Thursday, Aug 5, 2010
This morning was the official change of ownership of Jeff's company, UniTek to Arnold Jaeger GmbH of Hannover Germany. Did the speech thing for our folks, had a picnic lunch and left by 11:30a. It was a very moving and emotional day for me as I felt like I had sold my children. Sometimes the right decision is the hardest to make. Now I can concentrate on teaching at ND.
Hopped on Bernie 2 my trusty new black Honda Goldwing at noon to begin the 1020 mile trek to Sturgis, SD for its annual Bike Week. Kathy is flying out to Rapid City on Sunday to meet me. We have room reservations in Custer, SD, near Mt Rushmore from Sunday to Wed, when she has to fly home; darn work!! She should be a college professor and have the whole summer off like yours truly.
To avoid the boring and congested traffic around Chicago, I opted to head north to Muskegon, Michigan, and take the car ferry across Lake Michigan to Milwaukee. It was a three hour cruise on a rather small catamaran ferry that was pretty fast at 35 mph. The lake was calm and you hardly knew you were at sea. A nice experience. I pulled up behind about 15 Harley Davidson motos carrying the usually decked out Harley Guys and Girls; Halloween costumes to be sure (bad Jeff. Owned a few Harleys myself and loved 'em; just don't like the Motor Company's lemming marketing bent). Nice and friendly folks who were headed to Sturgis, too. Had a nice nap in the luxurious passenger cabin and arrived in Milwaukee around 6:30p.
I will say that it is impossible not to run into constant road construction almost everywhere in the US. I guess the "hopey, changy" deficits are doing some good and I wish to thank my children and their children for paying the tax increases needed to keep the US out of bankruptcy. Opps, not supposed to be political here. My democrat leaning spouse will tsk, tsk me.
Wisconsin is very scenic; lots of cows and white barns and farm houses. Rolling hills and big sweeping highways.
I did not have a hotel reservation for tonight, but was able to find a nice County Inns and Suites just outside Madison, WI, with about 250 miles under me for the day. I purposely drove through Madison to see the University of WI and wow, what a campus; it's huge. Ate dinner at a really nice restaurant next to the motel that was built in 1855 but fortunately the food was not. Great ribs and a tasty Manhattan to wash down the road dust.
Tomorrow I head west to Rock Rapids, IA, where I do have a reservation in what appears to be a nice mom and pop motel. I try very hard to stay off the interstates and use the "Blue and Red Line" roads, which is the case for the rest of the 900 miles I have ahead of me to Custer. My route runs just south of I-90 and takes me through Wounded Knee, SD and the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. I am told is one of the most poverty stricken reservations in the US. Hope no one is on the warpath with bikers in their sights. With 200,000 bikers headed into Sturgis they will have a target rich environment if they are cranky. More tomorrow with photos if I can figure out how to cut and paste them on a blog. How about me!! Blogger Jeff!! Bud Melton, it was easy to set up at bloodspot.com.
Happy trails all.
Day Two
Ronald Reagan was right when he said that cattle and pigs are one of the great contributors to global warming. Whoa, hundreds of tre-smelly farms along the way today. Too bad we cannot bottle up the methane gas I smelled today and use it to heat our homes.
Just over 400 easy miles today. Left Verona,WI, this morning at 8a with my route planned to go west on 18, to Prairie du Chien, IA, and go north to Iowa 9 and stay on it to Rock Rapids, IA, which is at its western boarder just east of Sioux Falls. Found a really nice side road from Prairie du Chien to Waukon, IA; hilly with big sweepers and beautiful scenery. The rest of the trip seemed like sailing through a sea of corn and soy beans. Hundreds of miles of the stuff. Iowa appears to be one of the big wind farm states as I passed by a great deal of them. Beautiful farms with terrain that gradually went from hilly and grew flat. I am choosing roads south of I-90 and have seen far fewer bikers on this route. I am staying at the Four Seasons . . . . . . a $50/night motel in Rock Rapids and it has a number of vacancies with no Harley guys. Nice and clean with a good air conditioner as temps grew from 70 to 88 along the way, but no rain, thankfully. Had a really good rib eye and all the fixings tonight for $20, plus tip.
