In the heart of winter, with my Packer hopes dashed, there's nothing better than planning an 8-day summer motorcycle trip - to Sturgis. It's always good to have something to look forward to even if it doesn't occur until August. It keeps my mind off the dirty snow and the lack of sunshine on my face. So the first order of business in this new vacation year was to put in my request for the week off. With that accomplished, we start the search for a place to stay. It's the 70th anniversary of the motorcycle rally so it's important to book a room very early. Luckily our extremely excited friend, Ken takes the lead and makes it happen. Ken and his friends have been talking about going to Sturgis for a few years now and he knew he would have to take charge to coordinate this for everyone. Jeff and I are pretty new to the group but we enjoy their company and they treat us like we've been part of their group forever. We had 12 people who committed to going , so he booked 3 double rooms with 4 in each room. That's when the rubber hits the road and lofty dreams become reality - one person dropped out. I bet that spot gets filled by August so there's no worries about that right now. With the major part of the planning confirmed, Ellen takes over and books a room in Mitchell which is a little further than the halfway point from Milwaukee for the ride out and another room at the halfway point for the ride back. The cheaper rooms are non-refundable, so we chose to pay $9 extra to book a room in Mitchell that was refundable. It's been my experience that plans can be dashed if it rains all day. The safer, slower speed in the rain can mean cutting the distance some. And safety will always come first, so we tend to play it by ear. Hopefully it won't rain and that won't be a problem but you just never know.
Now it's time for the fun to start...the touristy planning of the things to do and see while we're there. I ordered lots of tourist information from South Dakota tourism centers and started my travel checklist. I talked to my friend Cindy who goes to Sturgis every year and she confirmed that we got a good deal on the rooms in a decent part of the Sturgis area. She offered to look into the condo next to the one she stays in, but that would have cost more than the deal that we got. So Ken did well. And the hotel we're staying in allows for bike parking right outside of the rooms which have their own separate doors so that's a good thing. The inn also has a shuttle into Sturgis so you don't always have to get into the fray of hundreds of thousands of bikes if you don't want to - another good thing. On the negative side, the hotel does not include a restaurant but there is a diner close by (I like my coffee first thing in the morning). And there is no pool/hot tub, which would be nice for after a long day of riding.
With the hard part of the planning over, we can move on to other things, like the International Motorcycle Show in Chicago. Jeff and I make it an overnight stay in Rosemont. He books us a nice suite at Embassy Suites across from the convention center and since the IMS is the week after Valentine's Day, we plan a romantic dinner in the evening. This year we will go to Morton's Steak House right down the street. The cool thing about the motorcycle show at the Rosemont (Donald E. Stephens Convention Center), is there is a walkway from the hotel to the convention center so you don't have to go outside if you don't want. Since the car is parked at the hotel there are no worries about driving through Chicago when you can walk. The motorcycle show has vendors from all over the world. Last time we attended we bought a travel bag made specifically for our touring bike from a German company. It has served us well. This year there's nothing we really need, so it will be more like a fun adventure than a search for a specific product. After spending a day at the convention center we will head back to the hotel for the free happy hour drinks before dressing for dinner. In the morning, we get up to a nice breakfast in the hotel then head over to IKEA for some shopping before heading back to Milwaukee.
Maybe winter won't be so bad after all.
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