Getting Ready for Vacation! Maine, Here We Come!

I know, I know. The last post was about how embarrassing it was to not have posted in a year. Now it's been 2 more. I am beyond embarrassed, but there is little I can do about it now. 

This summer we are returning to Bar Harbor, Maine for a week of hiking and camping. We went last year to celebrate our 25th anniversary and this year we are taking some company! My sister and her husband will join us!. We will not be taking motorcycles and while I know this blog is supposed to be about motorcycle rides, I am going to use it to document the trip. So you can pretend that the trip was on a motorcycle or whatever makes you feel ok about it. 

The trip is going to be a blast. Two weeks total. We will tent camp up through VA, PA, NY, CT, NH, VT, and ME. Then we will stay in one of the wonderful one room cabins at Hadley's Pointe in Bar Harbor. 

So beginning at the end of the month, the blog will go live and you can follow along with pictures and commentary on the food and fun! Hope to "see" you here then! In the meantime, here are a few pics from last year to get you prepped! 

A real Vermont covered bridge!

Whale Tails in Maine!

One of the many lighthouses on the Main coast.

Our first day of hiking!

Maine without Paul Bunyan doesn't count.

Welcome Back!

Wow, this is embarrassing!  It has been almost a year since my last post (10 months).  No real idea why.  But as of today, I am back.  I will be putting up several reviews soon of products I have been using to try and help you avoid spending money where you shouldn't (like me).

The first post coming soon today will be focused on spending money at the dealership.  I just dropped a HUGE chunk of change at the service department this week and after that, I have some observations (and gripes).

But anyway, the blog is alive!  And I am sorry for the long period of silence!

Sturgis - We Are Home!

We arrived!  It was a very long day yesterday as we pushed it a little to make today easier.  the rain, the two lane West Virginia roads and a couple tired bikers made the last 2 hours pretty tough.

We got in this afternoon around 2:00 very tired, but very happy.  We did it!  We were never positive we would until I put the kickstand down in the driveway.  I know there are tons of folks that make a longer trek to Sturgis every year, and we have a new found respect for them.  But this was our "marathon" and no matter the finishing time or how we felt at the end, finishing was the goal.  And we did.  We can now sew our patches on proudly proclaiming "I Rode Mine".  4614 miles round trip (and touring).

I plan to put a long blog entry together soon with a summary of the trip.  But tonight it is sleep.  Work starts tomorrow.  I really appreciate all the readers/followers.  I promise more info soon as well as pictures.  Just give me a few days.

I will also be putting together reviews and details about some of the equipment we put to the test.  Some passed with flying colors, while others fell short.  I am not trying to promote or disparage any product.  I only want to share how they performed on our tour.

Be back soon.  But until then, here is the route home in case you want to see where we went on the way home.


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Sturgis - Badlands

Badlands National Park

They always say, save the best for last.  I don't know if we really saved the Badlands for last, but it just worked out that way.  Since the Badlands Scenic Loops starts in Wall, SD (from the west) it meant it was a 100 mile ride for us to get to them from Spearfish.  And we had simply run out of days while were were there to take a 250+ round trip to ride the Badlands.  So when Rhonda and I decided that cutting the return trip by a day was a bad idea, we had a whole day Saturday to get 450 miles up the road.  Planned right, that left us plenty of time to ride the Badlands on our way out of South Dakota.

I will admit when we got to Wall, I almost said we should just go on.  But Rhonda said we had to ride the Badlands cause we would probably never come back.  I think she was trying to eliminate any excuse to make her ride 2000 miles to Sturgis again, but either way it was the right choice.

Awesome view from the rim

There is no possible way to even describe the Badlands.  It is like something out of a movie set.  Either a science fiction movie or an old western.  The park is about 10 miles south of I-90.  And when you enter the park, you are instantly in the Badlands.  If you stop at the first turnoff, you can walk over and look into an abyss of cliffs that look like something a giant kid has made with wet sand at the beach.  I don't really know how else to describe it.  As you ride on, you start down into the base of the Badlands, and that is where it really gets awesome.  Giant rock-only mountain-like formations tower above you on the motorcycle.  This is where Rhonda and I really appreciated the fact we were on a motorcycle instead of stuck in a car.  You could look in all directions without being hindered by the roof or windows of the car.  And you felt mighty small.

Perfect Motorcycle Riding

The roads in the Badlands are perfect for a casual sightseeing motorcycle ride.  Tons of places to turn off and take pictures of the formations or of the wildlife, and a slow pace with sweeping turns are easy to maneuver and still take in the sights.  Rhonda got some good pictures of the tons of prairie dogs that were scurrying around in the fields.  They were pretty cool, but I suspect anyone who lives in SD would laugh at us taking pictures of their squirrels.  There was probably more wildlife to see, but we ha a limited time.  The park allows hiking but even if we had the time, the sign warning of rattlesnakes would have kept Rhonda from venturing out.  I was intrigued by the sign, I have to admit.  I like snakes, but maybe the Badlands Rattlesnakes are a little out of my league.

I was not more in awe of anything I saw on the entire trip.  The Black Hills were great and very beautiful.  Wyoming was expansive and breathtaking.  But the Badlands made you feel so small and frail.  First, no one could even imagine something like this if they had not seen it.  Next, the fact that they are just "there".  they seemingly spring up out of no where.  Instantly after leaving you are back in the grasslands with no hint of something as ominous as the Badlands.

Us, having a blast!

I can say that I enjoyed my ride through the Badlands the most of the trip.  I wish we had more time to ride the drive in both directions.  The views from the opposite direction would have been totally different.  I wish we had time to walk and hike around.  But, there wasn't the time.  Somehow a 2000 mile trip staring you in the face will make you think you have to keep moving.  So maybe I do have at least one more excuse to come back!