Iowa is always a pleasant surprise for me; the north is really quite lovely and the people very friendly. No traffic at all with times where I did not see another vehicle for 5 minutes or more. Lots of well maintained large farms filled with global warming causing critters.
Bernie is running great and getting about 42 miles per gal at 60 mph. Well, maybe 65, but the legal limit is 55, which no one pays attention to out here. You can get run over by a farm tractor if you are doing the speed limit.
My iPod is loaded with 6 books on tape, so I have lots of "reading" to keep my mind occupied along the way. There are times when just the sound of the bike moving through the sea of air is all I need and it creates a good time to just think about things. Getting a little existential here, but it is a real treat to just ponder the path of life from time-to-time.
I bought a Nolan helmet at Wing Ding last month with installed ear speakers and a flip down sun visor that is a real great feature. Looks kind of like a fighter pilots' helmet. Nice and quiet, too.
Tomorrow I keep heading west to Custer, SD, and the Bavarian Motel where we will spend four nights and do day tours of the parks and, of course, check out all the folks in leather and lace at Deadwood and Sturgis. Lots of naughty goings on in the camp grounds I am told, but have never visited. Will have to this time. Four friends from La Porte will be there and we will meet up with them for touring and meals. And, who would want to miss the fun at the Full Throttle Saloon? Girls in bikinis selling beer . . . . there is a god.
I found out that I will be doing a WPO aircraft carrier trip Aug 16-19. I have done this two other times and was thrilled by the experience. I leave for San Diego on Monday, 8-16. there are just 12 going, so I feel pretty fortunate to be able to attend again. Will blog this adventure, too.
Time to get some sleep; I want to be on the road by 6:30a to beat some of the heat tomorrow. Weather is predicted to be in the mid to high 80s with a chance of t-storms. Bernie could use a good hosing right now as he is covered with dead bugs. I plan on running SD 44 to 42 and then south around the Pine Ridge Indiana Reservation on SD 18 before heading up to Custer. Should be another day of motorcycle heaven. Plus, 470 miles on secondary roads makes for a long and tiring day.
Day Three
Rock Rapids, IA to Custer, SD
6:30a wheels up for the ride to Custer while the temps were cool. High temps predicted into the 90s and they were right. Picked up SD 42W, headed through Sioux Falls and into the prairie and more corn, soy beans and the beginnings of the ranch lands with lots of hay harvesting. Turned west on SD 44 and took a road straight as an arrow for a few hundred miles until turning south west onto SD 18 to Pine Ridge Reservation, which is a poverty stricken and shameful corner of America. Wounded Knee is one of the reservation's towns with its own sordid history.
The town of Pine Ridge is a dusty, worn down, litter encrusted town that I was only too glad to escape as SD 18 headed north to Custer. But, wait, first you have to surf through five miles of a road that has been bull dozed down to fluffy sand and dirt with a few sections of baseball sized gravel. Now, a dirt bike would have been great fun, but a loaded down, top heavy Goldwing brought twenty minutes of sheer terror as it sank below the tire rims and slewed from side to side. Do not use the front break at all in that crap or you will go down. While I came close, Bernie kept me right side up and came out of the morass no worse for the wear but absolutely filthy. Oh, did I mention the two semi trucks tearing down the road trailing a wake of dust that turned the sky into night. No instrument flying on a motorcycle. I did somehow manage to rip of a nice one finger salute, which made me feel better, but did nothing to cut the dust cloud. As usual, there were NO highway signs warning of the road construction. Same thing happened last month in Wyoming going over a mountain pass east of Jackson Hole. Thanks DOT. One of the downsides of avoiding interstates, but it was an adventure.
The temp was in the high 90s for a good part of the ride through the reservation, but started to moderate as I climbed up the hills toward Custer and eventually hit a nice and dry 85F near Custer.
