Day 40: July 11th, Surrounded by a Herd of Bison

Another perfect day to ride in South Dakota!  After a delicious breakfast at the Hotel we headed to Mount Rushmore enjoying the sights along the way.  As we were walking into the shop area of the Park we came upon HOG members from Belgium.  Naturally we had to take a zillion pics of the group of us.

 

Day 39: July 10th, Riding the Badlands

After an excellent breakfast (omelet and pancakes) we headed east out of town to the Badlands.  This was a very fun ride.  We stopped along the road, there was very little traffic, shut the bikes down, removed the helmets, and just listened to the wind rustling the leaves and the hay.  Pretty cool.

At a bridge we took some photos of the area and also of the park sign.  Then we were at a gift shop at the east end of the Badlands and from there we rode to I-90 returning to Rapid City and HGI for dinner.  I rode from the gift shop to Wall where we picked up I-90 sans helmet.  Pretty cool.  I did this once before with Buzz when we rode the Keys and he stashed the helmet in the trunk of his Ultra Classic.  It is just a great feeling having the wind running all around your head!

Day 38: July 9th, Famous Wall Drug!

We had a nice breakfast at the motel then loaded up and hit the road taking 29 north to I-90 at Sioux Falls west to Rapid City.  As we passed through Sioux City I got momentarily confused as I was expecting I-90 to show up but it didn’t.  Then, remembering to use the Garmin, I got reoriented to the correct locations.

Before I forget, while we were loading and getting ready to ride to Rapid City a truck driver came up to us to chat.  I asked where was he from and he said BC, Canada.  He needed to exchange $35 Canadian for American so I traded him for it.  I figure I’ll use the coins when I’m in Winnipeg Manitoba for the Three Flags Classic

The ride on 29 and 90 was a repeat of last year’s ride when I headed to Rapid City from Nashville.  Only last year I stayed in quarters on Ellsworth Air Force Base that is located nearby.  But the ride is still the same….it is long.  Some folks think it is boring, but I find the endless rolling hills and visibility for miles very fascinating.

The thrill of the day came, however, when we finally reached Wall Drug.  Neither Buzz nor I had never been there.  There were many visitors but we easily found a parking slot and went into the Drug Store. 

Wall Drug is HUGE!  It is about the size of 5 normal stores back home!  Everything that could be sold is on the shelves here.  There is even a restaurant and ice cream bar in the store.  Buzz and I had a cone of favorite flavor and enjoyed eating it as we checked out all the merchandise.

Then it was time for the photo shoot and to head to Rapid City a little farther on.

 

Day 37: July 8th, Reaching Council Bluffs

Not much to report here.  We rode about 540 miles and reached Council Bluffs without incident.  Traffic is not a factor….we basically have the roads to ourselves and the weather is good. 

Our rides have been all interstate….or slab riding as I call it, since leaving GR’s house in the country.  According to my log we traveled 1,048 miles primarily on interstates 71, 70, 65, 74 and 80.  Tomorrow we will take I-29N and then head west on I-90 into Rapid City.

C ya’ll mañana,
Gonzo
Twitter: @GonzoCrossUSA
Email: GonzoCrossUSA@gmail.com
Cell: 949-433-0761

Day 36: July 7th, Tagging up with BuzzCap7

After a nice breakfast with GR and his lovely sweetheart I prepped the bike making sure it had oil, air in tires, and loaded my gear.  GR and I are headed to Lisbon, a small town in Ohio that houses the Steel Trolley Diner.  BuzzCap7 (BC7) has been wanting to go there for some “F*^king Pie”……as he and GR refer to it.

BC7 is riding in from Baaaston, MA on his way to Council Bluffs NE where I’m supposed to meet him after hanging out with my USMC flying buddy in Nashville.  Unfortunately my buddy, who is an international consultant, got a gig and had to work the weekend.  So, GR graciously invited me to go back to Ohio with him so I can tag up with BC7 at the Steel Trolley.

GR and I have been trying to figure out a way to surprise BC7 but the dude has an iPhone with every app on it and he stalks my bike since it is equipped with the LiveViewGPS!  No matter what act of subterfuge we would think of it would always fall apart because of the iPhone.  So we decided just to ride to the meeting point and not try any funny stuff.  And sure enough, when we arrived at the parking lot BC7 was already there, iPhone in hand, expecting the two of us!!

It was a great reunion for the three of us and we had a fun time at the Steel Trolley having coffee and f**king pie and telling stories that escalated the BS.

After pie we decided to ride back to GR’s place so BC7 could meet GR’s wife.  And this is where the real fun began.  BC7 is in total fear of riding on gravel.  GR’s house is set back in the woods and the ride into the barn is via all gravel!

BC7 made it in, we posed for pics, and then we were off to Brownsburg IN where we would end our first day of riding. 

I took the lead out the gravel road and reached the little country road where the asphalt started and looked in my mirror for Buzz…..no Buzz!  Where the heck is he?  After about 5 minutes he finally came up the gravel and was not looking too happy.  Turns out that he almost spun out of control on the grave as he gave his 103 power!

