Sturgis - an afterthought

In my time since visiting Sturgis, I've had a lot of time to think about the motorcyclists I met there and the experiences I had.  The biggest and most immediate impression the rally had on me was the night I spent in the bars.  But of course, if you go anywhere, you're not going to see life in its most real and true sense in the bars.

Not to say I didn't have fun and meet interesting people at the bars.  One conversation I had went like this:
"So where are you from?"
"Wisconsin, how bout you?"
"Mississippi.  Did you ride out here then?"
"Yeah, I did, it was a long way..."
"Oh wow, congratulations, that's quite the achievement.  I would have liked to do it, but it's such a long way, we just trailered our bikes and we ride them around the Hills here.  What kind of bike do you ride?"
"Well, you may not have heard of it before...  It's called a Trek.  Trek 620 to be exact."
"Huh.  Trek.  Like T-R-E-K, huh?  Nope, I've never heard of that.  What kind of ride is it?"
"Well, it's like a cruiser, touring bike, ya know..."
"No, but is it a low rider, or a cruiser bike... that sort of thing?"
"Yeah, I guess its a like a cruiser.  Use it for touring, you know?"
.......  and this went on for a little bit until I didn't know what I was talking about anymore.....
"Ok, I gotta admit, my bike is unusual in that it doesn't have a motor... it's a bicycle."
"No way.  And you rode it all the way out here???  I don't believe you.  There's no way..."
...  And this went on for a little while until I maybe had him convinced and he bought me a beer.  In any case, the entire conversation was great to have - from discussing my life on the road to his life in Mississippi and the roads of the Black Hills and South Dakota.

The bikers I met on the way to the rally and ever since have been the most kind hearted and understanding people - even if they drive by me with noisy motors.  They all have stories to share of long rides they have done, of living on the road and getting around on two wheels.  Some are even old cyclists that went on bicycle journeys before bicycle touring was even a thing-cyclists who got tired of pedaling and resorted to the motor.  All I can say is to keep pedaling on friends, let your legs do the work while your mind does the wandering, your heart does the loving, and your mouth does the drinking.

Link to Wyoming photos
https://picasaweb.google.com/forrest9/WindsOfWyoming?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCI7spt6-iICn8QE&feat=directlink

Link to my route so far:
http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?msid=203617401863148848612.0004aaa4f2b58845af1e4&msa=0&ll=44.087585%2C-100.151367&spn=25.384847%2C39.506836