USA

Welcome to Part 3 of our 18-day cross-country motorcycle trip. If you want to start at the beginning, see Part 1. This was the section of the journey where having flexibility was necessary, which we did, thankfully.

Day 8: Le Mars, IA to Murdo, SD

Miles: 293
Ride Time (Not including stops): 4.5 hours

Today was windy, and the weather was the warmest we encountered on the trip. We took back roads up to Mitchell, SD and I-90. We got to Mitchell right at 1100. We checked out the Corn Palace and got some lunch. We broke up the ride with several roadside attractions. From there, the route ran parallel to the highway to Murdo, SD, so we jumped on the I90. We broke up the ride with several roadside attractions. We stopped in Murdo, SD, because it was 300 miles from Le Mars, but we saved a lot of time since we had jumped on the highway. Murdo was a ghost town, and we ate gas station food for dinner. We recommend continuing to Wall, SD, where there are a lot of restaurants and hotels. 

Where to Eat/Sleep/Stop:
Corn Palace (Mitchell, SD)
Dignity of Earth and Sky (Chamberlain, SD)
Westbound Tiny Church, I90, SD
South Dakota Tractor Museum (Kimball, SD)

Day 9: Murdo, SD to Sturgis, SD

Miles: 200
Ride Time (Not including stops): 3.5 hours

The plan for today was to visit the famous Wall Drug when it opened and then explore the Badlands before heading to Sturgis to meet my friends and start my birthday celebration. Wall Drug is well-known for its free ice water, with 300 billboards stretching from Minnesota to Wyoming. As mentioned above, we wished we had continued to Wall the day before. I had been there fifteen years ago, and there was nothing but Wall Drug. Now the place has many bars, restaurants and shopping. 

After, we headed into the Badlands. We discovered that the route we planned to take was a dirt road, so we had to take a detour. It added an hour, but the road was more curvy and fun than our original route. 

When we arrived in Sturgis the week after the rally, I didn’t realize that many bars had closed down to recover from the rally, and the open ones had limited menus. We went to Deadwood, SD, where everything was still open. We also didn’t realize that taxis were also on a break. Thankfully, my friend had rented a car. You should check out Deadwood. My birthday night got fuzzy after that, and most of us spent the next day recovering. 

Where to Eat/Sleep/Stop:
Badlands National Park, SD
Saloon 10 (Deadwood, SD)
Kevin’s Place Airbnb (Sturgis, SD)
Wall Drug (Wall, SD)

Day 10: Sturgis, SD

I say most of us because we had some mechanical issues, and Cliff had to spend the day dealing with them. Two to three days before Sturgis, our bike had a few episodes of losing power and being hard to start. It always fixed itself after a few minutes, but it had been more frequent. Thankfully, we made it to Sturgis without any severe issues. 

No one wants to have any problems, but after riding a motorcycle across the country 1700 miles, we assumed we might have weather, mechanical issues, etc. We had planned some buffer days in Seattle at the end of the trip.

If a mechanical issue could be a positive experience, this was. We contacted EagleRider on a Sunday morning. They were amazing. They worked with a local dealership to get the bike in early the following day. They overnighted the part, and we were back on the road within a day. EagleRider was on top of it. They were constantly in contact with us and the dealership, ensuring everything was being handled. They made the whole process stress-free if that was even possible. Although you never want to rent a vehicle and have it break down, we will continue to rent from Eagle Rider and highly recommend them. The customer service was top-notch.  

Day 11: Rapid City, SD

I had wanted to stop in Rapid City, so this delay worked out. We were still in recovery mode, but we checked out downtown. Starting in Mitchell, SD, we would see a fire truck every few miles on the side of the road advertising Fire House Brewery. The advertising worked. We asked the bartender, and the fire trucks start in Sioux Falls, SD, and include a Smokejumper plane. The company owns several restaurants in the Rapid City area, including a winery. 

Where to Eat/Sleep/Stop:
Fire House Brewing Co. (Rapid City, SD)
Fire House Wine Cellars (Rapid City, SD)
World’s Largest Quarter Pounder (Rapid City, SD)

Day 12: Rapid City, SD to Billings, MT

Miles 336
Ride Time (Not including stops): 6.5 hours

Today was a very long, windy day. We didn’t have a choice.  I had only seen one hotel on the map, which was already booked. If you plan a long road trip and avoid highways as much as possible, be prepared for sections where accommodations are scarce. It was ok because I looked forward to our next stop, Pony, MT.

