USA Tour Day 11 Cheyenne Wyoming - Sturgis SD

I was looking forward to my breakfast this morning and order the carnivore special. We were scheduled to leave at 7.30 and having placed my order at 7.00 with a request to make it prompt. Despite twice chasing the staff by 7.25 no food had arrived and I was thouroughly pissed off and left. Two seconds after that Michelle said my food arrived and she asked them to take it away.

We left at 8.00 after waiting for stragglers and by this time I was of course hungry and a bit annoyed at my promptness and others lateness. Especially those who had had breakfast! The hotel was on my "worlds worst" of hotels of the world.

We set off towards the northeast and followed the US 85 trying to make good distance. Huge areas of golden grassland was all around, a sea of frozen biege waves as far as the eye could see. We passed a collection of half a dozen buildings to our right, a loose bundle of homes called Hawk Springs, to the right a sign on a barn like structure proclaimed it to be "Hawk Springs international Airport"

We chewed up the miles and all the way the roads got busier and busier with bikes as we passed and were passed by what seemed to be all the Harleys in the world. Through Torrington and on again to Lusk all the time surrounded by undulating prairie. I imagined the early settlers seeing thes vast distances from their covered wagons and how long they would have taken to cross these. I also wondered why with so much land that a place could not have been found for the original owners. I was also puzzled by the lack of cattle or other grazing animals on such huge areas of grass.

The weather was hot and sunny and I was enjoying the ride even though the scenery was not the most inspiring although still unique to this traveller. Sunny, warm dry and a Harley what more could anyone want…oh yes a gorgeous pillion. We cut east then north again heading reaching The Black Hills before Custer.

We reached Custer where we decided to have lunch. We pulled up beside The Chiefs Rest where we dined on the buffet. Excellent if unoriginal fare of the usuual, fried chicken ribs, beef etc and more of the strange green and red stuff the ladies hovered over.

After the meal we headed east again then north towards Rapid City, by this time the roads were extremely crowded with bikes in all directions as far as you could see. We skirted round Rapid City heading towards Black Hawk where half the group were staying in a rented house. We found the house and pulled in. The house was a wooden house in a scheme of similar homes. We were shown round then handed iced beers which went down very well. The rest of the gang got their gear out of the truck and headed for the campsite.

After a short break we decided to take the bikes to a wash to get rid of the road grime while the ladies got in some beer and snacks for the evening. As we washed and cleaned the bikes we got talking to some interesting guys who asked which state my plate was from. One guy on realising we were from Scotland was asking all about the trip. We commented on the weather and he shouted "Yup, it’s a great day to be a white American". Fred and I looked at each other and then his friend asked him why he was shouting at us, "theyre from Scotland man they speak English thay aint fuckin injins" came his helpful guidance. The three of us by then had decided the bikes were clean enough and made to head off. As we mounted up the first guy offered us a smoke but we decided a beer was more in order..

Back to the house where we snacked and beered and chatted in the warm night air until we adjourned to bed.