7/19-New Distance Record Despite the Cracks!

I didn’t plan to set a new distance record today, but that is indeed what happened! I didn’t even leave the Jefco Inn all that early.

The Ritz of Gordon…the Jefco Inn

My plan was to go to Cody, and camp in the park. It was going to be 54 miles. For the first time in awhile, the wind was relatively favorable, kind of a cross wind, slightly coming from behind. 

That’s a long straight road!

Also, there was a fair amount of trending down. At first, out of Gordon (which had a lot more going on than I thought…they even had a Subway), it was a little climbing. Not enough to initiate the Climb Pro on the Garmin, but enough to bring my speed down significantly. But worse than the climbing was…the cracks! Oh my God! Every 10 to 15 feet…bump bump!

They are so annoying! And, of course, the road is smooth, but you can’t ride out there without taking your life in your hands.

I stopped at this historical marker. 

These must be some of the Sandhills

In 30 miles, I pulled into Merriman. There was supposed to be a market there. It was closed on Sundays. So much for snack break number 1. The next town was Cody, my destination for the day. For awhile, the road was great, no cracks.

Along the way, I saw this lake. It looked inviting.

Not too many people in Cody

Cody has a store run by students. It was closed too. Not a big deal as I am carrying food. But something cold to drink would have been nice. 

I pulled into the park. It was a nice shady park. Cost was $10. They had a shower. I’ve probably been in worse. There was a fly convention going on in the restroom. Not so great. There were also a lot of flies outside the restroom convention center (maybe there was a separate convention at the picnic table). It was just noon. After I drank a bunch of water, I started to think that sitting in the park the rest of the day (of course it was quite warm) was not going to be much fun. It was another 38 miles to Valentine (a few “towns” in between, but no services). I decided I would make myself some food, and drink a ton of water, then continue on to Valentine.

Tortillas with peanut butter, Nutella, and…caramel corn!

I think I drank about 1 1/2 liters of water. I refilled both my bottles, and even put more electrolytes in the orange one. I soaked my buffs and the sleeves of my yellow shirt. I convinced myself that this was a good idea because it would only be a little further than my previous distance record, it would all be on pavement, it was trending downhill all the way to Valentine. and I still had plenty of time. The downsides were that I would be crossing into the Central Time Zone, so losing an hour, and the cracks. Yes, they were back with a vengeance! 

Back on the road, it was really warm now. The wind was still fairly favorable. I was mostly managing about 10 or 11 mph. The cracks were still very annoying. 

38 to go!

It seemed the little no-services towns were about every 10 miles. I counted down the miles. 

I finally crossed into the Centeal Time Zone.

Two time zones down, one to go!

Eventually, it was just head down and pedal! Bump bump over the cracks. It never did get better the entire way to Valentine. Finally, I could see the town!

A bit bigger town!

My plan was the Super 8. Yes, this makes 4 nights in a row sleeping indoors. If this keeps up, I might forget how to set up my tent! At least the Super 8 is just $99 (more expensive than the Jefco, but way less than the Holiday Inn in Chadron). I got here at 5:30. I did 91.8 miles! The shower was THE BEST SHOWER EVER! I got laundry going, then went in search of sustenance. There was a Subway!

Check a Nebraska Subway off the list!

I’m also now in the land of Casey’s! I picked up snacks for tomorrow. 

The best convenience store!

I have 188 miles to Norfolk, and three days to get there (assuming I get a shipping notice soon for the tire). Tomorrow I will be back on the Cowboy Trail. Giddy up…again!

7/18-Giddy Up!

I got a later start this morning because breakfast didn’t start until 7:00. That was okay because I only had 47 miles to do today. I had breakfast with Ken and Vivian. I should see them again in a couple of days. 

There was something special about this morning. Can you tell what it is?

CLOUDS!!!

Yes, it was actually cloudy! It was also cooler and more humid. Of course, it didn’t stay cloudy, but it was nice for awhile. 