Where to Eat/Sleep/Stop:
Asylum Distillery (Billings, MT)
Stacked – A Montana Grill  (Billings, MT)
Geographic Center of The Nation Monument (Belle Fourche, SD)

Start from the beginning of the trip here. Looking for Tips and Tricks? Check out Ten Tips for a Cross-Country Motorcycle Trip.

My boyfriend and I spent the end of August riding a Honda Goldwing from the East to the West Coast of the US. We flew into Annapolis, MD, to pick up our rented Honda Goldwing from EagleRider. We were able to do a one-way rental and dropped the bike in Seattle, WA, 18 days later. Doing a cross country motorcycle trip was on my boyfriend’s bucket list. I love new adventures so I decided we should do this trip for my 40th birthday.

Logistics

We have gotten many questions about our route and the logistics of planning a big trip. We recommend getting a comfy bike made for travel. After much research, we found that the best option was a one-way rental. EagleRider is known for Harley-Davidson Rentals, but they also rent other brands. They were great to deal with, and I highly recommend them. It wasn’t cheap but worth riding in comfort for almost three weeks. 

We planned the route ahead of time. We tried to stick to 200 miles/day and wanted to avoid the interstate as much as possible. I booked our accommodations ahead of time because some of the small towns had limited options, but they could all be canceled if plans changed. We also had a few extra days before we had to fly home in case we hit the weather or encountered any other issues. Spoiler: We did. 

Check out our Google Map for our exact route and all of our stops.

Day 1: Baltimore, MD to Davis, WV

Miles: 195
Ride Time (Not including stops): 5 hours

We stayed in Gambrills, MD, 5 minutes from EagleRider the night before.

After picking up the bike, we wanted to visit downtown DC and see some tourist sights. Don’t do it. If you want to explore DC, fly in a few days early. We were fighting traffic in the heat while still getting used to the bike. Avoid any major city if you can, or at least try to avoid rush hour.

Finally, we left the city, got on VA-7 W and headed through Virginia wine country. The roads through this area are curvy, and the scenery is beautiful. We stopped and took a break at a local winery. Even if you’re not drinking, the quiet and the food are worth the stop. The perfect riding roads continued into West Virginia.

We ended up in the small town of Davis, WV. We celebrated day one at Stumptown Ales, the local brewery.

Where to Eat/Sleep/Stop:
Microtel Inn and Suites by Wyndham (Gambrills, MD)
EagleRider (Crofton, MD)
Valerie Hill Winery (Stephens City, VA)
Stumptown Ales (Davis, WV)
Alpine Lodge Sawmill Restaurant and Motel (Davis, WV)

Day 2: Davis, WV to Dayton, OH 

Miles: 311
Ride Time (Not including stops): 6.5 hours

Although the goal was only to do 200 miles/day, we had a deadline to meet my friends on my birthday in Sturgis, SD. Because of this, we had a few long days. It didn’t downpour but light rain off and on. We got lucky; this was the only day of the trip we needed to use rain gear. It was a long, cold day as a passenger, but Cliff had a blast on the curvy roads through the West Virginia hills.

We stopped at TipTop coffee shop for breakfast before getting on the road. It was nice to have a warm meal before starting the long day. Cliff was looking forward to getting on a motorcycle every morning, but I was excited to stop at all the quirky roadside attractions: the first stop, the World’s Biggest Pumpkin Water Tower. My crazy list of roadside attractions became an essential aspect of the trip. It broke up long days and allowed us to stretch our legs.

Where to Eat/Sleep/Stop:
TipTop (Thomas, WV)
Sake (Dayton, OH) (Hibachi)
World’s Biggest Pumpkin Water Tower (Circleville, OH)

Day 3: Dayton, WV to Champaign, IL

Miles: 250
Ride Time (Not including stops): 5.5 hours

This was another long day, 250 miles and 5.5 hours of ride time. It was still enjoyable. We officially left the mountain and entered corn country. Cliff is from Illinois, and I am from the East Coast, so we weren’t excited about the beginning of the trip, which led us to book some long days to get to the second half of the country. Shockingly, though, we ended up enjoying the ride through this area. I guess the moral is don’t have any premonitions about your trip. I recommend stopping at the Grindstone Public House for lunch. It was one of my favorite restaurants on the trip.

Where to Eat/Sleep/Stop:
Grindstone Public House (Noblesville, IN)

Check out Part 2, where we continue our adventure riding across the country, as we go through Iowa, and check out our tips if you decide to do your own trip.