Sound of motors in my head! We don’t rush folks here on the AM Leather River run. So everyone gets up and lingers over coffee and kibbitzes in the morning. We decided to head south along the Little Traverse Bay and then the Grand Traverse Bay to Traverse City, where we’d head south on M-37. Fired up the bikes and rolled out of the Birchwood Inn around 10:00. First stop: the nearest gas station! About 3 of us were really, really, really low on fuel. The sweating bullets, not sure if I’ll make to the gas station kind of low! We all made it, I had .4 gal left, Mojo only had .3 gal left (based on how much the bike took, minus listed capacity).

We jumped on to US 31 for the first leg, it was so warm already we didn’t even need jackets. The sun was shining on the bay and we are lovin’ it! Only 40 minutes later, we hit Charlevoix, first time I’ve been through there, what a nice town. They have a nice park and amphitheater overlooking Lake Charlevoix, a quaint downtown, so we decided to stop, even though we’d just gotten going. Turns out some people wanted more than a continental breakfast, so we went into the Harbor View Diner and had 2nd breakfast or lunch, whichever one preferred. The food was very good, with generous portions.

So we get back on the road, it’s 12:30 by now, and we’ve only gone 36 miles! Too funny. It’s about the experience, not how fast you get somewhere, so no one really cares. We’re not in a hurry to get home, we just want to ride. Lots of great views of Lake Michigan and Grand Traverse Bay as we roll down US 31 towards Traverse City. Not too much traffic, a real nice relaxing ride. Once in the outskirts of Traverse City, traffic picks up and there are oh so many motels, ice cream stores, and every other thing imaginable. Can you say commercial district?

We picked up M 37 southbound and rode through farms and woods, moving at a good pace. Down near Mesick, we picked up M 115 east and made good time rolling toward Clare, where we dropped onto US 127 south. We hammered with the cages down 127 until Ithaca, where we stopped to stretch our legs, hydrate the bodies, and top off the tanks. Mojo said he was starting to trust me again since we’d stopped before he got real low on gas! Thanks, Mojo! We had a little powwow about where to have dinner and which route to use for the homeward run. It was decided to stay on 127 to I 96 east to M 52 south, then M 36 east and dinner at the Zukey lake Tavern, a fine place we all knew was friendly to bikers and serves great food.

So here we are, with almost 800 miles in two days, and no incidents with cars or semi trucks, getting within spitting distance of home. Then on M 36, we’re rolling past this farm, and here comes a big old yellow Labrador trotting along toward the road. We all fugure he’s going to stop at the edge of the road and bark at us, or at worst chase one of the bikes a few yards. But noooooo, this guy is chasing a freaking butterfly! He acts like we aren’t even there! Runs out right behind me and Geoff in front of Jimmy on his Softtail Duece, the smallest bike in our group! Poor Jimmy gets on his brakes and nearly does a front wheel stand he stops so hard, and that dog does a little spin on his hind legs, and somehow they miss each other! Jimmy joked later “If I’d killed that “deer”, someone would’ve had to find some antlers to stick on it!” All’s well that ends well!

We had a great dinner at Zukey Lake Tavern and headed out for the run home. As we went, folks dropped out of the pack for the best ride to their own domicile. Sharon and I took North Territorial to Beck and into Belleville. Todd stayed with M 36 to his place, and the rest of the pack took US 23 to I 94 towards Romulus and points beyond. I rolled into my garage about 9:00 p.m. It was a great two day run, and we all had a blast riding and laughing with our new friends. Who wants to join us next year?

Wow, what a day! Up before dawn to meet up with the riders at AM Leather in Romulus, MI. Ended up still running late, so made arrangements by phone to meet on the road. Whoops, missed them. Another phone call and a new rendezvous, fly down the highway at 90 mph, whoops, they still aren’t here, what the heck? Ah, here’s my brother pulling up beside me….gave me the wrong street and I flew right by them! Well, finally, we’re all together. Six bikes rolling 2 x 2 down the highway, nice tight formation, you’d think we knew what we were doing! Pick up one more bike with 2 people on the way north towards Mackinaw City. Stop in Birch Run for breakfast and top off the bikes. Ate at the Exit Restaurant, good food, normal prices. Back on the road after an hour stop. Why is it that a stop takes proportionately longer the more people in your group?