Sturgis - Black Hills Tour (Last Day)

Friday was the last day for us to ride the Black Hills before we headed back on Saturday.  We had planned to trim the trip home from 4 days to 3 days and stay on until Sunday, but after completing the trip up, Rhonda and I knew that simply wasn't feasible.  Having three 650 mile days back to back was not going to work.  So we had to squeeze as much as we could into the last day.  The weather cooperated as it was the best day of the trip so far.  It was perfectly sunny, cool and no forecast of rain!

We started heading south into Deadwood.  It is a cool town, but unfortunately walking around Deadwood is something Rhonda and i will have to leave to the next trip.  We only drove through on this go.  We continued on past Deadwood toward Hill City in search of the Prairie Berry Winery for some Red Ass Wine.  We had seen the signs for it and also seen the ads for their Rhubarb and Raspberry Wine.  No way it could be any good we thought, but we had to try it right?

We stopped at the winery along with several other bikers and proceeded to try the wine.  I guess it won't win any awards, and I know Rhonda and I are not wine connoisseurs, but we shipped a case of it home! We really liked it.  It will be perfect sitting on the deck or porch in the summer time.  So when we get home, we will have a case of wine waiting on us.  How strange is it that we came to a biker rally and ended up shipping wine home?

After that, we headed to the Crazy Horse Memorial.  You can read more about that and the town of Custer in another blog entry here: Link to Blog Entry.

We also rode Needles Highway/Road.  And you can read more about that here: Link to Another Blog Entry.

Beware of non-existant buffalos

We met up with Sherry and Rich and drove through Custer State Park in search of buffalo.  We weren't lucky enough to see any buffalo, but we did see some prairie dogs and a ton of wild donkeys.  In fact, one time we topped a small hill and immediately in front of us in the middle of the road were 2 donkeys. just standing there.  Looking at us like we were out of place.  And I think we were!  It was a good run through the wildlife loop even without the buffalo.  Some good roads and some great views.  Maybe next time the buffalo will cooperate.

We turned the bikes toward Rapid City and on to Spearfish.  That was it for riding the Black Hills.  But I think we did about as much as we could in the days we had.  Tomorrow is the ride home.  I will be happy to get home, and happy to see so many sights on the way home, but I will always wonder what things the Black Hills hold that I missed on this trip to Sturgis!

Sturgis - Needles Highway

Tight quarters on Needles

Well, any motorcycle enthusiast that has studied the roads around the Black Hills knows Needles and Iron Mountain roads.  Coming out here was a once in a lifetime chance to ride those roads and there was no way I was going to miss those.  Well, I missed one of them, but not both!  Guess you can't do it all in a single trip to Sturgis.

We chose Needles to ride.  We were alone away from the pack and had an hour or so to kill (poor choice of words when riding this road) so we decided to give it a shot.  It is a fairly technical road, especially when it is crowded.  I would not say it is as technical as The Dragon in Deals Gap or the Diamondback in Little Switzerland, but it still offers an adrenaline pumping ride even at the low speed limit (35mph).

One Lane Tunnels

The highlight of both of the roads are the one lane tunnels carved into the mountain.  They are rough, and they are not policed.  So you just stop, wait for an opening and go.  It was an awesome sound to sit and listen to so many bikes come through the tunnels, each rev'ing their engines!  The best part of needles is at the top.  Well, I am not sure Rhonda would agree it was the best.  This is where there are tight rock walled turns that will make you pull your arms and legs in (like that would help).  There are times when you can see 3 levels of road below you that you will eventually be on after a few tight hairpin turns that leave barely enough room to navigate with the large number of bikes parked in each turn.

Needles is not for the faint of heart.  It is not hard, and to be honest the slow speeds made it more difficult in my opinion as the bike was not as stable and I constantly had to monitor the speed of the bike in front of me.  But none the less, the views are spectacular and the ride had more personality than any other mountain road i have done.  I wish I could have done Iron Mountain Road, but there simply was not enough hours in the last day.  Maybe next time.  But I am glad I got to experience one of the roads!

Sturgis - Crazy Horse Memorial and Custer

Crazy Horse Monument

One of the sights Rhonda and I were interested in seeing was the Crazy Horse Memorial.  We had seen a documentary on the history and the plans and when we had a chance to see it in person, we weren't about to miss it.

The ride to Crazy Horse winds down (from Spearfish) through Deadwood and Hill City toward Custer.  We had ridden that route a couple times, but the ride on Friday was the best weather we had while we were in Spearfish and it was much more enjoyable than the last rain filled trip through there.

Driving up to the memorial, it is obvious there is something going on, but it is also obvious that there is a lot more work to be done.  The monument is already magnificent even with just the head nearly complete.  I can only imagine what it will look like when it is complete.  I am not sure I will ever get to see that happen in my lifetime however.  The progress has been slow over the past years, and there is still a lot to be done.

We came in from the north, but I would recommend that you ride up from the south at least once when you are there.  From that direction, the monument is facing straight out toward the road and you get a good look at it from the front.  But even from the side, it is awesome.  There were huge pieces of machinery working the site and they looked like kids toys in a sandbox compare to the overall size of the monument.  Rhonda fed a fixed set of binoculars a couple quarters and we god a better view of the detail in the face.  Sadly, we were 30 minutes late to see the 1000 pound explosion they set off earlier!

There is a huge complex along with the monument.  A lot of Indian crafts and a museum displaying a lot of historical items as well as a couple beautiful Indian motorcycles.

The Planned Monument (with us)

The Crazy Horse Monument is a must see.  If for no other reason it will give you a perspective on the effort that goes into creating these landmarks and give you a better appreciation for Mt. Rushmore.

Past Crazy Horse is the small town of Custer.  We stopped there and waited for the other bikes and took a quick walking tour of the town.  It has some unique buildings, and there are some really neat shops in the town that have some items you will not see in other parts of the country.  There was a General Store that had all the equipment you need to pan for gold!  I thought about getting that and starting a new profession, but I assume it is tough work.  So Rhonda told me to keep my day job!  There is also a shop with a lot of wildlife items such as antlers, skins and skulls.  It was neat to see some things that while they are in a more current setting, were items that the sold in this town in the Old West days!  Make sure you check out the many different painted buffalos around town as well!

