Day 22 - 74 miles - Hot Springs to Rapid City, SD

Michael rode the single bike to the 1st SAG stop, then Anne and Michael rode the tandem the remaining 44 miles to Rapid City, SD. The weather and sites on both rides were fantastic as you will see below.

The rides covered 5,323' of climbing. The greatest challenge was riding the tandem ~3,000' over the 44 miles getting to Mt Rushmore, then out of Keystone and to Rapid City. Some of the grades up to Mt Rushmore were over 9.5% and most were between 3.5 to 7%. Really proud of Anne for meeting the challenge and doing it so well. She cheered us on the whole way to Rapid City!

Below are some of the spectacular views seen along the way.

This is what I call up close and personal as this shot was taken from distance of 30'. I was happy to have a guardrail between me and him. This was in the wild.

Herd of buffalo in the wild.

Are these paintings or real?

Mt Rushmore! What a ride to get there and was it worth it? Oh my, yes! We were thrilled; and of course,  Anne found ice cream. I had bites too.

Panoramic view from the top of Mt Rushmore looking north.

Panoramic view from the top of Mt Rushmore looking south.

Views of Keystone, SD at the bottom of the 2-mile descent off Mt Rushmore. Very touristy but looks like a place to have a lot of fun.

Forgot to show you that last night the group dinner in Hot Springs, SD was held in a bowling alley. We will eat anywhere. It was a pretty good meal. Bowling not included!

So far, SD is a very pretty state with lots of greenery and animals in the wild. Renee, there are many prairie dogs like those around the lake in Longmont.

We have been so blessed with the weather. The last two mornings there were thunderstorms at about 5:00 am but stopped with the roads starting to dry by the time we left and no rain thereafter until we have reached the motel. The hot weather is about a day behind us. If it is 85-90 where we are, it is near 100 a day back.

We are really seeing just how beautiful of a country the USA is. You can really appreciate it so much better viewing its magnificence at the speed of a bicycle compared to from a vehicle.

Ryan, when we got to Rapid City we watched for Michael Holzwarth to drive by; maybe next time.


Tomorrow, we tandem to Wall, SD. If you have ever driven in SD you will  know what I mean by all the Wall Drug signs you see in every direction leading to Wall, SD. We are looking forward to visiting the actual Wall  Drug facility tomorrow. Should be a hoot!