Bowling at Sturgis Strikers

Sturgis Strikers is a bowling alley in downtown Sturgis, South Dakota. It’s located on First Street, a street that cuts through Sturgis’ Main Street where thousands of bikers party during the town’s rally in August of every year.

I discover these lanes after having toast and eggs at Uncle Louie’s Diner, a cafe serving breakfast all day. I, the only woman in the place, sit alone at a table, watching dozens of men in black shirts with Harley Davidson logos dining. I eat my eggs, pay my bill and leave.

Flags welcome me when I emerge from Uncle Louie’s sausage party. Flags of the USA’s stars and stripes made with bullet casings; flags that read God, Guns and Trump; flags where a semi-automatic rifle silhouette lies over the stripes of the original flag of the USA.

The heat of July pesters me. I take a right on a side street with shade. Ten bowling pins in various states hang above a door that belongs to an office building.

Sturigs Strikers are the words written across the pins.

I pull on the door. The alley is open. Aiir conditioning pulls me in.

The alley’s flooring is consistent with the alleys I’ve been before- worn carpet with multi-colored bowling pins.

I walk to the reception desk where a kid about 12 stands. He takes my twenty dollars and hands me size 7 ½ shoes. Alley 7 is mine for the next 4 games.

Walker Hayes’ “Fancy Like” blares from the speakers. I miss the sounds of Toto’s Greatest Hits that define the alleys I have known. I won’t let this discourage me. Whether in Applebee’s on a date night or in the rains down in Africa…

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