Sturgis - Spearfish Canyon and Falls

Welcome to Wyoming

Today took a little longer to get started.  Not sure of it we are starting to get tired, or if it was just one of those days where you can't get the coffee to do it's trick.  Either way, we were a little late leaving.

Deciding what to do is always tough since there are so many great rides here in Sturgis, but deciding when the forecast calls for severe thunderstorms here in hail country makes it even more challenging.  So we decided to take the same route through Wyoming to start the day.  We had some other riders who had not made that run and riding it in the morning instead of the afternoon meant the sun would shine a little differently on the canyons and on Devils Tower.

Sundance for Coffee

We headed into Sundance to start the day.  We beat most of the crowd there, but we were by no means the first people in town.  I didn't even go into the HD store.  I think I am getting a little HD Store overload right now.  But taped in the window was a sign to buy a raffle ticket for a quilt.  I didn't need a quilt, but the wife is a quilt fan.  So the quilt was on display at the local espresso shop (I am a fan of espresso) so I thought I would be a good husband and suggest we go to to see the quilt!  Long story short, the quilt was raffled off and gone and I had five shots of espresso.  That helped.  Now, I was ready to ride.

Devils Tower Trading Post

We headed off to Devils Tower.  And as we approached we could see the light really made a difference in the look.  You could really see the character of the tower and all the canyons on the ride in.  It was a big difference over the shadowy view we had the afternoon before.  We even drove over to the Devils Tower Trading Post which gave us a great view of the tower and of the tourist trap shops.

We decided not to go walk around the base.  Not sure if that was the right decision or not.  I wanted to, but there was a lot to see other places so I was torn.  Anyway, we were off to Hulett to stop and be a part of their bike rally for a little while.

Hulett is a cool town.  I didn't realize until we stopped that they were having a bike week.  I thought it was one of the impromptu gatherings like at Hill City or Deadwood.  But I picked up a Hulett 2011 patch there so I guess it was official!  If you ever go to Sturgis, go to Hulett and make sure you check out  Rogues Gallery.  Tour the shop and get your picture made in the coffins or in the gallows around the side.  It was really fun to act like we were in the old west and play cowboys and indians for a while instead of biker dudes.  Big kids is all we are.

Spearfish Canyon facing north

We had to wait out a fairly severe storm that produced hail in some areas, but not Spearfish.  And after we were sure it passed, we headed into Spearfish Canyon for a run there.  Spearfish Canyon is very impressive.  The road runs north and south, and is lined by a steep canyon wall on the west side and creek and a canyon on the east side.  The speed limit on the entire route is 35mph which at first will seem a little slow, but it is perfect for taking in all the sights.  As well it is easier to dodge the rocks in the road that have fallen from the canyon wall.  Honestly.  I can't really describe how awesome the views are.  Rhonda videoed while we were riding and I will get that posted soon.  But at least there is a picture here that doesn't do it justice.

Spearfish Falls

A little farther down the road in the town of Savoy, there is a dirt path that takes you to Spearfish Falls.  We walked the path through the woods to a really nice waterfall.  It drops into a pool and you are so close the spray gets all over you (and the camera).  The water is pristine and sound is so soothing.  I could have sat there all evening just watching and listening.  We even saw trout swimming in the water!  Don't miss this if you ever go.  It was about a 35 minute walk down to the falls, but it is easy and really a beautiful walk.

Instead of completing the loop (it was getting late) we turned around at Cheyenne Crossing and headed back into the canyon riding the opposite way.  This was the right choice.  This route was totally different.  Riding north puts the creek on your side of the road and offers great views of both it and the canyon face.  A lot of times we were riding into a curve and it looked like we were just going to ride into the canyon wall.  I don't know how high it is, but the feel of riding in the canyon was something I have never experienced on a motorcycle.  The Spearfish Canyon Scenic Byway reminds me of the Blue Ridge Parkway in some ways.  It is a slow pace with easy sweeping turns and it offers great views.  The difference is the Parkway offers the best views at the top looking out over the mountains and valleys.  Closed in between two canyon walls made the feel different.

It was a great day.  Again, not so many miles on the bike (only ~175) but some great places to stop and take in all the Black Hills area has to offer.

Sturgis - Wyoming and Devils Tower

Riding to Devil's Tower

After the trip downtown, we were all itching for a ride.  The weather was perfect.  About 80 degrees and low humidity.  Perfect riding weather.

We needed some lunch and we are all getting a little tired of eating out.  Plus we needed to empty our bags and drop some stuff off at the house.  So we headed back to Spearfish form Sturgis and grabbed a sandwich and planned a trip over lunch.

The best loop we could find that would get us back before dark was a loop over through Wyoming past The Devils Tower and back.  About a 120 mile loop that none of really knew anything about.  I had seen the Devils Tower in the move Close Encounters, but until we planned this trip I had no idea it was real.  Honestly, Americans should know more about their own country.  That may be the best lesson I have learned on this trip.

The ride started out on I-90 from Spearfish down to Sundance.  I am tired of the interstate to be perfectly honest and so I wasn’t expecting much.  But about 10 miles outside of Spearfish we crossed over into Wyoming and the landscape changes.  It was unreal how different everything started to look.  The hills were harsh and rocky with cliffs and we could see a mountain range on the distance.  that ride into Sundance was anything but boring.  It was beautiful!

Burnout in Sundance

We dropped of the interstate in Sundance and headed for a Harley dealer there.  I had to have a shirt form Wyoming.  Like every other town, Sundance was packed for it’s mini-Sturgis rally.  Complete with a burnout stand in the middle of town.  The entire town smelled like burnt rubber and all you heard was an engine running wide open, a loud bang, some flopping of the tire as it shredded and a huge roar form the crown.  It was amazing to see.  Something that you hear about at a rally but we were watching!

