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.
