United Sidecar Association Annual Rally in Sturgis, SD

The United Sidecar Association Annual Rally is always a good place to find friends, old and new, with whom you can spend a few days kicking tires and sharing stories.
This years rally in Sturgis, SD was no exception.
It was blessed with great weather, blessed by members of the Christian Motorcyclist Association, and it was also blessed by The Short Family, all 16 of them, under the guidance of Will Short.
This family gathered around the patriarch and helped him make this rally, what many called, the best rally yet with a large turnout of Sidecarists from the US and Canada.
How good it was to see young children riding with parents and grand parents on the many rides through Mount Rushmore Memorial Country.

Rally attendees easily discussed their rigs and the hundreds of others gathered in the parking lot of the Elk Grove Campgrounds.
Over 200 sidecars were on display.


One looked like a car.

      One looked like a Shark Tank

Each person got two paper clips and each motorcycle had a cup.
Put your paperclip in the cup to vote for that rig as the Best of Show.

  The Best of Show winner, as chosen by attendees at the rally, carried a dog.

Bentley, the dog, when on the move seemed to really enjoy the ride.
Sandy Freiberg was the owner of the Best of Show rig and you can learn more by visiting
"SidecarBentley"  on Facebook.

Sidecar Bentley Cheerleader Debra Holliway, a Denver Realtor was not only a great cheerleader for Bentley but a purveyor of a great Rib Eye Steak which this writer enjoyed immensely.

Thanks Debra. I am looking forward to seeing you, Bentley and Sandy at another rally, maybe the 2016 rally in Grand Junction, CO or sooner.
And remember, you are welcome to ride in my sidecar at any rally, with or without those famous, and very tasty Rib Eye steaks.
                                                                 Bentley the dog even had his own umbrella

Jon H. Daub of Cypress Texas had just completed the Iron Butt Association 48-10, visiting all 48 contiguous states in ten days.
It's called Speed Stating, and you can visit a lot of states in a short time.

His map was a work of art.

The Texas flag was the final flag decal to be placed on the map. A great way to show off the states and explain what he had just done.
Visit his BLOG, http://ccjon.blogspot.com to learn more about the 48 state ride and about the Iron Butt Association.

On his card Jon puts it this way:
Experiencing the wind,
ridden from within,
floating fast and free.

They called it a Knucklehead Harley.
It was the oldest bike on the lot.
A 1940 Harley Davidson with a 1947 engine.

It was a one kick start too. Nice ride.

With the Independence Day weekend approaching the riders displayed their patriotic pride and their military affiliation, reminding us that the Fourth of July is more than Camp Outs, Cook Outs and Fund Raising opportunities,
       IT'S  INDEPENDENCE DAY !

       One rider just may have been a Marine from the looks of the display! 

Veterans of all other branches were well represented.
This was the back of a riders jacket.

 The Black Hills Bluegrass Festival provided entertainment. 

 

Met many interesting people including Professor Daniel Dolan, the founder of the CAMP program at the South Dakota School of Mining and Technology. They have student teams working on solar cars, unmanned flight vehicles, and even a Gamer Development Team which takes part in International competitions on Esports and on-line war games. The games move so fast they have been dubbed, a game of chess on steroids. They had even heard of our Grandson Erik who is a Cyber Castor broadcasting Esports in Korea and around the world. Congratulations to Professor Dolan and his team for helping these young people leap frog ahead of students in many schools around the world through their creative and imaginative studies at SDSMT.

From all over the United States and Canada, 

riders displayed their license plates and their pride in the home state.

                                            TEXAS

MONTANA


Another United Sidecar Association Rally has come to a successful conclusion and all agreed it was one of the best ever.
Good turnout of Sidecarists, fantastic scenery, beautiful weather and friendly folks.
This is what riding a sidecar is all about.
A big Thank You to Will Short and that 16 member family of kids, grands, nieces, and nephews.
What a bunch.

I traveled on from Sturgis to visit with Pastor Al and Pam.
Laura and Lydia were there too. Someone called them the Giggle Sisters.
I wonder who could have done that.
Then off to Minneapolis to visit with twin brother Dean and his wife Bev, as well as little sister Vivian and her husband Dave.

I got to visit with Nephew Darren and see the re-build project he has going on his old Harley.
It looked a lot like a street rod you would see in an old James Dean movie.
It's a going machine. (or will be when it's done.)

I had decided to do another Iron Butt Association ride from Minneapolis to Helena, Montana as a quick ride home. The Saddle Sore 1000-1 ride takes you one thousand or more miles in twenty four hours or less.
I started the ride at 10PM CDT Tuesday evening and arrived in Helena 19 hours and 56 minutes later.
It began with a seven hour night ride and as it turned out, five of those hours were in a light to heavy rain. I finally ran out of the rain at Dickinson, ND.
From there on it was sunshine and wide roads all the way home.
The 95 degree temperature across Montana did make for some warm weather riding, but, as you all know, any ride is a good ride.
All the same, it felt mighty good to make that last gas stop at Montana City, get the time and date stamped gas pump receipt and pull into the driveway at home.

Thanks everybody, for all you did to give this 80 year old biker another memorable biker experience.

May your ride be long and may all your roads be wide.

Watch for me, I'll be in the Right Lane America.

Be Fantastic

Del "Lonnie" Lonnquist