Day 21 - 100 miles from Lusk to Hot Springs, SD

Anne and Michael rode the tandem the first 70 miles to second SAG stop then Michael rode the single bike the rest of the way because of a 8-mile climb with 4-6% grades and a second 2-mile climb at over 7%. This time, the decision to make the switch at the SAG stop was a wise one because the projected length and grades from the profile maps were very accurate. The headwind encountered on these climbs would have  made it even more demanding.

The first 50 miles on the tandem were great as it was a stairstep descent with some 4% climbs mixed in here and there. However, after the first turn at about 50 miles the climbs increased and we had to manage a headwind for the next 20 miles. Anne rode well.

We didn't take any pictures until we reached the SD state line as WY continued to remain the same as pictures shown previously.

Here we are at the SD State Line. Not much of a sign to introduce the state, you think!

As you can see from these panoramic views of each side of the road, not much changed between WY and SD at this point.

However, further down the road in SD, scenery started to change. You start to see the Black Hills in the second picture. What makes them Black Hills are the dark trees. Remember there were few trees in WY.

At the second SAG stop, this interesting character drove up in his contraption. The drive portion is the lawnmower. He said it would still cut grass! He was a war veteran.

As this picture depicts, how you start to see more people activity in SD than what we were seeing in WY. SD has a population of 833,354 (ranked 46th in the nation) compared to WY at 576,412 (50th). SD has a density of 11 people/sq mi compared to WY at 6.

And a lot more trees.

You'd think by this picture, Michael has a super tan; however, much of it is road dirt acquired during today's ride.

Hot Springs, SD where we are staying tonight has a population of ~4,000 and the home of a very large hospital and assisted living facilities for war veterans.

Tomorrow, it is 74 miles and 3,220' to Rapids City, SD. Along the way, we will see the Crazy Horse Memorial and stop at Mount Rushmore.