Day 22--Hot Springs, SD to Rapid City, SD

Day 22—July 10, 2006—Hot Springs, SD to Rapid City, SD—72 miles—8000’ climb

This is one of my favorite days of the ride. Today we left the rolling grasslands and began climbing up into areas of pine and prairie in the cool morning temperatures. Riders had great cloud cover in the form of rain clouds. About 9 am it started to sprinkle and sprinkled very lightly off and on all day long. This, of course, presented riders with a dilemma. “Should I stop and put on my rain jacket? Should I stop and take off my rain jacket?” Generally while they were pondering this question the rain stopped or started again so it was a bootless question.

Photo of the other 349 from last year

Before we got to the tree level, we rode through open range territory in beautiful Wind Cave National Park, a sanctuary for 350 bison — of which we saw. . . one. This loner at some distance, but it ambled up and over a hill and then through a valley until it was close enough to the road for a fair photo. The other 349 must have remembered us from last year and decided to wait us out before grazing near the road,

We also passed many prairie dog colonies before exiting the park. There were thousands of these appealing rodents standing tall over their dens and yipping at us as we passed. Bison, prairie dogs, deer, elk, Black hills, trees, wide smooth shoulders, Crazy Horse and Mount Rushmore memorials . . . sensory overload all day. All in all this day was high on the scale of tough riding day, but this has been one of the most pleasurable days we’ve had on the trip, simply because of all the wildlife and the scenery . . . right up there with the Tetons.

After the SS in Custer, riders came to the Crazy Horse Memorial, and quite a few stopped for the tour of this mountain carving which has been under construction since 1948 — when finished it will be the world’s largest sculpture carved in the round (563 feet high , 641 feet long). Crazy Horse (d. 1877) was war chief of the Oglala Sioux and a prominent leader in the Sioux resistance to white encroachment in the mineral-rich Black Hills. The Black Hills have long been thought sacred by the Sioux. The Treaty of 1868 gave the Black Hills and the rest of SD west of the Missouri River to the Sioux, but when gold was discovered in the 1870s the US government snatched back 6,000 square miles. The monuments of Mount Rushmore and Crazy Horse illustrate the clash of the two cultures that reside in South Dakota.

Riders had about six miles after Crazy Horse before climbing to Mount Rushmore. After Rushmore, riders screamed down a 10% slope into Keystone, a tourist trap of the highest order. Mike and Dana rode to the top of a mountain on a ski lift and then boarded a luge and sledded down a chute to the bottom. I was there to take pix, but unfortunately my camera battery died after I snapped them going up in the lift so I got none of their war-whooping descent. Many stopped for buffalo burgers (taste just like chicken) either at the Big Buns Cafe by SS#2 at the foot of the descent in Keystone, or at one of numerous other eateries in Keystone. Some riders also lunched at Mount Rushmore.

Photo from a much later North tour gleaned from the ABB website

The first rider got to the hotel shortly after noon and the last at about 6:15 pm — this because all stopped and took time to eat and sightsee today. Those who were already at the motel, were gathered in the lobby watching the Tour de France stage that was on OLN.

Riders had a lot of climbing today so had to work hard, but everyone was in great spirits because the scenery was much too beautiful to speed through anyway. Tomorrow we have a short day . . . only 57 miles. We need this relaxing, short day to recover before our two long days into Pierre and Chamberlain, 115 and 95 respectively. Most of our tough climbing is behind us for now. The riders will be thankful. They need a break from the tough days.

OVERHEARD ON THE ROAD TODAY:

• “What is that?” [referring to a multi-level many windowed building high on the cliffs behind SS#2. I found out that “that” is a private home and guesthouse. The home alone must be over 30,000 square feet. The woman who had the house built owns many Keystone properties and businesses, including the wine tasting room and restaurant and the Cafe near the SS.] 
• “Do we have any more climbing?”
• “What four faces would you choose for a Mount Rushmore of the best athletes in the US? Best musicians?”