Beautiful weather, sunny and warming up nicely. We hop off the freeway at exit 202 and head up M-33. Straight as an arrow road, with gently undulating hills. Lots of neat barns and silos, light traffic, great ride. North of Atlanta, we stop and pick up another rider, now we have 7 bikes and 12 people. One Softtail Deuce, one Heritage Softtail, and 5 Electra Glides(one standard, one Classic, and 3 Ultras). We hit Mackinaw City around 3:00, pretty much what we expected, despite the delays. Had lunch at JR’s, not the worst, not the best. Took some pics by the bridge, bought some fudge, and headed down to Harbor Springs and the “tunnel of trees” - M-119 between Harbor Springs and Cross Village. 20 miles of narrow road, curves, bends, and almost all totally enclosed by the canopy of deciduous trees. A nice ride, indeed, and even better when the leaves turn in the fall. We came in from the Cross Village end and rode down to HS. Checked in to our motel, The Birchwood Inn, and said farewell to our Atlanta brother who headed home.

Next stop: downtown Harbor Springs for a walkabout and dinner. Beautiful downtown, some really neat architecture and a nice view of Little Traverse Bay. More pics, check out this restaurant, no, this one, no, we’re underdressed (we’re bikers, do we care about that?), ok, let’s eat at the bar. But wait, there’s one more option……..ride back up the tunnel of trees (all 20 miles) at 8:00 p.m. and eat at Legs Inn in Cross Village. Do we really want to do that? Yes, we do. After all, we’re on a ride, aren’t we? What a great decision! We saw dozens of deer, just missed a few, and had an awesome dining experience. The Inn is very intriguing, with decor from driftwood, taxidermy, native wood, and Indian artifacts. The food is Polish cuisine, and quite authentic. A must for anyone travelling this area!

Finally an eerie ride back down the tunnel to our motel. The bike lights bouncing off the canopy and tree trunks is ethereal, the taillights ahead mesmerizing. Very cool experience. Best of all, no one hit any deer!
Ah, sleep, take me away…..zzzzzzzzzzz

the AM Leather crew at Mackinac Bridge

bootheel view on the road

Well, we’re off on the road again! Tomorrow morning we leave bright and early (for me) from AM Leather in Romulus, MI. Hoping for a 7:00 a.m. departure, then north on US 23 and meet up with a couple more riders near Howell. This ride is planned by Al, owner of AM Leather. We’ll head north on US 23 and I-75, then after Zilwaukee exit the slab and hit the 2 lanes for a while, to Mackinac City. I’m not sure if we’re going over the bridge and back, or just grabbing some photo ops. Then we head southwest over to Harbor Springs and M-119 for the tunnel of trees. Al has a restaurant in mind near there, not sure which one, that’ll be a surprise for later! Sharon and I booked a room at the Birchwood Inn, Al wants to wing it and see where he ends up. I had too many tired evenings hunting down a place with vacancy on my last trip; no fun, doing that.
All of that is planned for Saturday, then Sunday, the homeward run. Looks like two long, fun days in the saddle! Check back tomorrow night for the story on the ride and pics from the road. - Frank

Yes, I said I’d have numbers on Sunday, and here it is Monday already. But my buddy was in from out of town and we spent the day on the lake catching up and skiing. I make no apologies for it!
So here is the summary by numbers: Total miles travelled: 3031; days out from home: 8; average daily mileage: 379; Highest mileage day: 539; Not really sure about the lowest, sorry; meals approx. $60.00/day (we used cash for them alot, so harder to track); lodging: $1027 - avg. $128/night, fuel:$221 - $.07/mile, avg. 38mpg.
We did the whole trip under $3000.00, which isn’t bad. You could find cheaper rooms if you look hard, but during rally week it’ll likely be higher. We also didn’t eat at the cheapest restaurants, nor the most expensive. Another variable, of course, is how much you spend at the bar - Sharon had no alchohol, and I didn’t drink much, just a couple beers here and there.
Things to consider for future trips: get to Mt Rushmore early or be patient to get in; morning light is best for pictures of the monument; there is, however, special lighting ceremonies in the evening during the summer. Read up about the attractions on the web ahead of time to decide where you want to spend your time. We wanted to experience the roads more than the attractions, so didn’t spend a lot of time at any one, though many would have been interesting to explore - maybe on another trip. Sales people at souvenir shops can be a good source for the best places to eat.
The next trip to Sturgis will be rally week. The Friday rally starts, main street is closed to cars, and that’s when the bikes are parked on both curbs and two lines in the center of the street. Just be ready for the big crowds. If you have or rent a camper, Full Throttle and Buffalo Chip have big name bands in for concerts. Check their lineup ahead, and plan your days for your favorite bands.
If anyone else would like to share their motorcycle travel stories, e mail me at 391brownie@gmail.com and I will post it for you, or contact the webmaster of this site to do you own blog.
One thing I was remiss on: Crossed the path of a rider heading into Sturgis on a ‘60 panhead, loaded with all his gear in a pack and bungeed on everywhere, sleeping bag strapped across the handlebars. I should have taken the time to chat him up and get his story…I overheard him tell someone that he’s ridden that bike to Sturgis 32 times and Laconia 28 times. It looked like it, too. Oil sludge all over the lower end, dripping onto the pavement, and he keeps a block of wood to raise the kickstand so the bike doesn’t tip as far. He is the spitting image of a hardcore rider from way back. Definitely a standout memory from the road!