We left Sundance and headed up to route 24 that would take us pas the Devils Tower.  The roads were windy and scenery spectacular.  Red canyons and cliffs and hillsides lined with different colors of rocks.  You felt like you were staring at a painting!  Finally as we topped the mountain we got our fist glimpse of Devils Tower.  It looked big from there but it tok us 20 minutes to finally pass the base!  It was massive.  How something like that ever got formed, I will never understand.  But it was amazing to see.

Hulett, Wyoming

We left there and winded thorough the mountains to a sleepy (again, not this week) town called Hulett.  Again, the population of Hulett had grwon by probably 10x with all the bikers having their own rally.  The shops looked like something out of a movie!  It was a blast to ride through!

We left and made our way back to Spearfish though more of the awesome Wyoming countryside. We stopped only once to get our picture by the “Welcome to Wyoming” sign.  When the kickstands were down back at the house, we all looked at each other and said “Best ride yet”.  If you are ever in Sturgis for the rally (or any other time for that matter) don’t miss this loop on a motorcycle or a car.  You will not be disappointed! 

Sturgis - Downtown

Downtown Sturgis

No trip to Sturgis for the rally would be complete without a trip downtown.  I will admit the actually rally and downtown Sturgis were not high on my list of things I wanted to do.  I knew we had to do it of course, but I was most interested in the riding and the sights to see around the area.  I was pleasantly surprised at how much fun we had wandering the streets and taking in the sights and sounds.

One tip if you are ever visiting Sturgis for the rally.  Unless you like sitting in wheel to wheel traffic constantly shutting off your engine due to the overheating of it and you I would strongly recommend you go early. It seems the biker crowd for the most part is a late rising crowd.  I won’t speculate on the reasons here, but just know that the earlier you go, the easier it will be to park and walk.

We got to town at 8:00 and parked across form the Harley Davidson dealer in a nice lot only charging us $5 to park there.  There weren’t so many folks there yet, but there were still enough to know that soon, the place was going to be packed.  

Highlights of the day?  Well only a few of them can be posted in picture form here.  Some of what you have read or saw on TV was true, but for the most part everyone was  “normal”.  There was the occasional person who should have added a few more layers or at least less transparent ones.  And a few that looked like they took a couple weeks to ride in and would have done good to ride through a rain shower at some point.  But really it was as close to family friendly as a biker rally could be.

A friend of Rich's

We did see our first Hell’s Angels in person.  Something that everyone has heard about but I had never actually seen.  I have to tell you they were a little intimidating to me, but not so much to Rich.  He decided to see if he could get a picture with one.  He was nicely told him “No”, but at least he left the conversation in one piece.  I mean he had one of his new Sturgis shirts on and it would have been a shame to ruin it the first time he wore it.  

We saw a biker man and woman come in on bicycles.  We saw a lab that had a kennel mounted to a Gold Wing so he could travel with his master from Colorado.  We saw a couple riding a trike that had to be 80+.  We saw a lady at the S&S booth wearing nothing up top except 2 S&S stickers.  And more...  For another time.  It was the best people watching you could do.

We wandered all the booths and vendors, bought some shirts and had the very best corndog we have ever had in our life.  Honestly.  And I have had a lot of corndogs.  

A friend of Chris'

It was worth the visit.  Once for the trip.  We ended up staying for nearly 6 hours!  When we left it was almost impossible to walk down the street without bumping someone.  It was tough to talk due to the roar of the bikes.  It was, in a word, Sturgis.

Sturgis - Mt. Rushmore

Tuesday, 8/9

First I need to apologize for missing the “deadline” for posting my blog entry for Tuesday.  To be honest, after we got back I lost all the adrenaline I had been running on and crashed.  In the bed, not on the motorcycle thank goodness!  I was really wiped out after the day.  I will do my best not to let it happen again.

We started the day early with a trip back to Rapid City Harley Davidson.  We knew we needed to get there early since the day before when Rhonda and I visited alone it was so crowded we could hardly park in the sam zipcode as the dealership.  Rich’s bike was running a little strange and the oil pressure was a little low.  So we needed to get the Harley guys to check it out.  So we dropped the bike at service and looked around some.  I was fine because I found an espresso cart making the best coffee I have had since leaving Sweden and since my machine burned up.  But after downing 2 quint espresso’s I was ready to ride.

Rhonda and Chris at Pactola Lake

We met up with the others just south of Rapid City and headed out into the Black Hills toward Mt. Rushmore.  Of course there were several stops along the way.  As we topped the mountain it was like we had entered a new world.  The road got a little more twisty and the views were awesome.  I have ridden in the mountains of North Carolina, but these were different.  not really better or worse, but different.  Riding the Parkway offers occasional expansive views, but here there seemed to always be an amazing view of something.  We would around and found ourself in the sleepy (well not today) town of Hill City, about 4800 ft up in the Black Hills.

We spent quite a bit of time walking though the town and visiting the Harley Dealer here.  One of the most interesting things about Sturgis is the amount of things going on outside of the actual town of Sturgis.  Almost like a “mini-Sturgis” is going on in every town. And Hill City was no different.  The streets were lined with bikes on both sides and in the middle.  And the sidewalks and shops were parked with bikers, and the occasional tourist asking themselves why they didn’t plan their vacation a little better.

Hill City

As we left Hill City headed to Mt. Rushmore the weather was perfect.  But that was all about to change. Drops the size of golf balls started pelting us as we dropped off the mountain toward Keystone.  And then it was pouring.  The ride to Rushmore was slow going, but by the time we made it the rain had subsided and the sun was out.  

Mt. Rushmore

Seeing Mt. Rushmore in person was awesome.  Just the thought of that being done blew my mind. The size and the detail were amazing.  And the area in front of the monument is piled with the rock that came off the side of the mountain.  Rhonda and I both stood there in awe and had to pinch ourselves just to believe we were actually there.  And that we had ridden a motorcycle to view it!  On our way out, we decided to check out the gift shop where we met and talked with Dick, one of the original drillers/carvers for Rushmore.  He explained to us how it was done and I realized only then that it was actually carved by hand with air tools.  It was really a great experience.  

