Greetings from Valparaiso, IN

Hi, All,
Week 5 of the Big Ride was the most challenging yet. Until we reached New Ulm, Minnesota, we'd been having a relatively easy time of it weather-wise, with cool temperatures, minimal rain, and difficult but not spirit-breaking South Dakota winds. Beginning in Minnesota, though, our luck began to change. As most of you are undoubtedly aware, a severe heat wave swept across the Midwest and is now on the East Coast. We managed to miss the worst of it, as for us the temperatures never reached triple-digits, but beginning in New Ulm because of exceedingly high humidity the heat index made the weather oppressive. Slower riders especially suffered as the heat index climbed all afternoon; and sleeping outside became nearly impossible, as nights were airless and temperatures barely dipped below 80. After four days we reached Madison, Wisconsin, where we had an enjoyable day off, and the weather finally broke, becoming noticeably cooler and less humid. In the three days since then, though, we've been plagued by rain and have been riding through downpours, getting soaked to the skin. The good news is that group morale has remained high. The four weeks of riding leading up to this week strenghtened us all physically and mentally. People came up with creative solutions for dealing with the heat, finding ways to sleep in air conditioning. And now with all the rain, we've found the wet conditions preferable to the heat we'd experienced, so we're soggy but content. [The photo above, by the way, is of a roadside attraction we passed today - before the rain - on old Route 66: the Gemini Giant standing beside the Launching Pad Restaurant in Wilmington, IL.]


Exhausting as the trip has been, though, I have less time for blogging, so the best I can do is to offer a quick rundown of the past week. Here's the day-by-day account:

Sunday, July 17 (day 28) - New Ulm to Owatonna, MN. A short day - 74 miles - but with adverse winds and high heat and humidity. The temperature was 78 as we began riding at 6:30 a.m. and quickly rose through the 80s into the mid-90s. It was misty at first - a humid haze - and the riding was mostly flat and not very scenic, with much of the day spent on U.S. Highway 14. We'd been on U.S. 14 since Midland, South Dakota (i.e., for most of the past six days), but as we proceeded east, the road kept getting bigger and more trafficked; and at times on this day the road widened to a four-lane divided highway with lane-wide shoulders, thus about as dull as riding on an interstate. We passed through one big urban area - North Mankato and Mankato, MN, lying on either side of the Minnesota River, with a combined population of more than 50,000. In Owatonna we were camping at the county fairgrounds, directly across from an indoor skating center, availing us of an air conditioned lobby. The building was closing at 10:00 p.m., but the supervisor felt so bad for us that he offered his house, less than a mile away, as a place for us to sleep. About a half-dozen riders took him up on it; and our two seventeen-year-old riders, Geena and Caitlin, came up with their own solution by sleeping in the dining area of the 24-hour grocery store (a Hy-Vee) a block away. I chose to sleep in my tent without my rainfly and was rewarded with a stiff breeze that kicked up around midnight, cooling things down a lot. It was also nice and quiet.


Farmland along U.S. Hwy. 14 in Minnesota

Monday, July 18 (day 29) - 89 miles from Owatonna to Winona, MN. More of the same: high heat and humidity, too much time spent on U.S. 14, and we passed through Rochester, MN, population 106,000, home of the Mayo Clinic and St. Mary's Hospital. The riding was fast, however; the wind was southerly as we rode east, wasn't strong enough to slow us, and at times became a tailwind by angling out of the southwest. The ride also ended well with a big descent into the Mississippi River Valley and then a swin in Lake Goodview, a few miles short of Winona. The overnight stay was in a dorm on the campus of Winona State University; the rooms weren't air conditioned, though, so virtually all of us opted for the couches and floor space in the big downstairs recreation room.

