CJ's Custer Adventures

[cactusjack]

DAY 1:

I plan to update this thread daily this is day 1.

I rode 460 miles today, from my home in Chandler to Beaver UT. BD beat me there by about 30 minutes. He was on I-15 with a 75 MPH limit, I was on Hwy 89 with a max of 65 and about a half dozen small towns along the way. Weather started out nice and sunny, but cool on the way up to Flagstaff, fought a stiff headwind for a hundred miles or so. It was raining in Utah, on and off for 100 miles. 5 minutes after I got the motel, it started to hail.

I'm interested to see what others who tow trailers are getting for MPG. I am averaging 30 MPG, but I had to climb to 7000 (Flagstaff) then down to the Colorado River at 3400' (Lake Powell) then back to 6000' near Bryce Canyon.

We picked up a straggler, he contacted BD a couple of days ago and wanted to join us. He isn't a member yet, but he will be. His name is Tom and is a nice guy. He met up with us in Utah. He had the privilege of riding through the hail.

We're getting an early start tomorrow for a 500+ mile day 2. We lost an hour due to time zone change., so it will be extra early for us.

Here's a picture of my rig at a fuel stop in Flagstaff. It's not that clean and shiny anymore:


This was taken at lunch in Page, AZ. That's Lake Powell in the distance:


Brad (L) and Tom, outside our motel:


Gotta hit the hay, long day tomorrow.

[waterman]

Looks like you are having fun.

[Dave]

"We picked up a straggler, he contacted BD a couple of days ago and wanted to join us. He isn't a member yet, but he will be. His name is Tom and is a nice guy."

He met Brad and he would want to join? According to some people we know, Brad's the brother of Lucifer.

[ells]

Scott, Will be interested to hear how the I-70 ride was today, storms move through early but beautiful evening now along the front range. See you in the morning.

[ringadingh]

Sounds like a good trip so far, keep it up and ride safe.

[cactusjack]

DAY 2:

BD, Tom and I left Beaver UT at 6:30 AM on the 14th. It was cold and damp. After going north on I-15 for 16 miles, we turned onto I-70 E towards Denver. Climbing up 6000 and 7000 foot summits, it was very cold and there was fog in the lower valleys. As we rode closer to Green River UT, it grew warmer and the clouds dissipated some. We stopped to eat lunch in Grand Junction CO " the gateway to the Rocky Mountains". As we prepared to leave, the sky looked very dark and gloomy to the east. We decided rain was imminent, so we suited up in our rain gear before we left.

If you have never ridden or driven I-70 through the Rockies, try to do it at least once in your lifetime. It is an amazing ride, culminating in crossing the Continental Divide at over 11,000 feet. There are 5 tunnels through the mountains, and Glenwood Gorge is something to see.

We caught just a few drops of rain near Glenwood Springs, but we chased a nasty storm for 250 miles - all the way from Grand Junction to Denver. The highway was wet, it had been raining, but was just one step ahead of us the whole way. When we entered the Denver area, we saw accumulations of what looked like snow along the shoulder. It was hail. Denver had been hit by a massive thunderstorm just before we got there and 2 funnel clouds were spotted in the area.

In all, it was a 555 mile day. That's a real "butt burner".

When we arrived at our hotel, we were greeted by the Texas/Louisiana folks and we all went to dinner together.

Here's pics from the day:

On I-70 between Salina and Green River, UT:


A view of the peaks above Copper Mountain ski resort, CO. I was standing at about 8900' when I took this:


A picture of the ski runs at Copper Mountain:


Here we are at dinner:


...stay tuned for day 3!

[cactusjack]

DAY 3:

Today we left our hotel around 7:45 AM and had a 14 mile ride north on I-25 to meet up with the Colorado crew. Audiogooroo, Dan Lund, and Ells were waiting for us at the truck stop we decided to meet at. We left and headed for the Wyoming state line on I-25. Wow, what a ride! Easy miles along the rolling hills at the edge of the Great Plains. The weather was very nice, a little cloudy but nice. We were supposed to stop in Wheatland, WY for gas and to meet up with Landman, who has the distinction of being the only KawaNOW member in Wyoming. But Wheatland was 143 miles from Erie, where we met and filled up and some of us pulling trailers couldn't quite make it. We had to bail out and fill up in Chugwater WY (I don't make this stuff up, folks).

