Westward Ho! Day 1

Sturgis or Bust, Baby!

After battling a nasty cold all week, I woke up feeling almost human and definitely ready to ride. There was no postponing the Quinlans' Great 50-State-by-Motorcycle Adventure "Westward Ho!".

We packed up the bike and hit the road as the sun came up headed to our first destination – Sturgis, South Dakota.

The Black Hills Motorcycle Rally in Sturgis gets a bad rap. It’s really a lot of fun, kind of like a spring break for grownup. The people watching is spectacular.

It’s a long, hot ride to Sturgis. Sean’s done it every summer for the past 12 years. This is only my 7^th trip, and over the years we've developed our own traditions.

Our first stop for a beer is always at the Smallest Biker Bar in the World in New Underwood, SD.

New Underwood is about 30 minutes from Sturgis.

Our ‘home’ for the rally is Hog Heaven.

Our camping spot is always in the Hollow. It’s the quiet campground, where you can actually get some sleep.

  

Our Sturgis Family changes every year depending on who can make it from across the country and we add a few people each year. 

This year it was just Tommy and Debbie from Pennsylvania and Dave from Maryland.

Dave is a Confederate Civil War reenactor who coincidentally was at the Battle of Gettysburg that we were at last month. We got to talk to him about what it takes to be part of a battle and all the preparation and practice that goes into it.

After we unpacked we jumped on Da Bus and headed downtown. 

We signed in at Big Bad Bertha’s Biker Bar.

And headed to Sean’s Happy Place, One-Eyed Jacks.

At the end of the night we headed back to camp and a good night’s rest before hitting the road in the morning.

Day 1 - 603 miles