Started to see lots more bikes along the road with a large group of shiny, buffed up, muffler less Harleys headed straight for the construction I had just escaped. Opps.
Rolled into Custer at 2:30p dusty and thirsty, found the Bavarian Hotel, a nice two star motel trying make you think you were in Germany; not. Clean, good air-con and close to Custer.
Washed my filthy clothes, motorcycle and me and felt a great deal better after a nice nap and headed toward Rapid City to meet up with some friends from La Porte. After just missing the fifth white tail deer on the road and night beginning to fall I did a u-turn and headed back to Custer succumbing to caution for a change. I did get to see Mt. Rushmore glowing from the setting sun; a moving experience. George W, looks very dignified with the sun shining on his two story nose.
Had a nice wiener schnitzel at my motel's restaurant, after, of course a couple of very well made and ice cold Manhattans.
Time to turn in and get some sleep. I pick up my sweet Kate at the Rapid City airport at 9:30a and head to the Badlands and Wall Drug playing tourist along the way.
Day Four
Sunday, August 8, 2010
Custer, South Dakota
A good day as Kathy was delivered to me by United Airlines this morning and I feel complete now. She is a great traveler and companion; rarely complains and seems to enjoy our travels as much as I.
We headed to Badlands National Park from the airport. Kathy only had three hours sleep the night before arriving, so I thought a trip around the park, lunch at the famous Wall Drug in Wall, SD, and then head for Custer was a nice short day. The Badlands are awesome and we shared them with a few thousand bikers and other cowering tourists. The roar of HDs cannot be avoided anywhere for the next week or so. I purchased a Nat’l Park Life Time Senior Pass for ten bucks a year or so ago, which has been a real money saver. If you are over 62, get one. There are a few perks to getting older. Cannot think of any more right now.
Wall Drug is still as kitschy as ever and fun to see. We had a nice lunch, me a delicious buffalo burger before casing the town of Wall. Even had a nice cool cup of water from the original well used to tempt tourists off the road in the 1930s. Kathy was now really tired and slept on my back as we flew down I-90 to Rapid City, through Mt Rushmore and back to Custer. Saw a great t-shirt on I-90 as I was passing a Harley guy that said, "Nice Trailer - Pussy." Those who ride the whole way to Sturgis look down on the folks that trailer their bikes. As it was 95 degrees out, the air conditioned vehicles pulling their bikes looked inviting Ah, but testosterone rules for hard core moto boys and girls. I am seeing a lot more women riding their own bikes this year; bravo!
We had a nice German meal and a great Hefe Weitzen beer to wash it down with and then headed to bed. Kathy is out like a light and it's only 8:30p
Tomorrow we hit Mt Rushmore, Custer Nat’l Park and then head to Sturgis for the opening day of Bike Week. Anyone want a t-shirt?
Day Five
Custer National Park, Mt. Rushmore, and Crazy Horse
Now that I have my sweet Kathryn with me we are back on the Bernel Vacation Schedule; roll out of bed around 8a, have breakfast and hit the road at 10a. Stop for breaks about once per hour, play our day by ear and enjoy the day. When I travel alone, I stop when the gas tank gets dry and 500+ mile days of non interstate roads are the norm.
Dan Spoor, Jim Anderson, Tim Daniels and Jim Parks from La Porte stopped by for coffee this morning and we had a nice visit. They were headed to parts unknown and we were headed to breakfast. Will probably meet up with them tomorrow for a ride or a meal or perhaps both.
We fired up Bernie and took a ride through Custer, a rustic and very western town. You can easily find the bars due to all the Harleys parked out front; even at 10:30a. From there we headed to Custer State Park and the really wonderful road that draws its circumference. Big hills and twistys with lots of fun whoop-di-doos (a technical term). We took a side detour to Mt. Rushmore, but the entrance was literally crammed with bikes, so we opted to do head to Keystone, fuel up and finish the Custer trip after which we headed back to Rushmore. It was far less crowded and we enjoyed the visit. The monument is very impressive and well worth the time and energy to visit. Kathy took great photos of the dead presidents.
