August 7. Another great day! And a couple of firsts. The first first is that this is the first day since the day I left that I haven't started with chaps and/or long johns. The second first is that I added another motorcycle state to my list, North Dakota. Even after all of my trips to Sturgis and points west, this is the first time I've ridden in ND.
Fantastic weather all day. Decent scenery, especially a little badlands in western ND that I didn't know about. Got off US 2 onto US 85 (which was to have been my ride to Sturgis), but hopped on to I84. An Interstate, you exclaim. Isn't that blasphemy? Not so. We're haul-assin' home don't ya know. (Some place up here talks like that, but I forget which.) Besides, in ND, at least, I84 is more like a country road than a freeway. Very little traffic, same view of the countryside.
Just didn't want to get off the bike. Made it all the way across ND to Alexandria, Minnesota (632 miles). Finally had to get off when it got dark. But the evening was just one of those perfect motorcycle times: cool, sweet smelling, and one of those sunsets that turns the grass and trees yellow.
The only bug in the day was when I went looking for the Harley dealer in Manadan, ND. A little tricky to find and when I did, I turned in the wrong parking lot. I overcompensated trying to do a U-ey, and plunk, down went the bike again. Four years I've had this beast and never dropped her. Now, twice in two weeks. Must be getting old. Time to start trying on trikes, maybe?
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