Slimey Crud Motorcycle Gang Cafe Racer Run
Chilly but sunny weather set the stage for another mammoth turnout of motorcycle faithful for the May 4 spring running of the Slimey Crud Motorcycle Gang Café Racer Run in the rolling farmland of southern Wisconsin.
The run began at Pine Bluff in Dane County, and by 11 a.m., somewhere between 2,000 and 3,000 bikes had arrived. All makes and models of motorcycles filled every available parking spot in three large parking lots and along each of the crossroads where the village sits.
Around noon many bikes were filtering out of Pine Bluff and onto the nicely paved county and township roads that fan out across the Wisconsin River valley. These roads eventually into Sauk County – north of the river where the Run’s end point, Leland, lies.
By about 3 p.m., Leland was sunny, warmed up, and overflowing with a colorful crowd and a generous dose of local law enforcement. Why so much law enforcement, I’m not too sure, because the Crud Run participants are generally genial and well-behaved.
At this year’s event, the only law enforcement action I saw all day was when a moped wailed through Leland on its main street (County Trunk Highway C) at about 30 mph. The officer may not know it, but he drew a large ovation from the crowd when he stopped the moped mounted offender just outside the village. In plain view of all, the officer let the guy go with a friendly verbal warning instead of a ticket.
The Crud Run happens twice a year on the first Sunday in May and first Sunday in October, so if you happen to be touring through southern Wisconsin around those times, check it out! We’re supplying a few images to make you wish you were there…