Tuesday, July 19 (day 30) - Winona, MN, to Viroqua, WS - a shorter day, mileage-wise - only 77 miles - but longer than average because of the hilly terrain. We started by riding south on U.S. Highway 61 (made famous by Minnesota-native Bob Dylan's Hightway 61 Revisited album) along the Mississippi in dense morning fog, then climbed out of the valley onto the western ridge for a rest stop in Dakota, MN, and a visit with the Meyers family, who are big, long-time Big Ride supporters. We then crossed the Mississippi at LaCrosse, Wisconsin, and after riding south for about an hour, we cut southwest through some beautiful, very hilly farmland - mostly dairy farms, and many owned by the Amish, especialy in the township of Harmony, Wisconsin. The high heat increased the difficulty of the climbing, and riders staggered into the county fairgrounds looking especially worn out. Most opted to sleep at a nearby church, while again I opted to sleep outside and camp. There was a colorful sunset, and it didn't rain overnight despite some lightning in the distance; instead once again a cooling breeze arrived at midnight and lasted until morning, and I slept very well.


Morning fog south of Winona, MN


Farmland on ridge above Mississippi River valley (near Dakota, MN)


Mississippi River @ LaCrosse, WS


Amish farm (note buggy)


Arty shot, eh?


Amish farmland

Wednesday, July 20 (day 31) - Viroqua to Madison, WS - 104 miles. Another hard, hot, humid day mostly on U.S. 14 after a nuice morning spent on more scenic backroads southeast from Viroqua to Richland Center, including more Amish farms, .especially in and around the township of Liberty, WS. There was also a good photo op of barnyard animals - goats, chickens, turkeys and pot-bellied pigs - at Peck's Farm Market, a roadside attraction near Spring Green, WS. The ride into Madison was difficult - hot, hilly, heavily trafficked, and further complicated by a road closure, forcing all of us to improvise our way around it. The result was, arguably, the toughest day of the trip, but we were rewarded with a day off in Madison, with a noticeably cooler and less humid afternoon.


Photo op courtesy of Peck's Farm Martket (U.S. Hwy 14)


Wisconsin River


Farmland just west of Madison, WS

Thursday, July 21 (day 32) - I spent much of the off-day running an important errand, replacing prescription sunglasses that I'd lost in Viroqua. That evening, though, I had an amazing experience attending a Gillian Welch concert at the Capitol Theater. I don't have the time to detail how exquisite it was, but she and Dave Rawlins, her musical partner, were so good that, between his virtuoso guitar playing and her powerful, haunting voice, it seemed otherworldly, nearly beyond belief - just the two of them on stage - no accompaniment, no roadies, no warmup act, no announcer - playing alternative folk based on the rhythms and sentiments of old-time mountain music as if they were in a living room or a front porch. It was one of the finest musical performances 've ever seen. Meanwhile, Gabe got his ears pierced, so his day was equally momentous.

Friday, July 22 (day 33) - Madison, WS, to Garden Prairie, IL, 95 miles. We woke up to pouring rain, and it didn't quit for many hours, easing briefly as we rode through the town of Evansville, WS, and then resumiung until we neared the Illinois border. Once free of the heavy traffic around Madison, we rode through more Wisconsin farmland on some very rural roads, including some covered with loose gravel, slowing our progress. We crossed into Illinois via the depressed twin cities of Beloit, WS, and South Beloit, IL, but then the day brightened and we even saw some blue sky while the temperature soared twenty degrees in roughly an hour, from the low-70s to the low-90s. The high humidity again made sleeping difficult, and there was no available indoor option this night. Then overnight a major storm rolled in featuring wind gusts, flashing lightning and sky-cracking thunder. One gust broke the tension pole of my tent and I was forced to sleep the rest of the night beneath a semi-collapsed ceiling. Meanwhile it started pouring, and the rain continued all night.


Riding south of Evansville, WS, during a break in the rain ...


Ah, sunflowers!


