USA Tour Day 12 - Sturgis Area

The house party rose in dribs and drabs and Ted prepared some of his speciality toasted turkey and egg sandwiches which hit the spot for the hungry crew. We had arranged to meet at Burger King in Sturgis to go on a tour of the sights around the area heading off around 10.30 but with delays for bike washing and traffic we were an hour late leaving. 

We met Bob, Don O and T-Roy three of Ron Balliet's mates from Minnesota. Nice guys down for some biking, beer and fun. T-Roy had a mean looking FXR if I recall with something like a 96 inch S&S or some other beast, whatever it was it moved quick and he rode it hard.

We eventually set off around 11.30 heading west for Deadwood, an interesting looking old town but we never stopped as we were behind schedule. Turning south we came to Hill City and had a stop there for lunch/beer. Just as Michelle and I went into a diner the skies opened and the rain decided one drop at a time was sissy stuff so the drops held hands and came in crowds bouncing back up a couple of feet of the ground.

The two of us dined on a couple of huge pizzas and a strawberry and a chocolate malt which apparently doubled in bulk 5 seconds after the last drop hit your stomach. We left feeling bloated and sheltered under a canopy until the rain died down a bit. We set off again heading for Crazy Horse. Although a considerable amount of work has already been done there is a huge amount still to go but it will be a helluva monument when its finished. The visitor centre was large and worthy a visit with a good history and interesting souvenirs.

We then went on the famous Needles Highway a twisting, turning forest drive with pine trees all around and thousands of bikes. John Natrass got pissed off with the slow riding which was prevalent. It would have been Ok but the amount of bikes around made sight seeing tricky. I have to say I found the Black Hills a little boring as it was too familiar looking like many parts of Scotland which although beautiful was not what I'd come this distance to see.

We reached Mt Rushmore in the late afternoon but it was still very busy with mainly bikes but other tourists. Although as a Brit this probably has less meaning to me than a US citizen it is and impressive monument and its amazing that sculpture on this scale can be achieved. The visitor centre was again a very high quality affair with lots of good stuff on sale. I was very impressed to find that a stand with flags of the world not only had the Scottish Saltire but a "Lion Rampant" too.

After Rushmore we took a sprint to the HOG reception at the civic centre in Rapid City. All the new bike models were o n show but we headed to the clothes part to see if there were any bargains. I was surprised to find there were some really good offers on the go and as we pay the same price in Pounds as the Americans pay in dollars the savings were even better. I found a great HD jacket with my name on it and parted with my $300 quite happily as I knew it was 50% cheaper than I'd be back home.