Well, I left Butte, Montana, midmorning Sunday 10 September 2023 with the hope of meeting friends for a late lunch in Bozeman, Mt. However, they were involved in a memorial service for a friend so I kept heading east along Interstate 90. I spent the night in Billings, Montana. As I looked for a place to stay on Bookings.com, I noticed that prices in Bozeman and Livingston, Mt., were actually quite expensive. Most places wanted between $150 and $200 compared to less than $100 in either Butte or Billings. Then it dawned on me that Yellowstone National Park is only 50 miles south of I90 near both Bozeman and Livingston. I believe that a room in Billings was $75. There is an old saying in real estate "location, location, location!" and it seems to apply to motel prices as well. Interstate 90 passes through beautiful country in Idaho and western Montana.

I left Billings pretty early hoping to do some serious miles (over 500) but starting to dread riding the BEAST.  Honestly, the seat and my rear were arguing every time I tried to ride for more than an hour. And the seat kept winning! About 60 miles east of Billings my route left I90 and picked up US212. The interstate makes a big southern loop into Wyoming before continuing east to South Dakota.  US212 cuts off the loop and saves about 150 miles.  US212 is a great two lane with mimimal traffic. It has a couple towns about 100 miles apart where you can get gas or something to eat.  I believe it passes mainly through the Crow Indian reservation. The land becomes open with grassland extending as far as the eye can see.  It is very easy to imagine herds of buffalo with numbers in the millions moving through this area one hundred and fifty years ago.

US212 is also the main route to the Little Big Horn battlefield. In fact, the exit from I90 is marked as such. On 25-26 June 1876, the US Seventh Calvary and several triibes of Souix, Northern Cheyenne, and Arapaho fought. The Native Americans had perhaps 2000 warriors while the US Calvary had a combined strength of 700. The battle resulted in Custer and his command being totally wiped out with 268 dead-Custer and two of his brothers, a brother in law and a nephew were among those killed. The battle has been called "the Indians last stand" and it marked the beginning of the end for the way of life of the Plains Indians.

The leaders of both sides are legendary in American history: Custer, Sitting Bull, and Crazy Horse.  Numerous books and movies have portrayed both the battle and the legendary leaders. Custer, most of all, has been portrayed as a narcissistic egotist or a noble patriotic leader depending on which movie you happen to see. He was the youngest general of the Civil War, a brevet promotion at 23 years of age. A brevet promotion was given as a award for bravery on the battlefield during the 19th century but is no longer used as a military award. In 1876, his permanent rank was lieutenant colonel.  Did his desire to recapture the glory and hero worship he received during the Civil War affect his decisions that day? 

US 212 rejoins I90 in South Dakota near Sturgis. Interstate to interstate is just over 225 miles along US212. If you haven't heard about the Sturgis motorcycle rally, you are not into motorcycling or perhaps you are dead! Held the first week in August I believe over 700,000 motorcyclists descend on this small town in western South Dakota just a month before I passed through. I spent a couple weeks in the area in 2020 on my then new Harley Road King. There is some great riding in the Black Hills, Mt Rushmore, Custer State Park, and the Needles Highway. and I can see why so many flock to the rally.  By the way, I was there a month or so before the rally and did not encounter 700,000 other riders. It was great and I really enjoyed my Harley, so much different than my other bikes.

I spent the night in a Super 8 in Rapid City, SD. I believe the rate was $55/night. Rapid City is large by South Dakota standards with a population of 76,000. I90 across South Dakota is long and boring but in great condititon.  There are more cows along the road than people. Again, one can imagine herds of buffalo grazing instead of cattle very easily. It is 350/400 miles from one side of South Dakota to another.  I continued past Sioux Falls turning south on Interstate 29 toward Iowa. I found a nice hotel just outside of Council Bluffs, Iowa having ridden 550 miles on the BEAST, my longest day to date.