Big Riders (from front to back) Kim, Kate M., Daria, and Stan


The Illinois border at Beloit, WS


Nearing Garden Prairie, IL (nore rare blue sky)


Big Riders Kim and Brian

Saturday, July 23 (day 34) - Garden Prairie to Coal City, IL. We woke to heavy rain, and it kept up much of the day, forcing us first to scramble while packing our tents, then to eat a cold breakfast under an overhang, and then to ride through it, soaking us within minutes. The rain kept up for the first 75 niles of what was meant to be a 106-mile ride. A bridge outtage forced us into a long detour, however, and the total mileage became 112. The riding was fast despite the rain because the terrain was flat and the wind light; when the rain finally stopped, though, and the sky brightened, a southerly wind slowed us, making the final miles extra difficult as we rode through the city of Morris and crossed the Illinois River to reach a private campground outside the town of Coal City. I arrived a little before 4:00 p.m., swam in the lake, and then took two showers - one before dinner and one before bed - as once again the temperature had jumped up into the 90s after the rain. The sun had set and I was sweating without moving a muscle.


Illinois River @ Morris, IL

Sunday, July 24 - Coal City to Valparaiso, IN - 85 miles. This day was the polar opposite of the past two. For the third night in a row, there'd been an overnight storm prefaced by wind gusts, booming thunder and lightning. This time, though, the storm had been brief, and by morning my tent was practically dry. We ate breakfast and rode the first 20 miles before the sky darkened in front of us as we headed east and lightning flashed both north and south our roadway. Once the rain started, it fell in buckets, and the wind gusts and lightning made riding untenable. Luckily as it began I was within a mile of a McDonalds situated at the intersection of Interstate 57. I pulled in there, soaking wet, to ride out the worst of the storm over a cup of coffee. Before long nearly all of the Big Riders filed in behind me, and then Charlton, our ride director, ordered us to stay as a major storm cell was passing right over us. In all the storm caused about a 45-minute delay; then we were back on the road riding through rain for the third straight day, saying good riddance to Illinois as we crossed into Indiana. The rain stopped when I was about 20 miles from Valparaiso, and our dorm stay tonight at Valparaiso University has allowed us to get our clothes washed and dried.


Waiting out the storm in McDonald's (from left to right): Kim, Jessica, Kate B., Stan, Daria ...


Bernie, Noel, James ...


Kenny, E.A., Kat, Sarah, and Gabe.


A quick word about Gabe is that he's thriving - growing stronger and stronger, physically and mentally. He, like the group as a whole, is proving his mettle.

That's all I have time for. I need sleep!

-Charlie

Greetings from New Ulm, Minnesota

Hi, All,

Six more days on the road have taken us 500 miles, from Rapid City, South Dakota,on the edge of the Black Hills, to New Ulm, Minnesota, rich in German heritage. The days were challenging due to the long miles and high winds, which finally turned against us forty miles west of Pierre, SD (pronounced "Peer"), the state capital, and then remained strong and contrary all the way to Minnesota. We also had to contend with rain for the first time since Avon, Montana, when a cloudy day turned to showers in DeSmet, SD. The rain stopped in the evening and held off overnight, but then just as we were packing up our campsites the next morning, a drenching downpour began, and the day remained rainy through the first half of the day. Overall, though, our good luck with the weather has held: the days have been generally cool and cloudy, making riding comfortable; so while the wind slowed our pace, at least we weren't being scalded under a hot sun as we crossed the high plains. The warmest temperature we faced was in the low-90s through the Badlands, which given the low humidity felt perfectly comfortable, especially given the tailwind that sped us along that day.

