Windy (long-i), Windy (short-i) “Bad” Plains 🏍️💨

The English language can be funny. Take the word “windy” as an example. Am I talking about blowing air, or movement of a motorcycle around a twisty road? You don’t know unless I tell you or put appropriate context around it. And to make matters worse, what if I’m talking about both contexts in the same essay, which I’m about to do? So here’s what I will do to avoid confusion: when I say “windy (long-i),” I’m talking about turns in a road. When I say “windy (short-i),” I’m talking about the movement of air. If you don’t know the difference between short and long vowels, Google it. (I own shares in Google, and you might make me rich at the same time.) 💡💰

So, South Dakota is like the English language… it’s confusing, I love it, it’s hard to explain, it’s all I know, it’s windy (short-i) in most places, and it’s windy (long-i) in some places.

This morning was unnecessarily calm, i.e., no wind (blowing air). When I was doing my pre-ride prep, the still air (unusual for SD) excited me. “This is going to be a good day for riding,” I thought.

Starting from Sturgis, I rode about 40 miles through the Black Hills Forest to Rapid City and another 60 miles to the southern entrance of the Badlands National Park. Throughout these 100 miles, the landscape was filled with lush, green trees, deer, rolling hills, and twisty roads. Beaute Noire and I raced through the shaded forest and breathed the cool summer air. I broke in my new tires with superbly windy (long-i) backroads riding, encountered little traffic, and gentle winds (short-i). This was heaven and typifies what riding is all about. 🌲🏞️

Then rather abruptly, the terrain changed to desert-like browns, sand, rock formations, and dry air. (For those who haven’t been there, the Badlands is totally out of place in SD. While the rest of SD is flat, boring, and covered in farmland, the Badlands is like a mini-desert mecca in a sea of boringness. Its rock formations jet out to the sky and light-colored sand pave the floors in places where sand doesn’t belong.) 🏜️

As I approached the Badlands National Park, the wise words of two friends rang in my head… one said “Badlands? Calm? Ha!! Don't park on a slope, or your shit will blow over. How's that for calm?” and another said “It was crazy windy when I went and most everything was closed.”

But today the weather gods praised my resilience of overcoming sleet in Colorado and Utah by giving me manageable windy (short-i) conditions and low levels of traffic in the Badlands! I felt lucky! (And the roads in the Badlands are very windy (long-i)… also a good thing.) 🍀🏍️

Furthermore, with few other drivers on the roadways, I pulled over on the side of the road and snapped a couple of the best pictures of the day. 📸

Throughout the remaining 35-mile journey in the park, there are tons of pull-offs and each is as good as the next. After taking in three or four of them, I finished the ride in the park and continued to Wall, SD.

Famous for its drug store and cafe, Wall is little more than a small town with a big-name anchor store. Falling for the bait, I went and had lunch there with 500 of my closest friends. The cafe features 5-cent coffees and refills, of which I had three cups. Surprisingly, my grilled chicken sandwich wasn’t bad and hit the spot. 🥪☕

That was the end of the sightseeing for the day and I continued the remaining 230 miles in strong crosswinds (short-i) and mild temperatures. But being on secondary highways, traffic is light and the scenery is about as good as it gets in SD (other than the Black Hills Forest and Badlands). 🌾🏍️

When I got to the final destination of Huron, SD, I ran across the street for a prime rib dinner, which was surprisingly not bad for $15. And for sharing my motorcycle story with a couple of guys sitting next to me at the bar, one bought me a Marker's on the rocks. (Thanks Wally for your kindness.) 🥃🍖

The next several days of the ride return me to what I love most - friends and family. I’m heading to Mankato, MN to see an aunt and a couple of cousins and their kids. It will feel good to see some familiar faces again and take a day off from riding. 🏡👨‍👩‍👧‍👦