| Mount Rushmore, South Dakota to Jamestown, North Dakota | |
| Day's Route Overview: Start from from Mount Rushmore, South Dakota and head North up to North Dakota. My original plan was to backtrack on Interstate 90
to Highway 85 and then head north. The thought of standing for half an hour in the hot sun on a hot bike in leathers did not appeal to me. So I started investigating alternative routes. Seeking "professional" advice, see the first rest stop below, I chose a different path. Planned 375 miles, actual 470 miles.
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Starting out: Trip / Odometer / Time: 70.6 / 40,984 / 9:15 AM PDT |
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| Going back North through Rapid City, I stopped at
the Harley dealer. I was going to pass on this one, but it is right beside the highway on the north end of town.
Black Hills Harley-Davidson - Rapid CIty 2820 Harley Drive,
Rapid City, South
Dakota 57702 This Harley dealer is located on a road so
new that it cannot be found on either Yahoo maps or MapQuest. You can see that sign in the photo of the corner of the parking lot. There was some sort of 4th of July rally going on and the place was crawling with bikes and bikers. |
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I stopped at the rest stop located between Rapid City and
Sturgis.
Actually, I was hoping that one of the buildings or signs might
actually say "South Dakota" so that I could get a photo for the
state. I spoke with the nice people inside about alternative routes so that I could avoid the construction on 85. The lady suggested that I go up to Highway 212 and then over to Highway 83 up to Interstate 94 in North Dakota. She assured me that 212 and 83 were fine highways. |
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Anyone who has the least knowledge of Harley-Davidsons is likely to
ask an owner "Have you ever been to Sturgis?" Sturgis, South Dakota is the site of the largest bike rally in the world. I can now say "Yes, of course." I will then explain that it was not during the annual rally with 50,000 of my closest drunk friends, but I have been to Sturgis. The Harley dealer is very glad I came by.
Black Hills Harley-Davidson - Sturgis 1040 Junction Avenue Sturgis, South Dakota
57785 |
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| Now, 212 and 83 are fine highways, but one must
realize that "fine" in this case means 2-lane undivided roads that
go through rural, and I do mean rural, areas for about 300 miles.
At one point, a sign on 212 says "Next Services 71 Miles" You
know what? It meant it. Now, with my experience with
running out of gas a couple days ago, I am kind of gun shy so I did
keep the tank more than half full at all times. And that is
not easy to do when these towns are so small and so sparse. There were more than a few times as I traveled on for what seemed like eternity through farm land that looked the same for mile after mile that I wondered whether the woman who advised me was secretly laughing. One of the towns I rode through is Faith, South Dakota. If the name does not ring a bell, this is where the most complete skeleton of a Tyrannosaurus Rex, Sue, was found. It turns out that Faith has the cheapest gas so far this trip. Also, look in the photo. When was the last time you saw filling station gasoline pumps with the mechanical numbers that rotate around? Along 212, I found the county of Ziebach. A "Z" county. Do you realize how rare those are? Well, they are rare. So I stopped by the road and took a photo of the county limits sign. I never did find any official building for Ziebach. By the way, but for a missing "w" and a "k" rather than an "h", this county could be really big in the flat bread industry. |
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| My plan was to find Interstate 94 and then settle for the night into the first reasonable motel I could find. Interstate 94 is not the most heavily traveled interstate nor does it go through heavily populated areas. The first chance for any motel at all turned out to be about 77 miles east of where I got onto 94. I was tired and sore before I went those last 77 miles. Jamestown, North Dakota for the night. | |
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Done for the day: Trip / Odometer / Time: 100.7 / 41,454 / 8:05 PM PDT |
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ABC Letters: Counties: B, K; States: North Dakota Day's Totals: 470 miles, 10 hours 50 minutes |
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Updated: Monday, May 26, 2014 12:33:17 PM