Day 3 - Riding around the Black Hills
We started another early day for riding. We met at 7:30 for breakfast at the little cafe here beside the Hickock House Best Western Hotel. Nan and I split a 2 egg breakfast. It's amazing how much money (and calories) we save by splitting meals.
At 8:10 we loaded up the bikes and headed South on Highway 385.
The sky was completely clear and the sun was slowly warming up from 70 degrees. It was so wonderful to ride on these pristine roads with so little traffic to bother us. I've heard that the state spends allot of money fixing roads and sweeping them before the Sturgis rally. We aren't going to attend the rally, but we get the same benefit without the crowds and congestion by coming a few weeks early.
We chatted and joked on the CB radio as we rode along. The longer you ride together, the more little quirks and stories that come up that you can joke back and forth about. We've already got quite a few things that we tease each other with while we ride. And of course there are the trucks, cars, and other slow pokes on the road to make fun of.
Only one of the bikes is lacking a CB radio, and they are always suspicious that we are really joking about them all of the time. That's just not true, it's only most of the time. I'm pretty sure that he'll get a CB radio on his bike in time for next summer's big ride.
Our ride down to the Crazy Horse Memorial was uneventful, other than having to endure a few slow vehicles. We had to pay $5 per bike to get in, but I think it's worth it. Others weren't sure.
The memorial is progressing very slowly. There didn't even seem to be anyone on the mountain today.
Some of us watched the video, and others wandered the native american artifacts and trinkets. We got some pictures, then loaded up and prepared for the next part of the trip.
From Crazy Horse, we rode south to the town of Custer and turned east. The road winds through some small hills and forest East of town until we reached the south end of the Needles Highway. We had to pay $10 per vehicle this time. They strapped a little tag on each bike so they could tell that we had indeed payed.
The needles highway is well maintained, but it is a tiny road. Often it is about 1 1/2 lanes wide so cars have to pick and choose the spots where they will pass. And it winds all over the place. Lots of switchbacks, changing radius turns, climbs, descents, and off camber surface.
In other words, it's a great motorcycle road and we all loved it.
I knew from a previous ride that we would come to a section that was 1 lane wide and fairly long. As we approached that section, we saw allot of cars lined up, and many others pulled over to the side.
We asked some of the people along the road about what was happening, and someone said that a trailer had gotten stuck, and everyone had to turn around. So we turned around to go all the way back the way we had come.
But Drew chimed in over the radio and said he didn't want to give up that easily. He told us all to pull over in a little scenic overlook and he'd got back to check on what was really going on.
A few minutes later, he came over the CB to tell us that there was no stuck trailer, it was just the normal backup as cars in each direction tried to make their way through the narrow section. It was very lucky that Drew checked, or we'd have wasted an hour backtracking when we didn't need to.
We pulled back out onto the road, and within 10 minutes we were through the rocks and out the other side. It was pretty cool to ride through. It wasn't a tunnel or a cave, but 2 sheer rock faces that are about 10 foot apart, just wide enough for a normal lane of traffic.
Once we were back on open road, we started discussing plans. The majority of us wanted food, and wanted it soon. The nearest town was "Hill", so we headed there and found a cafe to eat at.
After lunch we head for Mt Rushmore. It was only about 20 miles away and we made it there quickly. They don't change you admission to get into Rushmore, but instead, they charge you for parking. So my national park pass does absolutely nothing.
We got a little split up in the parking garage, but eventually, most of us made our way to level 6 where we could park the bikes and get a picture with Mt Rushmore behind us.
I think its cool to walk up the flag lined walkway towards the monument. It's a very majestic view. Nannette and I got a great picture on our way in.
Most of us went down stairs to the museum, but a few of us went to walk up to the monument, and a few others went for ice cream. I went for the museum. Nan and I also watched the video about the making of the monument.
When we left the video it was raining. We stared out at the rain for a while and hoped it would end soon, but it just kept going.
After 20 minutes, Nan and I decided to run to the store out front to browse. We rode the elevator up, then dashed from overhang to overhang until we were nearly out.
On our right was the souvenir shop and on the left was an ice cream shop. I shouted back to Nannette to ask which she wanted and she looked at me like I was crazy. We headed left.
We split a soft serve raspberry cone and sat watching it rain. Suddenly it changed from rain to hail and really poured down hard. It continued for about a minute, then abruptly ended. People almost ran out the doors for cars or the museum or the outside tables. Just like that the walkways were packed with people.
We waited a bit, then headed for the motorcycles to meet up with everyone.
Nan was getting tired, so she opted to head back to the hotel and we said goodbye.
