Day 41 – Rapid City, SD to Sundance, WY

July 10^th:

I woke up PUMPED for this day because we were going to Wyoming!!! I’ve been wanting to go for so long.  I’ve had friends that have done northern Bike & Build routes, and they’ve all told me that Wyoming was their favorite state because of the beautiful scenery.

I was put in a “lady gang” of Kendra, Julia, Lizzy, and Kellie.  Lady gang rides are always the greatest!

One of the first signs we saw was a big horn sheep crossing sign, which I’ve only seen on my two cross-country trips, as these are not necessary in North Carolina.

The morning started with an unexpected climb.  It took us by surprise, and we collectively whined about it.  Lizzy, who studied kinesiology in college, told us that it takes the body 5-10 minutes of consistent aerobic exercise for the body to become maximally efficient at utilizing oxygen… err something like that.  Either way, it was our excuse for being unbelievably slow as we crawled up the first hill.  We soon came to a sign for the Black Hills, which we were about to enter, so we waited for the next group to get there so they could take a photo of us all!

We continued to climb some hills and enjoy the cool morning air in the pine tree covered mountains.  This is apparently where the Black Hills get their name from – when you look at the mountains from far away, the dark green pine trees make the hills appear to be black.  I kept thinking that this was the type of riding I’d been waiting for all trip!

We found this giant rocking chair near a touristy restaurant:

Before the second water stop of the day, after climbing many mountains which were a few miles long each, we descended on a 3 mile downhill!!!  Of course, I’m spoiled in that I’ve experienced the thrill of flying at 45 mph on your bicycle more than once in my lifetime, but for many of my teammates this was their first time.  Their bright smiles paired with tear-streaked eyes showed such a joy and a high on life that I was happy to experience it with them!

We found ourselves cursing the water van drivers as they pushed the limits on the planned water stop at 40 miles (we think they put it at more like 41 or 42, which is noticeable on a bike).  The route took us through a town with several short but steep climbs and we were ready for a break.

After lunch, it was back to some more climbing!!  I love it, though, I really do.  Settling yourself into one gear and cranking at the same comfortable cadence for miles up a mountain puts me in a state of bliss.  I love that it’s a challenge and that you feel so accomplished when you reach the top, and although I’m breathing fairly heavily the entire time, there’s something relaxing about it.  Usually, you get rewarded with an epic downhill once you get to the peak!  We went to this little restaurant/shop for a bit after the next descent.

We had this incredible winding and gradual downhill after we made our next turn.  It didn’t make our heart pound like the steep and long descents do, but it was smooth and calming.  We pedaled at a comfortable cadence, even though we could have just as easily coasted through the pine trees that contained a hidden neighborhood of beautiful log cabins.

Suddenly, we were directed onto a gravel road.  I wasn’t too upset at first because it took us a back way through sort of a rocky canyon alongside a stream, and it was still a beautiful ride.  However, as we continued on it, we read in the GroupMe that we’d be on it for quite some time.  My ride group was awesome, though, and we made the best out of the situation.  We joked and laughed and kept our minds on the nature that surrounded us instead of the rattling of our bikes or the soreness of our hands from gripping so tightly.  As we got further along this road, past the sign that said “road maintenance ends” (always a fun one to see), we realized we were in cattle country.  By this I mean free roaming cattle country.  Our road was their road.  A few crossed in front of us at one point to get to a larger herd.  I don’t do well with large animals, so I was slightly frightened.

About 100 meters around the corner from lunch, Julia got a flat.  We were told that there should be a slightly large gravel incline after lunch.  When Julia was finished changing her flat, Lizzy looked at us and asked “do you guys know what time it is?” in a manner that made the inquiry sound genuine.  When a few seconds passed and no one had answered her, she said “CLIMB-O-CLOCK.”  This is the kind of humor you get on a lady gang ride!

It was determined that we had about 20 miles left on the gravel road after lunch, which we were not too thrilled about.  It was going to go uphill for a little longer and then downhill for the rest of the day.  This sounded good initially, but going downhill on gravel on a road bike isn’t really all that fun.  My tires tend to fishtail around behind me.  At some point toward the bottom of the gravel road, we ran into A TON of cattle.  Again, these cattle were free roaming and could easily cross over our path… which they did not hesitate to do.  Suddenly, as we slowly moved alongside them, we became their herders.  The entire pack ran along in front of us all in the same direction, crossing the gravel road and running beside us.  They cut us off on our path multiple times.

Before we got off the gravel road, we had one more huge, steep hill to conquer.  The gravel road made it even harder than it would have been if it was paved.  But at the end of this gravel road, as the road opened up and became paved, we suddenly knew we had reached Wyoming.  It was such an incredible site to see the mountains in the distance with the sunset bringing out such bright, vibrant colors.

The remainder of the ride, which was about 15 miles, was mostly downhill with a tailwind.  It was such a reward after the gravel road we spent the afternoon suffering through. We got into Sundance, WY and stayed at a high school that night.

