It was constantly rainy, windy, cold, and stormy. But it still was a great time. Any riding in the Black Hills is good riding, even in bad weather. Even if I had known the weather was going to be poor ahead of time I still would have went.

I left Ohio and rode to Wall, SD for my first night's stay on the first day of the rally on Friday. I was wondering what all the fuss was about regarding the weather as I had not seen a drop of rain since I left my driveway the prior day. The Badlands were partly cloudy and pleasantly cool. Then I got to my hotel and it unloaded. From then on out it was periods of nonstop rain and occasional downpours interspersed between periods of partly cloudy skies.

But there were still more than enough opportunities for good riding. I even got in a few Triumph demo rides at Black Hills Powersports in Rapid City during the rain. The winds really picked up as you hit the mountain passes. Riding into Keystone via Rapid City to get to the KOA, the crosswinds were severe enough while riding the route 16 pass that I had to stop at times. I was relieved that the KOA tent area was not a mud pit. They maintain the hardpacked gravel very well.

I did the whole riding circuit while I was there for five days. Hill City, Custer Park, etc...Went into downtown Sturgis twice for lunch and it was the usual congestion, but attendance did seem to be down this year. I met member Omaha at his vendor Table at Big Al's market on Main.

Outside of the weather, the trip was just as enjoyable as it always has been. Any opportunity for a road trip is still better than sitting at home.

I bought a gopro last year and have been fooling around with it. One thing I noticed with using the action cameras is that it can detract from your ride if you let it. It's kind of like cell phones. You can get into a mode where you are more concerned with capturing something than enjoying the actual experience. So at various spots on my rides, I basically just turned it on and forgot about it.

When I go to a spot like the Black hills, I like taking my time and just enjoying the experience. I think a lot of folks rush to get from one place to another without really enjoying all that the area has to offer. There is no right or wrong way to enjoy your time. I just like taking my time and stopping often at pullouts to take in the scenery.

Will be taking a longer trip next year to hit Yellowstone after the rally.

I also did a little photography. Mainly spur-of-the-moment type things.

First event on the trip was a ride through the Badlands. When I arrived, there was free admission that day. Up to this point the weather was great.


















I spent a good amount of time off the bike just relaxing and enjoying the views.


Thew weather was outstanding for riding. Not too hot or cold.


Hit the KOA the next morning then did some riding in between the showers and storms. Spearfish canyon was not that crowded. Most of the roads were not anywhere near as congested as is typical based on my experience. At one point I had Needles almost all to my self. I think the rain kept a lot of people from venturing into certain areas. Traffic in Custer Park and Iron Mountain picked up around Tuesday to usual levels. Prior to that it was only sparsely populated on the scenic routes.

Spearfish Creek was near overflowing from all the rain.




Stopped at Pactola reservoir after a storm to take in the sunset:







Next few days were spent riding the scenic routes and hitting some of the popular spots.

The obligatory Rushmore Stop:



Hill City, Deadwood, Keystone, and Custer were busy at times but mostly smaller crowds than usual.

Keystone:




Custer:



Deadwood:



Main Street and Sturgis in general was less crowded than usual but there were still busy times.



My 'new school' ride. First time I took the GW to Sturgis. I heard that in years past they sued to burn a Gold Wing in a tree or something like that..lol. But I got a lot of inquiries about the new model from all kinds of folks. Some folks were curious.




Uncle Sam was there. I see this guy every time so he must attend annually.



Despite the weather, the experience was still mostly all smiles:



I will post a few more gopro vids once I have time to process.

 

Awesome ride report and pictures. Glad you enjoyed your trip, despite the weather!

 

Wonderful recap and great photos.

 

Nice photos. We stayed at the KOA in rapid also, was a really nice campground

 

Great trip!

 

I guess it's the largest KOA in the US. It is very well maintained. It's more expensive than some of the other spots I often hit like Katmandu. But they make up for it in amenities. I will probably stay there again in the future. I hear the Chip was a total mud pit. I was talking to a guy from Kentucky on my way home and he said they actually left to camp somewhere else because the mud was so bad and they would not allow the tent campers to move to other grounds. Most of the Chip caters to the RV crowd.

 

As mentioned, I also stopped in to say hello to Omaha, who was running a booth in Al's Arcade on Main Street. Vendor situation was kind of odd this year. Half the time, they were closed up due to the downpours. It appeared to me that a lot of vendors might have left early.

Omaha was running a table selling custom timer and derby covers. It actually was very nice work and I am not just saying that to be cordial. Pretty impressive detail.

 

Curious to know if your pics were taken with a phone or camera

 

Took most with the Iphone. IMO the new Iphone camera is actually the first phone where the quality is approaching dedicated consumer SLR.

 

Mini. Those pics are "marvelous". Beginning to think it's time to leave the SLR at home