So the last time (and only) I was in Sturgis for the Black Hills Rally was the 50th. So as an excuse I decided to go to the 75th. I live in eastern Iowa (on the Mississippi) and my brother came up from Atlanta GA on his new 2015 UL. My intent was for it to be an enjoyable journey, not just a trip A to B. We ran the 2 laners most of the distance. Ran 92 and 34 across Iowa to Grand Island NE and then 2 diagonally across Nebraska ending up in Lusk WY. If you've ever been across NE, you know how boring the state can be (almost as bad a KS), but Hwy 2 has got to be the prettiest route I've ever seen in that state.. so it you get a chance, take it. From Lusk we headed to Cody via the canyon to Thermopolis. The canyon run is great, but it's like an oven in there. The following morning we left the trailers in Cody and ran the Beartooth CCW, coming back through Chief Joseph, picked up the trailers and on to Greybull. The route over Beartooth and Chief Joseph was great. My bike runs well, but is NO match for that '15 Ultra Limited. I can keep up in the corners and all, maybe better but when he pulls away, he's gone! From Cody to Greybull is an oven and wide open.. not much to see there, but the restaurants in Greybull are good and plentiful. A&W closes at 8:30 even on Fridays, so if you want a root beer float, get there early. Next morning we pull out of Greybull and on to Sturgis via 14 and Sheridan. After coming out of Greybull you pass Hell's Kitchen and go through Shell which is a very nice tiny town of about 55 and on to the Bighorns. I'll say that I enjoyed Granite pass through the Bighorns more than Chief Joseph highway. Beautiful with plenty of corners and curves. From Sheridan instead of taking the super slab try 14 which goes in a northerly loop back down to Gillette. On to Devil's Tower and then follow the northerly loop after coming out of there. Pleasant ride. We stayed a few days in Sturgis (Sunday before and Monday the first official day) and beat feet to outrun the storm that came in that night. East on 90 to Kennebec where we arrived around midnight (they left the door unlocked for us at the motel). Next morning I90 to Sioux City IA. Coming out of there to the old 141 and diagonal across the state back to home. Great ride. We tented most nights, had no obnoxious weather or drivers and I put on 2650 miles (my brother 1600 beyond that). My old shovel was plenty up to the task with only a few minor issues. I planned the route by stringing the routes together using motorcycleroads.com website as a reference.
Looks like a great ride, thanks for sharing. I know where you were parked, and yes there is a forest there. But I try not to share that with to many people.
I hear you there.. too many tourists and all could spoil it.
That really is a very very nice ride up NE2 all the way until you pop out just before Alliance. I'd never heard anything about it until reading about it on motorcycleroads. Best maintained RR tracks I've seen in decades for those trains of coal coming out of WY.
Another good one is once you hit Lakeside on highway 2, go north on 250, or you can also go north at Ellsworth on 27 not a lot of difference on either road, then west again on highway 20. Continue west on 20 over to Harrison, that is a nice really nice ride once you get about 10 miles east of Chadron. At one time the small bar in Harrison had a deal if you could eat their 2 or 3 lb hamburger it was free. Not sure if they still have that or not. Then you can just follow 20 over to Lusk, WY and continue on in the Cowboy State.
I can see running north on 250 at Lakeside as it looks like it would continue the NE2 scenery. We went north on 385 through Chadron and didn't see anything in Harrison, but by then we were "head into the wind" to get to our camping area in Lusk which is a very nice small town. They were having the county fair at the time also.
I agree with you. Hard to beat the Beartooth. The ride though while using the Black Hills Rally as an excuse (we were only there 2 days) was anchored on Beartooth. If we couldn't have done Beartooth there was no real reason to go that distance in my mind. Sturgis was just a convenient layover. I really wanted to see how the 'ol shovel would run the passes. It did not disappoint.
08-17-2015, 10:06 AM
Journey west
