without the tax stamp). We used to make that shit when I was in high school..stole a condenser from the chemistry lab--then mix a gallon of water with a cake of yeast, and one pound of sugar. let it sit for a week, then boil it off in a pressure cooker, collect vapor, and run thru condenser. A COUNTRY BOY CAN SURVIVE. Sturgis has reached the point where there are now more bikes than cars (CAGES). It's evolving into a two week event. For a couple of days, you been able to shop for stuff up and down Lazelle and Main street. Motorcycles, tee shirts, and sausage dogs all available for some green. Earlybirds we' ve interviewed say they're here for the uncongested riding, and a couple days of the main week, then gone. Many more riders are doing the same, but parking their putts when it starts to get crazy. Inside the Buffalo Chip, location of the ABM compound, we're rested and ready as the official start of the big party gets going with the world's longest happy hour, 9am through 12 midnight. Dollar beer, dollar hotdogs. The abm "Cheap Sucker Patrol" has discovered yet another gem of not much money for a lot of food, where else...Deadwood. The First Gold Hotel, on Main, will give ya an order of eggs, hashbrowns, and toast for 79 cents, that's right sports fans, 2 eggs, for less cash than it took to buy feed for the bird. The Coyote Claw in Rapid City, off exit # 57 has what looks to be the best collectible deals. Sweats for 6.99, and tees for half that. How they sell 'em so cheap is beyond me. Upcomming Biker Olympics here will feature likable events such as the "drive by shooting" contest, and a personal favorite, the "weenie bite", a wonderful, family-oriented event where the dude slowly rolls the bike underneath a hanging hot dog suspended by a string, the lady passenger stands up on the passenger pegs, and sees how much tube steak she can bite off in a single try. Kids, please don't try this at home. (The lady who wins will be very popular with the bikers!) On a downer note, we're getting reports on the Indian Nation planning to protest a couple of new biker bars near Bear Butte. We rode up yesterday to check it out, and you can see why they're pissed, the bars are slap on the edge of the reservation, and very close to their religious rite location. They're saying something like..."We wouldn't bring beer to your church, why are you doing this to us?" More on the bar owners/developers vs American Indians later, but we got bigger fish to fry...concentrate on the Pickle Lickin' Contest..How she got her tongue wrapped around an entire giant gerkin, is, in itself, worth the price of admission...and a wonderful freak of nature! Enjoy these long blogs while you can, next week, everyone here will be three sheets to the wind, and I ain't gonna feel much like doing this after 12 Coronas and a plate full of Buffalo Fondue.