Please follow along with the pictures and the map of the trip (note that it may be split into multiple pages).

Getting there is half the fun!

There were two Sturgis ‘virgins’ going on this year’s trip. LB, from North Carolina, and Bobby, a coworker of mine. Both have experience on distance riding, and that should not be much of a problem. Also going on the trip are Wagz, who rents a room from me, and Karl, a friend from New York. Both have been to Sturgis a few times.

When we arrive in Davenport, we find that the hotels are all full, since there is a music festival along the Mississippi River, downtown. We manage to snag the last two rooms, then walk down the street to a family style restaurant. We had all intentions of riding down to hear some music, but a big meal put a stop to that. Everyone gets a good night’s sleep.

The second day gives us clear weather. To get a break from the interstate, we head up central Iowa, through Cedar Rapids. Just north, inside Minnesota, is the SPAM Museum. Its fun, and free, and provides some entertainment. They sell many flavors of SPAM and it in almost every country.

We spend the night in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. It’s about 350 miles across the state to Sturgis. Karl calls a biker he knows there, and we meet up with Joe, from Washington DC, also on his way to Sturgis. We find a room at a nearby hotel. Just our luck, they is a high school girl’s softball tournament in town. Hundreds of kids. Ugh. While we’re unloading the bikes, some of the dads are outside enjoying the quiet. They give each of us a cold beer, and chat for awhile. Another advantage of traveling on two wheels.

We met up with Joe and Steve, and had an excellent meal at a Chinese buffet and a drink at a local watering hole. The teens are pretty quiet when we get back to the hotel. Yay!

The next day is hot, but not as unbearable as last year. We make good time across the state to Sturgis. There are a few spots of construction that don’t really slow us down too much. The next week, the throngs of people heading to Sturgis will have the highway backed up for miles. That’s why we go early. The highway is practically empty.

Around Sturgis

We arrive at our campground, just outside the town of Deadwood. Close to a dozen of our group have arrived from around the country. It’s great to see everyone again and hear their stories and travels. More people will arrive over the few days, and we’ll end up with close to fifty people in our group.

The next few days are spent visiting the Black Hills. We take a few group rides, with up to 22 bikes, to visit the sites.

One of the more impressive destinations is the Crazy Horse Memorial. This is a massive project, at it will take 150 years to complete. Compared to Mt. Rushmore, George Washington’s head is about the size of Crazy Horse’ nose. I said it was massive. The project is privately funded, by the Native American tribes that want to honor one of their great warriors. The land near the statue already serves as a heritage museum and provides cultural education for these proud people.

We then ride to Custer State Park, starting with Needles Highway. Named for a rock formation that resembles the eye of a needle, the roads are twist and wind through the forest and the Black Hills.

We follow the wildlife loop through Custer State Park. Usually we see herds of bison, but this year we only see the wild donkeys. When a car or minivan goes through the park, one of the donkeys will walk out into the road. When the vehicle stops, another stands behind the car. Other donkeys then surround the doors and windows, trapping the occupants until they provide some food. Lucky for us, the donkeys don’t quite know what to make of the motorcycles. They don’t know if we have food, and aren’t used to getting handouts, so they just sniff around and try to look cute.

Exiting the park, we take Iron Mountain Road. This is one of the premier riding roads in the Black Hills. Not unlike Needles, the roads trace back and forth through the mountains. But this road also has some incredible features that make it unique. There are several tunnels carved through the granite mountains, and they were designed so that, as you are driving through the tunnel, you look out the other end to see a perfectly framed view of Mt. Rushmore. There are stretches where the oncoming lane separates from your lane, and you go off on a path through the trees. It’s a bit of a disappointment when the two lanes eventually meet up again. But the highlight not to miss on this road are the pigtail bridges. These three bridges are made of local lumber, and not one of them is straight or level. You ride over a bridge into a 270 degree turn at a slope. In what seems like 10 yards, you are passing under the bridge. I once saw an overhead picture of these bridges, and they form a series of loops, like a pig’s tail. These bridges take you on an elevation change of about 170 feet, in what seems like the same distance. The bridges are beautiful, and fit well into this rustic terrain. The road brings you out just a few miles from Mt. Rushmore.

The town of Deadwood is famous for its history. When gold was discovered here in 1876, the Dakota Territory was not even a state, so there were few laws and many people seeking fortune. Some of the more famous residents included Wild Bill Hickok and Calamity Jane. Until 2001, the area was also the home of the Homestake Mining Company, the world’s largest gold mine. Much of the town’s main street has been preserved, and they claim over 80 casinos within city limits.

This year, we spent much of our time in Deadwood. It’s got much more personality than the town of Sturgis, and although the crowds arrive, it doesn’t turn into the carnival that is Sturgis. We eat at the Deadwood Supper Club, and I order the bison T-bone. Bison is excellent meat, with very little fat. This is absolutely the best steak I have ever had.

