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After I was done at Black
Hills HD, EZ and I decided to head towards Deadwood, which was generally
the plan for that evening anyhow. The ride up to Deadwood was some of
the best riding of the week and just got more and more beautiful. As
we rode higher, the air cooled off. And though some clouds rolled in,
it never rained.
We didn't spend a lot of time looking for parking. EZ has a fondness for VFW posts and we parked outside one, then walked on over to the main strip
Deadwood
seems like a town yanked forward in time. And while I'm sure some of
that's just for show, I could see that this is a town that has its history
and one could spend a week there.
The town is nicely layed out, with pleasant streets and two and three-story buildings. A lot of it reminds one of an old west town, but they don't go overboard with that. Deadwood has a number of saloons and gambling halls. None of it is as cheesy as Vegas, nor as sordid. I appreciated that. (Deadwood cops)
EZ and I did a small bit of gambling and then had lunch, including some $2 shrimp cocktails (Fremont-style, for all you familiar with LV). After that, a little more gambling. EZ played craps and I practiced my poor pool-playing skills. Somewhere along the way, we ran into the gang again.
The group spent some time
at a rowdy open-air place with numerous bars inside -- so beer was never
far away. This place, like the Full Throttle, had a raised deck surrounding
the lower, central floor -- and had a great band playing. I hung out at
the front of the deck overlooking the street, enjoying the many customs
zooming up and down the street as well as noting a handful of standard
models that were especially well-treated (in the sense that they weren't
extreme, but had some smart modifications and were just great-looking
bikes all around.) If there's one thing I figured out during this trip,
it's that I have definite preferences on what a good-looking bike is and
isn't.
Before I was ready, the group was heading out. Somebody said something about dark, cold riding and I suppose they had a point, but by now I was getting comfortable getting back to Custer in the dark. And cold doesn't bother me that much.
Well, I've got to come back to Deadwood next year, hopefully for a whole day.
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