In this post:
I: Introduction
II: What to Expect (Dates, Hotel info and Estimated expenses)
III: Route -
IV: Requirements and Recommendations
V: Attendee List (As of 6/5/15)
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I: Moto Trip'n in the Black Hills 2015!
Where: Black Hills, South Dakota -- God's country or sacred land - either way it makes for some fantastic riding! A little bit of something for everyone!
When: Leave Thursday June 11th 2015 and return Monday June 15th home. FIVE DAY MOTO TRIP!
Hopefully a month is enough notice to arrange for time off, bike prep, etc.
For the past couple of months I've been planning a return trip to the Black Hills in South Dakota. Last August, Mrs. Clovis and I went there the week after Sturgis for a few.
We had a blast! The roads running throughout the Black Hills area are some of the finest moto roads I have ever seen. People come to the Black Hills from all over America and from all over the world to see the splendor. Because it's such an iconic American landmark, the roads are exceptionally well maintained - I don't recall seeing a single pot hole in the Black Hills.
Now that Summer is once again upon us I wanted to invite some friends and CSC members who would be interested in this 5 day Moto trip.
II: What to expect on this trip:
Lots of fun! The roads here are amazing and there's a lot of interesting things to look at. Bring your camera, we should have a plethora of photo opportunities in the Black Hills.
Be familiar with "The pace" (forum search) - Once in the black hills, the pace will be spirted but still allow time to stop and smell the roses.
The only "push" days are the ride there and the ride back. On Day 1 we'll be riding to Hot Springs, SD which is around 530 miles from Colorado Springs and 470 miles from Denver going the "fun way".
Note: If you prefer a shorter, more direct route, there is the option of super slabbing it to Hot Springs - from Denver this is 332 to 355 miles depending on the route you choose.
Estimated Costs: $550-700 for everything.
Fuel Cost: $150 (2000 miles / 40mpg = 50 gallons times $3/gal)
Food Cost ($35 per day) $175One requirement for the hotel is a pool and hot tub!
Total hotel cost (HotSprings+Deadwood) = $540 with Best Western, $579 with Super 8, split 50/50 = $270 to $290 per rider
Hotel Information:
Hot Springs: The hotel options are somewhat limited. Motel 6 is good for a single night. Cost (as of 5/10) is $86.62 per night for a room two two queen beds.
541 Indianapolis Avenue
Hot Springs SD 57747
Deadwood: Super 8 or Best Western - both have a pool and good reviews. Super 8 might be the slightly nicer of the two (and slightly more expensive).
Best Western: 137 Charles Street, Deadwood, SD 57732-1304
OR
Super 8: 196 Cliff Street, Hwy 85 South, Deadwood, SD 5773
Deadwood
The route:
Day 1: Colorado Springs / Denver to Hot Springs, SD.
From Colorado Springs: http://mapq.st/1aZARjh
From Denver: http://mapq.st/1aZARjh
North Meets South: We'll meet up at the Safeway gas station in Evergreen, CO
3851 So. Hwy 74 Evergreen, CO. Meet here at 9:30 - refill, KSU at 9:45AM
If there is a Colorado Springs Group and/or you would like to depart from Colorado Springs - you are welcomed to stay with at my house. I have guest rooms and plenty of room, including garage space for your bike. Please PM me.
The Colorado Springs group can meet for per-departure breakfast at King Chef dinner - located in downtown Colorado Springs.
King Chef Dinner: 131 E Bijou St, Colorado Springs, CO 80903.
Breakfast at 7AM, depart KC at 8AM sharp and expect to arrive in Evergreen 90 minutes later at 9:30AM.
Days 2 - 4: Black Hills
This is it! We'll stay in historic Deadwood, SD and use this as our base of operations. From here we can hit Mount Rushmore, Crazy Horse, Custer Park, Spear Fish Canyon - the entire area and be back in Deadwood in time for dinner and drinks.
Expect to cover 200 to 300 miles per day on this leg.
Check out the map - pay no attention to the mileage; I'm just trying to highlight some of the fun roads.
http://mapq.st/1aZARjh
Day 5: The voyage home
Essentially the reverse of Day 1 but departing from Deadwood instead of Hot Springs (departing from Deadwood adds 40 miles)
Requirements and recommendations for this trip:
1) You and your bike must be prepared for this trip. Expect cover upwards of 2000 miles total on this trip. I highly recommend a fresh change of oil and a new set of tires to be installed just prior to leaving. New tires make a bike feel new and "in the zone". Do yourself a favor and pony up the $300 for a new set of tires.
If you haven't flushed your brakes in awhile - also a good thing to do at the start of any new riding season in general.
An aftermarket seat is highly recommended. Corbon and Sargent make affordable, quality aftermarket seats. I recommend a new seat over some sort of seat cover.
2) You should be a capable rider and able to both keep up and ride safely within a group. This isn't a race and there is not "First place". Be honest with yourself and your abilities. This isn't expected to be a challenging or difficult trip but there are hazards with riding out of state, far from home.
3) Be respectful and don't be a douche bag. This applies to your fellow group mates and also other vehicles. I'm sure there will be some double-yellow passing but there is a right and a wrong way to do it. Pass safely and respectful; try not to piss off other drivers.
4) Above all - ride your own ride. This is not a race, the group will wait for you - don't take unnecessary risks to keep up - that's how accidents happen.
5) Pack light and pack smart - invest in some compression bags (I'm buying some Nelson Rigg compression bags; available online). Jeff turned me onto the idea of packing everything within several small bags. This keeps everything organized and greatly reduces the amount of time it takes to get ready to leave in the morning.
6) Emergency kit: Bike tool kit, a tire patch kit and 5-6 ft of clear plastic tubing (for a siphon). "Slime" makes very small a 12v powered tire air compressor. $10-15 and Home Depot and lowes sell them, also available online. Good for adjusting air presser. Bring a seperate guage however, the on board gauge is not accurate. Expect this compressor to last 1 to 2 seasons before needing replacement.
7) Bluetooth Headset - Both Scala and Sena make quality products. I primarily use mine for listening to music, radar detector alerts, GPS driving directions, etc. But they're also capable of bike to bike communication.
If you already have a headset, one modification I did which I recommend is replacing the stock headphones with headphones from a "Koss Porta Pro" and soldering the new speakers to the headset wire. The Koss Porta Pro runs $40 on amazon and soldering them in is easy, takes 10-15 minutes. This is a HUGE improvement over the stock speakers.
Here's a how-to video.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JqZn_oCHVS4
#Cash - Never know where you might need it - $200 should be plenty.
Attendee list: (as of 6/5/15)
An ideal group number is around 6 bikes. If interest is greater then we'll likely split into two groups.
Confirmed:
1) Clovis (Justin) - Bike: Ducati Multistrada
2) Ezrider (Jeff) - Bike: Ducati Hypermotard w/ expanded fual tank (200mi+ range)
3) Aaron (Aaron) - Bike: BMW S1000RRts
4) Titus 90% - Al - Bike: Honda VFR 800.
5) Hotcarcass- Sal - Whatever bike he's riding on this year - RC8R I think?
6) RPMWFO - Pat - RC8R
Possible: ???
Open slots: 2 - HURRY! We leave next Thursday! Three hotel rooms have been booked and they fill up quickly in Deadwood. If you can't get a Deadwood hotel, there's also nearby Spearfish and some other surrounding areas.
Interested? Want to go? Questions? Reply to this thread or send me a private message. I can also be reached on my cell - 719-201-9383. If during business hours, please text me.
See you next week!
Justin
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