The number of bikes here is beyond belief, literally tens of thousands roaring around the Black Hills. Most not paying much attention to their riding and many very novice riders who should not be on some of the more difficult roads. I have to concentrate so hard that much of the scenery is missed while trying to navigate the constant heavy motorcycle traffic.
From Rushmore it was off to Crazy Horse Monument, another destination well worth the time. It is nowhere near finished and is about 10 times the scope of Rushmore. Then back to our motel to rest our weary buns and have dinner.
Tomorrow is Sturgis and perhaps Devil's Tower if it is not too hot.
So, let me talk a little about the details of this kind of travel. Motorcycles are not for everyone as they require a bit more risk and a lot more attention to safety training than most people are willing to devote to the effort. However, if you really enjoy it, there is no better way to see the world. You ride in the world on two wheels rather than through it. Melissa Holbrook Pierson wrote, "The Perfect Vehicle: What Is It About Motorcycles." and is far better at getting into the heart of why I love motorcycling than this scribe can do justice. When it's hot you are hot, when cold, cold, when raining wet, but still it is intoxicating. You get sunburned, dirty, sweaty, are sometime invisible to four wheelers who think nothing of cutting you off or turning in front of you at the most inconvenient times. But, lots of experience, good safety training and wearing the right gear can make a huge difference in your safety and enjoyment. You meet the nicest people and are never without someone to help if you have a breakdown. Any motorcyclist will stop to help if you find yourself on the side of the road with a problem.
The machine; I have owned all sorts in my fifty years of riding and they all were a hoot. From my first 50cc Honda, Yamahas, Triumphs, BSAs, BMWs, Harleys and now the powerful and fun Goldwing. All have brought me great pleasure and an unequaled sense of freedom. They have taken me through Africa, Canada, Europe, Tibet, Nepal, and South America and all over the US. Just his year we have logged over ten thousand miles in the US between the end of May and today. I really don't much care what someone rides, but there are many who very closely identify with specific brands, the biggest of course, is Harley Davidson. The "Motor Company" is a brilliant business whose marketing strategy is legendary. And, they make one hell of a nice motorcycle. I have owned many of them and have never had a serious mechanical problem. Would love to own a dealership.
My newest bike has been a work in process and is now about customized to my particular likes. At 65 I really strive for comfort and power and Bernie brings it on in style. For touring there are few equals; perhaps the Harley Ultra and the BMW K1200LT are really close. They each bring their own culture and fans. My all time favorite is BMWs R1200GS, on/off road wiz bang of a stump puller that is more fun than anything I have ridden. Any biker will tell you that a new motorcycle is like a blank canvas that needs to be customized to suit the owner and fortunately the big bike makers are very happy to provide all the bling you can afford. Me, I was after a comfortable saddle (the beaded mats that cab drivers use are by far the best addition), cruise control, good wind and environmental protection, and a really big set of brakes to haul the beast to a quick stop when needed. I also like the new integrated iPod systems as I can listen to audio books and my own choice of music. My new bike has XM radio, traffic, and weather screens that are pretty nice too. They can be distractions and need to be used wisely. GPS is a must and the Garmin Zumo motorcycle GPS units are awesome. You still need a map to keep your sense of place on the earth and keep the GPS honest. GPSs are only as good as the person programming them and are sometimes surprisingly inaccurate.
So, with very little space, what do you carry on long trips? Thank heavens for laundromats as a majority space is taken for tools, rain gear, electrically heated vests/jackets, and very little for clothing. Four shirts, two riding pants, a pair of shorts, some underwear and a small shave kit can last for weeks if you do it right. Generally you have to burn them at the end of a trip as you cannot stand to look at them ever again. A good helmet and riding suit is a must. I really like the Aerostich brand, but have been using a Tourmaster Sonora mesh jacket this trip that works really well in the heat; it has ample protective pads, is comfortable and lets air flow right through it, almost as nice as a t-shirt. Good waterproof boots, (I like the BMW brand made by Sidi of Italy, dry as a bone in a gully washer) good leather gloves, ear plugs (Etymotic ones are the best) and a sense of adventure. I saw a t-shirt that said "Some that wander are not lost" that I want to get.