I, once again, opted to not do the route, and instead just stayed on Hwy 20. Ben had sent me a photo of what the route looked like between Chadron and Hay Spring. He said there was some hike-a-bike through silty dirt. I decided that was not for me, and also, I’m kind of babying my rear tire. It has to make it another 335 miles. The hwy was fine. 

This was the Museum of the Fur Trade. I can only imagine what dead animals were on display. 

It was 20 miles to Hay Spring, then I was back on the route. There wasn’t anything in Hay Spring, so I just kept going. As I was riding on the Hwy (now the route), I could see the Cowboy Trail. 

It looked a bit rocky

Indeed, it was. That’s why the route wasn’t on it. 

About 12 miles later was the town of Rushville. I stopped at the convenience store for a snack. I’d already had chocolate milk this morning, so I had other refreshments. Once I was filled up, I headed back out for the final 16 miles to Gordon.

In Rushville, the route did get on the Cowboy Trail. 

These sheds are the trailhead shelters for the Cowboy Trail.

Cowboy Trail symbol

Tells how the mile markers work. 

Ah, much better surface! Similar to the Mickelson.

It was easy riding on the Trail. There wasn’t anything a section where the crushed gravel was kind of thick in places. It just required a little bit of caution. There were little bridges periodically. 

The new mile markers

Cut through the hillside

Jesse memorial bridge. He was a kid. Doesn’t say why he died. 

As I was coming into Gordon, the route departed from the trail. My Garmin says the next turn is in 91 miles! That means the route is back on Hwy 20 until Valentine. 

I’m hoteling once again because there is no camping here. At least it’s a relatively cheap hotel (the Jefco Inn). There is no one in the office. There were two guys working on the lobby (new flooring). They told me I could either call the number on the door, or go to the website and book a room. No one answered the phone, so I went to the website. Booked a room. Check in wasn’t until 3:00 (it was 1:45). At 3:00, they text a code to the room door (turns out it’s the last four of my phone number…easy to remember). The guys were super nice, and let me into my room before 3:00. They said to just not leave until I had the code to the door. Perfect! It’s not a fancy room, but it serves the purpose. 

There’s a grocery store close by. I’ll go figure out something microwaveable for dinner. 

7/17-Lightening the Load

Today was a relatively short day, especially after yesterday’s endurance challenge. In route miles, I think it was only about 38. 

I left the Our Heritage Guest Ranch at about 6:15. With there being no water at Toadsuck (I mean Toadstool), this place is an awesome option. 

I didn’t take many photos today, but here’s a few. 

The road was more washboarded in this section. Probably more traffic. 

This train tooted the horn, and the engineer waved at me!

Some weird mounds…probably similar to the Toadstools

And, another train. I saw or heard 4 trains today!

Looks like the land dropped

I took my time getting up ahead because I thought I would just have to wait for the train to pass, but the road turned at the tracks. 

The route said if you needed supplies, go off route to Crawford. The gps even routed it that way (but not all the way into Crawford). I opted to take the detour. I stopped at a place called Dairy Sweet and had second breakfast. 

As I had been riding, actually for a couple of days now, I was thinking about how I really didn’t need my leg warmers and arm warmers. I also didn’t really envision needing my puffy jacket. So, in Crawford, after second breakfast, I rode to the post office. I dug those things and my water proof gloves out of my bags, and mailed them home. I think lightening the load, even if it’s not that much, does wonders mentally. 

Instead of going back to the route, I just stayed on Hwy 20 to Chadron. It was 23 miles with a good shoulder. There were even a couple of shady spots to stop in. Yes, it is still quite hot. I keep hearing the temps are supposed to be dropping a bit soon. 

Nice shoulder!

Vivian and Ken are also at the same hotel in Chadron. They will stay an extra day to put a new tire on Ken’s bike. Speaking of tires, I ordered a new Terravail Sparwood tire to replace Wanda’s rear tire. It will be sent to the Norfolk, NE post office. There’s a bike shop in Norfolk. I called and they will be able to mount the tire, and set it up tubeless. Now, I just have to ride 335 more miles, and take at least 6 days to get there. No need to do 80+ mile days.

I’ve really been enjoying spending time in the towns with Vivian and Ken. They are fun to hang out with. 