From Broken Spoke Saloon collection

Well, no matter how good the trip, it seems it’s always good to get home, and that holds true again now. 540 miles, delays in Chicago, and more delays by Kalamazoo; we were on the road 9 1/2 hours. That included stops for gas, lunch and dinner. Not bad, really. We tallied right around 3000 miles for the week, so that figures about 600 miles riding around SD and WY. Took I-90 home, so notched two more states on my motorcycling list-Minnesota and Wisconsin. The downside to that was driving through Chicago on Saturday afternoon. At least we were mostly moving and not just stopped dead for long stretches. It took about 45 minutes to get through downtown, and that was on the toll road. Before we experienced that little pleasure, we had stopped for lunch on the north end at a little place on the corner of Arlington Hts Road and Higgins Road called the Rose Garden Cafe. Very upscale decor, fair prices, and the food was verrry good. The portions were large, sort of reminding me of Tony’s at Birch Run, but not quite that extreme. Our route took us right through the Wisconsin Dells, which has several attractions and lots of water parks. It’s also home to Tommy Bartlett’s, the site of one of the country’s first big water ski shows. It would be a nice place to plan a long weekend bike run for a group of friends. Hmmmm….
Didn’t see near as many bikes on the road today. Why is it some people insist on doing the biker wave across 6 lanes of traffic and a median? I try to wave back if someone waves, but c’mon, get real! We passed a couple thousand bikes on this trip. Really, people?
The Chicago skyline looked good, but from the toll road there’s just too much stuff in the way to enjoy it. We passed the Cubs stadium, and traffic was so heavy, I didn’t even see it till I looked at the pics Sharon took. Go figure. Wisconsin looked a lot like driving up north in MI. Cool. Once we hit the MI border, there must have been a bulletin I didn’t get that the State Police had the day off. We cruised at 80 mph, and were getting passed a lot! Even in the construction zones (except by Kalamazoo) everyone went 10 over. That helped make up some time. We caved in to my desire to hurry home and ate dinner at a chain(gasp) restaurant near Jackson.
Those stats I told you I’d publish today? Make that tomorrow, OK?

Wisconsin rock formation

What it says - Rose Garden Cafe

Sears tower, Chicago

Went from Murdo, SD to La Crosse, WI today. Saw a lot of bikes going west for the rally. It felt wrong to be leaving just when things are gearing up, but that’s how we planned it, so I’ll just have to deal with it. Had sunny skies most of the day, with moderate temps. It got real hot a couple times, then real cool when it clouded up. Quite cool coming down into the Mississippi valley this evening. Southern Minnesota is pretty much the same as SD plains, until the easternmost part, it gets a little hilly. Not much of any distinction. One thing for sure, SD has a handle on tourism. Every town has some kind attraction they are hawking from a zillion billboards. It’s at least entertaining wondering how many folks get sucked in. MN, however, has nothing but farms. Oh, one sign that says “agriculture, the backbone of America”. Wow. Until we got to the little town of Blue Earth - come and see our 60 foot tall green giant. So what the heck - we did. It was time to peel off the rain suits anyway. Yes, we got rained on. Only about 5 minutes, but it came down pretty hard. Then a little farther, Hormel has the Spam Museum. That’s right, folks, there is a museum of Spam - the processed meat, not the electronic kind. We didn’t stop there, sorry if you’re disappointed! Saw a sign for the town of Pukwana - I think they got it backward - some things make me wana puk. See. I told you there wasn’t much in MN!
We stopped in Mitchell (where Cabela’s is), SD for gas and lunch. Went into a little sports bar called Blarney’s. Good food and nice folks.
Had dinner in the motel restaurant called Heroes. It was OK, under new mangement, needing more training for the waitstaff. Would have gone somewhere else, but the town is spread out, and not much where we are, didn’t feel like riding around searching.
Tomorrow we hope to back in Belleville, about a 540 mile ride. Then I’ll crunch all the numbers, and let you know how we did on mileage and expenses.

