(Trip Report) Link to Pics Added

[jrd]

Trip Report:

Day One:

We left at about 7:00 a.m. had a light breakfast and met up with 3 other riders at the Hwy K Pilot
Truck Stop. There were 5 riders. The bikes were an 03 Road King, an 05 Heritage, an 85
Venture, an 04 Road Star Silverado, and last but definitely not least, an 05 Nomad

We rode through a lot of light rain on the first day. My cheap Walmart Rain Suit worked great
and my Corbin Motorcycle boots worked great too.

We had several mishaps right out of the gate. The mounting bracket on one of those cheap
trunks broke and the trunk went sliding down the interstate. Not long after that we had a shoe
flying down the interstate, and then we had a clothing bag fall off one of the bikes. After we got
everything battened down real good we hit the road again. On the first day we traveled from
Racine Wisconsin to Sioux Falls, SD.

We camped that night at the KOA in Sioux Falls. DO NOT CAMP THERE! There is a trucking
outfit right across the road from the camp ground. Trucks were running in and out of the truck
depot all night. Not to mention that the camp ground must be on the approach pattern for the Sioux
Falls Airport. ::) Also there was a huge storm that night with high winds and a ton of rain. My
cheap pop up tent was the only one that remained dry inside, everyone else was soaked to the
bone. Since we had such a horrendous experience the first night, no one wanted to camp the rest
of the trip.

We traveled 569 Miles.

Day Two:

We took off after breakfast and our first stop was the Corn Palace in Mitchell SD. Then we
headed to the badlands. I would highly recommend making a trip to the Badlands National Park.

It was overcast most of the day and we hit some heavy rain at the Badlands National Park on our
way out. (We took a video of a part of the ride through the badlands and I will post that when I get a copy of it.)

We stayed at the Motel 6 in Rapids City SD.

We traveled 387 miles on day two.

Day Three:

We rode through several storms on day three. We visited the Black Hills, Mt. Rushmore, and the
Crazy Horse Monument. On our way to Mt. Rushmore we rode through ankle deep water. Our
group was temporarily split up on the way to Mt. Rushmore due to the heavy rain. We had one
loose gear mishap. We stayed at the Wyoming Motel in Buffalo Wyoming.

We rode 301 miles on day three.

Day Four:

The weather forecast was not good for day four. Rain and 47 degrees.

We had planned to ride to Yellowstone National Park but due to the weather we skipped it and
rode through several storms. We were in rain most of the day. The 05 Heritage broke down on
the interstate about 116 miles east of Billings Montana. The bike was towed to Billings HD and
we were back on the road after about 1 ½ hours in the HD dealership. I did purchase a pair of
rain proof gloves there and they work great for wet weather riding.

We traveled 430 miles on day four.

We stayed at Motel 6 in Rocker, Montana.

Day Five:

We planned to ride to Hamilton Montana to visit a family member of one of the group. The
stretch of interstate between Billings and Missoula Montana is a great ride and it is very scenic.
We had lunch with his sister and then my brother and I split from the group to head south. The
weather was getting worse the further west we headed and my brother and I wanted to get in
warmer weather. The other three members of the group took an SUV to continue out to
Bellingham Washington.

My brother and I traveled some of the most beautiful roads that we had traveled to that point.
We took 93 south out of Hamilton MT and then took 43 East to Interstate 15 south. That was a
great ride and one I will take again later in the year when it is warmer :)

We traveled 374 Miles on Day Five.

We stayed at the Evergreen Motel in Dillon Montana.

Day Six:

We traveled south on Interstate 15. We ran into all kinds of weather; bitter cold, rain, snow, and
very high winds. The only thing that redeemed the day was that the mountains that we were
traveling through were so beautiful that it made you forget about the weather.

We traveled 523 miles on day six.

We stayed at the Super 8 Motel in Salina Utah.

Day Seven:

We began heading east today to make our way home. We went through the Rockies today and
man oh man what a ride! They are so breathtakingly beautiful to ride through. Utah was a great
place to ride through too. I - 70 is a great road to travel out west.

We traveled 563 miles on day seven.

We stayed at the EconoLodge in Limon Colorado.

Day Eight:

We continued east on I-70. We made a quick trip down to Wichita Kansas to visit my Daughter
and we had dinner with her and her husband. After dinner we headed out, my Brother headed
south, and I headed north.

I rode 588 miles on day eight.

I stayed at the Universal Inn in Lebo Kansas. I would NOT recommend that place to anyone.
What a dive!

Day Nine:

I began to head north to make my way home. I stopped off in Des Moines Iowa to visit a friend.
I spent the rest of the day at my friends home and we had a great visit.

I rode 305 Miles on day nine.

I stayed in my friends home.

Day Ten:

I am on my last leg of the journey home. The weather started out a little wet but it dried up
around lunch time. The trip in spite of the weather was very relaxing for me.

I traveled 428 miles on day ten.

I arrived home at about 8:30 p.m.

I traveled a total of 4468 miles over 10 days.

Lessons learned:

Good rain gear is a must for long trips! ;)

Good boots are a must. Warm clothing is a must.

A good watertight tent is a must if you are going to be camping.

Highway pegs are a must for a long trip. (First time I have ever used them)

I will post some of the pictures I took on the trip later after I transfer them to the computer.

John

Link to Pics

[jussmatt]

WOW!!! That's a TON of miles in 10 days!! Can't wait to see the pix!! Glad you're home safe and sound and thanks for sharing!!!!

[audiogooroo]

Cool! Thanks for the report.

[misunderstood]

Ditto, Thanks for the report and look forward to the pics.

[jrd]

Here is the link to Some Pics from the trip

[dantama]

Wow, it almost sounds as if your best day out, is about like my worst day ever on a trip.

I suppose it'll all make good memories, but in the moment that was a hell of a trip at times.

Wish I could have met up with you for a meal in Colorado while you were passing through. I'll go look at the pics now.