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.

After Sturgis 2009 Day 4

Day 4 started with a question, "Andrew how do you feel today?" His answer, "Let's ride the Needles!" Mount Rushmore was on our list of must sees while in Rapid City. It was a short ride on Hwy 16 to 16A through Keystone to what I feel is the most popular man-made spots in the US. Each time I've been at Mount Rushmore I have never seen the sky bluer. On the drive towards the Presidents you started to climb. As you wind your way through many twists and turns the faces of our nation got closer and bigger. Many photos were taken. Some history behind the Presidents is a room, 80' x 100' that is titled, "The Hall of Records". This room is located behind President Lincoln and has never been completed. The use of the room was to house many important documents related to the birth of the US and its' history.

After Mount Rushmore we rode west on Highway 244 to Highway 385 into Hill City and then Prairie Berry Winery just north of Hill City. I purchased one bottle of wine, Brianna. After we left the Winery we continued south on Highway 385 to Highway 87 otherwise called Needles Highway. We stopped at Sylvan Lake for a few photos then continued east on Needles Highway through two tunnels. Upon leaving the Needles we took the Wildlife Loop through Custer State Park. In the three previous years I have NEVER seen one Buffalo in the Park! The Ranger at the gate guaranteed us we would see a few. I've heard this before! Well, we didn't see a few.....we saw many! In fact, we had to come to a complete stop in order to allow them the right-of-way. You never want to tango with a Buffalo, especially on a motorcycle! We also saw some Prairie Dogs, Mules and Pronghorns. Just past the Game Lodge was a small grocery store for the campers of the Park. We stopped and grabbed a hotdog and water. During lunch I asked Andrew how he felt once again and he replied, "Good enough to tackle Iron Mountain Road and the Pigtails (photo)!" Or for you Youtube viewers watch it here.

Iron Mountain Road will test your skills to a whole new level. If you thought the Needles was intense, it was only a warm up as to what the switchbacks would throw at you! Not only were there a few 5 and 10 mph switchbacks, but also three tunnels that framed Mount Rushmore and the two pigtail bridges. Keep in mind that seldom was there a guard rail to be found just in case you went wide to keep you on course! Again, another shout out to John & Randy for giving Andrew the basics and for him having the desire to improve!

After Sturgis 2009 Day 3

Wednesday we decided to take it a little easy and wait until Thursday to do Needles Highway and Iron Mountain Road depending upon how Andrew felt. Wednesday was reserved for the Canyons and Devil's Tower.

As we left Rapid City we headed West on I-90 just enough to allow a ride through Boulder Canyon, then onto Ice Box Canyon (we now know why they call it Ice Box.........it was sure cold!) and finally to Spearfish Canyon.
What I have never seen previously on the many trips to South Dakota was Roughlock Falls. The Falls are located between Lead and Spearfish within Spearfish Canyon. The drive from Spearfish Canyon to Roughlock Falls was on gravel and then afterwards about 50-60 miles on gravel as we rode CR-222 to CR-134. You need to be careful on these gravel roads for obvious reasons, the cattle! We had to stop and wait for them to move out of our way. Again, we weren't in any hurry, especially since any one of them could have taken both of us out including the bikes.

When we completed Spearfish Canyon I thought about the training Andrew had received again from Riders Edge. He handled the Canyons like he's done it before. We next drove into Spearfish and Black Hills University at Spearfish. This is where I have stayed on two previous trips to the Rally.

From here, we were only a few miles from the South Dakota/Wyoming State Line. Within an hour of Spearfish we found ourselves facing the 1st National Monument, Devils Tower. The legend states bears chased six Indian Maidens onto a small rock. Here the six prayed to the Gods to protect them from the bears. The rock started to grow towards the sky. After awhile the rock had grown so tall that the bears couldn't reach the Maidens. The bears didn't give up as they continued to claw at the sides of the rock. To this day you can still see the claw marks on the sides of Devil's Tower!

Prior to heading back to Rapid City we decided to go to Sturgis Harley-Davidson and then onto Bear Butte which is just a short drive northeast of Sturgis.