Riding through the Badlands is one of the highlights of the Big Ride. The scenery is stunning, and while the day was partially cloudy, there was enough blue sky to liven the colors of all the striated rock. The landscape is desolate but beautiful, and we were able to take our time while riding through it thanks to the day's ideal conditions. We were facing a 102-mile ride from Rapid City to Kadoka, but we set off in cool morning air, the temperature in the low-60s, and as the sun rose, so did a strong westerly wind. Several riders called it the easiest century ride they'd ever experienced. Setting off at 6:30 a.m., I managed to ride the 75 miles to the entrance to national park by noon, and then, with less than 30 remaining, spent several hours lingering at several viewpoints, visiting a sod house from pioneer days, taking pictures of prairie dogs at a roadside stop (where the prairie dogs are as tame as New York City squirrels), and stopping also at the Minuteman Missile National Historic Site, commemorating South Dakota's contribution in the Cold War against the Soviets. Tours were available of both an underground missile silo as well as an underground launch control center, but it would have taken several hours and an extra ten extra miles of riding.


Riding into the Badlands


Nearing the park entrance ...


View from Cedar Pass




Prairie dog photo op


Sunset - Kadoka, SD

The landscape east of Rapid City, besides the outcrops in the Badlands, was mostly uncultivated plains, and through much of it that first day, while the land at times was rolling, sections of it were pancake flat. The next day, between Kadoka and Pierre, was much hillier, and nearly as long - 97 miles. The morning was beautiful, the temperature again in the low-60s; the wind was light for the first 40 miles; and the plains were far greener than they'd been in '06 because of this year's late spring and unusually high rainfall. The riding became difficult, however, as the day wore on. Everyone felt fatigued by the second straight day of nearly 100 miles, and climbing the hills became laborious especially once the wind picked up. It was a desolate stretch: 60 miles with no services - not even a gas station - between Midland (pop. 145) and Pierre (pop. 57,501), and over the last 40 miles we rode straight into a headwind. The temperature never rose above the mid-80s; it was cloudy, and the air was thick with humidity. We arrived in Pierre exhausted, and much later than we were used to; we'd also lost an hour by crossing into Central Time. The city of Pierre was besieged; the Missouri River had risen over its banks, causing the shoreline - including the riverside park where we were meant to camp - to be under several feet of water. A wall of sandbags lined the downtown streets, and we ended our day by riding to higher ground and staying at the high school a few blocks from the capitol building.


Gabe riding east of Kadoka






Flooding in Pierre, SD

The next two days were mercifully shorter: 77 miles from Pierre to Miller, SD, and another 77 from Miller to DeSmet, a childhood home of Laura Ingalls Wilder. Both were also cloudy and cool, the temperature staying in the 70s while to our immediate south, in Nebraska, it was 30 degrees hotter. The landscape also once again flattened; we rode past vast wheat fields and stretches of grassland for grazing cattle, with grain elevators and water towers visible for miles. The problem was the strong winds, blowing consistently out of the southeast and strengthening in the afternoons, impeding our progress. (Whereas from Rapid City to Kadoka I'd averaged 15 mph, on the days east of Kadoka, my average dipped to 12 mph.)






Flooding west of Huron, SD

In DeSmet I spent the afternoon in the town library hiding out from the rain and learning about Laura Ingalls Wilder: I read an on-line biography, the first chapter of "Little House on the Prairie," and also the first pages of "The First Four Years," a posthumously published book about her time in DeSmet. (On a more high-brow note, I also have been reading George Eliot's "Adam Bede," but that afternoon I was feeling decidedly sleepy.) Then the next morning came the first heavy rain: I had packed up my tent and nearly had everything safely stowed in my duffle bag when I went to the restroom to put on contact lenses. While staring into the mirror, I heard a sudden crack of thunder, and seconds later the deluge began. We had risen particularly early that morning - 4:30, while it was still dark - before a 5:30 breakfast in a downtown general store (Ward's) provided by the DeSmet Chamber of Commerce. By 6:00 a.m. it was still raining and just getting light when we rode off in the gloom. The rain stopped after 40 miles, by the time we reached Brookings; and the wind again stiffened as the day wore on. We passed a lot of dairy farms, and as we crossed into Minnesota, there were wind farms in an area called Buffalo Ridge. Five years ago the wind turbines were located only on the Minnesota side of the border. It was good to see that South Dakota has caught on. Unfortunately the winds recently became too severe: a tornado struck the area on July 1, and as we rode through the area, we saw evidence of the damage: a flattened barn, a caved-in silo roof, broken telephone poles, downed power lines, and several of the wind turbines had been stripped on their propellers. The damage was even more severe in the town of Tyler, Minnesota, where we stayed: many trees had fallen, tops snapped off at mid-trunk; fiberglas structures such as carports completely mangled, and many houses and buildings torn open.


