2023 Wanderer Ride – Day Seven

Well, it was another beautiful day for riding. After a quick shower we’re off to Needles Highway which is back towards Crazy Horse. It’s a quick run down through town then on to a nice two lane road that winds through the forested hills. It’s about 45 miles to get to the turn off for Needles but it’s fairly slow going.

We pass Pactola Lake which is quite large and surrounded by tree covered hills. The smoke has cleared up a good bit and the views across the lake are much better then a few days ago. It’s a few more miles to Sheridan Lake. It’s a smaller lake and there isn’t much of a view of the water from the road, but it too is surrounded by forested hills.

The start of Needles Highway is a bit deceptive. The road remains fairly wide and open for a couple of miles, but tight turns start to come quickly. Before long, the road narrows and the striping disappears. The turns get tighter and tighter. Switchbacks become more common as we wind our way up the mountain. The landscape quickly drops off on one side. There’s absolutely no shoulder here and zero room for errors. One tiny mistake would be fatal, regardless of the type of vehicle you’re driving.

The turns are tight and the switchbacks are even tighter. A switchback is basically a U-turn, a very tight, 5-10mph curve in the road. It’s very active riding, both hand and feet are constantly working. The radio has been silenced, I don’t need any distractions here. Traffic is actually pretty heavy and cars and trucks take up a good portion of the road. There’s barely enough room for two cars or trucks to pass one another. Many are driving with their side mirrors pulled in.

There’s three tunnels on this road, none of which are wider than a single vehicle. The first we come to is Hood Tunnel. It’s a very short tunnel and quite easy to pass through since oncoming traffic is easily seen. We soon make it to the entrance to Custer State Park and the continuance of the highway. From here we pass Sylvan Lake, a small mountain lake and absolute tourist spot. I of course skip this and continue climbing.

The rock formations coming into view are massive, even more so as we arrive at Needles Eye Tunnel. There’s a small bit of parking area on this side of the tunnel and these massive rock formations surround it all. The views of the forested hills is breathtaking up here. Needles Eye Tunnel is about 100 feet long and still only as wide as a single vehicle. There’s no stop light here, no flagman or anything else to stop someone from the other end coming through. It’s a wait for a clear break and go kind of situation. Luckily I’m in line with a few others and can get through without issue.

As we begin descending the mountain I come to a scenic pull off. It’s another beautiful view. I have a short conversation with a couple riding the area. Then I continue down. It’s more of the same tight turns and switchbacks, but now everything is downhill.

There’s a third and final tunnel on this side. Shortly before we get to it the truck I’m following slows to a stop and waves me past. I pull beside him and let him know that I’m more than happy to be behind him as he is giving me a better heads up as to what’s coming up ahead. The last tunnel is just a few feet long and there’s not trouble getting through. The road begins to flatten out a little but the turns remain fairly sharp. Both I and the truck ahead of me pull off at small picnic area. There appears to be bathrooms and I’ve got to go. It’d probably have been wiser to just hold off. The bathrooms are basically just a hole in the floor with a crude toilet set over it. The smell hits like a haymaker as soon as I open the door. Breathing into my jacket is all I can do to survive.

Heading back out I end up behind another car and follow them through the curves. We eventually happen upon a lone buffalo grazing just a foot off the road. It’s in no way open in this area and I see no other animals around, it makes no sense to see him here. The car in front of me decides to stop for a look which doesn’t set well with me. Buffalo are massive animals and I’m totally exposed, being close enough to touch a wild buffalo is nowhere close to being on my bucket list. My first thought is to honk the horn but quickly decide that is a bad idea, I don’t want to startle this beast. The car in front of me only stops for a few seconds but it feels like longer. I’d have loved to have gotten a photo but I’ve seen the stupid tourist videos, not worth the risk.

The road flattens out greatly and the turns begin to widen. I finally make it to the other entrance to the park and hang a left. This long and winding road eventually brings me to highway 79, a straight run into Rapid City. I get about ten miles down the road before turning off, moving faster than I have all day. The road I turn off on brings me to Shipwrecks Bar & Grill. It’s past lunchtime now so I stop to check it out. It’s a small joint and none of the atmosphere has anything to do with ships or shipwrecks. But the wings and BLT I order are good and the beer is cold. Good food and cold beer is all I ask for.

After lunch it’s on to Rapid City and then back into Sturgis. I had meant to go check out the motorcycle museum a couple of days ago but completely forgot after lunch that day. It’s a fairly small building but has a basement full of bikes, some really cool ones too. About an hour, and several photos, later, I head out for a full run down Main Street. I ride as slow as I can trying to see everything. I’m hoping to find the Dungeon Bar open but sadly it isn’t. The Dungeon Bar is a very skinny basement bar with enough seating for the bar and a couple of small tables. It’s also very dark, neon the lighting. But I remember it being a really neat place to get a beer.

I decided to stop at the Sturgis Brewing Company on the way out of town. It’s a typical brewhouse with a decent beer selection and food menu. I’m not interested in food but do enjoy one of their beers. From here I head back to Lead. It’s a long ten miles back through Deadwood. As I pull into town I notice the uptick in traffic. Traffic is backed up for several hundred feet heading out of town. Thankfully traffic is light for me getting through town and I make my way back to my room just as the rain starts.

The rain is fairly light but it’s big drops. Doesn’t last long but also doesn’t end there. After a while I head down to Libby to grab my notebook and the rain starts again, a bit harder this time with some brief hail, the sun is shining the entire time. Normally hail would bother me but Libby is in a parking garage so she’s fine.

The rain continues off and on for most of the evening so when dinner time comes I decide against heading down into town and instead just run down to the Sled Haus again. They’ve got really good food and I remember Friday is Schnitzel night. The plate is huge but the schnitzel and red cabbage are amazing as are the accompanying noodles. It’s far to much food for me to finish but I in no way feel bad about revisiting this place again.

I’m a little sore after today. We only rode about 150 miles but Needles is a highly advanced ride. It’s definitely scary but also quite fun. Tomorrow we’ll finally start our way home, stopping in the Denver area to see my cousin. It’s been a couple of years since I’ve seen here and her husband. Even more since I’ve seen the kids. It’ll be a good night tomorrow for sure.

I’ll explain a couple of photos from the museum. The blue box is early GPS. It’s a printed list of directions in a rolling box. Turn one knob and advance the directions, the other knob will roll them back. The black ski looking thing is, well, skis for an Indian motorcycle. The late model bike pictured is a tribute bike to both the USS South Dakota (BB-57) and USS South Dakota (SSN-790). The USS South Dakota (BB-57) was the lead ship of the South Dakota Class battleships (4 in total). It fought extensively in WWII and was scrapped in 1962. The USS South Dakota (SSN-790) is a Virginia Class nuclear submarine still in service. There is a key to this motorcycle onboard the sub and any crew member is able to take this bike out to ride anywhere in the state of South Dakota. I seriously doubt any of them would have much time to travel here and then ride around the state. Still a cool bike and thought.