In the end, it is for me, "an adventure." A way to get out of the day-to-day routine and see and feel the great outdoors with your best friend/s. Love it.
Well enough drivel. More tomorrow.
Day Six
Custer to Sturgis
Today we took the plunge and headed to the rocking town of Sturgis and the official Bike Week action center. We opted to try and avoid some of the crazy traffic on the more direct route by taking the long way from Custer to Sturgis, by going west on SD 16 to Newcastle, WY, and then north on 85 to Lead, Deadwood and then Sturgis. It is a lovely ride into the eastern hills of Wyoming; nice rolling country side with a couple of nice passes over 6000 feet. Traffic was light as most bikers were headed south to Custer and points west.
Lead and Deadwood were jumping towns with hundreds of bikes everywhere; no make that thousands. Everybody was in costume pretending to be tough biker boys and girls. Lots of vests, halter tops and chaps to be viewed and a new twist, bikini clad girls doing bike washes. There was more leather to be seen than in the Calgary Stampede. The majority of the ladies should not leave home looking like that; some rough sisters out there. I am glad I don't own a helmet store as business would have been non-existent. Lots of do-rags and bandanas set in place to prevent head trauma in case of a get off. So far the rally has only killed 4 people and when you consider there are more than 200,000 bikes here, it's a pretty low number, but the week just started and the beer hasn't run out.
Deadwood is a very old Wild West gold mining town that now mines its gold from tourist’s wallets. Casinos abound surrounded by lots of bars and restaurants.
On to Sturgis. We slowed to a crawl after reaching the SD 385/I-90 exit and slowly putted into the town. There are hundreds of vendors along all roads and Main St. was choked with bikes. Kathy took lots of photos we will share with you when I arrive home this weekend. It was HOG heaven, but we did see an occasional metric bike in the mix. It truly looked like a Halloween party where everyone was required to wear leather everything. Body painting seems to be the thing, too as I saw a few very lovely girls going topless with their boobs airbrushed to look like they had a halter top on. Sorry, but it did not cover things at all well, thankfully. Woo whooooo!!!
Kathy had custom ear plugs made, finally, so hopefully her hearing will now be saved during future rides. I kept mine in the whole day as the constant roar of un-mufflered HDs was deafening. Parked on Main St. were thousands of motorcycles and even more people. Tattoo and "body art" parlors were on each corner with t-shirt shops, beer joints, and county fair food to feast on. The Christian Motorcycle Assn. was carrying out the word of the bible to folks who probably had not seen the insider of a church in decades. And, more chaps with bikini bottoms and tops sashaying down every street. Kathy took lots of photos, to show her son Brian, of course.
We visited the HD display and saw some awesome custom made bikes and took lots of photos of them, too.
On to the new Full Throttle Saloon just east of Sturgis. A very enterprising fellow built the world's largest biker bar and it was not to be missed. Again, hundreds of bikes and bikers lined up at the more than 15 bars being served by bikini clad bartenders, who on occasion would jump up on the bar and disco naughtily. I, of course averted my eyes to the whole thing while Kathy took even more photos. There was a really good rock band playing the whole time, too. The weather was perfect with temps in the mid 80s with a nice breeze.
After buying a couple of t-shirts it was time to run the 75 miles back to Custer before nightfall and the emergence of all the cute bambis who like to graze on asphalt and trip up motorcyclists. There are even signs warning you to beware of mountain goats; ouch!! Actually, it was the beer addled biker that created the most fear. Some of those folks should not be out there.
Now, I was dumbfounded at the number of motorcycles headed north on SD 385 from Mt Rushmore and other venues. Literally, there had to be over fifteen thousand motorcycles along the 75 miles from Sturgis to Custer. Rolling thunder squared. Kathy was pleased with her new ear plugs. Amazing; you really have to see it to believe your eyes and, of course, ears.
