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06-13-2008, 12:46 PM | #1 |
Member
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: Wisconsin
Posts: 294
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(Trip Report) Link to Pics Added
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 Login or Register to Remove Ads |
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06-13-2008, 02:10 PM | #2 |
Sr. Member
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(Trip Report) Link to Pics Added
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!!!!
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06-13-2008, 05:29 PM | #3 |
Sr. Member
Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: Colorado Springs, Colorado/Las Vegas, NV
Posts: 3,390
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(Trip Report) Link to Pics Added
Cool! Thanks for the report.
__________________
Audiogooroo - Daryl Porter Colorado Springs, CO VBA #248 VROC #17261 1999 Grn/Grn Nomad |
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06-13-2008, 07:50 PM | #4 |
Sr. Member
Join Date: Oct 2008
Location: Knoxville,TN
Posts: 1,845
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(Trip Report) Link to Pics Added
Ditto, Thanks for the report and look forward to the pics.
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06-14-2008, 12:10 AM | #6 |
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: Denver, CO
Posts: 0
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(Trip Report) Link to Pics Added
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. |
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