We eventually saw bison…
…with other wildlife working on the evidence of its passing. I think his dung-ball blew away.
I moved him back next to it but it didn’t seem very happy about that
At least not initially, but eventually he gave it a warm embrace.
59.8 miles today, 1739 total
We left the KOA in Rapid City at about 8:15 this morning, and headed straight to a store to get our usual breakfast of bagels and cream cheese. Conveniently, most bagels come six to a pack so it’s two bagels and a third of a pack of cream cheese each, and off we go, ready for action. There was no convenient park on route so today we consumed them road-side, within sight of I-90. Fueled up, we were ready for a straight shot east with a north westerly wind helping us along. Here’s the root from my GPS, note that red is faster and blue is slower.
There were undulating hills for most of the first part of the ride so we had fast downhills followed by slow climbs over and over again.
The road was straight.
The scenery was beautiful.
Steve got another flat (that’s not very interesting anymore) and I spent some time with a porcupine. I set my camera to portrait mode and took another couple of pictures.
Apart from those incidents, the most interesting development of the day was the howling crosswind, it became quite a challenge.
By about 1:00 p.m. we ran out of asphalt and had to make a decision about gravel versus freeway. We did this while we ate lunch in the shadow (sun and wind) of Wicksville Community Church. We are not sure where the community that goes with the church is, because there was nothing for miles around.
So we got on the freeway and if you look at the map above that’s the first long red section. We were blazing. It was great. We got off at the next exit to discuss strategy. There was a sign indicating roadworks ahead and a maximum vehicle width of 12 ft and that sounded suspicious. Luckily, a local woman pulled up in a big SUV and said “this looks like three men with way too much energy”. She was able to tell us that one of the freeway bridges was being replaced and both directions of the freeway were running on the remaining bridge. She told us about a nice gravel road and she mentioned a bit of a hill. This road had been on Bob’s original plan, so we set off and as usual the scenery was beautiful.
And then we saw the hill!
This is where a chart is useful (see below). The big divot is where we went downhill on the freeway and then went very very slowly back up on gravel.
It was worth it though because the view from the top was smashing.
After that we had a few more inconvenient gravel climbs (chump-change compared to the big one), followed by a very satisfying long downhill on asphalt. We made our final approach to Wall at high speed on the freeway with the wind at our backs.
We rewarded ourselves with milkshakes at Wall Drug.
There are signs quite literally all over America for Wall Drug. It’s a strange little, or not so little, store designed to sell all sorts of trinketry. Is it worth a stop? Maybe; we enjoyed our milkshakes but didn’t indulge in any additional commerce.
Bad news, Steve has had his 5th strike (flat). But I was a little ahead on the road so I don’t have a picture.
I sat down under the only roadside tree I’ve seen for miles…
…and was chatting with my parents for about 20 minutes before I noticed the porcupine almost directly overhead.
June 6, 2025
60.7 miles today, 1679 miles overall.
I decided to go back to the Hill City town center to pick up some supplies while the others started today’s short trip to Custer State Park. There would be plenty of time to meet up later, as today’s plan was to ride 20-something miles. A few blocks into the ride, I realized I had the peanut butter. I considered turning around to join my cohorts. Then I realized: If I have the peanut butter, then they’ll have to find me later.
This set the stage for my most slow and relaxed morning of the trip so far.
Then, just as I was nearing the planned exit point for the Mickelson Trail, I received a text.
And so we reunited within a few minutes and proceeded to Custer State Park, deciding to eat lunch a bit later.
Upon entering the park we learned that our intended campsite was not available. This set in motion a series of pursuits for campsites further down the road. We traveled through rain (unfortunately) and with a strong tailwind (fortunately) to arrive at Rapid City comfortably before dark, and not terribly wet.
This set the stage for a fine campsite meal of beans and rice before planning the next few days journey.
When we ran out of bad jokes to tell one another (it didn’t take long), we decided to break out the stove and make tea/coffee.
We are hoping it stops soon but it doesn’t look promising on the weather radar.
55.5 miles today, 1618 miles overall.
It was raining when we woke this morning so Steve suggested we leave quickly, and find a shelter on the trail at which to have breakfast. We agreed, so we began the complex process of packing while trying to stay dry.
