Day Two: Saturday, July 21
We awoke to beautiful weather as we crossed the Missouri River and rode into Nebraska. We rode the “Outlaw Trail” to its conclusion in Valentine, Nebraska.
Randal, our technological guru, was able to hook-up my satellite radio, as that would be my only entertainment as we moved into the wilderness. The Harley satellite radio only works through pre-sets, and Randal was kind enough to set my pre-sets to multiple country music stations (really?), Fox News (never listened to that before, but I'm told it is "fair and balanced"), and SEC college sports (are there any good athletic schools left in the SEC?). But I drew the line when he said he would add a preset for Cubs baseball.
The Outlaw Trail’s name reflects the rustlers, robbers and killers who plied their trade and found hideouts in the region. Lawmen were spread thin in this sparsely populated area and newly established courts often erred on the side of caution with convictions and executions. It is believed that 58 people were lynched in Nebraska between 1859 and 1919.
The Outlaw Trail roughly follows the Lewis & Clark trail, and the travels of the Lewis & Clark expedition. There are historical markers everywhere.
The Outlaw Trail is Nebraska Highway 12:
To put this in perspective, the Harleys are massive motorcycles - weighing in at nearly 1,000 pounds. They are also very fast. My Harley has a 1.8 liter engine. It has the Harley super high performance engine, it is ported, has a stage one performance upgrade, it has been dyno tuned and has a tuned exhaust. The bike is really loud, and when the engine is on, it thumps - it sounds like the engine is pounding something.
There are no cell phones when riding a bike. The sound is the rush of the wind, the thumping of the engine, and the really loud stereo playing rock and roll music. It is Xanadu.
I really liked cresting each hill on the Outlaw Trail. On the other side, there is the verdant green of the valley. The corn is florescent green with gold tassels. The soybeans and alfalfa are bright. You can see the patchwork of fields, with the crops defined by color. The valleys are long. It is like western Illinois on steroids. It is magnificent. As we moved west, the agriculture changed from crops to huge, long fields of alfalfa and grazing pasture. It was a changing tapestry.
At our second fuel stop (our range is about 200 miles), there was the "Engaging Room," which was a small room at the back of the gas station for people to "engage." At least, that is what we interpreted the sign "Engaging Room" to mean. That is where I plied Randal and Larry with my selfie stick skills.
We had a snack of nuts and water before we left for Valentine, Nebraska.
We stopped for lunch in Valentine. For those of you who know Larry and Randal, you would find it shocking to hear that they actually speak to people. Valentine was no exception. As we were departing, a women came out of the restaurant and told Larry how much she liked his motorcycle. Larry asked if she would like a ride, and to everyone's surprise - she jumped at the opportunity. She put her kit in the car, Larry took the luggage off his bike, and away they went. The result was that Larry took a complete stranger for a motorcycle ride, which she thoroughly enjoyed. That doesn't happen in Chicago. The waivers alone would take days to prepare.
From there, we drove into South Dakota. Our first issue was roadway construction. We had to "portage" our motorcycles over what the contractor defined as "Loose Gravel." Yes, the pavement came to an end, and we had to pilot our bikes through loose gravel. As I'm sure you can imagine, front heavy Harleys don't handle well in loose gravel. We are all glad we didn't drop our bikes.
We headed north through the Rosebud Indian Reservation, to the Badlands.
Badlands National Park has eroded buttes and pinnacles, which are magnificent. It is akin to the Grand Canyon.
The photo is of Randal out on a finger of land. I think he looks like John Muir, not Magellan.
From the Badlands, we went to the Interstate, and then to our hotel. En route, we stopped in Wall South Dakota to fuel up.
Wall, South Dakota is the home to "Wall Drug," a kitschy roadside attraction. If you have driven in the American west, you will have seen their road signs everywhere.
We stopped for gas, and skillfully avoided Wall Drug:
While at the gas station, we saw rain and lightning coming toward us. We jumped on our bikes, headed into the storm - toward our hotel in Rapid City. And we made it to the hotel just as the rain was beginning in earnest. Timing is everything. The speed limit was 80 mph. And one of our Caballeros accused me of "babying" my bike, as I was not driving at the century mark.
When we finally reached our hotel, Larry and Randal went to the happy hour, and there were 59 seniors on a bus tour of the west in there visiting. Randal later told me that he isn't often the youngest person in the room, and he rather liked that.
Over the next two hours, Randal and Larry met all 59 people, discussed their life stories, their travels and became personally acquainted with each and every one of them. Buoyed by his success with the old lady (riding the Harley I mean) in Valentine, Nebraska, Larry proceeded to promise all of the seniors a ride on his Harley. I had visions of Larry, Randle and me providing thrill rides for the old folks in the morning.
