The Ride Home...

Thursday, August 7th we got on the road headed back east toward the great state of Iowa. We got to Wall and stopped for breakfast at Wall Drug. Blonde's love Wall Drug and they also love hanging out with good looking bikers.

The next stop was Oacoma, SD and Al's Oasis.


We made it to Mitchell, SD about 4:00 and decided to tough it out and ride to Sioux Falls and stay the night there. I'd like to thank the biker chick at the gas station that told us the exit to take in Sioux Falls to find a hotel to stay at. We stayed at a Sleep Inn and it rocked.

Along the way I had plenty of time to think about things. I kept thinking how tough and strong biker women are. It takes a lot to sit on a tiny pillion seat for miles and miles and not bitch about it at all. A trip like the ride to Sturgis is a test of how strong willed you are and how much you can take a long the way. If you have ever ridden any distance you can attest the fact that it is an endurance thing. Everytime I saw a bike on a trailer I felt sorry for it. It was like it was crying out...RIDE ME...why aren't you riding me like the people are riding that bike??? LOL...if motorcycles on trailers could talk that is seriously what they would be saying!! It's very spiritual to me being out in the elements...feeling the wind, feeling the rain, smelling all the smells, hearing all the noises of nature. You never experience that kind of freedom in a car. Not even with all the windows rolled down. When you look down at the road and watch the center dividing lines fly by it's a rush. I bet it's even more of a rush riding your own and that will happen for me one of these days but for now I'm somewhat content riding two up.

I thought about all the cool people I met on this trip. I thought about how thankful I am to be able to freely ride to Sturgis and enjoy it so much. I said some prayers for our troops. I thought about how much I miss my family back in Iowa and that I need to spend time with them. I thought about my 40th birthday that is coming up way too soon. I thought about getting a tattoo. I thought about all of my blogger friends and thought about us all getting together next year. I thought about what I was going to write here. I thought and thought some more about so many things and finally we arrived home on Friday, August 8th....Home Sweet Home. 1749.6 miles and we were back where we started the Saturday before.


I spent Saturday really pretty depressed. I missed being in Sturgis...I missed all the bikes and the people. I even cried and that's when Dan said to me...Stephanie...only 51 weeks to go until the next one and we are there! That cheered me up big time.

Thanks for following my trip along the way. It was fun posting all the pictures I took on my phone at various points along the trip. I really do hope that the Motorcycle Blogging Family that we've created can get together next year and enjoy the 69th Anniversary Sturgis Rally together.

Much love!! IHG :)

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Day 1...The Journey to Sturgis 2008

Dan and I hadn't planned on a vacation of any kind this year so when the opportunity to go to Sturgis presented itself to Dan he was all over it! Dan and I don't see a lot of each other during the week because our schedules are opposite. I work days and he works nights. One morning I was saying good bye to him when he told me of this great opportunity. I couldn't believe it when he told me that we might have a room in Rapid City for as long as we wanted to use it during the Sturgis Rally this year. I'd like to thank Corrine from Oskie for hooking us up with the room. I know you are all thinking that we could have gone and just camped because that's part of the whole rally experience and you are right but I did that already and would rather have a warm shower and a bed to rest on at night.

On Saturday, August 2nd we headed out from our home in Johnston on our great adventure together. Dan and I have made small trips of about 400 miles together but never anything like a trip to Sturgis. We decided to start the trip by taking Highway 141. It's a very scenic road and there wasn't a lot of traffic at 6:30 am on a Saturday morning. I reminisced in my head about taking this road to Sturgis in 2004. It's funny how something sticks with you and always seems familiar even though you haven't traveled on it for a long time. We made a couple of stops along the way...one in Manning, IA at a small little Mom and Pop gas station. Ate some grub and headed back on the road until we got to Sloan, IA where we fueled up and headed down the road to Interstate 29, headed for Sioux Falls, SD. When we hit the border into South Dakota and I saw the South Dakota state line sign I threw my arms up in the air and let out a big yee haw! Dan gave me a big thumbs up...it was cute. It was wild how the wind speed changed once we got into South Dakota. If you've never traveled in South Dakota look out because it's windy.

