DAY 12
Beginning location: Rapid City, SD
Day 12 destination: O'Neill, NE
States visited: South Dakota, (18) Nebraska
Daily mileage: 412
Cumulative mileage: 6,220
After a very comfortable night at Hilton Garden Inn in Rapid City, we said goodbye to Annette and Elizabeth, and then Randall and I set out for Rapid City Harley. I was almost 1,000 miles overdue for an oil change. Rapid City Harley has Express Lane service, and we thought we'd be in and out of there in no time. This was not the case. Getting service took longer than we hoped, and by the time we got back to the hotel to meet the other guys, it was 11:30 before we were actually on the road.
The plan for the day had us going up to Sturgis (none of us had ever been there), finding a BMW dealership so the Beemer guys could pick up some oil and a T-shirt, and then heading off into the Black Hills for a while. Already behind schedule, it started raining while we were at the BMW dealership. In the big picture, we couldn't complain. We had experienced very little rain to this point in the trip. We broke out the rain gear and headed out to find Nemo Road. This turned out to be a nice ride - but being behind schedule and knowing we could punch out of the rain if we headed east, we abandoned the plan to spend several hours riding the Black Hills. So it looks like I'll have to plan another ride to Sturgis.
Back in Rapid City as we finished up the Nemo Road ride, we jumped on I-90 East to cover some miles and make up some time. Our next stop was the iconic Wall Drugs. This place that started offering free drinks of water to parched travelers in the 1930's still makes for an interesting stop. We had a late lunch in the cafe' and headed off with our sights set on Nebraska.
Leaving Wall Drugs, the original plan called for us to drop off the interstate to ride through the Badlands National Park. We were so far behind schedule - and tired - and I really wanted to try to reach our planned destination of Sheldon, Iowa. This was supposed to be a 505 miles day, and we started late, so I almost decided to stay on the interstate and skip the Badlands. I am SO glad we decided to stick with the original plan. I had never seen the Badlands. As soon as we started into the park, I knew we had made the right choice. It was like we were suddenly transported to another planet. I'll let the pictures speak for themselves.
Leaving the Badlands, we knew we might not make it to Sheldon, but we were going to go as hard and fast as we could. Back on the interstate, I thought we were in the middle of nowhere. And then we turned south on Highway 47 and then east on Highway 18, needing to spend some time in Nebraska before riding into Iowa. At this point, we were REALLY on the backside of nowhere. We crossed the state line into Nebraska as the sun was setting, and as we stopped to take some pictures at the state line, we realized there was NOTHING out here but corn. And deer. I really started to worry about wildlife in the middle of the Nebraskan cornfields. I have Harley Daymaker LED headlights on my Road Glide. As great as these are, they don't provide nearly the illumination as something called Clearwater Darla driving lights Randall and Steve had on their bikes. I asked them to pull up in a tight riding formation so we could light up the night, and we kept pushing east. Pushing even farther into nowhere, we found a place where we could get gas. The attendant at the station cautioned us about continuing on the route we were on because of deer - so we found the nearest hotel, which was a Holiday Inn Express in O'Neill, Nebraska, population 3,6784, and called it a night - well short of our goal, but safe.
Riding buddy Steve Kinchen, one of the BMW guys, reflected on this day and wrote this: "We are exhausted and nearly spent, and most folks I have talked to offer little sympathy and remind me that this is all "self-inflicted" misery. I disagree... This is an adventure of a lifetime that most folks only dream about. We are doing it. We are living it. Realtime. This is not a TV show where we are watching others do something great... We are doing the Great Something. We are stretching our physical limitations to points beyond what we could have imagined. We are doing what some have called foolish or impossible. This is real life, and this adventure is ours forever..." Well said, Steve. Well said.
