48 States: Day 24, Sturgis South Dakota

Hoping this is going to be the worst wind day in this trip. Forecast was for 20 to 25 mph. The locals all said they don’t bother riding once it gets above 20 because it’s just a drag.

I left around 6 AM to hopefully get at least 2 hours in before the wind kicked up, even if it was 42F when I left. This actually wasn’t too bad until it got colder and the wind picked up. It was hovering around 37F + 80 mph + 20 mph wind.. which results in a 17F windchill.

Plus the wind was going sideways so it was blowing up/around my fairing and windscreen and helmet. Pretty brutal. At least after 150 miles I got off the highway and cut through the middle of ND/SD. Still pretty rough but no traffic. Hadn’t seen dirt road gas stations and no credit card readers since Yukon & Alaska either. One stretch was “No services next 103 miles.”

There was a bit of scenery going through the reservations, but mostly just cows.

Since I left at 6 AM and I was gaining an hour from the time change and it was “only” 7 hours, I got near town pretty early. However I was super beat and cold and was close to calling it a day.

However a biscuit and gravy (first one of this trip due to stomach issues!) and a bunch of decaf coffees thawed me out enough to gain some riding enthusiasm. Plus the wind report further east/north was much better.

So I headed to Devil’s Tower about 1.5 hours away. I then saw a sign I hadn’t seen in 1000’s of miles: “Steep turns next 9 miles” – huzzah! That stretch of road was the best riding since West Virginia. The wind was also really mild through this bit.

Devil’s tower is exactly what it looks like – a big ol’ random mountain stickin’ outta no where. Neat.

Sadly the drag back was straight into the wind again, now with random gusts.

Tomorrow I plan to wind around the black hills a bit an then head toward Wyoming.