We left Rushmore and headed toward Deadwood.  An ominous sounding name for a town.  Little did we know that the ride to Deadwood would be much more ominous than the town itself.  The skies opened up after about 10 miles.  Not a little rain, but a biblical type of rain.  One that would have shaken a local trying to drive the roads.  We fought the rain and the roads for a good 2 hours before we finally left the Black Hills to sunny skies just outside of Spearfish.  It was a tough ending to an otherwise wonderful day.  

We were all just happy to be back and after a quick trip to WalMart for supplies, we were ready to hit the bed.  Not so many riding miles today.  Probably just under 200.  But it was some of the toughest we have done on the trip.  And I will be happy not to have to ride the Black Hills in rain like that again this trip or any other in the future.

Sturgis - Arrival

Finally, the day came that we had been looking forward to most.  The day we arrived in Sturgis/Spearfish.

But arriving wasn't the only goal.  How often in your life do you get to drive across South Dakota on a Harley Davidson in near perfect weather? If you ask my wife, the answer would be twice.  Once on the way to Sturgis and once on the way home.  But truth be told, most people never get to experience this.  If there is one thing I learned on the way here, it is that there is no need to travel to Europe or Asia to see amazing sights.  The US is full of the most amazing landscapes in the world.  And today we had the chance to see some of that first hand.

Us at the Corn Palace

The trip started like the last couple days had been.  Riding vast open roads between huge fields of corn.  And fitting enough, our first trip was at the Corn Palace. This is a museum disguised as a tourist trap.  It looks like a huge palace and the entire outside is decorated with corn.  Corn cobs, ears of corn, corn stalks and corn cobs.  While we were standing there you could watch the birds come and take corn form the building and go into the road and eat it.  It was an interesting place and a good stop.

We left there and headed west across South Dakota.  As we rode, we saw the landscape shift from corn fields to grasslands.  The change was dramatic.  We started to see more farmland and cows, and less corn (for the first time in 3 days).

Sunflower Fields

One of the most unique sites were the huge fields of sunflowers.  Rhonda and I both commented that while we had always like to eat sunflower seeds, we never gave much thought to how they were grown and gotten the the stores.  But now, it was obvious.  Seeing the huge yellow fields of flowers all turned pointing at the sun was a really amazing site.

The terrain started to get a little more hilly as we made our way across.  There were few towns and even fewer gas stations and places to eat.  Each one we passed was full of bikes making their way to the rally.  As we got closer to needing some gas (really close actually) we saw an exit with a lone service station.  For you kids, a service station is a place you can buy gas and get your  car worked on.  See, you did learn something.  Anyway, we decided to stop.  And that was the location of "The Incident".

The incident was caused (we know now) by a huge amount of tractor trailer grease being spilled in the intersection where you turn to go to the station.  My mistake was thinking the large clumps were rocks.  So I dodged those not knowing there was more on the pavement that had been run over and speared out like butter.  Butter+Motorcycle+Turn=The Incident.  The front wheel turned completely to the left, slid and caught the pavement.  That caused the bike to lurch and immediately the floorboard on the left side drug, ripping my foot off the floorboard and sending it whirling back into Rhonda's leg.  The result? Rhonda has a nice bruise on her leg and I have either a broken toe or a sprained one.  But we kept the bike upright and went to calm down.

Start of the Badlands

Once we had regained some composure, we got back on the road and found a great diner for lunch.  I had a buffalo burger which was fitting for South Dakota I guess.  We moved on and the change in the landscape started to get more severe as we entered the badlands.  The huge rocky outcroppings look like something form a space movie more than something in South Dakota.  And also on the road to the badlands you will find another tourist trap, Wall Drug Store.  I won't go into a lot of detail because to be honest I am not sure how to describe it.  I will just post some pictures soon and you can decide for yourself.

We left there and headed on entering the Black Hills, our destination for the past 4 days. As we got closer, the number of motorcycles increased as dramatically as the landscape had changed.  We were suddenly in a land where cars seemed out of place and motorcycles were the norm.  A happy place you could say!

We finally pulled into Spearfish after a whopping 1987.8 miles.  All on the motorcycle and my wife was still on the back.  It was an amazing trip to get here and now we can look forward to some amazing rides around what some say are the best motorcycle rides in the country.

More pictures soon!  Thanks for reading!

Sturgis Pictures Posted!

There are some pics posted of the trip so far.  No captions or descriptions yet, but the pictures are there!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/twowheelsintothewind/

Sturgis Day 3 - Kansas City MO to Sioux Falls SD

Honestly, I have no idea how the human race could consume so much corn.  Ok, so I got that out of the way.

Today was billed as a nice 400 mile day.  But let me tell you, after two 600 mile days, there is no easy day.  Well, not for me and Rhonda anyway.  I was sore when we left.  I got worse after only 50 miles.  And I only got better at dinner tonight.  In between was some achy, breaky butt.  I guess it was just cumulative but it just never got any better today.  Enough complaining.  Because even though it was a little painful it was a beautiful day of riding!

This was the first day the raingear stayed in the bag the entire day.  So that was a positive.  No rain is a good thing.  However, rain still played a major role in the day.  As we headed out of Kansas City there was a flashing DOT sign beside the road warning that I-29 North was closed at mile 110 due to flooding.  So we stopped and found a backroad that would take us around the flooding.  This was a great “problem” to have.  Rhonda and I were getting bored riding the interstates.  It is good to make time, but you don’t really see the country like we want to.  So we headed up 59 though Missouri and Iowa for the biggest part of the day.  It was amazing countryside.  Filled with corn.  And once you past that there was another field of corn.  Followed by... corn.  But it was hilly, rocky at time, and we even managed to find a curve or two to go around!  It was really beautiful.

