Wrap up

“It’s not the destination, it’s the ride”

A few years back, Harley Davidson used this slogan in some of their advertising. I think this one sentence sums up what motorcycling and traveling in general is all about. Yes, our goal was Sturgis but that didn’t turn out to be the highlight of the trip. Whether the actual destination is Sturgis, Myrtle Beach, Milwaukee or Meat Cove, Nova Scotia it is mainly the things you see and the people you meet along the way that make the trip memorable.

Heading out of Sturgis and all the way back to Albany, NY on I-90 we passed hundreds of cars, trucks and motorhomes heading home with bikes packed into trailers or strapped into the back of pickup beds. I’m sure they got home quicker than us and had a more comfortable ride with their soft seats and air conditioning but I feel sorry for them because they missed out on the challenge and sense of adventure we got from riding.

When we get together over a beer or two and talk about the trip to Sturgis, we won’t be talking about all the bikes we saw in the Black Hills or how great the bars or vendors or pretty girls were on Main Street. It will be the small things we saw and experienced that we will remember and laugh about: the “free” campground in Ohio and the early morning fog when we left; riding across the Mississippi for the first time and how tired we were when we got there; all the beautiful, well kept farms of Iowa (no, we never did got bored looking at all that corn); pie for breakfast with Judy the cranky waitress and the missing statue in Kimballton; the too talkative Lewis and Clark tour guide; Crofton, Nebraska with its beautiful Argo Hotel, the bar with two old-timers, the worlds least knowledgeable bartender (“We don’t have any DARK beer and what’s in a Jack and ginger????”), its 6 legged pig and paddlefish; the double decker bridge over the Missouri in Yanton, SD and the lone American flag sitting way out in the corn field. We’ll wonder what is happening in Monowi-maybe a new family will move in some day to take over for Elsie when she is ready to retire or maybe the state will just have to take the sign down when nobody is left to run the tavern. We’ll remember the long stretches of range land with herds of cattle gathered around old weather-beaten windmills. Desolate, lonely and beautiful. We’ll laugh about our short trip down the washboard dirt road in Sparks, Nebraska and our swim in the Niobrara River later (is the cracked helmet still hanging in Scott’s garage?). The dream catchers we bought from the young Sioux woman at Wounded Knee will remind us of our short visit to the Pine Ridge Reservation and the huge fields of sunflowers in full bloom. I’m sure we’ll even be laughing about the day we got lost in the Badlands and the $20 “donation” I made to the Deadwood PD.

It even seems that many of the highlights of Sturgis itself didn’t take place in Sturgis. Getting out into the smaller towns in and around the Black Hills helped us meet some different people and see some great scenery. Places like Nemo, Rochford and Huelett are not to be missed. The smaller bars and restaurants like Wild Bills, the Boars Nest, Moonshine Gulch Saloon and Saloon No. 10 have just as much character as the bigger well known places in Sturgis.

The only question is where do we go next? It’s tempting to go back to some of the places we’ve already been to. Nova Scotia was so nice that we want to go back with our wives. But there are too many places we haven’t seen yet. Maybe we’ll try West Virginia’s mountains and explore the Ohio River. The Kentucky bluegrass and horse country is a possibility or a loop around the Great Lakes. There are even a lot of back roads and small towns closer to home in Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine we haven’t ridden yet. The southwest and even Ireland are places we want to see sometime in the future. Any other suggestions?

I hope you all take the time to explore in your travels too. Take a little extra time on your next trip and get off the interstates to explore all that small town America has to offer. Instead of McDonalds or Applebees or the other chain restaurants take a ride into town and look for the local diner or café. There are bound to be a few interesting people to chat with and some excellent regional specialties to try. Look for that offbeat local festival or oddball attraction and see where it might lead you and who you might meet in the process. Remember it’s not always about the destination – you’ll get there soon enough. It’s really all about the ride.