Tornado damage in Tyler, MN





Our final day of this stretch, from Tyler to New Ulm, was longer - 87 miles - and yet slightly easier. It was overcast all day, and very, very humid: between the rising heat and humidity, the coming days will be uncomfortable. But the wind, while still strong, became less of an obstacle and even helped us at times, becoming southwesterly. We started early and made good time, riding thrugh the town of Walnut Grove, MN, yet another town that Laura Ingalls Wilder made famous. (We've been riding almost exclusively on U.S. 14 since Pierre, SD, by the way, and it's been designated the Laura Ingalls Wilder Historic Highway.) Towns were small and mostly farming communities; surrounding areas featured lots of red barns and cornfields. We breezed along until the final dozen miles, east of the town of Sleepy Eye, when a brief rain caused the wind to shift into a stiff headwind.





Corn field east of Sleepy Eye, MN

Luckily our visit to New Ulm this weekend coincides with one of their major festivals celebrating the town's Germanic heritage, dating back to 1854. We are staying in a dorm on the campus of Martin Luther College (preparing men and women for careers in Lutheran religious service), right across from the 102-foot Hermann Heights Monument (erected in the 1890s, and similar to one in Germany, depicting Hermann the Cherusci, whose army liberated Germany from Roman rule in 9 A.D. and whom Martin Luther made an emblem of German nationalism.) The town is hosting its annual Bavarian Blast at the county fairgrounds, and a group of about a dozen of us went to partake in it last night, listening and dancing to the largely polka music, soaking up the cultural elements, especially the people in traditional clothing and the costumed Narren (a word in German meaning "group of fools") who led the dancing and increased the revelry under the main tent, while under the second, less raucous tent there were less fearsome-looking gnomes. And for me the real highlight was Gabe's behavior at the festival: Gabe decided to come along, although at first he was wary since the beer was off-limits. He asked me, "Do you think there'll be anyone my age?" The answer proved to be yes: there were many young people. Most were children, but there were also some very pretty teenage girls, three of whom were honorary princesses of the festival. Gabe found the atmosphere energizing: he danced a lot; he sang, joining the polka band leader in a rousing version of "That's Amore"; and he also chatted up and danced with one of the princesses, named Morgan, who agreed to a date with him for this afternoon.


Big Riders heading for the Bavarian Blast


The Jolly Huntsmen (polka band)


Dancing with Gertie the Goose


Some of the Narren ("group of fools")


The Narren of New Ulm

Overall Gabe had a great week: he's been riding better, behaving better, and enjoying himself more. He's also becoming noticeably stronger. On the road we've been riding together more; at other times he's been passing me; and several days this week he beat me to the finish. He also handled the wind and the rain without complaint, enjoying the challenges and his ability to meet them. The improvement I've seen in him over the past two weeks - his physical and mental transformation - has been remarkable, and for me it's one of the major story lines of this ride.

Meanwhile on a personal note, 1,860 miles into this latest bike trip, I've now reached the 50,000-mile mark for total miles in my bicycle travels. The New Ulm Bavarian Blast was a great way to celebrate.


