Magic Carpet Ride

Second day out, we decided to rent a big cruiser with built-in stereo speakers to see what that was like. I could actually really hear the music. We rode through the Black Hills National Forest today. Winding along the curvy roads amongst the tall, dark pine trees; passing bikers and vacationers; speeding along the rolling hills under the blue skies just taking it all in. Riding on the back of the bike gave me lots of time to think, and look and listen to the world around me…and to work up a real sweat! It was a hot day, and my tour guide made sure that our cruise led us to a beautiful little lake. We found a place to park along the perimeter and then hiked down to the shore – which was extremely rocky.  Another hike back up to the bike for our tennis shoes, then I dove into the lake wearing nothing but those shoes. Aaaaah, almost as good as skinny dipping in Maine, let me tell you. I don’t know if I ever felt so refreshed. Hopped back on the bike and rode on. Back into town to return the bike, walk around and do some more gawking and shopping. We bought some patches for our jackets (to commemorate our attendance and add some attitude) and got our new best friend Linda to sew them on while we wandered. Then back to the hotel – speaking of which, did I tell you that the hotel not only had about 200 motorcycles lined up in the parking lot, but also buckets filled with rags so all the proud papas could keep their babies shiny and clean? Folks would wander around commenting on various bikes, talking about their ride in from home, and discussing various rides to take in the area. Back to our story:  we headed in to put our feet up, clean up, and eat a little Asian take out (the closest thing I could find to a fresh vegetable in the entire state!) before heading back into town to listen to live music, do some people watching and bike investigation (check out the interesting custom design on the one above!), and finally see a little risque costuming at the One-Eyed Jack Bar. You can see as well that the food selection is similar to most big outdoor events.Was very disappointed throughout the trip that that was about the wildest dress that I saw. Perhaps because I needed to be there later in the week, or perhaps things have gotten tamer. Who knows….