The usual routine unfolds morning after morning….wake up, clean up, pack up, eat up, load up (the truck), and then mount up.
The breakfast provided by the Newcastle Senior Center residents was a great way to start the day. Receiving our route sheets we got on the bikes looking forward to entering the fifth state, South Dakota, on our journey east. Temperatures were very comfortable (mid-70’s) and the skies were clear but…high wind warnings were posted for later in the day (I’ll get to that a bit further on).
Riding through the Black Hills was fantastic; dramatic rock out-croppings, pine covered hillsides, fragrant scent of wild flowers, and light traffic made this portion of the ride one of the most enjoyable yet! I remember driving these very same roads just two years ago with Joan and Nate hoping that someday I’d be able to bicycle them and here I am! Pedaling the switchbacks up to Jewel Cave, coasting wildly downhill, taking it all in and relishing every mile of it. Once we arrived in Custer, Liz, Doug, Tony, and I checked in with Amy and Mark (two of the Big Ride support crew) and then found a café for our second breakfast. Refueled, we headed out.
Doug and I stopped at a rock shop, looked at the crystals, fossils, and mineral samples before cycling east on 16A. After a 10 mile twisting, downhill the road flattened out and the WINDS PICKED UP! Initially, because we were heading east, the winds were primarily a cross wind, slowing our progress and forcing us to lean left just to stay upright. We knew we were going to be in trouble due to the fact that just up the road, at route 79, we would be turning north, riding twenty miles directly into a steady 35 mph gale with gusts over 50 mph! Fun?! ugh!
To steel our nerves and ensure we were in the right frame of mind for the impending challenge, Doug suggested that we stop at a nearby pizza joint for a beer, to which I quickly agreed. Sam joined us for a soda. We were all surprised to see Tony, one of the strongest riders, come back (he had already checked out the strength of the wind), walk in to the restaurant and declare “I’m not riding into that wind alone!” Tony joined us for a beer too.
The three of us pace lined into the wind, picking up Simon along the way, and made it into Rapid City. None of us had ever ridden into a wind that strong!
We are staying at the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology for our rest day.
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