Cyclerides.com Weekly Update
8/31/11
Greetings Riders,
Well, anyone else going to be happy with seeing August 2011 in the rear view mirror? As you have probably heard by now, this was a record setting August for heat in more than a dozen ways in the Phoenix area. One glaring record that is about to be broken is the amount of 110-plus-degree days currently at 31. We had the all-time record high for an August at 117 degrees last Friday. When you add up all the numbers, it is way too hot for recreational enjoyment on a motorcycle. If you have to, it can be done, but I donât think anyone would tell you it is enjoyable. The good news is September is just hours away, and while it doesnât look like the heat is breaking immediately, we know it is not far off, and psychologically it makes me feel better.
2011 Ride Day 4
Mt. Evans Colorado to Custer, South Dakota
Last week I reported on Day 3 of our recent 2011 Ride covering over 3400 miles in a little over 8 days traveling through 8 states. The highlights for Day 3 were Marble, Independence Pass and Mt. Evans in
Colorado. I posted 181 pictures of beautiful Colorado landscape for you to enjoy. Click Here to Read.
This week I will be covering Day 4 of our very interesting and eventful ride through Custer State Park that I am
now calling the âBuffalo Encounterâ. Those of you that do road trips on motorcycles
know that half the excitement of doing a motorcycle road trip are the crazy unpredictable circumstances that you
will encounter along the way, the weather, and the unknown view that you will have over every hill and around every
corner. Those were definitely elements that would define Day 4 of our ride that I still recall daily almost a month
later.
We started the day as I ended the last letter by taking one more try at Mt. Evans to make it to the top. Knowing that we had to lay down some serious miles to make up some time, we took I-70 to I-25 North to
Cheyenne for our first stop. Then continued on I-25 to Hwy. 18 to Lusk and then North to Hot Springs, SD totaling
425 miles so far for the day. We were now only 30 miles from our destination and it was only 5:45 pm, so we decided
to take the slower scenic route through Wind Cave National Park and on into Custer Park on the way to the town
of Custer. This was a great decision as it set in motion what was to be one of the most memorable experiences of
our trip.
Remember above where I said that part of the excitement of doing a motorcycle trip is the unknown view that you
will have over every hill and around every corner? This couldnât have been more true. As
we rounded this big sweeper type corner I looked ahead and saw a herd of what must have been well over 100 buffalo all around on the grass and literally blocking the road.
There were some cars stopped with buffalo around them unable to move. We originally rode on up and stopped until
we saw the herd starting to head our way. We then turned around and went back about a quarter of a made another
u-turn to watch them and assess the situation. Some other bikes came up behind us and a couple of them were locals
that had experienced this before and rode right up to them and stopped.
For us, never having experienced anything like this before, were very intimidated by these huge 2000 pound behemothâs
to say the least. So we decided to stay put and see if the 2 that had forged on were going to survive.
By this time there were now about 6 bikes behind us waiting to pass through as well. It wasnât long until
the whole heard was starting to make their way up the road, coming eye to eye with us as they walked by. Sometimes slowly walking by, sometimes
spooked and running aimlessly. By this time, it was too late to move, we were in the middle of a herd of wild buffalo
with nowhere to go. Now the plan was to just stay still and stay on the bike and let them walk by. One of the guys
behind us said if they get too close or aggressive, hold out both hands to make yourself look bigger. Uh huh, so
holding out my arms is somehow going to intimidate a 2000 pound buffalo? I think not.
When these big guys started walking right past our bikes, stopping to turn their heads to us with their tongues
sticking out and making an ominous growling sound, I will admit to having butterflies
the size of bats flying around in my stomach and an adrenaline reading that would have been off the charts. (See
the video below) This was one of the scariest but at the same time most invigorating experiences that I have had
in a very long time. And they just kept coming in what seemed to be an endless stream. When a big bull started
running right for me and suddenly veered away just in time, I will admit to being a candidate for having my âman
cardâ revoked at that particular moment. Some of these guys were HUGE and could have knocked over my bike
with the flick of their nose or horns in a second which made it both scary and exhilarating all at the same time.
The Road Glide is no match for a buffalo. Here is one staring me down right in front of the bike.
Click Here to see a 1:44 video from right in the middle of the buffalo
running by. This will show you what I have been talking about with the sounds that we heard.
