Getting close...

 

Joan wanted to do some running in Rapid City today, so I took the opportunity to take the Vespa to Sturgis.  My plan: stop at Corbin's (the seat maker extrordinaire) to ask about something I might like to modify on my Vespa seat.  Joan said, "Since you're going to be there, stop and get some steak tips for lunch."  That sounds like a very good plan, too.

I took off, rode through Rapid City...

 ... then mostly direct to Sturgis, including some Interstate time.  Plenty of bikes and motorhomes and pickups hauling cargo trailers as I got closer to Sturgis.  Off the Interstate and into town, including a ride down Main Street.

It is a hustle of activity: some vendors are set up, others are hard at work getting ready for the crowds.  It is a combination of cars, pickups, and motorcycles on Main Street.  It makes it look like there are more bikes with the street and parking open to 4 wheel vehicles.  In another couple days, Main Street will be blocked off for Motorcycle Only parking.  Then, it will be a row of parked bikes on either side of the street, and two rows down the middle of the street.

I rode through a few blocks of Main Street (yes, I shot some video), turned on a side street, down to Lazelle, and on to the Corbin display.  I rode the Vespa into that area, waved hi to Mike Corbin (the guy who started this Corbin enterprise), then visited with Juan about what I had in mind.  He came out to the scoot, looked it over, and said, "Yeah, we can do that."  Something for me to consider once we are back home and I can put the original seat back on.

 

Back on the scoot and Main Street, where I found a place to park across the street from the Loud American Roadhouse.  The sky had looked a bit ominous as I got closer to town, but it stayed dry.  I got a table outside, avoiding the crowd inside.  A waitress took my order, brought me a soda, and I sat back to watch the crowd ride and walk by.  Right after a young lady brought out my food, the sprinkles started.  A minute later, the drops got huge and the sky looked ugly.  I was concerned it might hail, but instead, Mother Nature opened a deluge of rain.  People came running to get under the cover of the outside seating area at the Roadhouse.  I had left my camera in the bike after stopping at Corbin's, so no photos of the pounding rain and people running.

The steak tips were good; I took my time with the meal, hoping the rain would pass... one in a row, it did.  By the time I paid for lunch, the streets were drying.  I waited a bit longer, then headed back to the Vespa.  I pulled a micro-fiber cloth out and wiped down the scoot.  When I got the camera back on the bike and myself geared up, the middle of Main Street was dry; hard to imagine it had been pounding rain just 20 minutes ago.

If you look just beyond the trike (behind the woman doing an on-camera), you can see my mighty Vespa.  Well, the back end of it.

I had considered taking Vanocker Canyon and Nemo Road back to Rapid City, but the sky looked ugly that direction... back via the Interstate.

Joan was already back by the time I got there.  It never rained in the Rapid City area.  We sat out on the patio and compared notes about our outings.  Yes, Rufus was out there, too.

I did shoot some video; here's a ride through town as it gears up for the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally...