by Dennis Dalman
editor@thenewsleaders.com
Although they’ve driven their Harleys to the annual Sturgis Motorcycle Rally many times, Jerry and Mary Jane Rudy of St. Joseph are not the wild and woolly party animals often associated with bike rallies.
“We are rule-followers,” said Mary Jane. “And so are our friends.”
And Harley-Davidson riders, she is quick to add, make for the best friends one could ever hope to have. They call their biking group “The Shovelnuts.”
Since 1987, the Rudys have made 15 trips to Sturgis, S.D. in the Black Hills of South Dakota, 600 miles from their home. Their bike-riding friends have all gone along on most of those trips, creating an unbreakable bond of camaraderie that gets stronger with every trip.
On Aug. 5, they roared off again down the road, Sturgis-bound, from the home of Rod and Dotti Karls, who live just north of St. Joseph. After a celebratory breakfast of Dotti’s homemade donuts and coffee, they headed out at 9:30 a.m. What’s unique about this journey is the four guys rode the same Harleys they drove on their first trip to Sturgis way back when, in 1987.
The riders are the following:
- The Rudys. Jerry rode his 1980 Harley, black and purple, to match his semi trucks (Rudy is owner of Jerry Rudy Trucking of St. Joseph). Mary Jane drove her own 2012 Harley.
- Brian and Pennie Albers of St. Cloud traveled on their 1979 Harley.
- Bill and Shari Grabinski, originally from Sauk Rapids, rode on their 1979 Harley. In 1993, the Grabinskis moved to Las Vegas, then later to Florida. They hauled their bike up to St. Joseph for the Sturgis trip, which has become a tradition of camaraderie they wouldn’t miss for the world.
- Keith and Mary Jane Nelson of St. Cloud have a 1978 Harley.
Those four couples are the long-time Sturgis “regulars,” but also along for this trip was Dotti Karls, who drove a 1970 Corvette. The Rudys’ son, Buddy, was driving his own bike but headed home before arriving at Sturgis because he had work to do back home.
The “Easy Riders” stayed in Watertown, S.D. overnight and then did another overnight rest in Pierre. During their two nights in Strugis, they are staying at the home of Randy and Carol Epsty, owners of the plumbing store on Sturgis’s main street where all the fun-filled action takes place.
“The Epstys live just six blocks from main street,” said Mary Jane Rudy, “and we’ve stayed there in tents on their beautiful lawn for all the trips we took during the past 30 years.”
The Rudys and their biking friends love to check out the thousands of motorcycles parked on Sturgis’s main street and shoot the breeze with the bikers among the busy, colorful commotion of the rally.
Mary Jane, a fraud analyst for Capitol One Bank, grew up in Popple Creek, and all of her seven brothers loved to race dirt bikes, a hobby that is still shared among uncles, nephews and other relatives.
“I’ve never raced dirt bikes, but I think being exposed to bikes all my life caused me to love biking,” she said.
Mary Jane said it’s difficult to describe the joy of their Sturgis trips.
“What I love best about our trips is just our friendships,” Mary Jane said. “We have a tight-knit bonding after all these years. Our friendships just keep growing stronger and stronger every year. We feel really blessed.”
There is, however, a sadness now and then when they recall the two friends who were killed in motorcycle accidents years ago. Two friends died in separate accidents, both in non-Sturgis trips – one in 1988, the other in 2000. The Shovelnut riders wear patches with their names in honor of their memories. Some others have died from health problems throughout the years. They, too, are honored with memory patches.
The Rudys don’t limit their bike-riding to Sturgis. They’ve taken many trips, such as to Spearfish Canyon, Wyo., the time a herd of buffalo blocked the roadway. They’ve also hauled their bikes down to Arizona and Florida to go biking there, once all the way down through Florida to Key West, only 90 miles from Cuba.
The Rudys have three grown children and nine grandchildren.
“I’m still amazed by all the friendships that have blossomed over 30 years because of our Sturgis trips,” she said. “We get along so well; we take care of each other; and that’s what it’s all about. We are blessed.”
“Hotrod” and Dottie Karls, who live north of Joseph, share a laugh and a hug before heading to Sturgis Aug 5.
Riders gather together on Sunrise Road before setting out the morning of Aug 5. From left to right are “Hotrod” and Dottie Karls, who live of north St. Joseph; Keith and Mary Jane Nelson of St. Cloud; and Mary Jane and Jerry Rudy of St. Joseph. This group comprises many of the original riders that made the trip to Sturgis in 1978.
Diane Dierkes of St. Joseph backs her Harley into a spot among others on Aug 5.
This is a photo of a photo that was taken in August of 1978 during a trip to Sturgis. Some of the original riders in this group set out to make the same trip again Aug 5.
A group photo taken Aug 5. Many of the individuals in the original photo are pictured here – 30years later as they take the adventure of a road trip to Sturgis once again.
