First thing's first, I don’t know a thing about motorcycles, anyone who knows me knows I am a straight-up drag racing girl, but this past week I changed pace and swapped one engine for another and made my way down to Sturgis, South Dakota. My dad has recently turned 50 and for his 50th he wanted to go see Mount Rushmore and his family on the badlands of the Dakotas (apparently, I am somehow related to the Indians but that’s a story for another time). However, what I didn’t know was that Sturgis, the biggest motorcycle rally in the country, was going to be held the same weekend and the William's family was going to be making an appearance.
My first impression from afar was that Sturgis was a rough and tough place where masculinity was the only thing allowed into this ragtag group of men that fed off of groups like Hell's Angels. Boy, I have never been more wrong in my entire life. This little town of Sturgis is really just a cowboy town that for a few weeks out of a year gets dedicated to people that love the biker culture. Originally, I was sort of scared because of that stereotype that bikers kill people, this is another one of those extreme thoughts.
I was coming out of this little saloon that had a killer burger, and I look up and I am met face to face with a man 4 times my size covered in leather, and a frown smacked across his face. My first thought was to run away but then I just smiled. Strangely enough he smiled back the biggest smile I have ever seen on someones face and he said, “Hi there, young lady."
Nothing scary about any of that. I felt like I was somewhat accepted into the biker culture, I mean I was dressed for it. You know what they say, "fake it until you make it." Anyways, I took that smile with me the rest of the day and it shed a positive light on Sturgis and its entirety. I began to look around and I started seeing that bikers are the biggest Republicans I have ever seen. Patches reading, “He is my president” and “Deplorable”. Heck, I even bought myself a biker shirt with the president head on it that says, “Finally someone with balls” and another that has Trump pictured as Uncle Sam saying, “I want you to stop whining.”
These guys that I used to think were scary were on the same page as you and I. No different either, just a passion for bikes. They aren’t all guys either, that was a very common misconception of mine. If feminists want real heroes look for any gal in Sturgis, they can more than likely hold their own against any man, drinking and riding with the best of them.
So I guess long story short, when you are with any sort of Republicans, don’t judge them for their way of life. Because even the coolest of these bikers have real occupations, some are doctors, and lawyers that drop the act for a few weeks out of the year to have some good old fashioned American biker time.