The rain tonight was very heavy. Tomorrow we will be riding through the wonders around Rapid City, and are hoping for sunshine.
Randal, our technological guru, was able to hook-up my satellite radio, as that would be my only entertainment as we moved into the wilderness. The Harley satellite radio only works through pre-sets, and Randal was kind enough to set my pre-sets to multiple country music stations (really?), Fox News (never listened to that before, but I'm told it is "fair and balanced"), and SEC college sports (are there any good athletic schools left in the SEC?). But I drew the line when he said he would add a preset for Cubs baseball.
The Outlaw Trail’s name reflects the rustlers, robbers and killers who plied their trade and found hideouts in the region. Lawmen were spread thin in this sparsely populated area and newly established courts often erred on the side of caution with convictions and executions. It is believed that 58 people were lynched in Nebraska between 1859 and 1919.
The Outlaw Trail roughly follows the Lewis & Clark trail, and the travels of the Lewis & Clark expedition. There are historical markers everywhere.
The Outlaw Trail is Nebraska Highway 12:
The Outlaw Trail is the type of road I like to ride. There was virtually no traffic, the views were fantastic, and the road was in pristine condition.
To put this in perspective, the Harleys are massive motorcycles - weighing in at nearly 1,000 pounds. They are also very fast. My Harley has a 1.8 liter engine. It has the Harley super high performance engine, it is ported, has a stage one performance upgrade, it has been dyno tuned and has a tuned exhaust. The bike is really loud, and when the engine is on, it thumps - it sounds like the engine is pounding something.
There are no cell phones when riding a bike. The sound is the rush of the wind, the thumping of the engine, and the really loud stereo playing rock and roll music. It is Xanadu.
I really liked cresting each hill on the Outlaw Trail. On the other side, there is the verdant green of the valley. The corn is florescent green with gold tassels. The soybeans and alfalfa are bright. You can see the patchwork of fields, with the crops defined by color. The valleys are long. It is like western Illinois on steroids. It is magnificent. As we moved west, the agriculture changed from crops to huge, long fields of alfalfa and grazing pasture. It was a changing tapestry.
At our second fuel stop (our range is about 200 miles), there was the "Engaging Room," which was a small room at the back of the gas station for people to "engage." At least, that is what we interpreted the sign "Engaging Room" to mean. That is where I plied Randal and Larry with my selfie stick skills.
We stopped for lunch in Valentine. For those of you who know Larry and Randal, you would find it shocking to hear that they actually speak to people. Valentine was no exception. As we were departing, a women came out of the restaurant and told Larry how much she liked his motorcycle. Larry asked if she would like a ride, and to everyone's surprise - she jumped at the opportunity. She put her kit in the car, Larry took the luggage off his bike, and away they went. The result was that Larry took a complete stranger for a motorcycle ride, which she thoroughly enjoyed. That doesn't happen in Chicago. The waivers alone would take days to prepare.
From there, we drove into South Dakota. Our first issue was roadway construction. We had to "portage" our motorcycles over what the contractor defined as "Loose Gravel." Yes, the pavement came to an end, and we had to pilot our bikes through loose gravel. As I'm sure you can imagine, front heavy Harleys don't handle well in loose gravel. We are all glad we didn't drop our bikes.
We headed north through the Rosebud Indian Reservation, to the Badlands.
The photo is of Randal out on a finger of land. I think he looks like John Muir, not Magellan.
From the Badlands, we went to the Interstate, and then to our hotel. En route, we stopped in Wall South Dakota to fuel up.
Wall, South Dakota is the home to "Wall Drug," a kitschy roadside attraction. If you have driven in the American west, you will have seen their road signs everywhere.
We stopped for gas, and skillfully avoided Wall Drug:
When we finally reached our hotel, Larry and Randal went to the happy hour, and there were 59 seniors on a bus tour of the west in there visiting. Randal later told me that he isn't often the youngest person in the room, and he rather liked that.
Over the next two hours, Randal and Larry met all 59 people, discussed their life stories, their travels and became personally acquainted with each and every one of them. Buoyed by his success with the old lady (riding the Harley I mean) in Valentine, Nebraska, Larry proceeded to promise all of the seniors a ride on his Harley. I had visions of Larry, Randle and me providing thrill rides for the old folks in the morning.
The rain tonight was very heavy. Tomorrow we will be riding through the wonders around Rapid City, and are hoping for sunshine.
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