Gremlin's Tall Stories

I had planned an early start to get lots of riding in the Black Hills done during the day. Rose after 10am, faffed around, watched crap on TV (50+ channels there will always be something interesting), programmed and researched the routes for the GPS and just as I was ready to head out (geared up etc.) there is a knock on my door.

Gary and Barbara are considering new helmets and comms gear inside the helmets, but want to check with me if it will be suitable. Easy enough, as I was heading out anyway, so I follow them along to the Honda shop down the road.

They were looking at scala rider headsets, and had asked to have them put aside until they could confirm with me. I checked the power packs for charging were dual voltage (so either 110V or 220V could be used without transformers) and they were. Asked about the warranty, it wasn’t international, so effectively they would buy new without a warranty. In the end, they bought the helmets, not the comms gear, but did buy some other stuff, spending almost a US grand.

I waited around, to make sure they could haul all of the gear back to the Hotel, and even took some pictures for proof. They were good to go, so I left them to it and headed out south, then the road to Sheridan Lake. I messed up leaving Rapid City, expecting I would see another gas station, then suddenly I’m on a highway with no u-turns. Not to worry, there will be something up the road and I still have gas in the tank.

Sure enough, as I start going through the backroads, there is a gas station… except they don’t have 91. Ken warned us about that, that the rural stations would have 87, 88 and 89 or something like that. To be safe, I turn around, back to Rapid City and fill with gas. Its early afternoon, so I decide lunch might as well be now and grab a sandwich. Other bikers are there, so I end up chatting to them, and photograph a neat trike (this still will be normal in Sturgis).

Finally on the road, both the bike and I topped up, it was out to Hill City… no surprises, it was also full of bikes, the main street blocked off to cars, and a single row of bikes parked down the centre of the street (plus the sides). Leaving Hill City the threatening rain turned into real rain, all the bikers are scampering for cover. I photograph it for the fun of it and carry on, knowing once it stops I’ll dry out fast.

South on 385, then 16, I’d completely forgotten about the Crazy Horse Memorial, but once I see the traffic, I decide to divert. $5 gets me entry, once again, there are bikes everywhere. The memorial is taking years to complete as they are carving a figure of the Indian Crazy Horse out of the side of a mountain. Federal funding has been declined and it’s being done privately. I think they started in the 60s. Once complete, it will be huge. There was a bus offering a trip out to the mountain (for an extra fee of course) so I avoided that, got the patch of the memorial and walked out of the very commercial visitor centre.

I tried some back country routes, they are all labelled CR for County Route, usually gravel, but there wasn’t anything exciting on CR-284 and CR-286 and they were basic gravel roads. A bit of time wasted, onto 16 and aiming for 385, I was distracted by a leather shop. I was after a bit of leather like bison or elk but finding the right size was difficult and the woman unhelpful with what leather was what. I did have a quick chat to a guy that had come on a Harley, and was considering a GSA. I listed out all the good stuff.

I took 385 all the way into Wind Cave National Park then headed north on 87, which was a great bit of road, really tight and winding. Saw a bison casually sitting in his patch that was completely devoid of grass, no fences between me and him. It’s been amusing a lot of us… if there are animals or lightning, stay in your car is the official advice… not much use for us is it? I ended up getting stuck behind a car with two kids hanging out the roof, but finally got past.

From there, as I headed further into the park, there was some wildlife roaming and I got really up and close with a couple of deer. I stopped to take photos, and suddenly, they’re walking towards me, very curious. I thought they were going to come all the way up, but soon enough got spooked and headed back into the road side. The rain started coming down and I decided to throw on my rain jacket to stop myself from getting too wet. Passing through other major roads in the park the bike traffic increases and I even spot a Boss Hoss in one small gas station. Opposite is a random building, presumably offering alcohol and snacks as there are plenty of bikes parked outside.]

Cresting one of the passes, I found a nice gravel road to the top, offering excellent views, at least, if it wasn’t raining so hard. I saw some lightning and took some good photos, watching the Harleys go slow in the rain. Reaching the intersection of 87 and 16ALT I simply had to stop and take a photo of clumps of bikes, all stopped presumably because it was raining. It was really quite hilarious.

Continuing through Custer State Park I had to pay the entry fee of $10, as they didn’t take the annual pass. The ranger asked if I knew where I was going, so I told him the details, and he said I obviously knew (well… whatever google and Mapsource has). I told him I had the extra clothing if needed, showing I was quite prepared. Sometimes they will close roads if the conditions worsen, especially when there is lightning or bad rain.

I stayed on 87, which was the Needles Highway, and what a magic road. There was no centre line for a good section of it and it was very tight in places. I was glad to be on a bike, as I was narrower than a car. The views of the ranges was brilliant and I even caught up to another GSA who was with some Harley mates (the poor guy, I know the feeling). I passed through several tunnels, one of them surprisingly tight. I’m not sure your average RV would be Ok. I saw the other GSA come through, and it sure looked like a little tunnel.

Reaching Sylvan Lake, the views of the mountains in the background, with a foreground of the lake, it was beautiful. Unfortunately, parking was heavily restricted, and I couldn’t be bothered walking, so I took pictures and moved on. 87 then had a series of switchbacks which were a lot of fun. I came across a trio of Harleys that were quite respectable in their pace, but they waved me through. I stopped to take pictures, then caught up again, and they waved me through again.

Up 87, onto 385 briefly (which was full of traffic), 244 to Mount Rushmore was quieter than I expected, but it was late in the afternoon, which probably explained it. The heads of Mount Rushmore were actually a little disappointing. I refused to pay to enter the memorial area just for a few photos, so took them from the road. I really expected the heads to be far bigger. I mean, they’re not small, it’s something like 11 feet between the eyes, I simply expected them to be bigger, kind of like the scale Crazy Horse is going to be on.

I went south on 16ALT, and this was a different road. It featured tunnels and even what they called Pigtail Bridges, which were basically spirals to allow an increase in elevation. I tried taking a few photos of them, but they don’t completely capture the fun and especially the engineering required for bridges that aren’t level, straight or flat. Something else I hadn’t seen was splitting the two flows of traffic. There were a couple of sections of one way road, only 1 lane wide winding their way through the trees. Fortunately, there was no traffic, so it was a lot of fun.

As 16ALT headed south, I cut north on CR-359, saw some deer but couldn’t get photos and saw some turkeys that kept running off and crossing the road in front of vehicles. Before continuing north on Rockerville Rd I quickly went into Keystone to see what it was like. It was after 6pm, so it was very quiet, but quite cute, with only a few hundred people living there. Retracing my steps I used Rockerville Rd to head north and then 16 to Rapid City.

A cop was sitting waiting for suitable bait on the entry to Rapid City, but my radar detector stopped me from chatting to him. Instead, I went around him in the middle of the highway to stop on the other side and capture some of the sunset shortly before 8pm. Much to my delight, some settings changes gave me the lit foreground, without washing out the colour of the sunset.

Back at the hotel, I just catch people before they’re heading off for dinner. The Dargaville crew highly recommend an Irish Bar, Murphys for some Shepherds Pie, and that solves my dilemma of choosing a dinner. Ken, Jan and I find Gary and Barbara already there, Shepherds Pie is quickly ordered and it comes quite quickly. It’s delicious and I can’t help but have their cheesecake dessert. Good food, reasonable prices, can’t ask for much more.

I photograph a trike on the way back to the Hotel and turn in for the night.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/5q6kxTfNLg1Hrjuu6