For the past few years, this time of summer involved an
extended road trip with my motorcycle. For the past four years in a row, the
destination has been Sturgis, SD, for the annual grand-daddy of all motorcycle
rallies, the Black Hills Motorcycle Classic. While that has been the
destination recently, it is but a very small part of the journey. My first year
there, in 2014, that destination was the primary focus of the journey, and it lived
up to everything (and more) I’d heard about it - the legend - and it was every
motorcycle rally I’ve ever attended, but super-sized. I have experienced a lot
of motorcycles in one place before (many times), but Sturgis was like nothing I’ve
ever experienced. The stories were true - upwards of a half-million motorcycle enthusiasts
descending on one small South Dakota mountain town for about 10 days in early August.
In 2015, that spectacle was pumped up by a factor of two for the 75th
annual rally.
That first year, the destination was the focus. However,
every year since, including the mega 75th, the destination was not
the story. Sturgis, for me, is a been-there-done-that kind of thing. It’s not
that I don’t enjoy the gathering of so many like-minded souls, but I am still
not a people person, I still do not like cluster-fucks and, although the event
is worth enduring some of that - indeed, it is unavoidable - it hasn’t been the
focus of my annual pilgrimage since that first year. The focus has been the
pilgrimage itself, and each has been unique, each has presented different
experiences, different routes and each stands out on its own. The only thing
each of my four journeys has in common is Sturgis itself.
I could go on and on about what the mecca of (primarily
American) motorcycling means to me, to the industry, and the like, but what
makes Sturgis special, and why it was selected for the annual rally so many
years ago, is the magnificence of the Black Hills and everything else within a
short ride of Sturgis. And, while I prefer to explore new roads - especially
those less traveled - some are worth riding over and over again. There are numerous
roads in that part of the country that fit that bill. Although it would be
nice if there were not literally hundreds of thousands of others riding those roads
when I am, the destination, even during rally week, is worth it. Add to it the
spectacle that is Sturgis during
rally week, and it’s a good time even for someone like me who doesn’t really
like “people.”
But if it was just that spectacle and nothing else, it’s a hard
pass for me. Like I mentioned above, been there, done that. However, it is so
much more - so much “so much” more that I anxiously await getting on the road
all year long. That day for me this year is less than 48 hours away - a bit
later than I wanted to hit the road (I’ll get there when the “festivities“ are
just entering a full-on 10-day frenzy), but it’s the road, not the destination
that makes this trip worthwhile year after year. This year I’ll be riding there
and back solo. I have done that before (in 2016), but this time around I am
taking on a challenge that I ordinarily would not, but it’s a bucket list thing
I want to be able to say I’ve done.
To make these distances in the time allotted (and there are
much, much more challenging rides that, properly documented, the IBA recognizes),
it is necessary to travel at a pretty good clip. The IBA stresses rider safety
and they are adamant that these rides are not “races,” they are endurance challenges.
In fact, they will not certify a ride in which the average speed exceeds the
speed limit. That doesn’t mean normal speed excess liberties that we all take will disqualify a ride, but a several
hundred mile stretch at 100+ mph will probably disqualify a ride. However, gas
stops take time and those speeds kill mileage, so it’s a bad idea if only for
that reason. But it is necessary to stick to highways that have high speed
limits - 75 to 80 mph is ideal. Of course, that means using the Interstate
Highway System as much as possible. And, those roads are typically boring.
But not all. US-50 through Nevada and Utah before merging
with I-70 is a nice ride. It’s not crowded, its scenic and it’s fast. When I road it last year I was amazed
at the variety of the terrain and how absolutely stunning it was, sometimes in its
grandeur, sometimes in its starkness. One down-side of doing it as fast as I am
is that all those times I stopped to “smell the roses,” sometimes right in the
middle of the barren highway, will not be possible. To quote the immortal words
of Jerry Reed, I “have a long way to go and a short time to get there.” I will
be, in fact, “East Bound and Down.” I have five gas stops planned at a little less
than 200-mile intervals, but I'll have a one-gallon can of gas with me, just in
case.
I will arrive in Sturgis on Friday afternoon. Even if I fall
short of the 1,000 miles in 24 hours, I’ll easily make all 1,500 miles in two
days. My single day max is almost 900 miles in about 16 hours, and I’ve ridden
back-to-back 700 miles days more than once, and none of those rides were particularly
taxing. I am fairly confident that this goal is achievable, but once I get it,
I will be done. That’s not to say that I’ll never ride that far in one day
again, I most likely will, but I will probably not bother with the necessary
documentation that the IBA requires to “certify” a ride. This is a one and done
thing. I like riding roads less traveled, at my own pace and go where I want in
the moment. I like to get lost and I hate rides along pre-planned routes. But I
do and will log a lot of miles; this time I have to opportunity, the time and
planetary alignment to get the patch and the pin. The question is not “why?” but “why not?”
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