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

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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!


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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!