Passes & Canyons Blog

This is a bit dated but it was a fun event.

Hot scooters on display at Cushman Club of America rally in Sturgis, SD.

More than 1,000 Cushman scooters and a variety of service vehicles (think golf carts and more) have descended upon Sturgis, SD, this week, for the Cushman Club of America’s annual rally.

Lured by the chance to “Come play where the big boys play,” the Cushman aficianados have responded affirmatively and are putting a very different face on this small town, which is generally associated with images of much larger two-wheelers.

“This is gonna be the meet to remember,” said rally organizer Jeff Bartheld, obviously savoring the arrival of the event he has put so much work into.

Registrants hail from 45 states, and one came from Australia.

Tomorrow, June 14, Main Street will be open only to scooters and at 3 p.m., when a group photo is planned, it should be engulfed in the manner Main Street is every year during the motorcycle rally. During that time, representatives of the Sturgis Chamber of Commerce, the Jackpine Gypsies, the rally committee, and the Sturgis Motorcycle Museum will each pick five scooters to receive medals as the best of the bunch.

A second, juried scooter show will take place in the community center, with prizes to be awarded on Thursday.

On Tuesday the more rugged scooterists, numbering around 120, will make a grand ride through the Black Hills, presenting what is sure to be a memorable spectacle.

Maury LaRue, mayor of Sturgis, noted that it will be very easy for the town “to accommodate a three-day rally that wasn’t going to sprawl all over the town.” Because Sturgis has numerous buildings and facilities that are only used two weeks out of the year, for the biker rally, the town is making a major effort to attract other groups. The Cushman Club event is one, and in just a few days a club of Ford Mustang lovers will have their rally here. Then there will be a bluegrass festival.

“This is a very different crowd,” Maury said, referring to the Cushman group. “They’re here to look at Cushmans and to ride. They’re also not here to camp. They’re here in their RVs.”

Jeff Bartheld remarked that, “These folks are here thinking, ‘I want to relive my youth. Oh boy, here we go!'”

Biker Quote for Today

Only cool grandfathers ride motorcycles.

We’re combining business and pleasure and have come to Sturgis, SD, on vacation coinciding with the Cushman Club of America‘s annual rally. They have come here this year to “Play with the big boys play.”

What is surprising is how much some of these little boys look like the big boys. While it is surely no surprise for the aficianados, the rest of us are probably unaware of what some people do with these little scooters. There are all kinds of custom machines that look amazingly like Harley-Davidson motorcycles. They even have modified engines that sound a lot like Harleys and provide as much power as you could possibly want on something with 10-inch tires.

Sturgis is very welcoming of the rally. As the mayor pointed out to us, where else can you hold this sort of event and have ample facilities and a mindset where, close off Main Street one day to all but scooter traffic? Sure, you bet! Plus, during the big bike rally, there is a tower on Main Street where you can get great shots of the thousands of bikes everywhere, but you have to pay to go up on the tower. As one of the concessions to attract other events, the tower will be there today but there’s no fee to go up and shoot your shots.

The big group picture will be at 3 p.m. today and there should be more than 1,000 Cushmans engulfing the street. Then tomorrow, about 120 of the more intrepid scooterists will take a cruise through the Black Hills. I’m told there is one spot where you can see down four levels of pig-tail bridges and you should be able to get a photo showing scooters on each bridge simultaneously. I’ll be hoping to get that shot.

Jeff Bartheld, the rally organizer, hopes to be able to set me up to ride monkey in an Indian sidecar rig so I can get some great shots of the ride. Just hoping the Indian runs; as of yesterday that was not a sure thing.

So it’s going to be fun, plus a bit of work. Then, after I send off the articles I’m committed to on Wednesday, I’ll be on vacation, as Judy, my wife, is already. Hey, the Black Hills are gorgeous at this time of year. Now if it will just stop raining.

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Biker Quote for Today

I don’t mind riding in the rain and I don’t mind riding in the cold. But cold rain makes my makeup run.

The streets of Sturgis, SD, are lined with two-wheelers–more of them than most people have ever seen in one place. Only these two-wheelers are not motorcycles, they’re scooters. Cushman scooters to be exact. Welcome to the rally in mid June.

That’s right, the Cushman Club of America (CCA), which has a rally every year, is coming to Sturgis this year, from June 14 to June 18. It’s going to be just a bit different from what Sturgis is accustomed to.

“Come Play Where the Big Boys Play,” is the promo line the CCA is using and they’re looking for it to be the largest of their gatherings ever. Events will include a “Rough Rider Ride” that will be limited to 100 scoots, taking a route that will be challenging on a Cushman. And there will be other organized rides through the Black Hills. The Knuckle Saloon in Sturgis will be ground zero for rally activities.

I don’t know about you, but I’m tempted to drop in on this rally–on my Kawi, of course–just because it’s going to be so totally different from the usual Sturgis rally scene. And my calendar looks clear in mid-June. We’ll see. It could be fun. At the very least, I’m sure it would make for some great pictures.

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Biker Quote for Today

It’s more fun to ride a slow bike fast, than a fast bike slow.