Nope...

 

I like to ride.  In my younger years, I would rather take the motorcycle (instead of the car) in any kind of weather other than snow.  The Rally is on, so there are motorcycles everywhere... and it is a hot one today.  Last night, Joan told me she wanted to do breakfast out and get a fresh donut this morning... I am onboard for anything that involves eating (you don't get a body like this without maintaining it).  It was already hot this morning... forecast for today is upper 90s.  Yeah, we took the car and rode in air conditioned comfort, even though we got out early.

When we got back, she asked if I was going out on the bike?  "That would be a big 'Nope!'."

Around noon, she said she was feeling like Mexican for a late lunch.  Yeah, I'm in, again.  Eating out twice in one day - that is a first in a very long time.  The thermometer in the car read 100º as we left Hart Ranch at 2:00.  In air conditioned comfort.  Yeah, I'm noticing a pattern again, too.   The Mexican restaurant we like here has indoor and outdoor seating - we agreed to wait until we got there to see what the heat felt like before deciding where to sit.  Fortunately, the humidity is low, so it was quite pleasant outside in the shade.

Since the Rally "spreads out" all over the Black Hills, I didn't know how crowded the restaurant, or downtown Rapid City, would be.  Turns out: not crowded at all.  At the outside table, we had a view of one of the main streets in downtown... not a ton of traffic, cars or motorcycles.

Years ago, Harley Davidson used to rent the Civic Center in Rapid City to do a huge show of all their new models and (mostly) all the gear you could buy to go along with it.  They had a HOG (Harley Owners Group) area, where members were treated to beverages and snacks and special HOG merchandise.  There were vendors and events outside in the parking lot.  I think it brought a lot of bike traffic into Rapid City and the bars, restaurants, and shops near the Civic Center.

Harley is now in the Community Center in Sturgis, and along with "the Rally at Exit 55" that the Rapid City Harley dealer puts on (with over 100 vendors) - it's on the far north end of Rapid City, so I think that actually draws bikers away from the downtown area.

We were the only ones in the outdoor seating area at the restaurant, and when I went inside to get a table outside (that's their procedure), only a few tables had customers.  Could be that "late lunch" timeframe.

There were plenty of bikes coming back on Mt Rushmore Road (Highway 16) on our way back to Hart Ranch.  I have to say once again that I was happy to be in air conditioned comfort.

I'm OK with picking my time at most things these days.

I think it may be time for a nap.  ;-)