Into South Dakota. Bear and Baird Country.
I enjoyed what was some pretty good Mexican food not too far from our hotel last night. Looking forward to arriving it South Dakota, state number 6. Also I had visited Spearfish this time last year with wife Susan and daughter Taylor. We were there for the Dakota-50 mountain bike race. A tough one and my daughter kicked my you know what! Good memories of the town and the event.
In addition my father grew up about 20 miles north in the little town of Belle Fourche. We would visit for the Fourth of July Parade. Also we watched the first moon landing there on Grandma’s black and white TV with all of my cousins who were there for her 75th birthday. So with those sentiments brewing in my head, I stepped out, ready to go, into a 25 mph wind. It was SSE so not a direct headwind but pretty close. Days like these its best to team up with anybody going your way. Luckily Paul and Pat were ready and willing to add me to the group. We started in good order in our little pace line and struggled through the first 18 miles or so to the first rest stop. Windy in Wyoming? Who would have thought?
At the first stop, we caught up with Dan, Ian and Russ. After a very brief rest we departed again, this time with Dan and Russ joining forces with us. We left Russ sitting with his helmet off. To me he looked surprised that we were headed out but Ian reassured us that “he wants to go at his own pace”. Ian is from Manchester, England. We have as much trouble understanding him as he has understanding us. In retrospect we should have confirmed with Russ who really “wanted to keep up” to avoid getting caught in the wind alone. Blessedly about 5 miles later we turned south into the foothills with a tailwind and close to leaving eastern Wyoming.
There is one feature of Eastern Wyoming that still fascinates me. Those that remember Close Encounters of the Third Kind know know of what I speak. Because we were so close, we were offered several options to view the unique feature that is the Devils Tower. Geologists suggest that the Tower was formed by an igneous intrusion, probably an eroded remnant of a loccolith . The more interesting history of its formation, and the one that I place my confidence in, draws from native American lore however:
a group of girls went out to play and were spotted by several giant bears, who began to chase them. In an effort to escape the bears, the girls climbed atop a rock, fell to their knees, and prayed to the Great Spirit to save them. Hearing their prayers, the Great Spirit made the rock rise from the ground towards the heavens so that the bears could not reach the girls. The bears, in an effort to climb the rock, left deep claw marks in the sides, which had become too steep to climb. Those are the marks which appear today on the sides of DevilsTower. When the girls reached the sky, they were turned into the stars ofthe Pleiades .
Understandably there was a lot of interest to see the feature. One could see it in the distance from our route. Another option is to ride up the road to the Tower to a viewpoint about 3 miles from our route. The least wise option because it required adding another 13 miles and almost 1000 feet of elevation to a day that was already well over 100 miles. This foolhardy route took one to the very base of Devil’s Tower. This of course was the route that I selected because, well, Huckleberry Ice Cream was sold at the trading post there. From a cycling standpoint it was a route to die for as one descended on new pavement with a curvy descent and the Tower almost always visible on the left side through the cool pine forest.
After grabbing my ice cream and a couple of key chain souvenirs, I sat outside and answered lots of questions about where I was going and heard lots of stories about where others were going. I made some new friends and received an offer to join a bike club in Golden Colorado of all places.
However what goes down must go up and so I climbed out back to the main route, well behind the other riders. I texted lead guide Blake that all was well. I would self support and grab some nourishment in Sundance in about 20 miles as I figured I would miss lunch ( a tragedy because it was guide Megan’s turn and she is close to a Michelin Star for roadside lunches) That however is not the TrekTravel way! Within 5 miles, Blake himself was there with the “sweet van” and a refill for my bottles as well as reassurance that lunch would be waiting in 15 miles. I love this tour group!
The rest of the day was a solo day until I caught some stragglers about 10 miles from the end. A long day in the saddle but well worth the extra efforts. Tomorrow a shorter day and then a well deserved rest day in Rapid City. What will tomorrow’s ride bring?
| Fitness | Fatigue | Form | TSS Today |
|---|---|---|---|
| 133 | 252 | -109 | 342 |
| Distance (miles) | Elevation Climbed (feet) | Calories Burned |
|---|---|---|
| 1523 | 63,669 | 53,614 |
6 responses to “Day 18 Gillette to Spearfish”
brb5280 says:
September 5 , 2022 at 12:08 pm
Thanks Andrew. Best to the crew in Jolly Old England.
Chip says:
September 5 , 2022 at 4:47 pm
I’m late to the party, but what a great ambition, tour and website! This day’s post reminds me that in Wyoming, where I grew up, the wind doesn’t blow, it sucks. So fun to follow this!
brb5280 says:
September 6 , 2022 at 1:59 am
Chip! This trip really takes me back to the great team you and I had for RTR. You are the best pacing partner! Thanks for following.
Wanderings 