Then the rest of use mounted up and headed for the town of Keystone to get some gas. Once that was done, we turned south on highway 16A, one of the most famous and popular roads in the area. It's also known as Iron Mountain Road.
Iron Mountain Road has several one lane tunnels, and 3 bridges that loop back 360 degrees and cross over themselves. It's a really cool way to climb up a steep hill, rather than using switchbacks.
I was trying to get a 360 video of the road, so I stopped briefly turn my camera on and got seperated from the other bikes with some cars between us. When I got going again, I couldn't make my camera work right. I think the battery was dead. I eventually gave up and stopped for a bit to plug the camera in to charge.
I tried to catch up with everyone else, but it's nearly impossible to pass anyone on these narrow winding roads and I just had to content myself with riding and enjoying the road. I could occasionally hear the others chatting on the CB, but they never could hear me.
It also continued to sprinkle on us as we road. Even though the heavy rain had ended, there was a slow trickle continuing to fall and it kept the roads wet and the air muggy.
Finally near the end of the road, about 16 miles, I spotted the others coming back up, so I flipped around to follow them.
Riding a road like this in both directions is almost like riding a whole new road. You see different sights, and the road feels completely different. It was even more so, because the rain finally ended completely and the road dried out and got much easier to take at speed.
We flew back up the road until we pulled up behind a full size tour bus. I'm not sure if the bus intended to take the small tunnels and the 360 bridges, but it did pull over and let us pass.
We stopped at a scenic overlook and I hooked the camera back up and chugged a ton of water to help alleviate a leg cramp.
Once again we went through the tunnels and bridges, but this time I was able to get a few 360 videos.
From Iron Mountain road we headed into Rapid City, then as quickly as we could, headed right back out on Nemo road and finally Vanochre road. Those two roads were not nearly as twisty but instead, they had big, wide, sweeping turns that you could ride at high speed. We loved the ride at the end of the day, but my wrist was actually getting tired from all of the technical riding and throttle twisting.
It was nice when we got to the town of Sturgis and parked to find dinner.
The town is clearly getting ready for the big rally that will start in a few weeks. There were huge tents being erected, semi trailers parked all over, and t-shirts were for sale in abundance. We wanted around for a while until we realized we just needed to find dinner and go home, so we did.
Eating breakfast before riding. Someone said "enough with the food pictures Clay", but I find it's aobut the only way to see faces
Parked at Crazy Horse
Crazy Horse Monument
Parked at Mt Rushmore
Nan and I at Mt Rushmore
Beautiful road
More nice road
Sturgis
Iron Mountain Road
At 8:10 we loaded up the bikes and headed South on Highway 385.
The sky was completely clear and the sun was slowly warming up from 70 degrees. It was so wonderful to ride on these pristine roads with so little traffic to bother us. I've heard that the state spends allot of money fixing roads and sweeping them before the Sturgis rally. We aren't going to attend the rally, but we get the same benefit without the crowds and congestion by coming a few weeks early.
We chatted and joked on the CB radio as we rode along. The longer you ride together, the more little quirks and stories that come up that you can joke back and forth about. We've already got quite a few things that we tease each other with while we ride. And of course there are the trucks, cars, and other slow pokes on the road to make fun of.
Only one of the bikes is lacking a CB radio, and they are always suspicious that we are really joking about them all of the time. That's just not true, it's only most of the time. I'm pretty sure that he'll get a CB radio on his bike in time for next summer's big ride.
Our ride down to the Crazy Horse Memorial was uneventful, other than having to endure a few slow vehicles. We had to pay $5 per bike to get in, but I think it's worth it. Others weren't sure.
The memorial is progressing very slowly. There didn't even seem to be anyone on the mountain today.
Some of us watched the video, and others wandered the native american artifacts and trinkets. We got some pictures, then loaded up and prepared for the next part of the trip.
From Crazy Horse, we rode south to the town of Custer and turned east. The road winds through some small hills and forest East of town until we reached the south end of the Needles Highway. We had to pay $10 per vehicle this time. They strapped a little tag on each bike so they could tell that we had indeed payed.
The needles highway is well maintained, but it is a tiny road. Often it is about 1 1/2 lanes wide so cars have to pick and choose the spots where they will pass. And it winds all over the place. Lots of switchbacks, changing radius turns, climbs, descents, and off camber surface.
In other words, it's a great motorcycle road and we all loved it.
I knew from a previous ride that we would come to a section that was 1 lane wide and fairly long. As we approached that section, we saw allot of cars lined up, and many others pulled over to the side.
We asked some of the people along the road about what was happening, and someone said that a trailer had gotten stuck, and everyone had to turn around. So we turned around to go all the way back the way we had come.
But Drew chimed in over the radio and said he didn't want to give up that easily. He told us all to pull over in a little scenic overlook and he'd got back to check on what was really going on.
