Bikers rally around biker breakfast in Keystone

The Keystone Senior Center rally breakfast saw about 45 people over the two-day event. Most were locals but several groups of out of town bikers came in throughout the morning of Aug. 2 to sample the biscuits and gravy, eggs and coffee.

Some like Casey Kaelin and his wife, Fay, were first -timers to the rally, coming all the way from Treasure Valley in Idaho. The couple rode into the Black Hills  on a Stratoliner  Yamaha 1800cc bike. They said people who trailer their bikes, specifically for the first time, at the rally are cheating. 

“We were impressed on the way here as we drove through Cody with all of the different biker rigs. We saw motorhomes with hydraulic ramps and several bikes,” Casey said.

The couple was camping in a tent at Kemp’s Kamp on Old Hill City Road. 

While it was their first time to the rally, it’s not their first to the area. 

“It was a choice between New York City or South Dakota,” Fay said about a trip when their kids were still young. “We  figured that if we went to New York City we’d spend a lot of money to get there and have no money to spend while we were there, whereas if we visited South Dakota we’d have money to do things.  Each of our kids got to pick out something to do.”

They also stayed at Kemp’s on that 11-day trip. 

“My kids still talk about it and say it’s the best trip we ever took, “ Fay recalls. 

This time the couple was without children and were visiting the area for six days. 

The couple learned about the biker breakfast by stopping at the Country Store in Keystone.

“We were getting milk and they had a sign on the counter,” Casey said.

They thought it was a good place to get cheap food. They both enjoyed their meal and Casey said his wife especially liked the gravy.

Casey said coming to Sturgis is a pilgrimage every motorcycle rider needs to make at least once in their life. So far they had enjoyed riding the Needles Highway and entering Custer State Park.

“It’s very nice. We’re surprised there’s not as many people as we had expected,” Fay said.

 They had heard stories about how crowded the roads would be but they said while there were a lot of riders it was not too many to make the riding unpleasant. They also had heard to come to the rally the week before but they chose to come during rally week even though they said that the prices were extremely high.

“A lot of us can’t afford $200-a-night for a hotel," Casey said.

They added they were happy that they found a campsite as they were expecting all the campgrounds to be full.

“There are lots of spots open,” Fay said.

Unlike the Kaelin’s, Jim Kosse and his group of eight from the Twin Cities answered a quick and adamant  “no” when asked if they rode their bikes to the rally. This was not their first time at the rally. 

“We like to hang out with our people,” said Kosse.

The group was part of a larger faction that works to support motorcycle rights, the Motorcycle Riders Foundation. 

“We promote the motorcycle lifestyle. The rally is a great time with good people,” Kosse said.

Like most, the group was here for the beautiful riding.

“If we make it up to Sturgis once it’s the most we will do,” Kosse said.

Kosse’s group learned about the biker breakfast from the clerk at the Super 8 in Keystone where they were staying.

Kosse described  Keystone as  a “welcoming community” and said his  breakfast was delicious.

The Keystone seniors made about $800 during the two-day rally breakfast event.