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Meet The Riders
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Meet The Riders
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We'll be comin' 'round the mountain when we come . . .
| ROUTE: Hot Springs to Rapid City, SD | DISTANCE: 72 miles | WINDS: Light headwinds |
| WEATHER: Intermittently cloudy and clear with a few drops of rain at Rushmore, but generally cool yet sunny | TERRAIN: Hilly to mountainous | TOTAL CLIMBING: 5,690 feet |
RIDE OVERVIEW: We
got an early start this morning in anticipation of a hot day. Yesterday it was
in the high 90s in aptly named Hot Springs and we didn't expect any different
today, and didn't get anything too different either. Unlike yesterday's route,
however, today's was tree-lined in many places, especially when climbing up to
Rushmore, so riders could find some shade. Riders had a lot of climbing today
so had to work hard, but everyone was in great spirits because the scenery was
much too beautiful to speed through anyway.
Today we left the the rolling grasslands with its endless waves of greenish brown grass and began climbing up into areas of pine and prairie, with buffalo grazing in the cool(er) morning temperatures. Before we got to the tree level, we rode through open range territory in beautiful Wind Cave National Park, a sanctuary for 350 bison--of which we saw half a dozen, several up close as they crossed the road in front of us. The other 344 must have remembered us brightly colored impediments from last year and decided to wait us out before grazing near the road,
As
I entered Wind Cave Nat'l Park, an antelope did what antelopes do best and loped
directly in front of White and up a slope alongside. A little farther down the
road we saw a mule deer who watched us ride by, virtually unfazed by our
presence. These creatures are used to pesky tourists by now I'm sure. Bet they
go home every evening and tell their significant other that they saw 50 tourists
wearing tight lycra and riding a funny contraption that wouldn't eat grass.
We also passed many prairie dog colonies before exiting the park. There were thousands of these appealing rodents (no, they're not canines; got the "dog" name simply because of their bark, which is more of a yip) standing tall over their dens and yipping at us as we passed by. Bison, prairie dogs, deer, elk, Black hills, trees, wide smooth shoulders, Crazy Horse and Mount Rushmore memorials . . . sensory overload all day. All in all this day was high on the scale of tough riding day, but this has been one of the most pleasurable days we've had on the trip, simply because of all the wildlife and the scenery . . . right up there with the Tetons, just different.
I
drove SAG today, and when I got SS#1 all set up in front of the Common Cents
Convenience Store in Custer, I asked an old
timer to keep an eye on White while I went inside for a popsicle. When I came
out, he said, "Quick, there's a long-legged one over there getting into things."
It was Big John. We have three Johns on the ride so they have become Big John
(John Litvaitis, who is 6'6"), Earring John (John Mardis, who wears a diamond
stud) and Philosopher John (John Vanek, municipal lawyer and former Peace Corps
volunteer).
After Custer, riders came to the Crazy Horse Memorial, and several stopped
for the tour of this mountain carving which has been under construction since
1948--when finished it will be the world's largest sculpture carved in the round
(563
feet high , 641 feet long). Crazy Horse (d. 1877) was war chief of the Oglala
Sioux and a prominent leader in the Sioux resistance to white encroachment in
the mineral-rich Black Hills. The Black Hills have long been thought sacred by
the Sioux. The Treaty of 1868 gave the Black Hills and the rest of SD west of
the Missouri River to the Sioux, but when gold was discovered in the 1870s
the US government snatched back 6,000 square miles.
The monuments of Mount Rushmore and Crazy Horse illustrate the
clash of the two cultures that reside there.
Riders had about six miles after CH before climbing to Mount Rushmore. On the climb riders saw five mountain goats, two with kids. Several took photos, and Tim got one to me--see Photos of the Day below. Despite being a tourist mecca, Mount Rushmore is impressive, so riders enjoyed their visit. After Rushmore, riders screamed down a 10% slope into Keystone, a tourist trap of the highest order. On my way down in the van, I and both the uphill and downhill traffic stopped to allow a turkey hen to cross the road with a solitary chick. Several riders ate at the small cafe near SS#2 at the bottom of the descent, and others did the tourist thing in Keystone. Murray and Paul B. rode to the top of a mountain on a ski lift and then boarded a luge and sledded down a concrete chute to the bottom.