Gabe in dance contest with Big Rider Kat Narvaez


Gabe with his new friend, festival princess Morgan


Gabe, Morgan, and one of the Narren


Gabe joining in on "That's Amore"

Greetings from Rapid City, SD

Hi, All,

We're enjoying our latest off-day after a five-day, 450-mile ride from Billings, Montana. The weather has continued to be excellent, with temperatures consistently cooler than when I rode this same ride in '06. The winds have also been generally favorable, and when they have turned against us, they haven't been strong enough to seriously deter our progress. Wind will be the biggest factor on the next leg of our journey, as we cross South Dakota, but so far so good. And meanwhile the forecast is calling for daily highs in the high-80s, a world of difference from the last time I was in Rapid City, when the temperature hit 116, and the next day the group rode 100 miles through the Badlands with the temperature reaching 111 degrees.

In regard to Gabe, he's doing much better. There's been a marked improvement this week in his attitude toward the ride and toward CharLlton, our ride director. I was particularly impressed with his accomplishment on the day that we rode between Sheridan and Gillette, Wyoming. It was a hilly ride and 112 miles, the longest day mileage-wise of the whole trip. The group woke at first light - 4:30 a.m. Tents had to be broken town, all gear stowed in the truck, and breakfast eaten in order to leave at 5:30. Gabe managed this, rising and readying himself without complaint; and he made it to Gillette eleven hours later ahead of many other riders and with a smile on his face. He's seemingly enjoying the ride more, radiates pride in his accomplishments, and speaks confidently of the challenges ahead. As with all of us, Gabe is dealing with various aches and discomforts, but he's coping well and has been earnest and forthright in asking Charlton and fellow riders for advice.

The past five days have been really enjoyable. The miles we've covered have been extreme because we're traveling through remote areas: between Sheridan and Gillette, for instance, in the course of 112 miles, we passed through only one town - Clearmont, Wyoming, population 115. But at the same time, we've been soaking in the Western scenery and having fun in the towns where we've stayed, getting a sense of the local culture and some strong doses of Americana. In Billings, Montana, Gabe and I attended a minor league baseball game - the Billings Mustangs versus the Missoula Osprey. Gabe bought a Mustangs cap and also was doused on the hot afternoon by the water-gun wielding Mustangs mascot. The game was shortened when a violent storm blew in, ending the game in the eighth inning due to the strong wind gusts, rain, and lightning. Gabe and I ducked into a Perkins restaurant across the street from the stadium, and by the time we'd finished dinner, the storm had passed and the sun was shining.


The Billings Mustang ...


... squirting Gabe

The next day, July 4, we had a very short easy ride - 55 miles from Billings to Hardin, MT, on the border of the Crow Indian Reservation. A tailwind sped us along, and all the riders were in by noon. Then many of us spent the afternoon at the Fourth of July rodeo at the Big Horn County Fairgrounds. It was the first rodeo I'd ever attended, and I found it fascinating to wander around, people- and animal watching, and seeing the action up close, especially the men's bronco riding and women's barrel riding competitions. Two aspects of the rodeo particularly heartened me. I loved the sense of community and especially the comfortable coexistence between the local whites and Native Americans. Everyone enjoyed the Indian relay race; locals had specifically told us not to miss it, saying it was the most exciting event of the day. All of the participants of the three-lap race were Native Americans. There were five teams in color-coded clothing, and each team had one rider who raced his horse bareback around the outside track and then twice, after each lap, had to switch horses, jumping off one horse and onto another.


Indian relay race


Bronco riding


Pole bending competition (like slalom racing, but with horses)


Pre-teen steer riding

The other wonderful aspect of the rodeo was how family-friendly and inclusive it was. Everyone was able to participate, from the littlest children: there was one race for toddlers under a year and a half. Older children, in various age groups, participated in three-legged races, races while balancing eggs on spoons, etc. Pre-teen boys risked injury riding steers (rather than bulls); pre-teen girls competed in goat-roping (instead of calf-roping), and there was a "sweethearts race" in which women rode straight for 100 years or so, then had to turn 180-degrees whiile their male partner jumped on and held on to her as they raced back to the finish. It was all a lot of fun to watch, and a really rich, colorful scene. Afterward I stayed up, while other riders had turned in, to watch the sunset (we really go to sleep early!) and then the fireworks several miles away but visible across the wheat fields.


