Featured Touring 15 Days, 11 States, & 3,660 Miles: Sturgis And A Wedding

Day #8: Windom, Minnesota to Comfrey, Minnesota --- 26 miles
• Trip total to date = 1,694 miles

Our ride today was the shortest of our entire trip. And our next day would be our longest! We rode from our hotel in Windom to our family farm just outside of my hometown of Comfrey, Minnesota. Comfrey is a v-e-r-y small town and is a midwest farm town through and through. Again, note the stick straight roads!And not only are they straight, they're flat as a pancake.



As we were gassing up the bikes in Windom, a truck with two bikes on a trailer puller up. I had to laugh because I have a bike with the same blue paint job (my "Fast Johnnie" Low Rider ST) and had a bike with the orange paint job (the Street Glide Special that I sold to my nephew).



When I was growing up, Comfrey's population was steady at 525 (yes, that's five hundred and twenty five!) and now the population is approximately 350. A lot of folks moved out of Comfrey in 1998 after a tornado ripped through the town destroying about a third of the homes and businesses, half of the buildings on our farm and the house in which I grew up, and nearly killing my dad. That's another whole story in itself.



We were eager to hang out on the farm for the day and Russell was particularly eager to see my hometown and a "real" working farm. When I was growing up, we had hogs and (sometimes) beef cattle and raised corn and soybeans, which is pretty much the grains that are farmed in that part of the United States. After the tornado, my dad and brother made the decision to strictly be grain farmers. They also started repping seed for Pioneer Seeds to have a stable income source along with farming grain which can be a bit fickle due to the weather. Nowadays, my "little" brother, Pete, has a huge operation as he farms nearly 2,000 acres and not only reps for Pioneer but a number of other agribusinesses.

Here's the house I grew up in--with some changes after the tornado. Those are our bikes in the driveway.



Today was post-wedding day and Jake and Carla were heading off on Jake's Street Glide for a little honeymoon in Steamboat Springs, Colorado, "just 850 miles away! Their plan was to take two days to get there, hang out for several days, then meet up with family back in the Black Hills for the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally. So we all gathered to give hugs and a big send-off to the newlyweds.





Then it was time for a bit of a tour of the farm and Pete's office and working areas.

My brother, Pete, with Russell in Pete's office



This building is what we always called "the machine shed". It has been expanded and houses much of the Pioneer and other farm products that Pete reps.



Pete always has products he can give to his customers so we always have to get a bit of swag when we visit. You can see some of the goodies on the shelves behind my brother. Now he even has Pioneer bourbon made from some of the corn he grows! That's my kind of swag.



A day on the farm--continued in my next post

 

Day #8 continued

Here are some of the storage units that hold various strains of seed corn and soybeans that Pete provides to his customers. These sit right next to the building in the previous photo.



Pete's grain bins for his own corn and beans. These bins are used to dry and store grain until it is loaded into semis and brought to a grainery or other sales location. That building is Pete's shop and has another very large building behind it that houses tractors and other farm machinery.



This is the inside of Pete's shop, the building in the picture above. This photo shows abut a third of the available space. Often he parks his pickup truck here or they may use it to store a motorcycle or two.



This is the space for farm machinery located behind Pete's shop.



Me on one of Pete's two HUGE John Deere tractors. The tractors of my childhood weren't nearly this big. And now they have air conditioning, a stereo, and even GPS!



Russell and Pete on Pete's combine. Pete can change out the head on the combine and use it to harvest both corn and soybeans. The combine makes even the tractors appear small.



Some time back, Pete decided to buy a semi to he could haul his own grain to market more efficiently and cost-effectively. That worked out so well that now he has not one but two semi tractor/trailer combos. And they're painted to match in "John Deere Green". Here's Steve in one of them.



The plan for tomorrow was for the whole gang (minus Jake & Carla) to hit the road in the morning and head to Rapid City, South Dakota and the Black Hills where the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally is held. Pete has a neighbor from whom he can borrow a trailer (a REALLY nice trailer that he's tried to buy but to no avail). Pete has a motorcycle that we all chipped in on and bought him for his birthday last year. He'd ridden it very little to date but was eager to get in some miles. That said, he also realized--wisely--that he wasn't up for the 500+ miles we'd be riding tomorrow! Eli would also be riding his bike--the 2020 Street Glide Special that I sold him and shipped to him last February. Eli also figured that that mileage might be beyond his current capability. So Pete, Steve, and Russell spent time in the afternoon getting two wheel chocks set up to accommodate two bikes. Russell used his bike to help figure out spacing.



As for Steve, Russell, and me, our plan was to simply ride the whole way to Rapid City! That turned out to be a bit more challenging than anticipated which you'll learn about in my next "episode".

After a day of touring and trailer altering, we all headed into town to eat at the one restaurant in Comfrey--the Comfrey Bar & Grill. "All" meant Pete and his wife, Tammi. Eli and his girlfriend, Margo. Steve and me. And Russell. This is the crew who'd be heading to South Dakota in the morning.