Kate and I had a nice rib dinner in Custer, did some window shopping and headed home for a good night's rest.
More tomorrow; Kathy catches her plane home and I begin the trek across America the beautiful on my trusty steed, Bernie 2.
Day Seven
Custer to Watertown, SD
Wednesday, time to hit the road for home; not literally I hope. Kathy's plane to Chicago departed at 2p, so we had a nice leisurely morning at the hotel, a late breakfast and then loaded up Bernie and headed to Rapid City Regional Airport. Her plane was on time and I headed east planning to take a more northerly route into Minnesota and then south to home. My ride took me back through the Badlands on Rte 44 and them up to Wall and I-90. From there I worked my way up to SD 212 and headed east. Hot, 97 degrees for most of the day and windy from the south. More torn up roads to deal with, but still managed to put 446 miles under me by nightfall when I stopped in Watertown, SD. Wish I had my shotgun with me as I must have seen hundreds of ring neck pheasants wandering along the road.
Eastern SD is vast rolling land that started brown and dry with just hay fields and slowly turned green beginning with sunflower fields, then corn and soy as I wandered ever eastward.
Speed limits are a nice 65 mph on SD's back roads so I made pretty good time with the exception of 15 miles of road construction ranging from hard dry dirt to deep dirt and then chip and seal. Poor Bernie looks awful as some of the dirt has been watered down to prevent dust, therefore mud. You have to force yourself to relax in that quagmire, use only the rear brake and drive with just your fingertips on the handlebars and let the bike plow its own way.
Had a nice pork chop and headed for a good night's sleep. Tried to contact Larry Abdo to see if he was free for lunch tomorrow, but no reply as of yet.
That's it for today.
Day Eight – Final Day
Watertown, SD - La Porte, IN
I finally fell asleep around 12a and purposely did not set an alarm clock intending to let my internal clock wake me up when I was fully rested know it would be a very long day on the road. I hit the road about 8:30a, Thursday, 8/12, with about 700 miles ahead of me and it was already 82 degrees and very humid; little did I know that would be the coolest part of the ride.
I wanted to stop in Minneapolis to visit with my good friend Larry Abdo for lunch and he was fortunately available. Larry and his wife Karyl own the lovely Nicolette Island Inn located downtown and where I met him for lunch. We both have had our challenges during this last economic meltdown, so it was nice to be able to share thoughts and experiences with one of the brightest and nicest entrepreneur I know.
Returned to the road around 2p and headed south for the barn. Only had one near incident when I stopped for gas and a Gatorade in northern Wisconsin. I left the lights on while enjoying the cool climate in the gas station and the bike would not start when I go on to leave. So, remembering my days with a un-trust worthy English car, I paddled down the, fortunately the station was on a hill, drive way, popped the clutch in second gear, the engine came to life and away we flew, whew!!
From Minneapolis to home I was welded to I-/94/90/80 the whole way much to my normal distaste. Without this route, I would not have been able clock the 700 miles needed to get me home. I wanted to sleep in my own bed after so many nights in a motel.
Thoughts about the trip. I think it is a good thing to visit Sturgis once in one’s life, but to do it on a yearly basis like many do, is not my cup of tea. We really enjoyed riding in the Black Hills, Custer State Park, the Badlands, Mt. Rushmore and Crazy Horse Mountain, even with thousands of other people on loud bikes intent on the same experience. I would go in June or late August if we decided to do it again.
My poor bike looks like it has hair growing on its front from all the bugs that committed hari kari on it. Off to the high pressure car wash first and then a good cleaning by hand tomorrow. And, it is time to buy new tires after 11,000 miles of driving since June 1, 2010.
Final Statistics: 2705 miles traveled. 65.9 Gallons of 87 Octane Fuel used at an average of 41 mpg.
Photos can be found at http://www.webshots.com/, under jbernel.
Thanks for 'listening'.
Jeff & Kate
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