Geneseo IL – Custer SD
Wed June 19, 2019
(~864 miles)

Jeff’s rookie meeting advice on the Iron Butt Hotel (i.e. your helmet on) worked great when there wasn’t a ferry engine rumbling beneath you, and I awoke 30 minutes later, feeling a more rested if not really refreshed. I knew that I just had to get through a fairly short day today and could get a longer rest that evening. I was just SO happy to be far away from Long Island – things could only get better from here on out! I fueled up at the station next door and got back on the road around 04:30 CDT, with the sky already starting to lighten up a bit back towards the east. Next bonus was only a short hour away.

Skirting Davenport on the interstate, I exited north on US-61 and enjoyed the deserted mostly rural roads up to Maquoketa. Garmin tried to trick me onto a long gravel road just north of the town center, but I was having none of it and backtracked to a paved road (called, oddly enough, Cave Road) that would lead me to Maquoketa Caves State Park.

So out there in the middle of all this farmland, after turning into the park entrance road, I descended into this cooler ravine area with lush forest growth and what are apparently some pretty impressive cave systems, complete with resident bat populations (yes, I visited the Bat Cave!). I arrived around 06:40 and there was nothing afoot. No sign of rangers at the small shack, nor visitors in the parking lot. I had the place to myself.

I re-read the bonus listing which advised me to “Reference on-site maps at the park for local walking navigation.”. So I dutifully looked at the kiosks and maps of the cave system, on display by the parking lot. The bugs were voracious and I kept my helmet on for now. The rally book continues:

“This bonus requires two photos. Take a photo of stairs into cave looking back up from the bottom of the stairway. Take a second photo at Natural Bridge, looking back to cave entrance.”

There being multiple caves (apparently, I was looking for a feature called “Natural Bridge”, but couldn’t find it referenced on the kiosk maps anywhere, and there appeared to be two entirely different sections of the park to explore. Luckily I had cell service and Google proved helpful in helping me determine in which general direction to walk. I doffed my helmet and jacket and descended down sloped pathways and flights of wooden stairs towards a large cave opening. It was nice and cool down in the ravine. Turning around at the entrance to the cave, I snapped this photo of the stairs:

Then I noticed the stairs continued down into the cave itself and the bonus specifies “bottom of the stairs”. It was hard for my eyes to really process the small photo in the rally book well, so I continued down, flashlight in hand, to get another photo.

 

Thinking that should cover the first requirement, I needed the second photo and by now the  “natural bridge” formation was obvious, not 100 feet or so from the large cave opening. Walking carefully over slippery rocks and muddy pathways, I found a decent vantage point for the second photo, showing the cave mouth in the background.

That’s when I noticed yet ANOTHER stairway descending on the far side of the natural bridge and decided I might as well investigate. I had to ford a small creek on slippery stepping stones and captured a third version of Required Photo #1. I’m still not sure which was the right one, but I did end up with the points!

I took an extra couple minutes to just look around and appreciate this fascinating out-of-the-way spot – this was certainly along a ‘road less traveled’, and I was glad to have been led here. I’m betting it gets crowded on hot summer days. Then I hoofed it quickly back up the stairs to my bike to get back on the road.

The roads selected by Garmin for the northward connection up to I-90 turned out to include a Scenic Byway (perhaps IA-136?) – lovely horizons of rolling farmlands, good pavement and the occasional fast sweeper to enjoy. There were a few scattered showers that sprinkled me a bit, but it felt really good to be riding my motorcycle this morning!

Route 136 eventually dumped me onto US-20, which is also well-used route through my home state many miles back to the east. After many miles on 20, I picked up US-218 in Waterloo and pulled off the highway briefly to scarf down my leftover Subway sandwich for breakfast, and adjust my clothing layers. Then up to US-18 and then back to the interstate system on I-35. Several miles later, I crossed into Minnesota and picked up I-90 westbound, following a brief detour due to a closed on-ramp.

Now it was just a matter of passing the time while keeping that throttle twisted for several hundred miles across Minnesota and South Dakota (a new state to cross off my list!). Before I forgot, I pulled into a rest area outside Adrian MN to to my first IBR call-in bonus. It took me two tries to get things right, and then one final call because I’d forgotten to play back my message to verify it recorded properly.

The skies were amazingly big and blue across the prairie, with comfortable temperatures in the 70s, and I was in very good spirits as the miles ticked away.

I continued to speak on the phone with family and friends back home, as well as the other riders in the rally that I kept in contact with. We were all amazed at the rally design that had riders going to all points of the country. I had been in Montauk NY at the same time my buddy Ken was bonus sniping down by the border in Arizona, while Marc was riding to the tip of Florida. I imagined that plenty of riders had been having fun in the Appalachian mountains on the fun twisty roads that region is known for. It boggled the mind but spoke to a grand design we (I) could not yet fully comprehend. Day 2 hadn’t been so great for me, but after the cool cave bonus and great riding this morning, I was starting to come around to the idea of this rally’s theme.

I left the interstate in Rapid City to head south to Mount Rushmore, my next bonus location. This was my first time in the area and I loved the Black Hills terrain and landscape, an interesting mix of lush green with the sharp relief of rock formations poking through everywhere. My initial impression going through the tourist town of Keystone was that it seemed a bit kitschy and overbuilt, like a shopping mall escaping its walls.

When I finally pulled in to Mount Rushmore itself, the spectacle of a modern parking garage at this rural monument site rather surprised me, but I stayed focused and entered the garage on the uppermost level to shorten the walk for the bonus. We needed a photo from the Grand Terrace, which is, of course, at the furthest spot from the parking area towards the mountain view. I walked briskly past dozens of tourists wandering about, stopping abruptly for selfies, and eating tourist food. I was actually glad to be off the bike for the short walk and only asked for directions once, to be sure I was headed the right way.

Though the faces in the mountain appear smaller than you might think, it was pretty cool to finally be here in person at one of our nation’s most famous landmarks. After a quick gander, I turned my attention to getting to my hotel and starting my rest bonus. I walked quickly back through all the hoopla to my bike and headed toward the garage exit, when I remembered I had to pay first. I pulled up in some hash marks at the front of the lot and left the bike running while I jogged over to a pay station. Back to the bike and to the exit, now there was a line of cars waiting to get out through the one gate. And it seems many others had also forgotten to pay their parking fee in advance, but were choosing to pay as they exited, thus holding up the line. Sweating inside my Klim and helmet, I kept biting my tongue while the older gentleman in the car ahead of me kept trying to figure out how to operate the credit card until someone else in the car finally got out and did it for him. I was finally able to exit this madhouse.

The road between Rushmore and Custer was a gorgeous piece of pavement with amazing scenery that almost made up for the garage. It was short however, and I was cruising into downtown Custer SD before I knew it. I pulled in to the EconoLodge, where the friendly clerk helped me get checked in and answered my questions about where to find a sandwich. No nothing like that within walking distance. Yes the gas station across the street would have something and yes they are open 24/7. Sweet!

I bought some food over at the station and kicked off my rest bonus with a valid receipt. I got the bike covered and myself showered. A quick check of my route showed me I was running behind for my improved route plan, likely due to the unplanned sleep and the stop time spent at both MAQUO and RUSHM bonuses. Beartooth Pass had always been an optional add-in for my route, but now it definitely added too much time for too few points – plus the weather and temperatures didn’t appear favorable. As a result, I had two bonuses left to get on this leg, though I knew the plan was cutting it close to the penalty period at the checkpoint. Routing settled, I got to sleep as soon as I could, with the alarm set for six hours.