Denver to Sturgis and Back – 3 Days on the Bike

 

Twisted Road, Sturgis, Harley Davidson.  Somehow in 2020 all three worked together for a heck of an experience.

• In 1903, Harley Davidson was formed
• In 1938, the very first Sturgis motorcycle rally was held on August 14.
• In 2017, Twisted Road was founded in Chicago, IL to be the Turo of motorcycles
• In 2020, things didn’t go as planned…..

I’ve wanted to get back into riding and discovered Twisted Road where bike owners could rent to others as a way to make additional income.  To my surprise I found someone renting a 2010 Harley Street Glide – the iconic hot rod bagger with bat wing fairing that must be ridden.  What do you do with access to a bike like the Street Glide?  I took it for a day trip through the hills from Black Hawk to Estes Park, a sample that just made me want to ride more.

By July of 2020 I was going a bit crazy having cancelled many trips and I felt it was time to find something positive for the year.  Imagine the opportunity to attend a celebration like no other that most likely wouldn’t be repeated any place else in the world.  Good luck finding another event post March 2020 that would bring 450,000+ people together in a celebration of life, motorcycles, nature, and happiness.

I enlisted my neighbor who also has a Street Glide into a quick weekend trip to Sturgis for the Rally.  My neighbor, Mike who had been many times before, into a quick trip to South Dakota from Denver.

Friday, August 7^th 2020 - Highlands Ranch, CO to Custer, SD

Mike and I departed first this in the morning from south Denver bound for Custer, SD.  The rumble of the bike, the open road, it doesn’t take long for everything else in life and the world to disappear – the bike, the sound, the road – let’s roll! A nice 380 mile starting north on I-25 through Denver and up into Cheyenne, WY.  A stop for fuel and breakfast at Denny’s and then into WY open lands of wind and winding roads to make our way to Custer for our first day out.  A few pictures from the trip 

We opted not to get a hotel to avoid the crowds and found an amazing experience at Elk Haven Lodge Cabins in Custer, SD.  We had our own place in a very quiet setting just minutes outside of Custer.

 

Saturday, August 8^th, 2020 - Needles Ride through Custer State Park

Needles Highway: Mike and I were up early, finished our coffee and were on the bikes for the first ride of the day, by 8 AM we were well into Custer StatePark riding the Needles Highway - 

What an amazing way to start a morning – us, the bikes, the mountains, the tunnels, and the fresh air.  We had a great ride and day 2 on the bike was much more comfortable than Day 1. Check out these photos from the ride. 

Mt Rushmore: On our way north, we swung by Mt Rushmore for a quick photo stop. 

Keystone, SD Breakfast: After an hour of riding it was time for breakfast.  We entered Keystone, SD looking for a good place to eat. Tucked deep away in the Black Hills, Keystone, South Dakota is a great destination for travelers. A great place to eat and stretch our legs - photos from Keystone.

Spearfish Canyon: Running Spearfish Canyon with thousand-foot-high limestone walls tower to the right and left of Highway. Spearfish Creek lines the canyon floor while canyon waterfalls make for popular roadside attractions. Bridal Veil Falls and others along the route. We did the 22-mile journey from Cheyenne Crossing outside of Lead. From there, travel 20 miles through amazing scenery. We ended at I-90 in Spearfish - some photos from the ride.

 

Sturgis, SD: We entered the town of Sturgis – a nice escape from the year.  Bikes, bikes, bikes everywhere.  A great place for people watching, shopping for anything and everything bike related.  It was also a bit overwhelming with so many people, so not a place to spend too much time.  We also noticed a thunderstorm building and we had a bit of ride to get back to Custer. Photos from Sturgis.

Dinner in Custer, SD: After racing back south, driving through the rain, we got into Custer for a nice dinner.  I needed a dry shirt and had one probably only appropriate to this setting.  We had some fun after a long day of riding.

 

 

Sunday, August 9^th 2020

Time to return to life.  We were up early for the ride back home.  We stopped in Lusk, WY for breakfast on the way home.  A very colorful bar, with some interesting residents.  They definitely live the motto – you can’t drink all day if you don’t start in the morning.

An unforgettable experience in a year when any positive experience was really needed.