After that the ride was uneventful and we successfully reached Brownsburg with plenty of daylight. 

I’m looking forward to riding out to all the destinations we have planned for the next 2 weeks in the west.

C ya’ll mañana,
Gonzo
Twitter: @GonzoCrossUSA
Email: GonzoCrossUSA@gmail.com
Cell: 949-433-0761

Day 35: July 6th, Heading to Ohio

It was a beautiful day in VA and we were on the road early passing through WV.  This is one of the most beautiful states in which to ride an interstate!  I-77 just rolled with the hills and mountains.  One can only imagine how much more exciting it would be to ride state and county roads through this gorgeous part of the country!

It was a relatively short ride, only 325 miles to GR’s place in Dalton OH.  I spent the night visiting with him and his wife….they are wonderful hosts….and tomorrow we’ll tag up with BuzzCap7 for my continued ride to the Black Hills of South Dakota.

C ya’ll mañana,
Gonzo
Twitter: @GonzoCrossUSA
Email: GonzoCrossUSA@gmail.com
Cell: 949-433-0761

Day 34: July 5th, Riding the Tail of The Dragon, TN into NC

Woke up to find the boots were still wet, Duh!!  That was one helluva soaking last night.

We had a quick breakfast at the motel and while there met and chatted with a few other Harley riders.  Then it was off on 321/73 to the Foothill Pkwy.  The Parkway is an awesome ride…through the Smokies and all along the ridge of a mountain, terminating at US129.  I stopped at one point and took a photo of the valley and the Smokies.

 

We headed north on 129 to the Harley store to get a T-shirt then we were off and riding the Dragon’s Tail. 

This was a lot of fun with GlideRider in the lead and me “pushing” him (he's gonna laugh at that comment!).  It was nice to ride the Dragon this time with a lighter load than what I had last year.  My speeds and cornering were faster and fun.  Once again, the ride ended way too soon, after all, it is only 11 miles long with 318 curves.  We parked the bikes at Deal’s Gap and took a photo of me at their sign. 

 

Bob wanted to get a "Dragon's" TShirt so we went into the store and found one for him and got me a decal for the helmet.  When we came out it was raining.  On that note we put on the rain gear, refueled and got our proof of visit receipts, and continued on past the Cheoah Dam where Harrison Ford “Peter Pan’d” in the “Fugitive” and into Robbinsville.  I went to the San-Ran Motel where I stayed last year and dropped off photographs taken last year with the owners and staff.

GR and I then headed to NC143 “The Cherohala Skyway”, to ride into Tellico Plains.  This was quite an interesting ride.  It was raining lightly and the as the road climbed to altitudes of 5000+ feet we found ourselves in the clouds.  I was barely able to keep GR’s tail lights in sight as we rode through the fog.  Other cars and bikes were pulling off the road, but GR and I kept going until we crested the mountains and worked our way down the other side and out of the clouds. 

At the Park’s sign we got some photo’s and while doing the photo shoot four crotch rockets with their whine hi-rev engines rode by.  After the shoot we then took off down the road and after a few miles came upon the rockets stuck behind a slow moving truck.  GR and I just followed along, easily cruising, two old timers riding behind 4 young kids on hot bikes.  It was fun to watch the antics of these riders as they trailed behind the truck at about 45 mph. 

I guess out of boredom they started weaving from one side of the lane to the other.  The lead guy would start weaving then the other three would imitate him.  I guess GR didn’t want to be outdone so he did the same weaving, proving a Harley could do the same thing.  Finally the road straightened out and the rockets were able to pass the slow mover.  I was hoping that GR would follow suit so we could hang with these guys.  Sure enough, GR pulled around the slow mover and I was right behind him.  Now the fun really started.  These rocket guys were taking turns at relatively high speeds and GR and I were right on their tails, our Harley’s were in low gears, hi revs, and we were leaning with these guys taking all the turns.  They must’ve wanted to lose us because the leader picked up the pace…..haha we hung right there with them, they couldn’t shake us.

Finally we came into Tellico Plains and GR and I pulled off into the H-D store there to check it out.  I have to admit I really enjoyed this part of the ride more than the Dragon or the Skyway….it was just so fun!

We ate lunch at a local café, across the street from a Hardee’s (Carl’s Jr.) and I gave the seated patrons a good laugh.  GR and I were waiting for the waitress to seat us and when she came to us,

I greeted her and said, “We almost did a dastardly thing!”  (I noticed a number of patrons looked up at GR and I to hear what we had almost done.)

“What was that?” she said.

“We almost went into Hardee’s for lunch!”

My voice was just loud enough for the seated patrons to hear me….they all burst out laughing.  Lunch was great in this local café and we had interesting conversations with others sitting at the tables around us.

It was time for GR and I to make it to our reserved motel in Wytheville VA where we would spend the night.  It was a great experience today, lotsa fun!

C ya’ll mañana,
Gonzo
Twitter: @GonzoCrossUSA
Email: GonzoCrossUSA@gmail.com
Cell: 949-433-0761