I departed by 8am on Wednesday 13 September from Council Bluffs. My goal was to reach my sister's place in Dittmer, Missouri, about 40 miles south west of St Louis. It was 450 miles but I made it. My sister and her partner were waiting for me and I was rewarded with a cold beer, the first alcohol since Alaska. Interstate 29 is in fair condition as it parallels the Missouri River south through the farmlands of Iowa. I switched directions at Kansas City, Missouri, heading east on Interstate 70 rolling into Dittmer at 4pm. The traffic on Interstate 70 was heavy and I was glad to get off of it and onto some nice back roads.  I often joke with my brother in law (Missouri native) that all the leaves and foliage get in the way of the scenery.  I have a week here to get bike maintenance taken care of and just to relax.  

We leave in a week on 21 Sept for a tour of Utah. I will be riding my Harley Road King.  My sister and her partner ride but have never been on a bike which was not a Harley Davidson. I swear their underwear is marketed by Harley Davidson.  Oh well, to each their own, the important thing is they ride. I will be back here in early October and will continue south toward the Rio Grande and adventures in Mexico.

Mea Culpa, Mea Culpa, Mea Culpa!

It has been eleven days since I left Anchorage and it seems to me it was almost a different life. It was very hard to get on the BEAST and ride out of Alaska knowing that it might be six months or longer before I would return. It was a very easy lifestyle and I was afraid that I had bitten off more than I could handle with this trip (and what would I do if I could not handle it?). I don''t know where the eleven days and 3000 miles has gone. And I have had several major revelations along the way.

First, was my obsiveness with doing miles. As MB (my longtime partner) has reminded me more than once, I am the only one would puts performance goals like mileage on each leg of the journey or self imposed deadlines for reaching a destination. I am the one who feels like a failure if I don't meet my self imposed distance or other trip goals. I have done several IronButt rides of over a 1000 miles(1600kms) in a 24 hour period. It does feel good to set a goal and meet it. That used to be my priority. In the last two weeks, I have entirely dethroned those type of thoughts and the idea that the journey is as important as the destination is gaining importance in my priorities. Maybe by the time I get to Argentina, the journey will be more important than the destination.

Second, I think I am becoming a lot softer with my emotions.  Mr Spock is my hero and I don't let my emotions show very easily.  My time riding alone has given me ample time to rethink some of my behavior.  I am not saying motorcycliong should replace therapists but biking through the northern Yukon on some bad roads in nasty weather has caused me to rethink some of the people and things that I value.  I will be letting them know how much I appreciate them in the future.

Third, three mornings ago I had a major revelation. I was coming to dread riding more than 100 miles or so since that is the time/distance I could ride the BEAST without my rear shouting in pain. I kept comparing the BEAST to either my GSA or my Harley.  I can easily go 600 plus miles on either of those bikes in a day without feeling the worst for ware. What had I done purchasing the KTM690?  It sucked big time. Then I realized it was not a road bike but a big dirt bike that does OK on pavement. What a revelation! By looking at it from a different perspective, I realized that the KTM690 was a great bike for what it had been designed for.  Doing 300 miles on a big dirt bike was something to be proud of, not something to hit myself over the head with because I was not doing 600 miles/day.

The third revelation changed everything.  Before I would ride 300 miles suffering for the last 200  By the time I was to my destination, I was in pain and already dreading riding the next day. Now, I get on the BEAST and ride it 100-120 until my rear starts shouting. Then I pull off, get gas and take a 15-30 minute break.  Then I get on and ride it another 100-120 and repeat as needed.  It obviously worked as my last two days were 550miles and 450miles respectively. And I no longer dreaded riding the next day. Yay!!! I have broken the code.

The BEAST is still the same bike with a seat that SUCKS. I swear KTM engineers copied the design for the seat from blueprints they got from the Inquisition to make heretics renounce their faith.  In fact, I think this is my fourth KTM enduro over the last twenty two years of riding and all of them had the same (or worse) seat.  If you ride a lot offroad, you will probably spend the majority of your time standing which is the only logical argument I have heard as to why KTM makes their seats like a torture tool.  The seat actually encourages you to stand.

I still have not decided on which bike I will be riding south from STL.  I have made my peace with the BEAST and accept its limitations.  I just pushed my GSA1200 out of the garage and it is so BIG.  Honestly, it weighs 300lbs (136kgs) more than the BEAST.  Am going to take it out for a ride!