Everyone’s Bucket List Should Include one Trip to Sturgis Before You Die
By Dave Elliot
It is good to have an end to journey toward, but it is the journey that matters in the end. Ursula K. LeGuin
Located in western South Dakota is a small town with a population of 6,796 residents. However, it hosts one time per year the largest motorcycle rally in the world and every August since 1938, the town swells with some 500,000 motorcycle enthusiasts making their way through.
This trip is a once in a lifetime bucket list item, and no matter how much one prepares for this event, it will exceed every expectation. Louis L’Amour once said, “A journey is time suspended.” If this is the case with any journey, adding a motorcycle to the adventure makes one feel like this ride is one in heaven surrounded by a glowing white light. There is nothing like it. It only took me 48 years to get there, and my journey allowed me to see and feel and touch places and people that I never thought imaginable. So here it is by the numbers!
16 – USA States
- Connecticut
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Iowa
- Massachusetts
- Minnesota
- Montana
- Nebraska
- New Hampshire
- New York
- Ohio
- Pennsylvania
- South Dakota
- Vermont
- Wisconsin
- Wyoming
19 – Days
- Departure – Monday, August 2, 2021, 6:20 AM
- Returned – Friday, August 20, 5:20 is AM
5,132.4 – Miles
53 – Gas Stops
564 – Miles
- Longest one day ride from Tidioute PA to Northwood NH on the final day
Overnight Accomodations
- 4 nights – tent on Roadman Motorcycle Camper
- 5 nights – tent on ground
- 1 night – Yukon Trailer
- 1 night – campground in a tent
- 1 night – Queen bed in a barn loft above a garage
- 1 night – blowup mattress on a living room floor
- 4 nights – Queen bed in a spare bedroom
- 1 night – Amish cabin
1 – Bike Rally
- Sturgis, SD – Largest in the world
- 2021 – 775,000 in attendance
- 10 – days in length
- $800 million – revenue generated
1 – Lost breast cancer flag off trailer, Chicago, Illinois
1 – Lost passenger drink cup holder, Chicago, Illinois
1 – Rock through coolant reservoir, Chicago, Illinois
1 – State Park
- Custer State Park, South Dakota
1 National Park
- Badlands National Park, South Dakota
7 – BunkaBiker Hosts
- Loch Haven, PA – Carrie Sprout
- Swanton, OH – Erin Kidd Kozina
- Reedstown, WI – Cordell and Heather Royer
- Sioux Falls, SD – Jaina Heiden
- Grinnell, IA – Donald Ellis
- Northfield, OH – Carla Cavanaugh
- Tidiouette, PA – Tim Jones (Wheels & Paddles @ Wildwood Campground
6 – Tours
- Mall of America – Minneapolis, MN
- The Brothel, Deadwood, SD
1876-1980 storytelling interpretation of history of
prostitution in Deadwood and the Wild West
- Bunk a Biker Tour Guide – Sioux Falls, SD
By Heather Hansen
- 1880 House – Midland SD
Featuring many of the Dances with Wolves movie props
- Wall Drug, Wall, SD
Known as the geographical center to nowhere, roadside
attraction, offers men and women serving or having
served in the armed forces free coffee and donuts to this day. 76,000 square feet in size is Wall Drug, gift shop, and eateries
- Cleveland, OH – by BaB host Carla Cavanaugh
7 – National Landmarks
- Mt. Rushmore, Keystone SD
Presidents Washington, Jefferson, Roosevelt, & Lincoln
- Mt. Moriah Cemetery, Deadwood, SD
Burial site of Wild Bill Hickok (buried in 1879)
- Devil’s Tower
A butte, possibly laccolithic, composed of
igneous rock in the Bear Lodge Ranger District of the
Black Hills, near Hulett and Sundance in Crook County, northeastern Wyoming, above the Belle Fourche River. It rises 1,267 feet above the Belle Fourche River, standing 867 feet from summit to base.