Before the pics, a word about the electronics on my Road Glide. From left to right: My iPhone 5 is in a LifeProof case so it stays dry. I use a Cardo Scala Rider G9 bluetooth communicator to talk to Annette and other riders, so I can talk on the phone if necessary - but use the phone more to control the GoPro Hero 3+ Silver that is on my helmet. The Spot Gen3 satellite tracker serves several purposes. Most importably, it allows me to get help if we have an accident or breakdown in a place where there is no cell service. It lets me be located if I have an accident while traveling solo, as those tracking me will be able to tell where I stopped moving and provide exact GPS coordinates of where I am. It lets me keep an accurate record of exactly where I've traveled, and finally, it let's a lot of close friends who have access to my tracker page keep up with where I am. The last piece of equipment is my Garmin Zumo 665. I plan detailed routes in Base Camp and export the routes to the 665. I listen to XM radio through the GPS, subscribe to XM weather - and I use the points of interest feature to find places to eat or stay. And that's exactly what we did in this case. We needed a place to stay in the middle of nowhere. The Garmin helped us identify a decent place, and I was able to stop the route to Sheldon, call the hotel using the Zumo to grab rooms, and then follow the turn-by-turn directions to the hotel. I know some who consider themselves motorcycle purists are not a fan of electronics... To each his own. I have limited time to cover a lot of miles. So I plan carefully and then let the gear help me get there. So there you go.
The plan for the day had us going up to Sturgis (none of us had ever been there), finding a BMW dealership so the Beemer guys could pick up some oil and a T-shirt, and then heading off into the Black Hills for a while. Already behind schedule, it started raining while we were at the BMW dealership. In the big picture, we couldn't complain. We had experienced very little rain to this point in the trip. We broke out the rain gear and headed out to find Nemo Road. This turned out to be a nice ride - but being behind schedule and knowing we could punch out of the rain if we headed east, we abandoned the plan to spend several hours riding the Black Hills. So it looks like I'll have to plan another ride to Sturgis.
Back in Rapid City as we finished up the Nemo Road ride, we jumped on I-90 East to cover some miles and make up some time. Our next stop was the iconic Wall Drugs. This place that started offering free drinks of water to parched travelers in the 1930's still makes for an interesting stop. We had a late lunch in the cafe' and headed off with our sights set on Nebraska.
Leaving Wall Drugs, the original plan called for us to drop off the interstate to ride through the Badlands National Park. We were so far behind schedule - and tired - and I really wanted to try to reach our planned destination of Sheldon, Iowa. This was supposed to be a 505 miles day, and we started late, so I almost decided to stay on the interstate and skip the Badlands. I am SO glad we decided to stick with the original plan. I had never seen the Badlands. As soon as we started into the park, I knew we had made the right choice. It was like we were suddenly transported to another planet. I'll let the pictures speak for themselves.
Riding buddy Steve Kinchen, one of the BMW guys, reflected on this day and wrote this: "We are exhausted and nearly spent, and most folks I have talked to offer little sympathy and remind me that this is all "self-inflicted" misery. I disagree... This is an adventure of a lifetime that most folks only dream about. We are doing it. We are living it. Realtime. This is not a TV show where we are watching others do something great... We are doing the Great Something. We are stretching our physical limitations to points beyond what we could have imagined. We are doing what some have called foolish or impossible. This is real life, and this adventure is ours forever..." Well said, Steve. Well said.
Before the pics, a word about the electronics on my Road Glide. From left to right: My iPhone 5 is in a LifeProof case so it stays dry. I use a Cardo Scala Rider G9 bluetooth communicator to talk to Annette and other riders, so I can talk on the phone if necessary - but use the phone more to control the GoPro Hero 3+ Silver that is on my helmet. The Spot Gen3 satellite tracker serves several purposes. Most importably, it allows me to get help if we have an accident or breakdown in a place where there is no cell service. It lets me be located if I have an accident while traveling solo, as those tracking me will be able to tell where I stopped moving and provide exact GPS coordinates of where I am. It lets me keep an accurate record of exactly where I've traveled, and finally, it let's a lot of close friends who have access to my tracker page keep up with where I am. The last piece of equipment is my Garmin Zumo 665. I plan detailed routes in Base Camp and export the routes to the 665. I listen to XM radio through the GPS, subscribe to XM weather - and I use the points of interest feature to find places to eat or stay. And that's exactly what we did in this case. We needed a place to stay in the middle of nowhere. The Garmin helped us identify a decent place, and I was able to stop the route to Sheldon, call the hotel using the Zumo to grab rooms, and then follow the turn-by-turn directions to the hotel. I know some who consider themselves motorcycle purists are not a fan of electronics... To each his own. I have limited time to cover a lot of miles. So I plan carefully and then let the gear help me get there. So there you go.