The highlight was a crop duster somewhere in either Missouri or Iowa.  Honestly it is strange to be on a trip and not really know what state you are in.  At times, I had to think  just to remember.  Anyway, the crop duster...  We were headed down a (straight) road between some (corn) fields and ahead we saw an airplane that looked like it was trying to crash.  But as we got closer, we could see it was a crop duster.  It ended up dusting a field just off to our left and went right in front of the three bikes.  You could see the pilot as he pulled up right at the road!  It was really a neat thing to see while riding a motorcycle through the heartland.  

We stopped and ate at a little mom and pops restaurant somewhere in Missouri or Iowa (see above).  It was pretty good but I felt a little out of place among the church crowd.  We were looking a little rough by the time we got to where ever it was we were.  But after a few more miles of corn as far as you could see on both sides of the road, we made it back to the interstate for the final leg into Sioux Falls.  

As we passed through Sioux City (not Falls) it was obvious why the interstate was closed.  It was our first look at the Missouri River (in Iowa) and it was out of it’s banks over roads, ballfields and even some structures.  There were sandbags everywhere and even some heavy equipment and a temporary levee that was protecting a large subdivision.  Sioux City proper looked like it had been spared this time, but I am pretty sure it wasn’t the first or last flood Sioux City will have to deal with.

I completely missed the “Welcome to South Dakota” sign.  Don’t know how.  We drove 1500 miles to get to that state and then missed the fact we made it in.  But we did.  And we rolled up some pretty boring countryside to Sioux Falls.  the only highlight was the first “Speed Limit - 75” sign I have ever seen.  But I understand why.  Driving 60 though that countryside would drive a person crazy.  It was flat and flatter.  But maybe it was because it was stuck at the end of the day.  Who knows?

So here we sit.  Tired.  Too tired to go with the rest of the crew to see the actual Sioux Falls.  But we made it to an awesome Italian restaurant where we had some of the best Italian food I have had since I left Sweden.  It was 77 and we sat outside wishing we had a long sleeve shirt.  We chased a great meal with an espresso and a latte and headed back to the room.  Another awesome day filled with sites I will most likely never see again.  Another day where Rhonda said “Isn’t it amazing that you live in a country your whole life and have no idea what the majority of it even looks like?”

I want to give a special “shout out” to my wife today.  She was doing a lot better than me and kept me encouraged.  I was really hurting today, but just talking to her and riding through all the sites with her made it worth it.  If there was ever any doubt we were made for each other, that is gone after the last three days.  

Tomorrow, we will make our way (slowly) to Spearfish, our destination.  We hope to make a few stops at the Corn Palace and at the Black Hills Harley Davidson before fighting traffic through Sturgis.  It should be a exciting day!  never have a I left on a trip and after 4 days finally made it to where I was going!

Sturgis Day 2 - Nashville TN to Kansas City MO

So the day we had dreaded came. It was a second day of 600+ miles in a row. Something neither of us had ever done. And something that both of us had felt would be the toughest day of the trip to Sturgis. Were we right? Well, read on and decide for yourself.

The ride started out early with "kickstands up" at around 7:00. I had assumed this trip would take us about 12 hours. It is always safe to assume a max of 50 mph average and so that's the "rocket science" I applied to reach this estimate.

We pulled out of Nashville under some overcast skies and about 110% humidity. I mean it. It was very sticky already. So we headed north toward Paducah, KY. A place I had looked forward to seeing on the trip since it is the area of the country my dad is from. I had spent time in this area as a kid, but I hadn't been back since my junior year in college when my grandmother passed away. As we approached the sky was getting darker up ahead. Time to gear up (again). Just a note to any of you who think about a trip like this. If you find yourself staring at raingear thinking "Do we really need to spend $150 on a rainsuit?" just buy it. You will think that amount is cheap the first time you hit rain. As it started to rain, the trip got much more comfortable. The temperature dropped and over the long rolling fields we saw massive streaks of lightning up ahead. As we got into the heart of the storm there was a sudden flash and a nearly simultaneous BOOM! form the thunder. The sounds reverberated through my whole body and I looked back fully expecting to either see the bag had exploded form the strike or that I was now riding solo with just a poof of smoke where Rhonda once was. But thankfully neither was true. And a huge smile came over my face. "This is really fun!" I thought to myself. And fun it was...

We made a quick stop to rest (and spend some cash) at the very unique steamboat themed Harley store in Paducah. My dad had visited there and brought me back a shirt. He had raved about Four Rivers Harley and how cool the place was. And I have to say he was right. It was a neat stop, but we had to get back on the road.

I admit I hadn't expected a lot from todays trip. I was looking forward to seeing St. Louis and the arch, but the thoughts of riding through Kentucky, Illinois and Missouri just didn't excite me much. No offense intended to anyone who lives there, but I pictured vast fields with little or no personality. But I was wrong. Illinois reminded me of Sweden. The wind was whipping across the huge corn fields dotted only occasionally with a cluster of trees around a houes to shelter it from the wind. Almost identical to the raps fields in Sweden. It brought back a lot of good memories.

Finally we felt comfortable enough to remove the raingear. Well, comfortable was not the right word. The heat was picking up and already I was longing for the cool rain we had been riding in. But the sun came out and it started to push upward as we pushed on toward St. Louis. The reputation of the heat inside St. Louis had proceeded it. And it did not disappoint. As we came up on the town, the heat went up as quickly as our excitement as we got our first glimpse of the St. Louis Arch on the horizon. It was really cool to see all three bikes point and (I assume giggle a little) as they finally saw the landmark that we had looked forward to for today's trip. Lucky for us (well, maybe) there was a traffic jam in St. Louis that allowed Rhonda to snap a few pictures of the arch as we rode through. I will get those posted as soon as I swing by WalMart to get the one cable I forgot to bring (failure).