Up next, Day #9--Comfrey, Minnesota to Rapid City, South Dakota and "Sturgis"!

Hang in there in you're sharing our adventures because I'll be out of town for the next five days. Russell, Steve, and I are riding to Las Vegas tomorrow morning and will be home Monday. We're hitting the Mecum Antique and Vintage Motorcycle Show again like we did last year. But I'll be back to continue this thread!

 

Ok, guys, my Sturgis -- Minnesota Wedding ride report will resume shortly. Steve, Russell, and I arrived home safe and sound from Las Vegas and the Mecum Motorcycle Auction only a few hours ago (Monday evening). When I catch my breath (and get my butt back to work), I'll continue with Day #9 -- Comfrey, Minnesota to Rapid City, South Dakota and the Black Hills / Sturgis.

 

Starting my weekend and (mostly) caught up at work and home after being out of town last weekend so I’ll post my next episode soon! Thanks for your patience.

 

Day #9: Comfrey, Minnesota to Rapid City, South Dakota --- 472 miles
• Trip total to date = 2,177 miles

Today was a day I'd been looking forward to for some time as Steve, Russell, and I would get to ride with my brother, Pete, and my nephew, Eli. As you may recall, my other nephew (the wedding nephew) had departed from the farm yesterday morning with his new bride to ride to Steamboat Springs, Colorado. Tammi and Eli's girlfriend, Margo, would follow the bikes with the truck and trailer.

At 472 miles, this was one of if not our longest day of the entire road trip, most of it straight as an arrow across the midwestern plains of southern Minnesota and South Dakota.



This would be my brother's first big ride on his new Harley Softail Heritage Classic. It's a long story as to how he wound up with this bike but here is the Cliff Notes version....



My little brother works too much. Plus he has a huge heart and knows everyone in the little town of Comfrey so is always helping out someone in need. As a result, he spends very little time doing things for fun and relaxation, whether by himself or with his family. Since Pete's boys, Jake and Eli, had started riding again (they rode and raced dirt bikes in their younger years), Jake thought it would be cool to get his dad on a motorcycle for Dad's mental health. And also so that the boys and dad could spend some time riding together. And it didn't hurt in the decision to get Pete a bike that his "big sis" and brother-in-law love to ride and were enthusiastically encouraging the idea. A plan was hatched and we all chipped in (with most of the funding coming from his wife, Tammi) and surprised Pete with a motorcycle for his birthday last January! And boy oh boy was he ever surprised! It was great fun but we tease that we're all caught up on birthday gift giving to Pete for about the next 20 years.

Just one other funny thing of note. Pete literally has a big head--I mean it's huge. And it's a bit oddly shaped. I try not to tease him about it but without much success. I am his big sister, after all. He and Tammi wound up having to drive up to Minneapolis to try on helmets in person at Cycle Gear where he found a 3X that fit "ok". On this ride he learned that he will have to do a bit of doctoring to the forehead area to eliminate a bit of a hot spot. It's funny to see Russell and Pete together because Russell is at the other end of the head size spectrum--all of his helmets are a size XS!

Our first stop other than gassing up was in a town called Mitchell, South Dakota, which was probably about 180 miles from the farm. Mitchell is best known as the home of The Corn Palace (stay tuned for photos), and for Klock Werks, a small but mighty motorcycle parts manufacturer.



I was itching to go to Klock Werks, the company who makes the windshields I've had on my last three motorcycles. I'd been talking by phone with a salesman since I bought my 2024 Street Glide to find out when they would have windshields that would fit the newly styled fairings. Well, it turned out that they had just gotten them in late in the day before we arrived in Mitchell! I was ecstatic that I would be able to replace my all but useless stock windshield, especially since I'd just ridder over 2,000 miles having to clean my helmet face shield at every stop. I also just really wanted to see the place as Brian Klock and his wife and daughters are quite well known in Harley World. Laura Klock and the two daughters have set bagger speed records of just shy of 200 mph.

Bingo! Not only did they have a windshield for my bike but the gracious sales guy who helped me said he could install it right where my bike was parked on the street in front of the business. Note the note in the photo. Pete gave up the ghost and retired his bike to the trailer and his butt to the pickup.



As my windshield was being installed, Brian Klock himself and one of his daughters came over to observe and introduce themselves. Brian informed me that I was the first customer to buy one of these windshields for the 2024 Street Glides! Pretty cool. They were all getting ready to head over set up their vendor booths for the Sturgis Rally which officially started Friday (today was Monday).




After a quick look-around inside Klock Werks, up next up was a visit to The Corn Palace which everyone said couldn't be missed.



from Wikipedia





The front of the Corn Palace. I really wanted to go in but we were running behind, had miles to go, and the weather report wasn't looking good. So we had lunch across the street from this unique venue. The entire front of the building is composed of corn and corn parts!



