After assuring our Facebook friends and followers that Todd was not going to die, we set off from Anamosa with at least three days to ride before we were expected to arrive in Denver. We had plans to hit some notable sites: Sturgis, Mount Rushmore, Devil’s Tower, Crazy Horse Monument, and others. The trials and tribulations began in earnest over these next few days, but we persevered.
Leaving Anamosa early on Monday afternoon, we hit a mix of two-lane and interstate highway, heading west across the state of Iowa. The skies had cleared, but the wind was picking up. We found ourselves leaning sideways at semi-illegal speeds on the open highway. A constant 30mph crosswind from the south kept us fighting the handlebars, and wore a strip in our front tires about an inch left of center. Long fuel breaks made it easier to get back on and deal with the effort of fighting the wind that threatened to pick my VFR up like a para-sail and toss it in front of the next truck I passed. The hotel in Sioux City that night was a welcomed comfort, and we arrived not long after riding into the sunset.






