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A late April Jaunt to SW South Dakota

bigjohnsd

'21 R1250 GS Adv
Late April is one of the best times to ride in the Black Hills.
Tourists haven't arrived, roads have mostly been cleared of sand.
Today was no exception, may have been my least unencumbered ride of most of my favorite roads ever.
I only stopped twice, once in Rapid City at Harbor Freight - their "Icon" brand sockets are 10% of what "Snap-on" costs and have proven equal to anything I can put them through. I wanted a new set of 3/8" drive Metric 6 point short sockets. What were they out of? Yup.

I headed South West from Rapid City staying off the highways and taking my favorite back roads.
After Keystone I decided to take Iron Mountain Road - usually clogged with tourists and all going the 25 mph speed limit or less. Today I came upon two cars and both pulled over immediately to let me past, probably the best run down Iron Mountain Road I've ever had.

I was headed to Edgemont SD to check out a Bar/Cafe but it wasn't open so lunch was delayed an hour until I got to Newcastle WY for a hamburger at Wayback Burgers.
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Wayback is a franchise place, the only one in Wyoming, but locally owned and staffed by some great kids.
They make a decent Burger and the real potato fries are outstanding.
$9 for a Burger/Fries/Drink and they are cooked to order.

Next time AKBeemer comes I'm going to buy him one of these nine patty Cholesterol Specials!
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I settled for one of these today -
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They call this "The Impossible Melt" and it is supposed to be made with some kind of "Plant" Burger but if you ask they will make it with the real thing 100% Wyoming Angus Beef - A quarter-pound Burger with Swiss Cheese, Sauteed Onions and Spicy Garlic Aioli Sauce on an inverted buttered bun. It was damn good at 2:00 after my 8:00 am breakfast.

Click anywhere on the image below to see today's ride.
 
That is a nice little jaunt! I love Iron Mountain Road, especially when the tourists are long gone.

That burger photo makes my mouth water. :beer
 
I probably know the answer but asking anyway. I’m passing through that area on my way to Great Falls on Sunday, June 20th. My overnight that day will be in Gillette and I had planned to ride Needles, Iron Mountain, etc on my way through.

Am I being stupid trying to ride those roads with summer tourist traffic in full swing? I will be departing from Alliance, NE that morning so getting an early start on those roads won’t be an option. Other option would be trying same roads on way back with an overnight in Spearfish. That way an early start would work.

Thoughts?
 
The summer traffic is there, but let me put it this way, I have never ridden Iron Mountain Road or the surrounding roads and not enjoyed the ride. Many people let you by and you can usually find a place to sneak by the crawlers.
 
I probably know the answer but asking anyway. I’m passing through that area on my way to Great Falls on Sunday, June 20th. My overnight that day will be in Gillette and I had planned to ride Needles, Iron Mountain, etc on my way through.

Am I being stupid trying to ride those roads with summer tourist traffic in full swing? I will be departing from Alliance, NE that morning so getting an early start on those roads won’t be an option. Other option would be trying same roads on way back with an overnight in Spearfish. That way an early start would work.

Thoughts?

As you surmise, the earlier the better. If you stop in Spearfish on the return trip give me a shout and we can hit all the best roads early.
It takes almost a full day to hit them all, especially during the tourist season.

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BigJohnSD's Black Hills Motorcycle Tour

And if you want to include Devils Tower - which you should - we add this on for another 150 miles and three hours including the stop at Devils Tower.

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4-Corners to Devils Tower, Alzada and Spearfish

I take folks to Alzada so they can see the great little Museum at the Stoneville Saloon, also, it is the only place I've found in the world that sells the "Stocking Stuffer" you will immediately have a recipient in your mind for, A can of "Sheep's A$$holes", likely rebadged Spaghetti-O's but who is checking? Actually the road from Hulett WY to Alzada through the Bear Lodge Range is one of if not my favorite of all in the area.
 
Thanks!!!!!

If the outbound trip through doesn’t work due to traffic then I’ll seriously plan to overnight in Spearfish on the return trip. Looks like it would be Monday, June 28th. I will take you up on the offer and, contrary to what’s said, there will be a free lunch included ;-) Thanks again for the excellent info on the road options. The good thing is I am only a days ride away from home, and can get back out to explore any missed roads.

Thanks again!
 
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