One of the youngest riders


Mother and contestant from the toddler race ...


Sunset in Hardin, MT

Tuesday, July 5, we rode 85 miles from Hardin, MT, to Sheridan, WY. The first miles took us through the Crow Indian Reservation and past the Little Bighorn Battlefield (site of Custer's last stand) which I had visited in 2006, then following the Little Bighorn River, with views of the Bighorn Mountains in the distance. Having skipped the batlefield side-trip, I arrived at the Sheridan KOA by 1:00 p.m. and spent the afternoon soaking in the pool and conserving my energy for the long ride to Gillette. All of this section of Montana and Wyoming was predominantly grassland with rolling hills - cattle country (also lots of deer, antelope, and mosquiotes). It was much greener and wetter than it had been in '06 thanks to the late spring and abundant rain. Nearing Gillette, though, the predominant industry is coal production. We passed a large coal mine on the way into town - a large hole on the ground torn open by huge bulldozers and the ore removed in huge Tonka-like trucks. Then the next night in Newcastle, WY, the town was also dominated by energy: there was a large oil refinery, and wee lost sleep because we were camped near the railroad tracks, where long freight trains consisting entirely of coal cars passed by, horns blaring, all night long, at times in intervals of only a few minutes. The ride to Newcastle was also 85 miles and much flatter than the hilly ride from Sheridan to Gillette. En route I saw more antelope and a prairie dog town, but overall I rode fast, finishing just after noon, before the day grew too hot and the strong sidewinds started gusting.


Quiet roads between Billings and Hardin ...


Between Hardin and Sheridan ...


Outside of Sheridan WY ...


And between Sheridan and Gillette.

My fast ride to Newcastle also gave me some extra energy for yesterday's ride, which in terms of scenery was the most spectacular and, because I opted to ride some extra miles, was also the hardest. We began the day climbing across the state line to South Dakota and into the Black Hills National Forest. The road then grew steeper, more winding and narrow as we began traversing the Black Hills. The colors were dazzling - bright green grassland, dark-trunked firs, and the large, bulbous rock formations beneath a cloudless blue sky. Our lunch stop was in the town of Custer, which is gaudily commercialized, including a Flintstones-themed amusement park and campground and many, many curio shops; but then we rode through Custer State Park, which was comparatively pristine. Some riders saw bighorn sheep, and Rich, our mechanic, saw a bison; I wasn't quite as lucky, but there again were lots of deer and antelope. It was such a perfect day for riding that I asked permission from Charlton to go off-route to see more of the Black Hills.


Black Hills


Antelope

The area is so beautiful that I didn't want to merely repeat the route I'd traveled in '06; so instead of exiting the park, heading east, I cut north on Iron Mountain Road and headed for Mt. Rushmore. A fellow rider, Bernie Lapera of Carbondale, PA, had the same idea; we met up along the way and rode the rest of the day together. It was a strenuous trip, with miles and miles of climbing - a scenic byway, off-limits to commercial traffic as well as trailers and RVs because of the road's narrowness and the low clearance of its three tunnels - holes blasted through the granite. Along the way we could see Mt. Rushmore in the distance, our first view coming when we were ten miles away. We reached the summit of Iron Mountain by climbing a long series of switchbacks, then descended before having to climb the two-mile, ten-percent grade to reach the monument. The scenery and the beauty of the day made, as Bernie said, "every pedal stroke worth it.". Bernie declared it the greatest day he'd ever spent on a bicycle, despite the tough final 24 miles on a four-lane highway to reach Rapid City, and I concurred that it was a wonderful ride. In all I rode 103 miles, adding 22 to the main route. It was a big challenge that left me exhausted by the end, but I have today to rest up and recover before the 100-mile ride through the Badlands tomorrow.


Iron Mountain Road


Mt. Rushmore from a distance


Bernie Lapera and four presidents