As we left St. Louis it seemed the fun part of the trip was over. The sun was sinking lower and we were headed due west. Not a good combination when the temps are above 95. It was hot, and to be as respectful to the people who live there, pretty darn boring. It was time for a short break. Well, our bike thought so at least so I pushed up and told the leader to take the rest area that was coming up. So we pulled in and it seemed God was with us. The Christian Motorcycle Association was there giving away free hotdogs, snacks and drinks. You have heard this said many times before, but this was truly a "God Send". After the took time to pray for our whole crew, we were back on the road.

The remainder of the trip was how, sunny and tough. Honestly the last 150 miles of a 600 mile day is always hard, but this one was really hard. We pushed into Kansas City, passing the Royals stadium where a ballgame was going on. It was pretty neat as you could see directly into the stadium from the highway and see all the people (well, not so many since this was a Royals game) watching. We made it to the hotel, checked in and took a nice shower. A much needed shower.

So today means that we have put 1200 miles behind us in 2 days. Pretty amazing. And again, Rhonda did better than I did today. She never complained and took everything in stride. I never thought we could actually "enjoy" this trip, but we did. We just rode and chatted all day long. Of course it was tough at times, but still it was so nice to just "be together" for 12 hours doing something new.

So you tell me. Does it sound fun? Does it sound like it was a good day? Sitting here in the air conditioning makes it harder for me to decide. So I leave it to you to decide if it is something you would consider a good time.

Misc Things

• I forgot a cable so until I get one I can't post pics from the camera. I will fix this.
• As far as the equipment goes, everything is working great. Headsets lasted all day, bike ran great, raingear kept us and the bag dry and we got here in one piece. Can ask more more than that.
• I can't think the CMA enough for being setup at that rest area.  We had good snacks and great conversation.  They didn't have to give up their Saturday to make mine better.  So a big shout out to them.
• Tomorrow is a shorter day.  Only about 400 miles to Sioux Falls, SD.  We are even waiting until 9AM to leave!

Route From Today

View Larger Map

Sturgis Day 1 - Clayton NC to Nashville TN

Well, the first 582 miles are in the books.  And it went as well as can be expected.  Better in some regards.  We pulled out of Clayton at 6:15 this morning after pulling the gel pads out of the fridge.  Note to anyone that might use gel pads.  Put them in the fridge before you use them (if it is hot outside).  It was awesome!

It was overcast when we got on, but we expected it to burn off pretty quickly once the sun came up.  But we were wrong.  And we were glad we were wrong!  The weather stayed completely overcast until the first stop just past Winston Salem.  We stopped there for some gas and a quick McMuffin and we noticed that it was looking a little ominous up the road.  So we put the rain pants on and got back on the road.  About 20 miles up the road the bottom fell out and we ducked into a rest area and covered the bag and put the rest of our rain gear on.  We road in the nice cool rain all the way across the mountains until we hit Asheville where the sun came out.

We spent some time at the Asheville Harley Davidson talking shop and then got back on the road.  This is where it got interesting.  It got hot, sunny and the road was loaded with truckers.  It was slow going up/down the mountain and we were going through water pretty quickly.  But the mountains were pretty, so Rhonda tells me.  I was too busy trying not to kiss a truck's backside.

The ride from Knoxville to Nashville was not overly fun.  Between the intense heat, sun and frequent stop and go traffic, Rhonda and I were about done for the day.  But we made it.  The last 10 miles took over an hour since we (poorly) planned the trip to make sure we arrived in Nashville at 5:00 on a Friday and were headed out of the city.

Anyway, here I sit in a nice comfy chair in the hotel and I could not be prouder of my wife.  In fact, I think she did better than I did today!  We really enjoyed each other's company the entire trip.  I look forward to spending then next several days with her!

So how did the gear do?  The SENA headsets arrived with enough battery to take us to Chili's for dinner.  They were awesome.  Music and conversation the entire way.  The gel seats were good, especially for the first half.  But we are going to try switching it up tomorrow to see if moving to ride with them and then without them helps.  I will let everyone know.  The bike did great, even though slow maneuvering with the bag and Rhonda on was something to get used to.  But on the open road it was perfect.  We tried out the Garmin GPS app on the iPhone and it worked great with the headsets.  However it ate thorough the battery in no time.  Got to try something new there tomorrow.

In general, it was a great day.  I just hope the ones to follow are as good.  I apologize there are no pics tonight.  I am short of time, space and energy.  But I promise that if not before we get to Sturgis, I will get pics up for everyone.  I tweeted a few and Facebooked a few today.  But we took others.

Here is the route from today.  About 1300 miles to go!


View Larger Map

Photostream for Blog (And The Trip)

So as the trip approaches (only 2 more days away) I wanted to make sure I had a good way to share photos from Sturgis and from along the trip.

I will be using Flickr for that, and you can keep up with the stream here: http://www.flickr.com/people/twowheelsintothewind/

I will post blog entries, facebook entries and tweets as well.

Don't forget, some of these pictures will be from the rally in Sturgis.  So I cannot promise they are safe for work!

The Final Week Before Sturgis

As I sit here today, I am thinking about where I will be this time next week. Well, that and thinking about all the things I still have to do to get ready. It’s only 1 week until the “Odyssey” begins.

Just like in April when I was heading to Florida (620 miles) I am starting to have second thoughts and getting nervous. I think this is normal, especially for me. But I thought it was interesting and it made me wonder if getting some of the apprehension and preparations down on “paper” might help me or others.

Two main things make this trip more intimidating than the previous trips I have made: The Length and The Old Lady. *Note: I use the term “Old Lady” to seem like a real biker, not to disparage or attempt to describe my beautiful wife.

The Length
The Length has me nervous. Not because of the daily mileage, but because of the unknown effects multiple days will have on me. Here are some of the aspects of this extended trip that concern me and some of the steps I have taken to combat those.

