South Dakota Ride Day 2 - Spearfish Canyon

August 22, 2009
Fort Collins, CO

Part 1 - The ride for coffee in Sturgis
We chose to ride out this morning north toward Rapid City, mainly because Hwy 79 looked to be the quickest route to the northern Black Hills area and Sturgis. It was. Sure, I shot some photos (yawn!). Don't laugh - while the wide-open, stretched out road was great to ride, the roadscape was anything but stimulating. Let's see, we had cows, a windmill, horses on a hill and haystacks, a few barns and a great expanse of clear blue sky. The clearest sign of two-legged life we saw was oncoming traffic and that was minimal. In Rapid City, we rode the trucker by-pass to I-90 and turned west toward Sturgis without stopping.

Riding the 20 or so miles into Sturgis was quick. Spread out all along I-90 are large campgrounds and a saloon or roadhouse or two or three and billboards advertising every aspect of the rally for which Sturgis is known. We stopped at the Sturgis coffee company for a stretch and coffee. Now, you have to know Tim's hair will fall out or something if he believes he is drinking anything other than real coffee (preferably Maxwell House). Starbucks are Not US - Ha! But he good-naturedly agreed to try the standard house brew. Yeah, he grudgingly admitted - it was good coffee. Yes, it was. While we were roaming around outside and lounging on the wood benches that lined the exterior walls of the building, we watched lots of motorcycles ride by and noted the abnormal amount of classic cars out and about as well.

After coffee, we rode into the downtown area of Sturgis. It was about what we expected to see in the off-season (non-rally days). Lots of large western style bars and roadhouses, trading posts and tourist traps selling Rally shirts - cheap - line the streets. Many of the businesses appeared closed for the season. We found the Harley-Davidson dealership (Junction Ave) and browsed for a few minutes. Neither one of us are great shoppers. Besides, we thought we might return later in the day so we didn't tarry. We rode the colorful Main drag before leaving.

The Sturgis inquiry comes up often, maybe because we live within 350 miles of the rally or simply because we ride a motorcycle. I am sure most bikers hear - Did you ride to Sturgis this year? About rally-time last year, Tim was getting his motorcycle license. Rally time this year, Tim was recovering from knee surgery. So, who knows - maybe next year we will conquer our aversion to loud, rowdy crowds and traffic jams and ride through.

FYI: In 1936 J. Clarence "Pappy" Hoel bought part of Indian Motorcycles. Pappy is now considered the founder and father of the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally. I believe a bronze statue of Pappy's likeness is in the works and scheduled to be unveiled for the 70th annual rally in 2010. The same year, 1936, a local motorcycle club called the Jackpine Gypsies was formed. The club produced the first event which included (and, as far as I know - still does) motor-cross and hill climb events. The first rally, known as the Black Hills Motor Classic, took place in 1938 with only nine racers and a small group of spectators from biker clubs in Mitchell, Sioux Falls, Minnesota, and Colorado. This first year most visitors camped in Pappy's backyard and at Sturgis City Park. Today, the week long rally draws over 600,000 bikers and biker enthusiasts and encompasses the entire city and surrounding area.

We did indeed return later in the day so this slide show contains all Sturgis photos.

Part 2 - The ride through Spearfish Canyon

Heading west out of Sturgis on I-90 took us to one of few must-do items on our list for this trip. Usually, we just wing it. We love riding canyons. After having ridden Spearfish Canyon, we have just one thing to say -- stunning! The road is beautiful, lined with wildflowers with the rushing Spearfish Creek running alongside. This ride along Hwy 14A is about 20 miles long. We were flanked by towering limestone cliffs all along the way. We stopped a few miles in to get a better look at Bridal Veil Falls. There's another falls (Roughlock Falls) further up the canyon, but I understand it requires about a mile hike. Because the forest is diverse (not just pine trees) it is said the fall foliage is spectacular. I'd like to put my personal stamp of approval on that.

Here's a slide show and the mini-movie - enjoy.

Spearfish Canyon Ride – South Dakota – August 2009

Oh yeah - we are having a blast, riding the Black Hills. What's not to like? The weather is sunny and warm, the roads are darn near perfect and the roadscape is nothing short of spectacular. Day 2 will continue in the next post... we filled this day with ride after spectacular ride - stay tuned...

Spearfish Canyon - South Dakota
Sturgis, South Dakota