After about 30 minutes of watching these huge animals with gigantic
furry heads and sharp horns walk by within an arms length from us, we were fairly convinced
that it wasnât steel and fiberglass of a Harley-Davidson they wanted, but instead, more lush grass and
a place to bed down for the night was what they were looking for. So we decided to start up the bikes and slowly
make our way down the road weaving in and around the buffalo that were still in the road. Thinking we were through
with the wild animal encounter for a while, we ran into another herd about a half mile up the road that were clogging
the roadway again. This time there was a park ranger that was shooing them off the road with his car. All together,
including what were off the road and on the hill sides, there must have been at least 250-300 buffalo in this herd.
If your life ever seems to get too boring, head to Custer Park on a motorcycle and ride through a herd of buffalo.
That will get your heart beating and your blood flowing. It did for us. We were so jacked up that
we almost forgot the huge rain clouds that were building up to the West. But once we regained our wits about us,
we could see that it was going to be a race against time to get to the motel in Custer before this South Dakota
storm unloaded on us. We were about 4 miles from our destination at the Days Inn in Custer when we could see that
the rain was imminent. I asked Mrs. C. if we should put on the rain gear or make a run for it and take our chances.
We rolled the dice and they came up snake eyes. We were about 2 miles away and the rain came down with a vengeance.
The raindrops seemed as though they were the size of gallon buckets. It was raining so hard we couldnât
even see the lines on the streets.
Needless to say, by the time we got to the Days Inn, we were so soaked that there was not any more room for water
on us, it just ran off in sheets as it hit us. Our shoes were full of water, it was miserable to
say the least. We pulled right up to the door so we could run inside and get out of the rain. This is where my
comment from above, âcrazy unpredictable circumstances that you will encounter along the wayâ kicks
in. As we were standing inside the glass door watching it rain, Mrs. C. noticed that the T-Bag was getting wet
and suggested that I go take it off of the bike and bring it in. It wasnât like I was going to get any
MORE wet, so I went out to release the straps and take it off.
Here is where it gets interesting and bizarre. Ever since I got this 2010 Road Glide I havenât been comfortable
with how vertical this bike sets. It makes me nervous almost every time I put it on the side stand
even on the most level spot. So I ran outside in the rain, pulled on a strap to take the bag off and the bike starts
to fall over. Iâm hanging on to the stray with all I have and it is now gaining speed as it is falling.
Here is the really bad news. Mrs. C. had parked her bike next to mine, on what turned out to be the wrong side.
So my bike fell into her bike knocking her bike over into a small evergreen bush and onto some brick pavers.
It is still raining like crazy and I am standing there with a bungee in my hand looking at our 2 bikes laying on
their sides. Hmmm. . . And I thought the rain was the bad part. I could see this being real ugly,
real fast. About this time there were 3 younger guys walking into the motel to check in and they saw what had happened.
They all chipped in and helped us get the bikes set back up. Amazingly, the damage was very minor. No broken levers,
pegs, etc. Just a couple of scratches on Mrs. C's lower shroud. Not a huge deal. Mine suffered no damage at all
as the crash bars and Mrs. C's bike seemed to save it.
So we got her bike up and moved it back a little bit to assess the damage. As we were looking at
that, the wind had picked up and blew my bike over again!!! With no VROD for a cushion this time, the fairing connected
with those same decorative blocks and scratched the fairing a little bit. But that was not a problem for me as
I was going to be painting it any way. So we picked it up again and decided to secure it in a different location.
Click Here to see the scene of the crime and judge for yourself.
On the heels of 450 miles, the buffalo experience followed by the bike dominoes, we were really
ready for a nice hot spa to get warm and reflect on the day. So we checked in, got out of our wet clothes, went
down to the spa and soaked up the relaxing 104 degree water and just simply laughed about the turn of events over
the last couple of hours. We wanted to see some wildlife, but we never imagined that we would be cohabitating with
them. Watching the bikes fall over was surreal and almost unbelievable. But all we could do was just laugh and
be grateful that we were safe, that the bikes suffered no real damage and we were able to ride another day.
Next week I will take you from Custer through the park and on to Sturgis, Deadwood Spearfish and
Devils Tower. Since we have a long weekend coming up, I have included all of those photos in this gallery for today.
There are really some good photos in this gallery. I hope you enjoy.
Click Here for 215 photos.
(Click Slideshow in upper right to view full screen for best viewing.)
Click Here for Map.