More history posts coming soon as I get time.  Meanwhile, here’s a blast from my own past.  Shortly after I rebuilt my 1974 shovel in the early ’80s – refurbished 1954 rigid wishbone frame, fresh motor, fresh paint, the works – I went on a group ride to Lake Buchanan in the Highland Lakes Region of Central Texas.  A few weeks later a fellow who’d been on the ride with us – a fellow I didn’t even know – came in the shop where I worked and dropped some pics on me.  They were all great shots, but the one below captures the pure joy and pride I was feelin’ that day!

A little while later I rode up to Little River, a little town outside Temple, Texas, and raced heads-up in the run-what-ya-brung FL class.  Did pretty good, for a virtually bone-stock motor!

A couple years later I rode to Sturgis, South Dakota, for the big rally that city hosts every summer.  I rode my shovel and my partner rode his rigid jockey-shift 1973 shovel chop.  We lit out of Austin Friday night after work, took a leisurely ride up IH35 into Kansas, and then meandered west and northwest into Sturgis.  We camped twice, and even stopped to visit my brother’s in-laws in Kearney, Nebraska, and still made it in time to pitch our tents before sunset on Sunday night!

Sturgis was fun – it was a blast having motorcycles outnumber cars, for once – but the only reason I’d go back during the rally would be to create a “35 years later” documentary film or photo essay.  Wouldn’t mind getting up there to ride those roads when they weren’t packed with drunk bikers, though!

And speaking of packed: Here’s downtown Sturgis on the Monday night of the rally week.  Remember, this was 1982, and 30,000 was a record-breaking crowd for the rally – the biggest in attendance (thus far, anyway) since the rally began back in the late ’30s.

Had to do the tourist bits, of course:

All in all I had a blast – put on some miles, saw some fun stuff while motoring through the always fascinating (to me) American landscape, and met some really cool folks.  As stated above, I wouldn’t want to do it every summer, but I think every biker owes it to him or herself to make the scene at least once!