Wall-to-wall bikes. The biker culture subsumed all else in normally tranquil Nelson over the weekend. Image: Steve Lunde
Fall Flood Run overruns all else
NELSON, Wis. – The population of this backwater town, normally 394, doubled, tripled, quadrupled, perhaps quintupled, as wave after wave of hawgers kick-standed their bikes for a break on their annual Fall Flood run. By the hundreds they milled along Highway 35 through town on a brilliant 70s day marking the end of summer. Vendors had tents for leather biker gear. There was Michelle’s bandanna tent tucked behind J&J’s saloon. Strategically the Buffalo County sheriff had deputies stationed on three highways that convene in Nelson. The crowd was orderly. No public guzzling outside. Lots of shaggy beards and wind-blown pony tails. Some Sturgis jackets. No face masks. Nor biking helmets. Parking was at a premium – nary a slot on Highway 35. Nor on every side street near the epicenter –the &J barbeque and saloon. Nrlson was not alone as a weekend motor haven. A couple dozen saloons from the Twin Cities downriver to Winona and back on both sides of the Mississippi – and also up the St. Croix from Prescott – sponsor the twice-a-year outing.
Earlier: Bikers revving for Fall Flood Run
Earlier: A quick history of the Flood Run