Destination...Journey...or ADVENTURE? Part One - NOW's the time!

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Guest Blogger - Tom McTamney, Owner

  It’s that time again, when all roads will be leading to Sturgis.  Those of you that have been there know full well what a great destination Sturgis is.  Hot summer weather, great riding in the Black Hills, and a really big butt load of Harleys.

Pappy Hoel, Father of Sturgis

I say Harleys because, one, I am a Harley dealer, and two, while you may get some push-back from some brand X riders, Harley-Davidson, and Harleys, rule in Sturgis.  It was started over 70 years ago by Pappy Hoel, a new Indian dealer at that time, for some great racing competition between Indians, and their arch rival, Harley. The first rally was held in Sturgis on August 14, 1938.  It has been held every year since, except for 2 years during WW2.  I guess it’s fair to say if Indian were still around today they might have ruled the Black Hills.   So, if you ride a bike, especially a Harley, you must add Sturgis to your bucket list.  Sooner…rather than later. 

Just a quick fix outside the room..

Now let’s talk about what this blog is really about.  It's about the Journey, or may I say ….the Adventure, not the destination.  When you decide to do an epic ride like Sturgis it is not, let me repeat, NOT about the destination, it is all about the ride.  I will be honest with you, if I could not ride to Sturgis, I would not go.  It’s that important a ride.  And before I hear all the comments readers are going to post, don’t have enough vacation time,  it’s too hot, my bike's not in good enough shape, my grass needs cutting, and oh the really big one: “my wife won’t let me go”…..ya, it is all crap, put your excuse bible down and experience an adventure.  If you have never taken a journey of almost 4000 miles before, now is the time, actually, it's always the time, and Sturgis the trip to do it.

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When you decide to do an epic ride like Sturgis, it is not, let me repeat, NOT about the destination, it is all about the ride.

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Well, THAT'S no good...

Why?  With a regular "car" vacation to, let's say, Disney World, the adventure begins when you arrive, right?  But, the Sturgis adventure starts when you leave your driveway, not when you get to Sturgis.  After a few hours on the road you will start to see bikes heading west, just a few at first, but as you get half way through PA, there will be a lot more.  West of Ohio, you will begin to think you are in a parade.  The north-east draws the most people for the rally.  When you stop for gas the station will be filled with bikes.  When you stop for lunch, the café will be filled with bikes, and when you finally stop for the night, your place of lodging will have more bikes in the parking lot than you can imagine.  It's time to grab a beer and hang out with friends you haven’t made yet.

This fix took most of the day!

The best part of the journey is now, wherever you are at THIS MINUTE.  Why do I like to call it an adventure?  Well because there are risks.  The risk of a break down, the risk of very severe weather, the very real risk of not being able to find a room and having to sleep at a rest stop, and of course the risk of crashing.

All of the things that I just talked about have happened on all or some of my adventures, and I wouldn’t trade those experiences for anything.  If you peruse the photos you will see shots of us fixing bikes, some really severe weather, and a couple of shots of a comrade in a cast (crashing sucks).

All of the photos are of real trips I have made to Sturgis over the last 30 years.  Some non-eventful, some were real adventures. 

Yeah, crashing sucks.  Still wearing a grin though...

I've met many friends over the years, some of whom are all over the country, and our only time we get to visit is at the rally. If you miss the opportunity to journey to Sturgis, you will be missing a lot, because the week preceding Sturgis, and the week after Sturgis is really the only time left where the brotherhood of the highway, some may say the brotherhood of the wheel, is alive and well and glowing.