The sky was grey when I left Willingston. The oil field traffic reminds me of my home in the Permian Basin of west Texas. Fracking has opened up North Dakota and it is almost impossible to find a motel room in western North Dakota. The motel I stayed at was so new it showed up as a corn field on Google Earth. South of Willingston, US Hwy 85 skirts the eastern edge of the Little Missouri National Grassland and the Theodore Roosevelt National Park. I stopped in a greasy spoon somewhere in this area. The staff were friendly and the food was passible. It seems to be the norm for road food. Unless you've gotten a recommendation for food, you won't likely find better on your own. I chose this one because there was a motorcycle already parked in front. I expected to talk about the road, but it was a young couple on their way to Sturgis for Bike Week. It dawned on me I was riding into Metric Motorcycle Hell! Fortunately, coming in from the north meant the bikers I ran into were coming from Canada. There isn't any mean in Canadian DNA. I actually got compliments on Trigger from a group of a dozen or so Harley riders at a gas station in Belfield, ND.
As I got closer to Belle Forsche the sun started peaking out and it warmed up enough to start shedding some layers. I had a room in the Motel 6 on the main drag through town. The were up to there ears in cruisers. At the front door was a bucket of rags, soap, and 5-gallon buckets to wash you bike. I took the opportunity to clean some bugs off Trigger and clean and lube the chain. A couple of cruiser riders came by and asked some questions about Trigger. Apparently Ducati is not a name widely known amongst the Bike Week enthusiasts. They were surprised that I was riding such a long trip. Many of them trailered their rides until they were about 100 miles from the Black Hills, then unload them and ride like they were real bikers the rest of the way. This is not the first time I've run across these wannabe bikers. But hey, to each his own, I guess. A steak house across from the motel provided a decent meal, and I was engaged by more Harley riders because I was wearing a Ducati t-shirt. I think Ducati needs to start paying me as Ambassador to Bike Week.
The long ride has me pretty worn out today. It is amazing how much energy gets drained by shivering. I should have layered up earlier in the day. I turned in early hoping to get an early start and beat the Harley's through Spearfish Canyon. I'll have some nice pictures there.
No comments:
Post a Comment