In Wheatland we gathered again and Landman explained his plan of attack to get us to Custer. We took secondary roads through the gently rolling grassy hills. Lots of twisties and small hills. Take it from someone who knows - you have to pay attention on this road. I was distracted for just a second and took a turn too fast and too wide and damn near ate dirt. Fortunately, my superior handling of my sophisticated Nomad "dominator" saved my bacon.

We stopped in Lusk, WY and enjoyed lunch at Subway before hitting the road again and aimed straight for the South Dakota state line. Not surprisingly, western SD looks just like eastern WY. As we got closer to Custer, the terrain changed from rolling hills and grass to mountains and granite rock formations.

We all congregated at the Bavarian Inn for a meet 'n greet. Seeing 40-50 Nomads in one parking lot is an impressive vision to behold.

We rode about 320 miles today. so far this was the easiest day I've had.

See below for a few pics of the day.

Chugwater, WY:


Congregating in Wheatland, WY:


Near Edgemont, SD:


The Nomad Nation in Custer, SD:


and another...:


More to come...

[ringadingh]

Looks like a great time, the scenery sure is nice through the Rockies, by the way CJ, next time you log on go to Grocery Gateway , order some more beer and steaks and stuff. The fridge is kinda bare.

[pagemastr]

CJ: Thanks a LOT for the updates... makes me wish I was riding instead of fishin' this week.
A safe ride to all...

[schoeney]

Great pics + info CJ...have you seen the NW guys yet...hope they made it OK.

Keep the blog going as we are all living through your info.

Ride Safe!

[buckeye]

Glad you all made it safely, I hope everyone else does! Thanks for the pics and the prose. We are all living the Rally vicariously through you. Keep it coming.

[cactusjack]

Originally Posted by schoeney

Great pics + info CJ...have you seen the NW guys yet...hope they made it OK.

Keep the blog going as we are all living through your info.

Ride Safe!

I have met Netnorske and Ballast. Not sure who else was coming from there. Big John, maybe? I haven't met him yet, but if he's here I will make it a point to do so.

Ballast got his new Daylong seat delivered today at his motel. He hadn't even ridden on it yet when he showed it to me.

[cactusjack]

DAY 4:

Today was a choice of a ride to Devil's Tower or to the Badlands. I chose the Devil's Tower ride and will do the Badlands on Thursday. We all assembled at the Bavarian Inn and split into two ride groups. We departed around 08:30 with 38 bikes in our group. We started out by heading west from Custer. Our first fuel stop was Sundance, WY which is about 27 miles from Devil's Tower. As we pulled out of the gas station, it started pouring and we got soaked for probably the first 5 miles. It rained on and off for most of the day in the area we were in. Devil's Tower was awesome, a most impressive sight. We stayed there about an hour and then rode to Hulett WY for lunch.

After lunch, we rode to Belle Fourche SD for gas, then through the city of Spearfish and then through Spearfish Canyon. Seeing 38 Nomads snaking through the twisties is something to see. Lots and lots of bikers all through the area. The roads are some of the best I have ever ridden, and this is some of the most beautiful scenery I have ever seen. It's very green and the air is clean. A huge contrast from where I live and ride.

Tomorrow morning is "free time" and many of us are going to Sturgis. In the afternoon I am tailgunner on a ride to Mt. Rushmore that Trip is leading.

Here are some of the pictures of the day:

This was during a rest stop along the way:


Here's Devils Tower from just outside the entrance gate:


Here's one from the parking area. I don't have any real close-up pictures because after I walked up to the base, the batteries in my camera died. I didn't have any spares, so I walked back down to the bike and took some with my small camera.


This is from Spearfish Canyon, sheer rock cliffs and a creek running through it:


Finally, this is Pactola Reservoir. The scenery here was stunning.


Bonus: here are all the bikes lined up at the reservoir:


More pics tomorrow!

[ringadingh]

Nice pics Scott, it must be pretty neat seeing and hearing all those bikes together.

[buckeye]

Makes us all feel very jelous that we're not there. Thanks again for the pics, please keep them coming.