Day 48: Hangin' Out in Sturgis

TREV:
I woke up pretty early from the heat in the tent and made breakfast. Since I knew I couldn't check into the Sturgis hotel until early afternoon, and I was kind of tired, I read a bit before packing up. I'm currently working on Bram Stoker's Dracula since it was another free book for my Kindle. I finally packed up, said goodbye to Younegseub and the family, and hit the road. A quick stop at the Black Hills National Forest ranger station provided me with a couple great maps for the coming week, and I was on my way into Sturgis.

The Super 8 let me check in early so I was able to get to work with chores. First stop was the Post Office to pick up Stephs bike. One amazing thing about the postal service is that you can ship something to any random PO addressed to you c/o General Delivery and they'll hold it at the receiving location usually for 30 days. So the bike was boxed up with Frank's help and arrived here in Sturgis several days ago. I walked in, showed them ID, and there it was! They even let me assemble the bike in the air conditioned lobby and tossed the box for me. For personal shipping there's no beating the PO.

So I rode back to the hotel, got a sandwich, and started some laundry. I haven't actually washed my clothes since Missoula and they're starting to pick up some funk. I've taken my bike clothes into the shower each night and scrubbed them so they haven't been awful, but my regular clothes and sleeping bag need some good cleaning. Once the laundry was done I sat impatiently waiting for Steph.

I had gotten a text earlier in the day that BART was running late and she was worried about missing her flight so I was already a little anxious about her arrival. But after much too long I heard a knock on the door and opened it up, blinked a couple times in disbelief, and gave her a huge hug. She got her bags settled and we went out to a Sturgis staple the Loud American Roadhouse for beers, bacon wrapped jalapeño popper's, and dinner. We plotted and planned a little before getting some sleep in excited anticipation of our first day of riding tomorrow.

This trip has been amazing and I've had so many great experiences on my own but I'm excited to share the joy and adventure, especially with mi amor.

Since the next week and change will be OUR trip, Steph will provide some guest commentary to these posts. Hopefully she doesn't destroy the quality of my blogging, but more like I'm sure it will be a relief for you, the reader, to get some fresh air away from my BS.

STEPH:
The gangly man with a patchy beard who opened the motel door on Thursday night wasn't the boyfriend I'd said goodbye to in Portland, but he was a sight for sore eyes nonetheless.  Trev is definitely leaner and tanner than before and it seems like his muscle has migrated to his lower half!  His gear is dirty and weathered but he's in great spirits and I am so excited to join his adventure!