day 9 Thursday

The Sturgis motorcycle rally is, well, sort of the antithesis of the "Honor Rally Ride."
I don't mean to besmirch motorcyclists, after all I am one......although, I also have to add here that I really felt like an impostor for the last day. (did they notice the lack of tattoos? that I was actually wearing a bra? the way my bike wobbled as I clutched and braked my way through miles of bumper to bumper/stop and go traffic? the fact that I ordered coffee at 9 in the morning instead of a bloody Mary? that Dan had to help me back my Victory into a tight parking spot between the Harley and the....Harley? that I was the ONLY one who was wearing a helmet in 100 degree heat? that I begged Dan to leave the Motley Crew concert after just ONE song .....and is that really a SONG? is it really MUSIC??) These are just questions I pose to the universe.
Now when you get one of these "Sturgis bikers" alone to have a conversation, they turn out to be very God-fearing, gun toting, constitution lovin', conservative Americans........BUT, DUDE, get a haircut! And, SWEETIE, does your mother know you are wearing THAT??? (ok, I am just being mean now)

As we approached South Dakota from Fort Robinson State Park we noticed that the motorcyclists began to get very rude. You see, there is a motorcyclist "secret" hand wave (you drop your left hand off the clutch in "salute" to the on coming cyclist in a wave of camaraderie. Sort of a way to say "stay safe out there, buddy.") The further we got into South Dakota the less and less the wave was returned! I was getting very annoyed, until I realized that I was dropping my hand off the handle bar WAY too frequently! Pretty soon, all we saw were motorcycles, for as far as the road was visible. I was truly amazed. If every one of them had turned around and headed to Washington, D.C. with us what a statement we could make!!