Our next stop was at J & L Harley Davidson in Sioux Falls, SD. The dealership is right off of I - 29 and they really show a lot of hospitality to the bikers on their way to Sturgis. The one thing that stands out to me is that they have a couple nice shelters with picnic tables and they bring in local vendors to sell food during the event. The day we were there the Minnesota Pork Producers were selling Chops on a stick. After we spent a little time at the dealership we road over to fuel up at the truck stop across the street and headed out on a road that I thought was Interstate 90. Wrong!!! Well...we figured out that we had gone the wrong way and turned around and headed back to I-29 and finally found the I- 90 exit. There was a group of Vets in front of us and one guy had a huge American Flag strapped to his sissy bar. He must have been a pro at riding because I'm telling you it is windy, windy, windy out there in South Dakota. The funny thing is that we saw this guy at least 4 more times on the trip.

After the stop in Sioux Falls I can't remember if we stopped any place else to fuel up before we got to Mitchell but I'm sure we did. I was just so darn excited about being in South Dakota that I blanked out a little bit. We got to Mitchell and found our hotel which looked scary so we went down the road to see if we could find anything else. We did...rented that room and went back and cancelled the scary hotel room. Dan was pretty proud of me because I went in and canceled it myself. It's the biker chick thing that brings out the diva in a girl!! lol We rested a while and then ventured into Mitchell to find the Corn Palace. If you've never been there you should stop if given the chance. It's free and worth seeing. After the Corn Palace we checked out a couple vendors that were set up at the gas stations in Mitchell...ate at Perkins...and then headed back to the hotel to rest up for our trip to Rapid City!!!

Well...that's day 1 of our trip. Trust me...it gets more exciting once we get to the heart of it all. The little adventures along the way do add to it though.

Here are some pictures from the first day on the road.

Me by Zippy Pickle on Highway 141.


The Corn Palace in Mitchell, SD.


Dan and Me with our new buddy that we met in Mitchell outside the Corn Palace. It was funny because he didn't really have much to say!

Twisted Choppers - Pure American Metal

Back in February at the Capital City Customs Swap Meet and Bike Show I happened upon Twisted Choppers. As I said in a previous post I was drawn to the bike that they call Mudshovel. I wanted to know more about these guys from Sioux Falls, SD and wanted to share their story and work with my loyal readers, so I contacted them.


Twisted Choppers is located in southwest Sioux Falls, SD and has 5 crew members: Jason Kangas, Kai Morrison, Joe Skinner, Dustin Olson, and Chad Lemme. Jason and Kai have been chopping for about 10 yrs. The guys grew up riding dirt bikes and admiring old hot rods. After high school they got their first bikes and began rebuilding them in their parent's garages. The parts that they would try to use never seemed to fit so they began making their own. Those parts turned into a portion of the business that they have today and it is also the main source of their income. If you need a frame, fenders, fuel tank, or various accessories, most likely Twisted Choppers will have what you need.

Jason Kangas

Kai Morrison


You may have seen the guys of Twisted Choppers on the Discovery and Speed Channels. They've been in a Michael Lichter documentary, on V Twin TV, and the Travel Channel. Their work has also been featured in several motorcycle publications in the US, Europe, and Japan. They thought it was a rush to see their work in Easyriders, Chopper Build, 100% Biker, Biker, and The Horse, to name just a few of the many they have been in. Mr. X Games, Shawn Palmer, even bought one of their bikes a few years back.



Rat style bikes are among their favorites. "The sole purpose of the bike is to have fun and ride the hell out of it. It's nice not having to worry about fancy paint jobs and a lot of chrome. Polishing and cleaning takes time away from riding." says Kai.


Mudshovel

Rat Chopper

Insane Pan



The guys at Twisted Choppers don't have any one builder that they admire or get inspiration from. They are into various styles and seeing new stuff really helps them get their creative juices flowing for the next chopper idea and build. Other builders have stopped into their Sioux Falls shop to help out and Kai has helped in other shops while on vacations, including a shop in Puerto Rico. These guys are so devoted to what they do that finding time for those vacations doesn't come often. They do get to ride in what they believe is the best place to ride in the United States, the Black Hills.


In the next year they will be displaying in various shows and if you make it to Sturgis 2008 you will find them at the Full Throttle Saloon. Make sure you look for them there. You will not be disappointed. They have some wicked rides and they are a really down to earth group of guys. Twisted Choppers strives to be different or unique and they provide high quality American made parts at affordable prices.

I would like to thank the guys at Twisted Choppers for taking the time to answer my questions for this story. Make sure you check out their website. http://www.twistedchoppers.com/index.asp

All pictures were taken from the Twisted Choppers website.