DAY 13
Beginning location: O'Neill, NE
Day 13 destination: Madison, WI
States visited: Nebraska, (19) Iowa, (20) Minnesota, (21) Wisconsin
Daily mileage: 634
Cumulative mileage: 6,854
We started Day 13 some 200 miles short of where we had hoped to be. The plan for this day had been to get up really early and try to get to Milwaukee in time for Brewers game. Tired, I didn't want to get up early. And already 200 miles short of where we needed to be, we didn't think an 800-mile day was reasonable. So we decided to forget the ball game and get as close to Milwaukee as we could.
We ended up riding through Sioux City, then north on Highway 60 to get back to I-90 so we could ride east in Minnesota - because we CANNOT miss a state in this quest to ride all 48 states. After lunch and a nap at Subway in Sherburn, MN, we pushed east into Wisconsin. Crossing the Mississippi near La Crosse, we turned south on the Great River Road. We had to detour a couple of times due to flooding in the area, but this was a pleasant ride along the Mississippi.
We encountered our only mechanical challenge of the trip in La Crosse. The shifter linkage on Matt's BMW came loose. Fortunately, all the parts were still in place and no damage occurred, so after tightening things up, we were back on our way.
We stayed on the Great River Road until Prairie Du Chien, where we were pretty much due east of Milwaukee, and then turned left. As expected, we were not going to make it to Milwaukee in time for a baseball game, so we rode to Madison and called it a day after 634 miles. One observation: Having ridden in 21 states so far, and approaching 7,000 miles, there was no doubt in my mind that Wisconsin had the worst roads of any we had encountered. Just my opinion, of course - but the roads in Madison were pretty awful. A Best Western on the east side of Madison was our landing place on Day 13 - and were almost back on schedule. Almost. Madison was just 60 miles short of our intended goal.
We started Day 13 some 200 miles short of where we had hoped to be. The plan for this day had been to get up really early and try to get to Milwaukee in time for Brewers game. Tired, I didn't want to get up early. And already 200 miles short of where we needed to be, we didn't think an 800-mile day was reasonable. So we decided to forget the ball game and get as close to Milwaukee as we could.
We ended up riding through Sioux City, then north on Highway 60 to get back to I-90 so we could ride east in Minnesota - because we CANNOT miss a state in this quest to ride all 48 states. After lunch and a nap at Subway in Sherburn, MN, we pushed east into Wisconsin. Crossing the Mississippi near La Crosse, we turned south on the Great River Road. We had to detour a couple of times due to flooding in the area, but this was a pleasant ride along the Mississippi.
We encountered our only mechanical challenge of the trip in La Crosse. The shifter linkage on Matt's BMW came loose. Fortunately, all the parts were still in place and no damage occurred, so after tightening things up, we were back on our way.
We stayed on the Great River Road until Prairie Du Chien, where we were pretty much due east of Milwaukee, and then turned left. As expected, we were not going to make it to Milwaukee in time for a baseball game, so we rode to Madison and called it a day after 634 miles. One observation: Having ridden in 21 states so far, and approaching 7,000 miles, there was no doubt in my mind that Wisconsin had the worst roads of any we had encountered. Just my opinion, of course - but the roads in Madison were pretty awful. A Best Western on the east side of Madison was our landing place on Day 13 - and were almost back on schedule. Almost. Madison was just 60 miles short of our intended goal.