Oh, at some point during the day, one of my teammates looked at me and said “WHOA that is the most perfect bike grease mark I’ve ever seen!”  I can’t say I’m a tattoo person, but considering that I’ve had two cross-country bike trip experiences now that have shaped me for the better, it would be pretty cool to get one like this (don’t worry, Mom & Dad, I’m not strongly considering it):

Day 40 – Rest Day in Rapid City, SD

July 9th:

I don’t have too much to tell about this day.  I rested on my own for the majority of it.  In the morning, I went to a couple of bike shops with a few teammates.  My crank was making clicking noises so I went to get it taken apart and greased up.  Many of my teammates needed new chains, tires, and other bike parts, so we grabbed those for them, too.  At one of the bike shops we went to, we met a couple that was biking from Los Angeles, California to Ann Arbor, Michigan.  They called their ride “Pedaling for Progress,” and they were each riding for their own charities of choice.  We took a photo with them for our Facebook page and for theirs!  We had to include the bike shop dog in the photo as well!

Day 39 – Chadron, NE to Rapid City, SD

A 112 mile ride was on the menu this day – my longest ride ever.  It was Sean & Halle’s birthdays!  Sean was scheduled to be in the van though, which was a bummer.  We gave him some birthday attire so he could really dress the part.

In my group was Patrick, Kellie, Sarah G. and Jen.  We were the first team out of the gate in the morning, and also the first to turn onto the gravel road.  Come to find out – we’d be on that road for about 20 more miles.  YIKES.  Not a great start to a 112 mile day, considering that gravel slows us down substantially. 

Even though the gravel was rough, the scenery was beautiful.  It was slightly sprinkling, which made for a cooler morning ride in the grey clouds.  Somehow, though, this can make the surrounding green and yellow landscape just pop with color.

We saw some wild horses!!!  As we rolled by, they ran off as a pack in a different direction.  I took a photo, but it’s hard to see them.  We stopped on the road for a bit to just observe their group dynamic.  They had some ponies with them and you could see the mothers slow down with their babies as the rest of the pack sped off faster than the ponies could run.  These are sightings you have time to stop and pay attention to along such a journey as this one.

We also saw a lot of boxes in the middle of nowhere, and we weren’t sure what these were at first but later decided they were for bees.

Before we knew it, another group passed us.  In the beginning, I remember wanting to be in the lead group every day.  However, what I’m realizing is that it really doesn’t matter.  That first team won’t get in much earlier anyway because each group has to wait for the last group to arrive at each water stop (except for the last one) before they can move on.

Within the first 20 miles before the first water stop, Kellie said “is it too early to eat a shot block?” which made me crack up.  Shot blocks are energy gummies made by the same company as Clif bars, a popular type of energy bar.  These shot blocks have gotten me through some hard times on the road, but they felt a little extreme for being less than 20 miles into a 112 mile day, which is why I found her genuine inquiry so hysterical.

The water stop was in a nice location off the gravel road.  Unfortunately, being that we crossed into South Dakota on this road, there was no big state sign to take a photo in front of.  Throughout this entire trip, I may have only one or two state sign photos.  The roads we’ve been on have been too rural for the states to put state line signs there, I guess.  Luckily, at this water stop, there was a South Dakota license plate hanging on the fence, so we took a group photo beside it to represent making it into our 8^th state!

We biked onward, and eventually we got to paved road!!  Our pace picked up and so did our mood, although it did start to rain shortly thereafter.  It was dark, dreary, and cold between the first and second water stops.  At the second stop, Jen decided to get in the van due to a recent injury.  “And then there were four.”

Until this trip, I had never heard of the badlands.  I had no idea what they were, and truth be told I’m still not sure what they’re made of or how they were formed, but when we rolled up on the outlook, we were in complete awe.  I’m so lucky to be seeing so many different places by bicycle!!  What a rewarding feeling at mile 60.  Obviously, we took tons of photos!

This whole day, I remember Kellie asking lots of questions, telling stories, and keeping the conversation going, which was incredibly helpful.  While it was a beautiful day, it was certainly draining.  Century rides (100 miles) are hard enough on their own, but tacking on another 12 miles is a whole new challenge.  That’s up to another 45 min to an hour on the bike, which is a lot when you’ve already been in the saddle for hours and hours.  I was thankful to be in such positive company!

We eventually got to about 16 miles out from the host, when suddenly Patrick must have hit a bump that caused his chain to get lodged somewhere it shouldn’t have been.  The chain bent, and we sat on the side of the road for probably 30 minutes or more trying to unbend it.  We even called the water van thinking we were out of luck with this one, but Sarah G. and Patrick worked together to at least temporarily fix the problem to get him through the next 16 miles.  The caption of the next photo is “do yo chain hang low, do it wobble to da flo?”

I was in a great mood when we got into the host!  It was a scramble to get showered, eat dinner, and then head out in the vans to see Mount Rushmore!  It was 30 minutes away, so even though we were exhausted after a long day… YOLO (you only live once)!!

Since Sean had spent his entire birthday in the van, a gross, mentally exhausting place, some of us decided to go out to a bar to celebrate for a bit.  We met up with Team Seattle for an all-around good 4K time!  And we were definitely ready for the rest day coming up.