We toured the interesting Adams Museum, which chronicles the history of the area. We then rode almost directly up the hill to Mt. Moriah Cemetery. This is where Wild Bill and Calamity Jane are buried. For a cemetery, this is one with much history. A portion of the area was allocated for the Jewish population of the town (the first Hebrew population west of the Mississippi River), as well as Immigrant Cemetery, for the Chinese that were also important to the growth and success of the region. There are two mass graves, one caused by a typhoid outbreak, and another for victims of a fire that destroyed much of town. There is an excellent view of town from the cemetery.

One evening, we return to the campground and stop at the camp store for supplies. There’s a small bar, with seating for maybe ten people. Having a beer is a biker friend who used to live just outside Columbus. Bill had purchased property here years back, and is building a cabin just up the hill, not far from the campground, and this is his local watering hole. We were both surprised to see each other, and enjoy a few drinks while we catch up. This is just another case of this being a small world.

 

Bikerbaer, who now lives in San Francisco, was coming to Sturgis from the west coast, this time (he rode with us in 2003 when he was living outside Boston, on the other coast). He was riding with Lars, who lives in Oregon. I had already had a chance to ride with BikerBaer when I was out in San Francisco, but he had not seen some of the other folks in several years. it was a fun reunion.

Beard, a friend who used to live in Columbus, and was with us in Sturgis in 2003 and 2006, has since moved to Phoenix for health reasons. He wasn’t going to make it to Sturgis this year, but calls to let us know that he found someone who could trailer his bike to Sturgis!

When Beard arrives from Phoenix (although his namesake beard has been severely trimmed), and we get to ride Needles Highway with him. Although this time, it’s the height of the rally, and the road is just bumper-to-bumper motorcycles. We can’t really enjoy the roads because of the traffic. We come up with Plan B, and stop in the town of Custer for cold beer. Like everywhere within 200 miles of Sturgis, there are bikes everywhere. The streets have been blocked, and bike parking is in the middle of the road.

Adventures on the way home

The original plan was to leave Sturgis on Saturday and ride around Colorado for a few days, before heading back to Ohio. With Wulf arriving late, and Beard able to show up, we decided to skip Colorado. We don’t have enough time to enjoy those roads, but decided instead to take back roads back to Ohio.

In south western South Dakota is the town of Hot Springs. In all the years I have been to Sturgis, I have always wanted to stop in this town, but I’ve never been close enough with enough spare time. The attraction to this town is the large number mammoth skeletons discovered here. There is an operating dig site, indoors, that can be toured year-round. Over 55 mammoths from two distinct species have been discovered here, as well as several other rare animal remains. The theory is that the hot springs generated heat that allowed vegetation to continue growing into the Ice Age. The mammoth would spot the food, but sink into the silt surrounding the grass. It was a very educational stop, and I was really happy to finally get pictures here.

We drop down into Nebraska, and plan to ride along the northern border of the state. After a night in a hotel (and a real bed!) we see a huge thunderstorm just miles ahead of us on the Weather Channel. The road to the south is clear, so we head in that direction.

That night, we end up in the town of Superior, which turns out to be the ‘Victorian capital of Nebraska’. We only see one Victorian home in town (although we didn’t really ride around looking for them). We are hungry and ride around looking for a restaurant. Someone eventually points us to a bar that has food. We walk in and it’s almost scary how people look at us. We eat, then ask about camping in the area. There’s a park with free camping, just down the street. There are several RV’s there, but we don’t see anyone. We setup our tents and build a small fire in the provided space. All evening, there’s a parade of cars driving through the campground/park. While in most places I have been, people are friendly and will wave, the people of Superior just stared at us like we were in zoo. We had expected the villagers to attack after sunset, but we made it through the night and left early the next morning. We ride into Kansas and head towards home on US36, which runs just north of Columbus.

In Marysville, Kansas, we find the Pony Express Museum. The route started just 90 miles east of here, in St. Joseph, Missouri. A rider would push his horse as hard as possible for 15 miles, then would change horses and continue on. At 90 miles, they would hand off the mail to another rider. The original rider would stay at the Home Station, as it was called, and wait for the returning mail. The Pony Express cut the normal mail delivery time from six weeks to two weeks, which was very important with all of the businesses growing on the west coast after the California Gold Rush that started in 1849. After less than two years, the telegraph made it possible to deliver mail with little delay, so the Pony Express was instantly obsolete. Still, there is much history and folklore surrounding the Pony Express.

The next day, we stop in Hannibal, Missouri, the boyhood home of Samuel Clemens, better known as Mark Twain. The town has a booming tourism because of him, and the Mississippi River is quite scenic, and Mark Twain’s house is next to Becky Thatcher’s, and there’s a white picket fence… but we’re able to resist spending much money there.

On our final day riding, we stop at Allerton Park, near Monticello, Illinois. The flamboyant son of a wealthy Chicago businessman, he was exiled here, about one hundred miles from Chicago. On the property he built a large home, but also had various gardens and statuary. The property is now managed by the University of Illinois, and is used as a training center and retreat. It is something very unusual surrounded by the typical corn farms.

It was an enjoyable trip, and we had no mishaps, breakdowns, or rain.