Fourth Missourri river crossing this trip

Minnesota's big attraction 60 ft. tall

Rode back into Sturgis today to get the bike seat redone. Perfect riding weather, sunny skies and not too hot. Checked in with Master Lugo (www.masterlugos.com) and headed out to kill some time till he got to our bike. Went into the Motorcycle Museum and Hall of Fame to check it out. It was quite nicely done, with lots of vintage bikes, and some more recent with historic significance.
Walked around town a bit after that, then parked our butts on a bench and watched the characters go by. Judging from what’s there early, the rally proper is going to be a hoot! Lugo still wasn’t to our bike yet, so we had lunch at One Eyed Jack’s. They have an Australian outback decor, complete with a rendering of Ayers Rock, the world’s largest monolith. It’s also known as Uluru, and is sacred to the aborigines.
Master Lugo was starting our seat now, so we watched him do his magic, shaping the seat for us and adding the memory foam. Sharon is no longer sitting way above me in the airstream. Much nicer, indeed. Once we settled up, it was time to head east, homeward bound. We rode back to Murdo, SD, where we stayed Sunday night.
Tried the Rusty Spur for dinner. Turned out we were invisible to all but the host who seated us. After an unacceptable wait without a hello or glass of water, we bailed. Ended up back at the Buffalo Bar & Restaurant, where they wait on you quickly and serve good food.

Master Lugo adds memory foam

Vintage bikes

Hall of Fame bike

Rolled on a good many miles today, for sure. Sunshine filling the window today, whoo hoo! Skipped the all carb continental breakfast and went out for some protein, good old eggs and bacon, yum! Left Rapid City for Devil’s Tower in mid 60 degree temps, perfect for riding. The roads and terrain were gentle, no tight turns or challenges, just nice, easy riding. We crossed into Wyoming (state # 20 for me) and the scenery was great. Not majestic or breathtaking, just simple and beautiful, truly blessed land. Hit a couple different turnouts to take pics of Devil’s Tower, and headed via a different route back toward SD and Sturgis. Thought about having lunch in Sundance, WY, but when we got there, we didn’t see any appealing venues, only chains and a couple dive bars. So we hit the road east again, and figured we’d try Deadwood, SD instead. Good choice. Turns out it is one of three towns considered true old west, besides Tombstone and Dodge City. Walked the length of town, took lots of pics, and had lunch at the Buffalo Steak House. Decent place, food not bad, western ambience.
There was still ice in places from yesterday’s record hail storm. We left Deadwood and hit the road to Sturgis, another scenic drive. Parked on Main Street and walked the town, checking out the vendors and bikes, laughing at some of the people. Found Master Lugo working on a seat, and after a little chat, will go back tomorrow and get my bike seat redone with memory foam. Looking forward to a nicer ride home. Also found some really sharp instrument gauges at J & P Cycle. They are made by Medallion, cost $875 for the kit. That’ll have to wait. Rode out to the Full Throttle Saloon for a beer and look see. They have some interesting decor, were pretty busy, but the place is huge. There was a film crew there taping for a reality show. Of course. No, we did not get filmed. Headed down the street to check out the Buffalo Chip. Didn’t go in, we didn’t find it that welcoming. The entrance signage wasn’t very good, and all the roads in are dirt. WTF? The bands don’t show up till next week anyway. From there we went back into town and stopped at the Broken Spoke Saloon, where we were told could be found good food. Ha! They don’t even have a kitchen. What they do have, however, is a great collection of vintage bikes. Definitely a good place to party if you aren’t hungry. We ended up back in
Rapid City for dinner at Casa Real, pretty fast and tasty Mexican cuisine. Whew! I don’t know if it sounds like much, but we were on the go all day. Glad to be chillin’!

Uh, that's right, Devil's tower!