Reportedly, the exterior design is fairly regularly changed. There was a crew working on the facade on this day. Above the brick base it's all CORN! And they were primarily using staple guns to attach the corn parts.



Tammi and Russell eating, what else? Corn!



Day #9 -- Comfrey, Minnesota to Rapid City, South Dakota -- continued in my next post

 

Day #9 continued:

Prior to Mitchell, we opted to ride two-lane backroads through tiny towns and along corn and soybean fields. But after Mitchell we "hit the slab" and rode the rest of the way to Rapid City on Interstate 90. It was straight, flat, and barren. A nicer way to put it would be that it was the wide open spaces. Steve rather likes the plains but, having grown up there, I'm not a big fan. Give me mountains or desert or ocean any day.

Russell had read about a place that he wanted to stop called Dignity of Earth & Sky which was just off I-90 at a rest stop. I'm glad Russell knew about it because it was well worth the stop! We spent probably about half an hour here, drinking in the views, the statue, and the descriptive plaques.



Here's basically the same photo but this one has a person at the bottom left of the statue base so you can get a sense of size.







The rest stop was located at the top of a ridge above the Missouri River. The views were beautiful!



More background on this area. This plaque provided information regarding the Native American tribes of this area. South Dakota is known as the ancestral home of the Sioux, but there were also many other tribes that lived in different parts of South Dakota, too.



While we were making our way across the breadth of South Dakota, my other brother, Ted, and my sister-in-law, Karen, had also left Comfrey the previous day so they could spend time hiking in the Black Hills and going to Badlands National Park. Ted sent me this photo of himself looking pretty pleased that he was outdoors rather than in a car on I-90 at the moment. The Black Hills of South Dakota truly is a beautiful area!




We beat feet from Destiny because storm clouds were gathering and looking very ominous. The wind picked up and, speaking of being pretty pleased with oneself, Eli was pleased that he (like his dad about 80 miles previously) decided to pack it in. When we got back to the bikes and pickup / trailer, Eli's bike was tucked away in the trailer for the rest of the day and Eli was sacked out in the back seat of the truck. Ahhh, youth! I thought they were supposed to be the ones with all the energy!

At this point the rest of the ride was really rugged. With nothing to slow the wind down as it raged across the plains, we had that motorcycle "lean into the wind" thing going on big time. It was not fun. But again, to frame it positively, it was challenging and skill-building. Thankfully we managed to outrun the storm and made it to our hotel in Rapid City without getting wet--or electrocuted by the massive lighting bolts that were nearby and way too close for comfort. Ted and Karen were staying with us, while the rest of the family would be going on after dinner to a VRBO that Tammi had rented. For now, our goal was FOOD! (Well, and beer)

We read about a place in downtown Rapid City that sounded good and off we went. Like back in Minnesota, Ted and Karen had a rental vehicle so Steve, Russell, and I piled in and let our bikes (and our butts) rest up for the remainder of the day.



Murphy's was great--excellent food, cool atmosphere, and (best of all), excellent beer selections!



I saw this tee-shirt on my way out of the restaurant. Love it! Having just seen The Corn Palace, it made perfect sense.



After dinner, those of us staying in our Rapid City hotel said goodbye to the rest of the family heading to the little town of Lead which was probably about an hour from Rapid City.

We made a plan to meet in the morning at a gas station about midway between Lead and Rapid City and then head to a destination we were all very excited to see--Mt. Rushmore! I hadn't seen Mt. Rushmore for decades since I was there for a high school band trip. And Steve had never seen Mt. Rushmore! So off to bed we went with visions of historic presidents dancing in our heads.

Coming up in my next post -- Day #10 -- riding the Black Hills and hanging out in Deadwood

 

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that Eli's Street Glide Special used to be MY Street Glide Special! I sold it to him about a year ago when I bought my 2024 Street Glide. In fact, I bought my bike exactly a year ago this coming Valentine's Day. Eli is loving the bike and has made some "youthful" changes including meat-hook style ape hanger handlebars, a very "prominent" sissy bar, and a powerful (read, LOUD) stereo system. The PRIDE sticker on the rear fender is a magnet that is evidently a "thing" -- it shows up in unexpected places and then is passed along to another in an equally unexpected place. Also, note the Arizona license plate. He's had the bike since February and this photo was taken at the end of July. And nope, he didn't get a Minnesota plate prior to our trip to South Dakota. His mom was NOT happy.

 

Thanks, @Markus! I’ll try to get another episode in tomorrow. The new windshield is significantly better than the stock one all the way around. I hardly ever take a bug to the face shield anymore and the Klock Werks deflects the wind really well.

 

Ha, I just noticed that in my last post about my nephew, Eli, and my old / his new Street Glide that I didn't include the photo I meant to add! Well, it's there now if you scroll back a few posts.

 

Day #10: Riding the Black Hills of South Dakota...Mt. Rushmore, Hill City, Deadwood -- 135 miles
• Trip total to date = 2,301 miles

It was a test to see if you were reading carefully, @Helmut Visor. Just kidding....