Page 16 - 2025 May June Magazine

25 Years of STURGIS?
The history goes back to the 1930s and no, I was not there then.
It was originally for racing although western South Dakota is
beautiful riding territory, through the Black Hills. You can even
stop at the Stoneville Saloon, home of cheap drinks and lousy
food, as the sign says, where they put handlebars on the urinals
and seat belts on the toilets in case you’ve had a bit too much to
drink. It’s about 1100 miles to get there and I’ve taken anywhere
from one long day to four easy ones, depending on the mood,
route and weather. These days there are tons of concerts,
mostly old- time rock and roll stuff, although even Harley guys
gradually move into the 21st century. The racing stuff ranges
from hill climbing where you are trying to power a 700 lb. bike
up a 45 degree dirt slope. Good luck with that one. There is a
big flat round track in Rapid City where you can get bored to
death, or my favorite: the drag strip. You can drag race bikes as
little as mopeds, up to bikes like mine, which use nitro methane
as fuel (the stuff that makes funny cars run..the 0-60 in one
second stuff). The track at Sturgis is a cart path, narrow and
only 1/8th mile long and very dangerous. In fact, they closed
it last year. No idea if it will ever open again. Hope so. One
year when ESPN was new, they were filming and decided they
wanted cameras at the finish line. So they brought a big bus in
with cameras. To prevent bikes from hitting the bus, they piled
up big 1000 lb. hay bales in front of the bus at 45 degree angles.
Not a great idea. Hit those and you carean straight across the
track. They’ve improved since. My top speed there is about 170
or so. I’ve managed to win that race 2-3 times so naturally its
one of my favorites.
Getting there and back is the best part, especially if you take
some time and stay off the interstate. Traveling by motorcycle,
especially with folks that like to do it and don’t care about
getting dirty is lots of fun. You meet all sorts of people and
experience stuff that normal car people don’t. I’ve been
swimming in places most folks wouldn’t wash their feet in.
I’ve gone for days without changing clothes…any of them.
I’ve rebuilt engines in parking lots and helped people tie
broken bones back together. I’ve towed motorcycles with other
motorcycles half-way across the state and even made friends
that have lasted for a decade or more, just stopping at a wide
spot. I’ve drunk more beer leaning against a motorcycle in
the woods than I have all other alcohol in my life combined.
Nothing says that you can't also do that in your car, but I think
the camaraderie on a bike is a bit different, maybe more akin to
horseback…just a bit faster.
I’m 74 now. I still race, although I’m getting to the place where
I need Viagra and Depends as my racing sponsors and am
thinking of taking a magic marker to put directions to the
finish line on the inside of my helmet visor so I don’t get lost on
the way to the end. I miss some of the folks who can’t do this
anymore, but I hope to make it 26 trips this year, or maybe 27. I
may have lost count. If you decide you want to go, look me up.
It can be fun unless you care about getting a bit
sunburnt and dusty. And bring a sleeping bag.
Antoni (Toni) Froehling has been practicing law in the Puyallup, WA
area since 1978. He graduated from Austin College in Sherman,TX,
then earned his juris doctorate from Seattle University in 1977. He has
served as past TPCBA President, past TPCBA FAMILY Law Section
President, past TPCBA Trustee, past PCSC Pro Tem Judge, past PCSC
Commissioner, served as arbitrator and mediator, and has served clients
in all areas of the law.
Fraser Robinson Speir
Attorney Outsource
www.frslegal.com
bonnie@frslegal.com l 253.564.3669
z
Providing legal research and briefing support at all administrative
and judicial levels to the Pierce County Bar for over 25 years
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