A few minutes later, he came over the CB to tell us that there was no stuck trailer, it was just the normal backup as cars in each direction tried to make their way through the narrow section. It was very lucky that Drew checked, or we'd have wasted an hour backtracking when we didn't need to.
We pulled back out onto the road, and within 10 minutes we were through the rocks and out the other side. It was pretty cool to ride through. It wasn't a tunnel or a cave, but 2 sheer rock faces that are about 10 foot apart, just wide enough for a normal lane of traffic.
Once we were back on open road, we started discussing plans. The majority of us wanted food, and wanted it soon. The nearest town was "Hill", so we headed there and found a cafe to eat at.
After lunch we head for Mt Rushmore. It was only about 20 miles away and we made it there quickly. They don't change you admission to get into Rushmore, but instead, they charge you for parking. So my national park pass does absolutely nothing.
We got a little split up in the parking garage, but eventually, most of us made our way to level 6 where we could park the bikes and get a picture with Mt Rushmore behind us.
I think its cool to walk up the flag lined walkway towards the monument. It's a very majestic view. Nannette and I got a great picture on our way in.
Most of us went down stairs to the museum, but a few of us went to walk up to the monument, and a few others went for ice cream. I went for the museum. Nan and I also watched the video about the making of the monument.
When we left the video it was raining. We stared out at the rain for a while and hoped it would end soon, but it just kept going.
After 20 minutes, Nan and I decided to run to the store out front to browse. We rode the elevator up, then dashed from overhang to overhang until we were nearly out.
On our right was the souvenir shop and on the left was an ice cream shop. I shouted back to Nannette to ask which she wanted and she looked at me like I was crazy. We headed left.
We split a soft serve raspberry cone and sat watching it rain. Suddenly it changed from rain to hail and really poured down hard. It continued for about a minute, then abruptly ended. People almost ran out the doors for cars or the museum or the outside tables. Just like that the walkways were packed with people.
We waited a bit, then headed for the motorcycles to meet up with everyone.
Nan was getting tired, so she opted to head back to the hotel and we said goodbye.
Then the rest of use mounted up and headed for the town of Keystone to get some gas. Once that was done, we turned south on highway 16A, one of the most famous and popular roads in the area. It's also known as Iron Mountain Road.
Iron Mountain Road has several one lane tunnels, and 3 bridges that loop back 360 degrees and cross over themselves. It's a really cool way to climb up a steep hill, rather than using switchbacks.
I was trying to get a 360 video of the road, so I stopped briefly turn my camera on and got seperated from the other bikes with some cars between us. When I got going again, I couldn't make my camera work right. I think the battery was dead. I eventually gave up and stopped for a bit to plug the camera in to charge.
I tried to catch up with everyone else, but it's nearly impossible to pass anyone on these narrow winding roads and I just had to content myself with riding and enjoying the road. I could occasionally hear the others chatting on the CB, but they never could hear me.
It also continued to sprinkle on us as we road. Even though the heavy rain had ended, there was a slow trickle continuing to fall and it kept the roads wet and the air muggy.
Finally near the end of the road, about 16 miles, I spotted the others coming back up, so I flipped around to follow them.
Riding a road like this in both directions is almost like riding a whole new road. You see different sights, and the road feels completely different. It was even more so, because the rain finally ended completely and the road dried out and got much easier to take at speed.
We flew back up the road until we pulled up behind a full size tour bus. I'm not sure if the bus intended to take the small tunnels and the 360 bridges, but it did pull over and let us pass.
We stopped at a scenic overlook and I hooked the camera back up and chugged a ton of water to help alleviate a leg cramp.
Once again we went through the tunnels and bridges, but this time I was able to get a few 360 videos.
From Iron Mountain road we headed into Rapid City, then as quickly as we could, headed right back out on Nemo road and finally Vanochre road. Those two roads were not nearly as twisty but instead, they had big, wide, sweeping turns that you could ride at high speed. We loved the ride at the end of the day, but my wrist was actually getting tired from all of the technical riding and throttle twisting.
It was nice when we got to the town of Sturgis and parked to find dinner.
The town is clearly getting ready for the big rally that will start in a few weeks. There were huge tents being erected, semi trailers parked all over, and t-shirts were for sale in abundance. We wanted around for a while until we realized we just needed to find dinner and go home, so we did.
Eating breakfast before riding. Someone said "enough with the food pictures Clay", but I find it's aobut the only way to see faces
Parked at Crazy Horse
Crazy Horse Monument
Parked at Mt Rushmore
Nan and I at Mt Rushmore
Beautiful road
More nice road
Sturgis
Iron Mountain Road
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