I did okay, but something seemed to go wrong for Bob. He insisted everything was under control. I was gone in search of a shelter before Steve got to this stage, so I can’t testify as to whether he did any better. We agreed that I shouldn’t go more than 6 miles ahead. At 5.75 mi there was still no sign of a shelter, but I reached a trail head where the map showed a shelter not too far ahead.
The trail was beautiful, but wet. At 9.5 miles there was still no sign of shelter so I stopped and set up under a thick stand of pine trees.
When Bob and Steve arrived the kettle was boiling and the tortillas and bananas were staged awaiting arrival of the peanut butter.
We feasted at the trail side like ancient Romans. It rained on and off all day and we cycled in and out of rain-gear. But the Mickelson Trail is so beautiful we cannot complain.
By lunch time we were at Rockford and we stopped at the Small of America store where we had hotdogs and nachos and talked to the BMW riders about the HD riders who trailer their bikes behind their RVs rather than riding them across the country.
For most of the ride before lunch we had been ahead of or behind a group of septuagenarian and octogenarian women on electric bikes. We felt quite virtuous because while we dined at the Small of America they went to the Moonshine Gulch Saloon.
After lunch it was back on the trail, rain gear on, rain gear off, electric ladies ahead, electric ladies behind.
Our virtuosity came to an end when we passed a brewery, Lost Cabin Beer Company, next to the trail in Hill City. It was graciously close to our campsite so we pitched our tents and returned. Having secured a dinner recommendation from the brewery owner, we found ourselves at the Silver Dollar Saloon eating a Buffalo Belly Burner pizza. We are really not sure what we were thinking, so if you find yourself in the same saloon we recommend you pass on the Buffalo Belly Burner (Steve provided prophylactic Tums when we returned to the campsite).
The saloon was the home of the Troublehead motorcycle club and also an oddly dressed taxidermy. On questioning the bar staff about the provenance of the decoration, we were told this was the site of the former Hill City Zoo, and that the lion was a former resident.
A quick web search indicates that a Hill City zoo did exist back in the ’50s or ’60s, so perhaps it’s a true story.
23.4 miles, 1569 miles overall
It was a short but productive day. We didn’t start riding until 10:57 am, 3 mins before we were supposed to check out of the campsite. Steve slept until we woke him to do laundry. Bob worked on his bike (it’s not clear whether he did any good, he may have done harm). Bob was the winner of the Golden tent stake award (I’m not sure how it’s awarded, but it sounds like I may never win).
We have decided, unequivocally, that salted roasted peanuts taste much better than unsalted roasted peanuts, and although we told Bob we would stop harassing him about the unsalted roasted peanuts when we finished the jar, consumption of the correctly purchased salted peanuts brought raw emotions flowing back. We will try to forgive him again tomorrow.
A final aside, we didn’t say enough good things about the Guadalajara Mexican restaurant in Spearfish where we ate dinner last night; the food was fantastic.
Okay, now to the progress update — When we arrived in Spearfish yesterday, a helpful, young, worker at the bike shop recommended that we take Maitland Road from Spearfish to Deadwood. He said, “you can do it”.
So we started riding on a nice trail through Spearfish and all agree it’s a beautiful town. When we found Maitland Road it seemed quite nice…
And it was, but the surface soon turned to hard-pack, and then the rain came on gently, but persistently. One by one we donned our rain gear (Bob, ever optimistic was the last to succumb). When the grade reached 14% in the rain and the surface turned to mud, we began to doubt the wisdom of bike-shop youth. But he was right, we did it.
We reached Deadwood at about 3:30. It’s a quaint old town, now geared fairly heavily towards tourism. There are lots of nice looking old buildings many still fulfilling their original purpose…
… as official buildings or saloons, but the other trappings of a functioning town were gone, with groceries and hardware stores replaced by casinos, saloons, restaurants and tourist shops. At a former gas station, now transformed into a sandwich/coffee/glassblowing establishment…
… we ordered sandwiches to take to our, at that point undetermined, campsite, then did a quick ride through town.