Main St., Deadwood, SD

Main St., Sturgis, SD

Woke up to sunny skies again today. That didn’t even last till after breakfast. It was cloudy, but not threatening rain when we hit the road a little after 9:00. Half an hour later, we pulled off in a turnout and took some pics of Mt. Rushmore. Hopped on the bike to go into the park, but didn’t like the long line of vehicles, so motored on around back, hit another turnout and got some profile pics of George. Headed over to Crazy Horse mountain next, but when I saw it from the road and learned what they wanted for admission, said forget it. Just didn’t seem worth it. Then we backtracked a little and headed down Needles Hwy. We were told this was a “must do” ride. Oh yeah! Besides the breathtaking mountains and rock formations, there are narrow one lane tunnels through the mountains, and enough twists and turns to make The Dragon (US 129 in Tenn) jealous. Can you say hairpin? Declining radius? It’s got plenty. Oh, is that a motorhome coming at me on the whole damn road?!!!! Move over, damn it! Needles gets you into Custer State Park. What a great place. Gorgeous lakes, rock spires, more tunnels, and a wildlife loop. We saw deer, antelope, wild burros and bison. And a squirrel that almost ran under my tires. lol When we pulled over to look at the buffs, we learned a bull had charged one of the bikes and stopped just short of the couple. They had one of those sheepskin seat covers on their bike, and we wondered if the fur didn’t get the bull’s attention. Just saying, you know? After the wildlife loop, we headed up Iron Mountain Rd back toward Keystone and Mt Rushmore. I thought if it wasn’t backed up, we’d go in and get a closer look-see. Well, the skies looked as dark as night, so we pulled into a turnout and suited up. Got back on the road, but not for long. The clouds opened up and even though we had our suits on, I didn’t feel like it was safe to stay on the twisties in that downpour. The lightning and thunder crashed and echoed in the mountains; it was awesome! We holed up in a low spot and waited until things settled down to a drizzle, then got moving again. With the wet pavement, I just took it easy rather than try pushing things, as is my usual style. There were plenty of switchbacks and turns to keep me in check. Riding down from the Norbeck Scenic Lookout, there are a couple really neat corkscrew bridges and more tunnels. Very cool ride, these roads. Stopped in Keystone and got a couple gifts, then back to the motel and into the hot tub to warm back up to normal. Once we warmed up and rinsed off, it was time to head out to dinner. By then the roads had dried off, and we went across town to the Colonial House Restaurant and Bar. A very good choice, rcommended by the nice lady at Black Hills Jewelry. The food was great, the beer selection good, the beer cold, and the dessert menu rocks. We finished up with the creme brulee. Quite nice, indeed. Tomorrow, Devils Tower for sure, and back to Sturgis.

Black Hills tunnel

Rushmore profile

Mt. Rushmore

Woke up to mostly cloudy skies and a forecast of severe thundershowers. Headed out anyway, didn’t even put on the rainsuits (aren’t we the daring ones!?). Only had 120 miles to our motel in Rapid City, so headed south into the Badlands to check it out. Sharon thought it looked like a movie set, very unreal. It made me think of giant dried up crawdad burrows. Whatever! It’s a very rugged and unforgiving landscape, awesome in its own way. You are allowed to walk out into the grounds and climb where you are able.
The Badlands loop takes you back to I-90 at the town of Wall, where the big attraction is Wall Drug store. If there is a record for the most billboards, they would own it. We started seeing their ads as soon as we got into SD. Did it meet the billing? As much as any other tourist attraction, in my humble opinion. But I wasn’t expecting much anyway. If you like Frankenmuth, you’ll like
WallDrug. Lunch at the Badlands Bar, tried a buffalo burger. It’s kind of like real lean beef, and was a tad overdone. But the beer was very cold. MMMMM!!
Then off to Rapid City. But the skies that way were looking very menacing, so the rain suits went on. We got within a half mile of our stop when it finally opened up. Even then, it wasn’t too bad. After check in, we had plenty of time, so headed west into Sturgis. The terrain changes a few miles west of Rapid City from prairie grasslands to wooded hills, very pretty. We strolled around downtown Sturgis, and grabbed dinner at the Knuckle Saloon. Many vendors were already set up, more were still working at it. Even a week before official rally starts, there were several hundred bikes in town.
Tomorrow we hope to visit Mount Rushmore, and maybe Devils Tower.

Badlands view

Badlands peaks

Park sign