• Exhaustion – Multiple 500+ mile days is something I have never done. The plan here is to break each day up into smaller segments (I would like those to be 150m or less) and to psychologically ride to those stops. As well, we plan to avoid things like alcohol, huge meals, and late nights.
• Heat Related Issues – Strange thing is that when you plan a trip in August, it is normally hot. And this month is no exception. So we plan to stop regularly. But for hydration issues, we plan to use a Camelbak on the trip filled with ice and water. We should have 3 hours of hydration which will get us to any stop we might make. We will wear long sleeve shirts and mesh jackets to avoid sunburn as well.
• Weather – Planning a one day trip makes checking the weather and adapting much easier. A 4 day ride makes it tougher. There is no way around the fact we will ride in rain at some point. We have purchased raingear (and I have tried it out) and I feel we are prepared to ride in moderate rain.
• Traffic – I used the back roads on the way to Florida. We will travel all interstate for this trip. Some say they are safer, but I find the speeds and the traffic less comfortable in general on my bike. I ride 85 miles a day round trip on interstates to work in some atrocious traffic, so I am used to it. But this trip will take us through several major cities I have never been in (Nashville, St. Louis, Kansas City, Omaha).
• Unknown – How will I feel when I get up after the first or second day? How will I feel for the return trip? Some things are just unknown.

In general, part of the appeal of this trip relates to saying at the end “I did it!” Without the list of items above, that statement would ring hollow. So while those items make me nervous, they are part of the challenge and part of the reason we are doing this.

The Old Lady
Man I love my wife. But obviously not like she loves me! I am still amazed she even agreed to this trip. And I amazed she hasn’t jumped off the roof of the house in an attempt to injure herself to get out of it (yet). But having her brings extra concerns for me. Of course I want her there on the trip to experience the sights and sounds, but I feel like I have to make sure she is OK at all times. Having someone else’s life in your hands while facing the obstacles above adds to the anxiety of the trip.

But having her with me will be so much more fun. And we have a plan. My #1 priority is her. Not the people we are traveling with. Not the day we get to Sturgis. Not even if we never get to Sturgis. We have the intercom system to talk and the minute she says “enough” we stop. And then if she says “enough is enough” we get a room and head home the next day.

I believe she can make it and I believe we will have a trip we will never forget. What I need to do is remember that we want to remember this trip forever for all the right reasons. Not like you remember that bout with the stomach flu that time you ate at the roadside stand in Equador.

Only a few days left now. Very little time to back out. Very little time to change many things. Just enough time to get more nervous.

Warranty Up! I'm On My Own!

So today is the first day of the rest of my Road King's life. The 2 year factory warranty expired today. I have mixed emotions, but since there was very little factory work done on it in the first two years, I guess I am fairly confident that everything will be OK.

I put the Harley to the test. I had a goal when I drove it off two years ago to put 20K miles on it before the warranty ran out. I have no idea why I picked that number, but it seemed nice and round and seemed like a good goal. I had read that the average Harley rider puts 1500 miles a year on his/her bike. I find that hard to believe but I wanted to do my part to change that.

So as of today, I have 19,371 miles on my bike. Not 20,000 but pretty close. And if you look at the 1500/year average number I mentioned above, that means that there are 5.3 people out there who bought a Harley on the same day I did that have not driven a single mile!

So what work was needed over the past 2 years? Here is the list:
1. Pipes - Of course, but not warranty work
2. Chrome - Of course critical, couldn't get Harley to cover it under warranty.
3. 1 Rear Tire - Not covered under warranty
4. Recall for Fuel System - Covered under warranty
5. Battery - Covered under warranty

That's it! I am taking it in for the 20K service next week to get ready for the Sturgis trip. I hope Murphy doesn't come along and point out a ton of things that are wrong only a week after the warranty expired!

All in all if I enjoy the next 20K as much as I enjoyed the first 20K, I will be very happy with my purchase. I would like to get another (not a different) bike at some point but I have promised myself (and my wife) I will not do that until I have 100K on this one.

So all the stories, myths, etc about Harley problems? Well, I can't speak to them. I have had noting but fun since I bought this one!

Distracted Drivers

Well, I had to vent to someone. I am getting sick and tired of it.

I drive about 80 miles everyday to and from work. Unfortunately 60 miles of that is on the interstate but there are no good back roads to take into work that allow me to get there with any sort of schedule. So, I put up with the hazards. And I accept some. Truck tires in the road, stupid drivers that change lanes without looking over their shoulder, slow people scared to death to drive and big rigs full of logs spewing all sorts of painful junk into my face.

But there is one I will no longer put up with. It is time to devise a plan to do something about these idiots texting while they are driving. This morning I had a girl (maybe 20) fly past me doing at least 80mph in a red Honda. I didn't think much about it until she locked up her brakes to avoid slamming the car in front of her that was only going 70. When I got up beside her in traffic, she was holding her pink phone up in front of her face texting. I followed her (from a little distance) for a couple miles and watched. She was all over the center lane and I could see the phone from 3 car lengths behind her. So, I pulled up, tapped the horn and pointed at the phone. Normally at this point the drivers throw their phones in the seat and stare straight ahead like they have no idea why I am pointing. But not her. She took her left hand off the wheel and flipped me off and then put her phone up higher. She texted for the remaining 10 miles until she exited.

I will be 100% honest. I couldn't care less if this girl runs off the road and slams a tree. I know I should be more "environmental" and try to "Save the Trees". But these people need off the road one way or another. They are either going to kill me or worse my wife or kids. And that is simply not acceptable. We have a law, but it is not enforceable. And you can't legislate intelligence.

So here is my plan. I am getting a POV camera for the trip to Sturgis. Other than the Sturgis trip, I am going to put it to good use. I am going to mount it on my helmet and film my trips back and forth from work. I am going to get video of these idiots and tag numbers. And I am going to start a YouTube channel. I am going to post about them as many places as I can. Hopefully some of their family will see the video and will either help them to stop or at least kiss them goodbye in the mornings before they leave since they will lose them one days soon.

"Don't Text, Eat, Put on Makeup, Read the Newspapaper, Watch TV or Sleep and Drive"