- Mall of America, Bloomington, MN
Largest shopping and entertainment complex in North
America
- Badlands National Park
75 miles east of Rapid City, SD
- Great American Ball Park, Cincinnati, OH
- Rock’N Roll Hall of Fame, Cleveland, OH
Famous museum on the shore of Lake Erie
1 – Campground, Atkinson, NE, Atkinson Mill Race Park
1 – Tropical Storm Fred (my final day/night of my journey!)
- Tropical Storm Fred was a strong tropical storm which
affected much of the Greater Antilles and the
Southeastern United States in August 2021. The sixth
tropical storm of the 2021 Atlantic hurricane season, Fred
originated from a tropical wave first noted by the National
Hurricane Center on August 4 and lasted until August 20.
1 – Major League Baseball Game, Great American Ball Park
- Chicago Cubs @ Cincinnati Reds (Red won 14-5, history made with Reds’ Joey Votto’s 2000th hit)
2 – Florida Southern College
/Sigma Alpha Epsilon Fraternity Reunions
- Chuck Young, Indianapolis, IN
- Todd Johnson, West Chester, OH
1 – Most Random Stop to feel the pulse of America!
- The Central Bar, Stuart Nebraska, Holt County
- Robert Norton, Owner
- Population – 667 population was 60 in 1882
- On February 15, 1879, John Carberry, an immigrant from Ireland, became the first settler of Stuart, Nebraska. He and his family filed a homestead claim and built a sod house.
- Located on the “Cowboy Trail” which currently runs 195 miles across northern Nebraska, following the old Chicago & Northwestern rail route from Norfolk in the east to Valentine in the west. The railroad called this the “Cowboy Line.”
3 – Least Favorite Roads
- I-94 in Chicago, IL
Lost a passenger drink cup holder,
Lost a breast cancer flag off my trailer, and took a rock
through my coolant reservoir
- I-88 from Schenevus, NY and north
Single lane travel due to construction on both side of
highway with Jersey barriers and cracks in the road
making extremely treacherous for motorcycles
- I-80 PA
18-wheeler trucker paradise with no respect for
Motorcycles
5 – Favorite Images
- Custer State Park in the Black Hills of SD – Buffalo crossing within five yards of me while on my
motorcycle
- The Badlands, SD – 3 Bighorn Sheep on top of one of the geologic mountainous peaks
- Mall of America, Bloomington, MN – Massive creative Lego formations – With eight larger-than-life models,
including a LEGO robot towering over 34 feet tall!
- Great American Ball Park, Cincinnati, OH –
Reds Legends of Crosley Field is a group of bronze
sculptures by artist Tom Tsuchiya, located at the main
entrance of Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati,
Ohio. The sculptures represent four Crosley Field era
Cincinnati Reds players: Ted Kluszewski, Ernie
Lombardi, Joe Nuxhall and Frank Robinson.
- Happy Chef Statue, Mankato, MN – 38’ talking chef statue On US Route 169 named after the original owner. One of its comments is “Hey, can you help me out?” asked the Chef’s recorded voice. “I’ve been holding up this spoon since 1968.”
1 – Favorite Restaurant
- Hazelwood Food & Drink, Bloomington, MN
1 – Best Pizza
- Broadway Pizza, Richfield, MN
1 – Best Ice Cream
- Honey Hut Ice Cream, Cleveland, OH
Cleveland’s original homemade ice cream, founded in
1974.
1 – Most Challenging Ride
- Iron Mountain Road, Custer State Park
The road that engineers once said couldn’t be built. This
winding road runs between Mount Rushmore National
Memorial and the junction of US 16A and SD 36 in Custer
State Park. Along the highway, visitors will find wildfire
exhibits, pigtail bridges, magnificent Black Hills scenery,
and tunnels that frame Mount Rushmore. 17 miles long,
324 curves, 14 switchbacks, 3 pigtails, 3 tunnels, 4
presidents, 2 splits.
$2.94 – Cheapest Gas, Mitchell, SD
$3.95 – Most Expensive Gas, Hulett, WY