When I got to the motel, I heard that Big John (John Livaitis) had been
involved in an unfortunate incident about 500 yards from the motel. He was
clipped by a trailer
that was wider than the car pulling it. It struck and shattered his rear wheel
and threw him to the ground. He suffered road rash and an injury to his lower
spine, which, happily, is not going to cause any permanent impairment. The
doctors say he will recover fully. Regrettably, however, he will have to drop
from the ride tomorrow and go home to recover. We wish him a speedy recovery.
Big John vows to be back next year to finish what he started.
All others but one rider, who had gone off-route, got to the motel by 3:30. Those who were already at the motel, were gathered in the lobby watching the Tour de France stage that was on OLN. This is the first motel that's had OLN since we left Astoria. Dang!
Tomorrow we have a short day . . . only 57 miles, and I'll be riding Float, but the weatherman calls for headwinds and heat. I'd like to get an early start to try to beat both, but we're sleeping in and not loading Box until 8:30. We need this relaxing short day to recover before our two long days into Pierre and Chamberlain, 115 and 95 respectively. Headwinds are predicted for tomorrow also. If they're no worse than today's, we'll be okay. Mike says that most of our tough climbing is behind us for now . . . the riders will be thankful; they need a break from the tough days.
HEARD ON THE ROAD TODAY:
 | "Was Custer[the town where I set up SS#1] named after George or the little ice cream stand down the street?" |
| "Sonia's going to lie down any minute now." [Sonia rode with the A-Team today and when they reached SS#1, they were sure they'd exhausted her . . . har de har har!] |
| "Hello, is this White? This is the shorter, better looking Paul. I need a new tire and the mechanic's van." |
| "Albert have you seen your buffalo yet?" [Asked of Albert at least 10 times at SS#1. And, yes, Albert finally got a look at a real live buffalo (bison).] |
| When he got to SS#1 Hook-n-Bull Joe needed a lift so had himself an ice cream sandwich, a couple of Twinkies, and 2 Pepsi's. Someone remarked: "You're the kind of guy who goes into a health food store and asks for a Twinkie." |
| This road [the climb to Rushmore and the following descent] has two speeds, 4 and 40. |
| "Larry rides a bruchetta? Does he lube his chain with olive oil? Nah, he rides a Bachetta not bruchetta, ignoramus!" |
| Rider: "What's the last hill like?"
[Many asked this at SS#2 with some anxiety] Josh: "It's not paved." |
| Matt's sunglasses were stolen at Rushmore so I loaned him my Oakleys to complete the ride. He remarked, "I'll give these Oakley's a trial run." I responded: "Treat them well. They've never before experienced speeds such as you will reach." |
| "At one point on the climb to Rushmore my heart rate monitor hit 165, then 190, then went straight to 911." |
| "Name the faces on Mt Rushmore." "Mmmmm, Oprah?" |
DUH! OF THE DAY: Goes to moi again daahlinks. I packed up SS#2 and took to road to support the riders . . . leaving the trash bag full of trash tied to White's front door handle. DUH!
|
PHOTOS OF THE DAY |
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Murray riding Keystone's wild luge after descending from Mount Rushmore.
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Murray meets Abe Lincoln at Mount Rushmore as Karen McG looks on.
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Fe, fi, fo, fum . . . plus the four mama bears, and the 7 dwarves.
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Wanting to emulate the cowboys of the region, Mike rides a quarter horse--you put a quarter in and ride like the wind.
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Goats on the goat bridge at the animal park on the way into Rapid Springs. |
 Canadian Marie, dressed in her red, white, and blue ABB duds, poses before the profile of George Washington, one of the most American of American icons.
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Our Opie, future president elect of the U.S.?
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 Tim's shot of two of the mountain goats--mother and kid. That's an ear tag she's wearing, so apparently this small herd of goats at Rushmore is managed by the park. |
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