Passes & Canyons Blog

Cruising down Spearfish Canyon.

For the first time in the 25-year OFMC history we stayed in one place for three days. Hill City, South Dakota, was a very nice base for day rides but now we’re in Wyoming. How were the Black Hills?

Everything is very much in preparation for the rally. All the tighter curves on the roads in the area have been marked with orange flags to alert riders to be cautious, and in some cases they’ve even set up cones. I stopped at a Suzuki shop in Sturgis to get some assistance setting up my new highway pegs but they told me they just don’t have time to deal with small stuff like that now, “We’ve got a rally to prepare for.”

In Sturgis most of the shops are still empty but other vendors are already in business. I know that in a week there won’t be a bit of available space anywhere.

After doing the Needles Highway and Iron Mountain Road one day, we went up through Deadwood and down to Sturgis, the next, returning via Vanocker Canyon and Nemo Road. Very nice to get off the very busy main highway. Stopped at a junction along the way we had one of the closest calls ever in OFMC history. We were parked faced left on a T and needed to go the opposite way. I pulled out and turned around and then Dennis started to follow. What he didn’t see–but all the rest of us did–was the gravel truck coming right toward us in the lane he was just starting to cross. Johnathon screamed as loud as he could, I yelled, others did whatever they could, but Dennis couldn’t hear any of us over the sound of his motor. Then he looked up and saw the truck as it was smoking its brakes, coming right at him.

The driver had seen him, and was no doubt cursing loudly, but he did manage to stop, as Dennis hurriedly scooted out of his path. “I didn’t see him,” Dennis said. “I looked back but all I could see was a bunch of bikes.” Take note that Dennis is quite short, so it makes sense that he couldn’t see past the throng. But oh man, what a bad thing nearly happened.

We did make it safely back to the motel, however, and then three of the guys decided they wanted more, so they set off to ride the Needles and Iron Mountain again. Mind you, it was late in the afternoon and a rainstorm was threatening. They leathered up, suited up, and took off. They got wet. Really wet, but they did have rainsuits on. Johnathon said it got so dark at one point that he thought the sun had set and he was startled a little later when the sun came back out.

They said there were no other bikes out on the super twisty roads, nor many cars either. It was a bit hellacious but very memorable, too. How many of us have memories of riding those roads in that kind of extreme conditions? Those guys were hard core.

Then this morning those three plus Ray got up early and blasted out to a gig in Cheyenne. The rest of us took our time, headed up through Lead to Spearfish Canyon, down to Spearfish and I-90, and on west all the way over to Buffalo. It was hot and windy and not the most pleasant ride, but tomorrow we’ll go up over the Bighorn Mountains and down to Ten Sleep and I know that’s a really sweet road. Hot diggety!

Biker Quote for Today

The car driver population sustains substantial mental stress from the continuing “lane weaving” antics of typical motorcycle riders.

Narrow tunnels are part of riding the Black Hills.

With 11 bikes–the most ever for the OFMC–we rode the Needles Highway and Iron Mountain Road today. Tomorrow will be a ride up to Sturgis and Deadwood.

The initial seven were joined yesterday here in Hill City, South Dakota, by Johnathon–a regular–and Ray, Steve, and Kenny–all newcomers to the group. The first three all rode up from Denver yesterday and Kenny drove up late with his bike and keyboard in a trailer. Steve, Johnathon, and Kenny will be heading out early Wednesday to get to Cheyenne to play during the Frontier Days festivities. These guys are all part of Homeslice, a pretty darn good band.

We came on to Hill City yesterday from Chadron, Nebraska, on a pretty short ride. This trip is full of short rides, which is kind of nice actually. Our rooms weren’t ready so we strolled on down to the main street and went in the Mangy Moose for some liquid refreshment. Turns out that in preparation for the Black Hills rally, which starts very soon, the bar was clearing out its taps so they will sell only bottled beer. It’s just faster than drawing from the tap and changing out kegs constantly. But they managed to draw us a couple pitchers.

This close to the rally there are already a lot of bikes here. They’re intermingled with families, however, so we’ve been seeing plenty of mommies and daddies with the kiddies. This is just a popular tourist place at any time, although in September, once school starts, it’s pretty quiet.

So we took off this morning and boy, what a chore it is getting 11 guys ready at once. We rode the narrow roads that would be broad one-ways but which in fact have traffic going both directions. Speeds are between 15 and 25 so it’s pretty safe but then there are the narrow tunnels that only permit traffic one direction at a time. If you’ve been here you know the score. If you haven’t, you should. Several of the tunnels are aligned so that as you go through them Mount Rushmore is right there ahead of you on the other side. A fabulous image.

Come Wednesday we’ll be heading to Wyoming and we’ll be back down to seven. Right now we have seven Harleys, one Kawasaki, one Suzuki, and two Hondas. Then we’ll be back to five Harleys, one Suzuki, and one Honda. Ranging in size from 650 to 1800. We’re a pretty eclectic group.

It’s just so good to be out away from family and jobs and all responsibilities. And riding motorcycles.

Biker Quote for Today

Ride hard or stay home