The trip started by loading the Norden, all my gear, and all the gear Tori and her mom would need for their trip into the back of the truck. Things were tighter than the would have been if we’d been able to use the hitch-carrier for the bike, but I figured it was definitely better safe than sorry after all of the trials of the week up to departure.
Hartford to Pittsburgh
Tori and I were up and on the road around 7:30, having loaded up the truck the night before. Since I still had to get to 600 miles on the Norden before we arrive in Wall, we decided to take the truck as far as I-80 in PA then unload the bike at a rest stop so I could get about 250 backroad miles in on the way to my parents’. While we hit some rain and had to abandon one attempt to unload the bike due to a crowded rest stop, the driving and riding were pretty uneventful.
It was good to get a chance to get to know the Norden a bit more on the first day. The engine is still limited going into the first service, but even with the artificially low rev limiter it’s a lightweight, peppy bike compared to the Tiger — it feels way sportier than an off-road focused midweight adventure bike has a right to and I can definitely get myself into trouble on it. I’m definitely having issues with the quick-shifter, but calibrating the sensors is part of the first service.
The evening with my family gave me a chance to wish my dad a happy Father’s Day in person, and it was good to see everyone outside of a major holiday.
Pittsburgh to Sandwich
We were up and out of the door pretty early again on Saturday, knowing it was a long slog on the highway to get to Chicago and then to Sandwich. We took the driving in shifts and the journey was fortunately pretty dull, even with traffic from the Cleveland and Chicago metros.
The last stretch from Chicago to Sandwich took us off the interstate and across miles of cornfields until we arrived at our final Sandwich of the Sandwich Quest. Sandwich, IL is perhaps slightly more substantial than NH, but it’s basically a one-street farming town in rural Illinois. After we unloaded the bike and locked up the bed of the truck, we wandered around a little antique store (with some surprisingly good jewelry) and had our mandatory sandwiches at one of the local bars. There was a Sandwich Opera House, but it had a single show listed for 2024 (a comedian in August). The streets were basically dead for being a warm, summer night and it was kind of an unceremonious end to our quest (at least until we hit the islands).
Sandwich to the Badlands
We spread the last thousand or so miles out over two days, stopping overnight in Tea (just outside of Sioux Falls). I managed to find the same spot that Dylan and I stopped at on the shores of the Mississippi back in 2018, but other than that we kept the cruise control on and tried to make time as best we could until we hit SD. I stil think Iowa is still prettier than it gets credit for, and it was the first time in SD for both of us.
Checking the weather in Tea got us a bit worried for the final ride into Wall. It was my last chance to get to 600 miles for my first service, so I was riding the 330 final miles no matter what. The forecast was calling for heavy thunderstorms for the first half of the ride so Tori agreed to drive chase in the truck. That made both of us feel better in case I got soaked or needed shelter from the potentially heavy winds and hail. The first hour was drizzly off and on and we did finally hit a pretty heavy cell just before Platte, SD. My Aerostich RoadCrafter suit did a pretty good job, but I still ended up damp around the neck and waist where the water seeped in at the hem of the jacket. After a maybe 30 miles we broke through the other side of the storm and stopped to reevaluate. Since the radar was more clear for the rest of the day, Tori split off for I-90 to make sure she made it to the airport in time to grab Dorothy.
The rest of the ride was damp and dreary, but it was a beautiful ride in on Route 44 across southern SD. While flat and boring for long stretches, hills, bluffs, and valleys came out of nowhere and SD has a bleak, starkly beautiful geography unlike anything I’ve seen. My route also brought me up through Badlands National Park, which was just as cool as I’d hoped it would be (despite slow National Park traffic). I didn’t spend time on pictures or video since I’ll be heading back through on my way out on Wednesday, but I’m definitely jealous that Tori and Dorothy are going to spend a few more days hiking and exploring.
Tomorrow (Tuesday, June 18) will be my first service for the bike in Sturgis and a chance to pick up last minute supplies and equipment (I forgot how much I dislike my current rain gloves, and my helmet camera was acting up today with the rain). Then after one last night with Tori and her mom I’ll I head off on the solo portion of the trip.