DAY 14
Beginning location: Madison, WI
Day 14 destination: Bourbonnais, IL
States visited: Wisconsin, (22) Indiana, (23) Illinois
Daily mileage: 246
Cumulative mileage: 7,100
Being an avid Harley rider, I kind of wanted to visit the York, PA facility during our 2013 Northeast ride. Suspecting the BMW riders would not appreciate this, I did not suggest it. This year, however, Randall had purchased a 2014 CVO, and evidently, free tickets to the Harley Davidson Museum are a part of the deal. So we had the perfect excuse, and no one seemed to mind. We started Day 14 making a beeline for Milwaukee, and other than experiencing typical inner-city traffic challenges, arrived at the museum ready to see what was there. The plan was to visit the facility, eat lunch at the on-site restaurant (very good, by the way), and then ride through Chicago (checking Illinois off of the list). We would then ride into Indiana for a while before heading back west into Illinois before calling it a day.
The visit to the museum was great... taking in a lot of HD history and seeing the machines that the Harley tradition is built upon. I was equally interested in the progression of some of the technical innovation of recent years that impact my riding experience today. I had my first cheese curds as a part of my lunch - fitting for a visit to Wisconsin - before getting back on the bike to continue on our way.
We managed to hit Chicago really close to rush hour. To make matters worse, we decided to ride into the the city and along Lakeshore Drive. This was not one of my favorite parts of the trip. Traffic was awful and it was HOT. We had to deal with toll roads, too. I had done my homework and had the transponder I purchased last year for toll roads in the Northeast. This helped me - but the other guys had to pay tolls along the way.
Finally clearing Illinois and making our way through the part of Indiana we needed to ride to get that state covered, we had an interesting GPS experience. Our destination was a Hampton Inn in Bourbonnais, Illinois that would set us up for some riding on Route 66 as we headed toward Missouri. The route looked pretty straightforward in Base Camp. Randall's 2014 Harley Davidson Infotainment System GPS took us into cornfields I thought we might never see the end of... back roads in the truest sense of the word... again, in the middle of nowhere. Finally, though, thinking the GPS had taken us to parts unknown, we ended up on the back side of a mall, and arrived at our hotel. Another day was done, and we were nearing the end of our journey.
Being an avid Harley rider, I kind of wanted to visit the York, PA facility during our 2013 Northeast ride. Suspecting the BMW riders would not appreciate this, I did not suggest it. This year, however, Randall had purchased a 2014 CVO, and evidently, free tickets to the Harley Davidson Museum are a part of the deal. So we had the perfect excuse, and no one seemed to mind. We started Day 14 making a beeline for Milwaukee, and other than experiencing typical inner-city traffic challenges, arrived at the museum ready to see what was there. The plan was to visit the facility, eat lunch at the on-site restaurant (very good, by the way), and then ride through Chicago (checking Illinois off of the list). We would then ride into Indiana for a while before heading back west into Illinois before calling it a day.
The visit to the museum was great... taking in a lot of HD history and seeing the machines that the Harley tradition is built upon. I was equally interested in the progression of some of the technical innovation of recent years that impact my riding experience today. I had my first cheese curds as a part of my lunch - fitting for a visit to Wisconsin - before getting back on the bike to continue on our way.
We managed to hit Chicago really close to rush hour. To make matters worse, we decided to ride into the the city and along Lakeshore Drive. This was not one of my favorite parts of the trip. Traffic was awful and it was HOT. We had to deal with toll roads, too. I had done my homework and had the transponder I purchased last year for toll roads in the Northeast. This helped me - but the other guys had to pay tolls along the way.
Finally clearing Illinois and making our way through the part of Indiana we needed to ride to get that state covered, we had an interesting GPS experience. Our destination was a Hampton Inn in Bourbonnais, Illinois that would set us up for some riding on Route 66 as we headed toward Missouri. The route looked pretty straightforward in Base Camp. Randall's 2014 Harley Davidson Infotainment System GPS took us into cornfields I thought we might never see the end of... back roads in the truest sense of the word... again, in the middle of nowhere. Finally, though, thinking the GPS had taken us to parts unknown, we ended up on the back side of a mall, and arrived at our hotel. Another day was done, and we were nearing the end of our journey.
