Fear Conquering & a Biker Bar Called Poopy’s

We are proud to be Illinois Mile Markers – thanks to Enjoy Illinois for making this adventure possible! Click here for our full adventure down The Great River Road.

Not a frequenter of biker joints, I don’t have a motorcycle license and renting scooters probably doesn’t count… who am I kidding, I’d never actually been to a biker bar.

So I didn’t know what to expect and, certainly not out of a place with a name like Poopy’s, other than a sense of humor. And THAT they have.

Billed as “Illinois’ Biggest Biker Destination,” it turned out that Poopy’s in Savanna is way more than just a biker bar. What began as a motorcycle parts shop has evolved into everything anyone who’s ever thrown a leg over a Harley could want.

I felt that I’d be safe if I went in at lunchtime, what kind of trouble could I get into that early in the day?

My main goal was to fill up my belly, wet my whistle, and get out of there alive — no one wants “She died at Poopy’s” on her gravestone –but I was immediately sidetracked by the museum-like quality of the place. Literally hanging from the ceiling were the coolest, wildest motorcycles I’d ever seen! Lunch was put on the back burner.

Things changed rather drastically out back and I quickly determined that wild shenanigans were no stranger to this part of Poopy’s domain.

A band was setting up on the concert stage and the outdoor food shack was just opening.

Further on, Skid Mark Stadium, featuring cage matches involving fighters of all sizes, was being readied for the summer season. I may have missed the midget wrestling (that’s what they call it, not me), but I saw the pictures.

Feeling like inside was more my speed, I sat at the bar and was handed the funniest menu I’d ever seen. If one doesn’t think about it too much, that is.

Nothing like a good laugh to loosen me up. It gave me the courage (well, that and a beer) to start chatting up the natives around me. They were so much fun!

Once the Harley dudes found out that this was my first visit to a biker bar, I was told that I had to see the back room where I found myself smack in the middle of some inking action.

Yup, “Biker Destination” is not a term thrown around lightly — folks come in to get their tattooing and piercing needs fulfilled as well.

I was given a live — and quite unnerving — demonstration as the hilarious, and exceptionally nice, tattoo guys injected ink into a lady’s leg. Something I’d never thought I’d be witness to with my fear of stabby things.

And, no, I didn’t get inked — this post is not called “Fear Conquering and Getting a Tattoo.”

Click here to see our full adventure down The Great River Road

Veronica, GypsyNester.com

Thanks to Enjoy Illinois for making this adventure possible! Our opinions, as always, are our own. 

YOUR TURN: Have you ever been to a biker bar?