After Sturgis 2009 Day 5

Our last full day in Rapid City started with a run of 2 miles, then a trip to the laundromat. I figure that going home with clean clothes is a bonus! Andrew slept a little longer while I did two loads, dried and folded.

When I got back to the hotel we got ready to ride Nemo Road on our way to Deadwood. Shortly after leaving the hotel it started to rain. We rode from Rapid City to Deadwood in the rain, none-the-less it was still scenic and there was little traffic. Many call Nemo Road, Nemo Canyon as you get the feeling you are in a Canyon since there are canyon walls on one side or the other throughout the ride. We passed through a little unincorporated town of Nemo that had small one room cabins for rent overlooking canyon walls across the street.

When we got to Deadwood it was evident, Sturgis Bike Week is now just a memory. The town itself was very dead! During Bike Week you can't find a spot to park, today you could park anywhere. After checking out some of the souvenir shops we headed to Mustang Sally's for yet another hotdog, chips and lemonade.

As we left Deadwood we decided that Spearfish Canyon was calling our names and this would be the last time seeing the Canyon this trip. This time through the Canyon we picked up our speed a little and Andrew again handled his bike as though he has been riding for years! A stop was made at the falls for another photo opportunity.

We watched the weather report Friday night and it wasn't promising. The forecast called for rain most of the day Saturday and into Sunday on our way home. Saturday's ride would be from Rapid City to Albert Lea, Minnesota, some 515 miles. We decided to leave Rapid City by 4:00 AM instead of 5:00 as originally planned. Saturday was overcast all day, but no rain! We stopped at J&L Harley-Davidson in Sioux Falls since I had a broken isolator on the passenger backrest. The backrest is held in place by three rubber isolators and I knew I had broken one, possibly two and didn't want to lose the entire backrest unexpectedly. J&L was able to get us in and fix the isolator under warranty! The time it took was two hours because we arrived around 11:30 and at noon the entire serive department goes to lunch for 30 minutes. Once it was fixed we were on our way once again.

Around 4:30 we arrived in Albert Lea. We stopped at Bergdale Harley-Davidson next door from our hotel and Andrew doing his best Zman impersonation purchased his third Harley-Davidson t-shirt on this trip!

Sunday morning we left around 9:00 AM and later arrived back home in Watertown around 3:00. Our entire ride totaled 2404 miles! We had a great time with no real surprises other than how well Andrew handled his Honda Shadow. I have no doubt whenever he decides to move up in engine size, he will be able to ride safely.