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Page 11 of 20 We partied for about an hour, then got back on the road. But we were now in the Black Hills - that special part of South Dakota where legends lived. We rode through Spearfish Canyon, in awe of the towering pines, rushing river and scenic overlooks. We had truly entered motorcycle paradise. The group dropped us off at our hotel in the town of Spearfish. We arranged to meet them later that night in Sturgis at the infamous Broken Spoke Saloon. The Broken Spoke is only opened three weeks of the year - the week before, the week of and the week after the Rally. They make all their money for the year during those twenty-one days; a fun statistic to know and tell, but one that does not really hit home until you have been at the Broken Spoke during Rally week. The crush of leather, fringe and silver was amazing - we wandered through the crowd looking for our group, trying not to gawk (we did not want to become casualties during a drunken brawl). Fortunately, we found our group and the place became somewhat respectable. Tom insisted that we check out "Dirty Bill's" - a leather shop where you could buy custom-fit leather chaps (similar to what cowboys wear, but designed for motorcycle riders). Dirty Bill's also sold leather vests with hand-tooled designs and other necessary motorcycle paraphernalia.
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