Today had been set aside for us to get the feel of Sturgis itself and savour the atmosphere of the rally. It was planned to shop for a bit, those who wanted 2 would ride to Deadwood then we were to meet up at Glencoe for the"entertainment". We rose early as we had arranged to meet the campers around 8.30 so we could try and park up and get a group photo on Main Street. Had a quick breakfast and got the kilt on as I promised myself to ride my bike down Main Street with my kilt.

The ride from our house to Sturgis was about 20 miles on freeway and as we set of in the cool morning air I wondered what the reaction would be to a kilted Harley rider would be. I needn't have worried as most drivers had tunnel vision and failed to see anything to the right or left of them. Now I've posed around on the bike on my kilt before but and 80mph blast was a different thing.

Being a "true" Scot a certain technique is required to preserve modesty or avoid arrest whichever you are most worried about. The technique is to mount the bike by standing on one footrest and standing straight up, then as you seat yourself you flick the rear of the kilt under you backside to hold it down. After sitting you then take the front of the kilt and "hap" it under front to keep willy nice and warm>. This means that as you ride you may suffer some exposure of thigh to a high degree but all vital apparatus remains covered.

At 80mph the kilt was swirling in the wind and the cool air was exploring orifices I never knew I had until that morning. The disconcerting part was a soft low whistling noise akin to blowing over the neck of a large bottle which was in harmony with another whistle more like that of a flute! I was going to practice some fingering of the flute to get a tune but needed both hands to hold on. Michelle kindly held the sides down at the higher speeds so my hips remain covered.

We passed car after car and bike after bike and I can't recall one double take but I may have missed one. Obviously this was not and unusual thing to see.

 We arrived at the meeting point of Burger King again and then rode in convoy into Main Street, there was now two kilted riders and it did get a couple of looks. We turned into the street at 9.00 and were greeted by an ocean of colour and chrome with bikes everywhere. So much for being early!. As luck had it we found some space where we could all park fairly close to each other and got ourselves into a group shot pose. We unfurled the Scottish Flag we had brought and Ron stood on a vantage point to get a shot. In a couple of minutes he was being jostled for position from others that also wanted pictures of the far flung visitors.

We split up and agreed meeting points of No 10 Saloon in Deadwood around 11.00 or The Full Throttle Saloon around 4.00pm for those who wanted to shop longer. Michelle and I and a couple of others headed for the HD dealer being newbies to this and wanting the official T-shirt. Then cam e the first request for a photo of the kilt. I'd expected this after my trip to Spain but was disappointed that most wanted a picture of my back so they could see the "Dunedin, Scotland" patch as well as the kilt. One our two had enough sympathy to take my front too but in the main it was my rear end that was taken most often.

We browsed the dealer, then Michelle went through the dealer with a fine toothcomb, then an even finer one!. We then headed back out onto Main Street and looked through shop after shop and stand after stand of the same stuff. T-shirts, patches,pins, more T-shirts more patches etc. We snacked, drank and browsed, picked up some T-shirts and pins. The day passed quickly and although some of the old hands may not enjoy Sturgis now as compared with the past this was all new and exciting to us and the sheer volume of bikes and people was amazing.

Coming from the UK we have the added bonus that we find most things comparatively cheap as we would pay £20 for a T-shirt which in the states is $20 thus we save 50% on everything. Michelle "saved " hundreds of dollars.

Around 3.00 we met some of the others and headed out to The Full Throttle Saloon. I was unaware this was a new place and didn't know what to expect. Just across the road from The Glencoe Campground it is a big barn of a place with a bar at one side and another in the middle wit huge bathtubs of ice rammed full of beer tins. Prices seemed reasonable and there was lots going on with bands inside and outside in a big grassy arena. The burn out pits were used now and then although surely the skill is taken out by having the front wheel pressed against a wall??

The official photographer was going around and Michelle and I ended up as one of the hundreds on their website. Not that busy through the day but I imagine it would get so in the evening.

More of the crew turned up and we then headed down to Glencoe so we could see the Tittie Parade. With the heat, Michelle was still in her bikini top and as we rode down a long winding dirt road towards where our friends were pitched the heads turned and the baying started. I must admit the sight of several hundred slavering men with tongues hanging out is a sight I've never seen before and I never knew a kilt had that effect on American men!

We arrived to the bad news that T-Roy had broken several bones in his wrist after an accident when he was doing a burn out. He was due to be shipped home the next day along with his bike which was bent in several places. Don O had been advised his mother in Law had died the day before and it was turning out to be a trip with much bad karma for the Minnesota boys.

The day faded slowly and we lined up with several million other drooling guys to watch the parade. The site of a young woman standing by the side with a homemade placard which read "I need a chain-splitter" amused me. Those with a little technical knowledge knew what she needed but there were quite a few guys believed she was into kinky sex but were a bit cautious as to what giving here a chain-splitter might entail.

Slowly and surely the flesh parade started to pass with people in various states of undress, poses and numbers on a bike was seen each trying to out do the next. We watched for a bit but as I used to work in a strip joint the sight of naked woman held my attention for no more than a couple of hours!

Michelle and I decided to head back and ran the gauntlet of the wolves howling on the road back. I stayed behind a well-honed naked guy trying to avoid attention by using him as a decoy but the kilt proved irresistible. Half way along the sight of a completely naked woman with her legs splayed apart on the rear wheels of as trick caught my eye and I thought, "I've not had fried liver for a long time"

We cruised back on the freeway in the "gloaming", the constant rumble of half the Harleys in the world in our ears and the lights of bikes fading to pinpricks as far as we could see. Caught a quick pizza and a beer in a nearby restaurant and then headed for home.

An incredible day full of experience for us newbies to Sturgis, sights and sounds which I've never seen before and will be a long time before I see it again. For those who feel this is tiresome now I hope you could take a look with my eyes and see it with the excitement of my fresh outlook.