I have some work next week in Sturgis SD. Let me start of by saying BEST BOSS EVER! I mentioned to her that I wouldn't mind riding out for work vs the outrageous flight cost. Her response was "Sounds intriguing!"

So, Cheryl and I head out on our next adventure on the company dime. Yes, I must have done something right along the way. Anyways - I have to make a stop in Le Mars IA, which is basically the eastern edge of SD. The route I'm eyeing up is 18 and 44. I haven't ridden either of those. Anyone out there done those highways?

I'm also open to direct-ish route suggestions. I have to be in Sturgis Tues night and we leave Le Mars late Tues morning. Google maps says 7.5 hours on my route. Just under 7 on I-90 - no thanks btdt.

 

I ran 44 coming back from Sturgis last year, road was decent and pretty boring. Very little traffic so pushing the speed limit is easy.

 

It adds at least a couple of hours, but 18 into Hot Springs sets you up for 385 north to sturgis.

 

Just watch your speed thru the small towns along the way on 18, lots of speed traps going thru those towns. In between you'll be hard pressed to even see another vehicle on the road. I run 18 every year out to the rally, takes a bit longer but the lack of traffic is more than worth it.

 

Moving up to Hwy 44 after crossing the Missouri, staying on Hwy 18 through Pickstown,(or before = Platte/Winner Bridge on 44) will take you - eventually to Interior and the Badlands loop. Thereafter 44 into Rapid City or up to I90 and Sturgis.

Staying on Hwy 18 across the bottom of the state to Hot Springs will allow you to take Hwy 385 to Deadwood, then 14A into Sturgis....just be aware it takes longer than it looks on the map to get to Deadwood/Sturgis! Well worth the time, but with your time constraints??

You timed the trip well - weather is supposed to be back closer to normal, (whatever the heck that is) next week. Enjoy the trip!

 

Thanks all for the info - much appreciated!

Under different circumstances we would opt for the most scenic route which is probably 18 to Hot Springs and then up. But, we will be staying in the Sturgis area all week, so we'll save that route for later. I'm thinking 18 to 44 so far. I've done the I-90 thing many times and it just always sucks - no other way to put it. Cheryl's last experience on that stretch was a ***** to the wall run from Rapid City all the way home to Milwaukee. 865 miles and I have to say, we killed it. We made it back in time to pick up Thai food (on the way home) and have dinner. And that may happen again on our return trip. But, we have to stop almost exactly half way there for a site visit, so we can take the lazy route, which Google maps says only adds about 30 minutes. Could be true. I know the western highways are desolate and unpopulated for the most part, so one can make good time.

So once we are in Sturgis, we have 4 days to ride. We'll run over to Devils Tower and Deadwood one day. Down to Custer and Hot Springs another day. Needles Highway and whatever else the 3rd day. And the Badlands another day. We appreciate any suggestions of other places to see and ride.

Thanks again!

 

If you're gonna do Needles Hwy, you may as well do Iron Mountain Rd.

 

^^^ Yep ^^^

 

Oh HELL yeah! That's half the reason I pushed to take the bike on this trip vs flying. Last time I was there in April I took a joy ride in my rental Toyota Sequoia. I have ridden the area before, but never done that route. The whole time I'm taking pics and texting them to Cheryl saying "Holy ****! We have to ride this!" It's like a life size Hot Wheels track!

 

I'm 20 miles north Le Mars. We've done 18 across a couple times. Not a bad road but the fuel stops can be few and far between. You might also check the SDDOT web site for road repairs. SD is notorious for chip sealing their roads during the summer. Hope you have a great trip.