First Reader and I have spent the week riding motorcycles and relaxing in a cabin in the Black Hills of South Dakota. And for those of you asking, yes, this is during the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally. Yes, we are staying masked when in crowds. In fact, I’ve taken to riding with my mask on.

We got a late start leaving last Sunday and, consequently, didn’t arrive at our cabin until around sunset. By the time we pulled into the driveway at our place, we were beat.

On Monday, we met with friends in Sturgis and spent the afternoon trying to keep up with each other. As usual in a crowd that big (yes, I wore my mask), keeping track of five people is almost impossible. We managed to (finally) get food in all the insanity, then made a plan to meet with them the next day and ride around the Hills.

Tuesday found us riding toward the Needles Highway but reluctant to pay the $20 fee (per bike) to ride through the park. We turned around and headed to a restaurant we knew of near our campground. We were more than a bit disappointed with the menu but found out they didn’t have a cook, so the wait staff prepared appetizers for customers.

We shopped for more gear we needed to replace on Wednesday and Friday. I had patches sewn on my new riding vest. I grew out of my old vest, so it was time to upgrade. I just need two more patches to go to finish the back. I also met another of my many cousins. He happened to be at the Rally with his riding group, so we made time to hang out and get to know each other. Thursday, we went to breakfast with another friend we’ve made over the years and promised to meet again before we leave today. Then we went back to the cabin and rested for the day.

We have made many friends in the Black Hills over the years, and we make sure to meet up whenever we’re here. That is one of the reasons we visit the Hills for a week. We’ve been riding the area since the mid-1990s. A week is not enough to see all of the sights this region has to offer (or spend time with all the people we’ve met along the way). The nice part is that we can mix up our rides every year and not cover the same ground twice in five years unless we want to.

By Saturday, we started corralling our errant gear and getting it into our travel bags. Not to mention trying to find room for the stuff we bought. We also spent time resting up for the trek home. And visiting with friends. Oh, and cleaning up the cabin, so they don’t dread our visit next year, or worse, ask us not to come back.

Progress on our new home has not stopped while we’ve been away. Our sales representative sent us the price quote from the builder. We now have electricity on the property. Next, we need to get the well electrified and have our water supply tested. When we get back, we plan to take a water tank up to make sure the valves and water lines from our cistern weren’t damaged.

We still have a lot of work to do before we move into our dream home. We need the building plans in hand before we can begin to design the basement. After we know the design requirements, we’ll do a soil test to make sure the ground will support our house and the basement. Those are worries for another day. For now, we worry about the ride back home.