Our touristing done, we found our way to the Mickelson Trailhead…
… and we grappled with whether to pay one or 3 days worth of fees.
Deciding to purchase 2 days initially, we felt a little bit jipped after riding only a mile on the trail to the nearest campsite today.
The campsite is nice but expensive. Its most un-endearing quality is the height of the hill we had to climb to find the tent-sites. However, this does afford a nice view back down in the valley.
Some other pictures from the day.
65.7 miles today. 1544 miles total progress
It’s a brief update for now, as the phone keeps falling out of my hand as I drift into sleep.
We opted to bike the longer of two optional distances today, as the weather is cool and dry, and questionable tomorrow.
Great, warm food started and ended the day, as we let others do the cooking. Lunch was mix of things prepared in a beautiful city park in Sundance, WY.
We were released from the State of Wyoming without incident, and we are discovering quite an array of fun and interesting things to explore while in South Dakota.
Fortuitously, a bike shop sits at our entry point into Spearfish and it was still open when we arrived in town. With a new shift cable in hand, necessary repairs can start on my bike shorty after dawn.
Our plans for the next day or so are somewhat fluid, though certainly include the highly rated Michelson Trail through the Blackhills. For now, KOA Campground has once again provided a sure place to rest and restore our clothing and our gear.
34.7 miles and 1479 overall
After three days of long rides and yesterday’s warm one, we needed a bit of a rest. We woke up late, had 2 cups of coffee/tea, Bob worked on his bike. The weather turned from hot and sunny to cool and cloudy. The day greeted us with cool temperatures, gray skies and a strong north wind that was predicted to strengthen. Strengthen it did. The sailors would have loved the long beam reach, “fresh breeze” from the north and and easterly bearing. Lacking sails we couldn’t take advantage of the wind, but were grateful it wasn’t on our nose.
Along the way we saw pronghorn in the short grass prairie and what appeared to be a graveyards for old Burlington Northern/Santa Fe locomotives. There must have been over 400 of them, mile after mile of locomotives linked together on the tracks. Some were clearly past their prime, some were newish looking. A mystery.
Our planned camping spot for the evening in Moorcroft did not pan out. The RV park could not accommodate tenters because of a lack of water so they recommended camping at the highway rest stop. That’s where we are as of this writing. We cooked dinner and waited for the lady mowing the gigantic grass to quit for the day before setting up tents. The sun is setting right now so we’ll set up soon keeping hidden behind the picnic shelters. Hope it works.
Some pictures from the day.
It was a rough start. Bob, overflowing with optimism (as usual), entered the gas station behind this ominous sign in search of breakfast. He returned deflated with a bag of banana chips.
We got sandwiches at the Arby’s across the street, Bob and Steve got some extra water, and we hit the road, which was quite nice.
We saw lots of pronghorns along the way, but they are wary of cyclists and were rarely close enough for good photos (the same was true of prairie dogs, but we have seen lots of them already).
And we were amused by some roadside signage.
We made a stop at the only rest-stop on the stretch of road between Buffalo and Gillette. We had hoped to get water there, but although there were fully functioning restrooms, the water fountain was non-functional. The rest-stop was next to the Powder River, which was very muddy. The helpful signage indicates that the fish that live in this river have small eyes and long barbs so they can find food without visual queues. It was no good for filtering.
So we ate an abbreviated lunch (mango habanero jerky from Costco, highly recommended, and the afore mentioned banana chips) and we were just about to leave when a young couple riding from DC to Seattle arrived and started chatting.
We eventually got on our way into temperatures in the high ’80s or low ’90s, enjoying the scenery and worrying about water supplies.
And wasn’t too long before the road-saint appeared. He was very apologetic because he had more water but gave it to the young couple at the rest-stop where he had gone looking for us. Again, we what a guy!
With our enthusiasm for the ride, and our faith in humanity, restored, we continued for another 20 miles before I went on ahead to find some restorative beverages.
I sent this picture to Bob and Steve as encouragement and found my way to a local park to wait for them.
Our humor improved substantially, we located a campsite picked up some burritos and hustled there to set up before a doozy of a thunderstorm hit.
Just after sunset, we got lots of rain, thunder and lightning. We were all asleep before the storm passed.