7/16-Toadstool, You Suck!

Today was a longer day than I planned. I mean, sure, I knew it was going to be on par with my longest day, and for that reason, I was up at the butt crack of dawn. 

Not quite sunrise yet

I headed out at 5:40 after Sue (of Scott and Sue who I met last night) took my photo. It was a wonderfully chilly 57 degrees! It wouldn’t stay that way. 

Back on the Mickelson!

I see you deer!

Good morning shadow!

Pretty little scene, I thought. 

There were a few short climbs on the trail, but as I suspected, it was mostly downhill. I needed that to make the long day. The only town between Custer and Edgemont was Pringle. I cruised through there pretty early. 

The trail at this end went through a lot of different landscapes. 

MP 27…my favorite number!

Sweeping vistas

Rock walls

The Plains 

This is the Minnekahta Trailhead. I had a snack here as I was 30 miles in.

Sheep’s Canyon

I reached a point where I could see the town of Edgemont. Edgemont is the southern terminus of the Mickelson Trail. 

It’s way down there!

I still had about 7 miles to go, but it was all downhill. I arrived in Edgemont. There’s not much to the town. I stopped at the Trailhead for the obligatory photo to finish off the Mickelson Trail,

The gas station was back on the hwy. I just stopped at the campground and filled up my water for the remaining 40 miles. I added an extra 1/2 liter in my frame bag.

Edgemont was the end of Segment 3 (Steppe) of the route. Now I am halfway through the segments. I loaded up Segment 4 (Plains), and headed out of town. I encountered this before I turned off the hwy and back onto gravel.

It was a funny little passenger train. 

Onto the gravel, I had the first climb. For the first 490 miles of this segment, there are only 10 climbs that will initiate the climb pro! After the first climb, the second one was right away. Then it said the next climb isn’t for 77 miles!

Can see why they call this the Plains segment

I had several miles of rolling gravel roads, and a whole lotta nothing. Eventually, I popped out onto pavement. At 12 miles to go to my planned destination, I crossed into state number 6…Nebraska!

I couldn’t hold up 6 fingers AND take the photo!

Now I was really counting down the miles to Toadstool Geological Park Campground. It was hotter than hot! I still had a good amount of water (even though it was hot water). I stopped every mile, and allowed myself to drink 100ml.

Woo Hoo 3 miles to go!

I made it to the turn to go to the park. It was another 1 1/2 miles. Okay, I can do this! The road was horrible washboard. The closer I got, the more worried I became as to whether there would be water. Sure enough, I got there, and there was no water pump! Well crap!!! I, by no means, had enough water left…maybe about 400ml. A car drove up. I told them there was no water here, and asked if they had any. They gave me all they had which amounted to a little over a liter for me. I was very grateful, but it still wasn’t enough for me to be able to camp there. I was about to ask if there was any way they could give me a ride when they said there was a guest ranch about 4 miles further. Okay, I could manage that (thanks to their water donation).

Toadstool

I rode the washboarded road back out (so 3 gratuitous extra miles) to the main road. I could see what looked like a ranch in the distance. The whole time I was riding toward it, I kept saying, “Please be the guest ranch. Please be the guest ranch!” Thankfully, it was! I rolled up and parked Wanda. The dogs were barking, but were friendly. I knocked on the front door. No answer. I sat down on the porch and finished the rest of the water the guys had given me. I decided to search out more water. I followed a hose around the back of the house. When I got there, the woman who runs the guest ranch came out. I guess she didn’t hear me knock. Her name is Jean. She’s has a variety of accommodations here. I’m in the little place in the barn. She charged me $50. I did not complain.

The bed is to the left

In the fridge there are bottles of flavored water. I’ve already drank two! The shower was the BEST SHOWER EVER!

I was just supposed to do 84 miles today. Instead I ended up with 89. Tomorrow I will go to Chadron. It’s about 39 miles from here. The heat persists! Jean said this is the worst drought they’ve had. 

7/15-Rock Presidents and a Crazy Horse

This morning it was Greenwich all over again! Let me explain. If you’ve been following this blog for a number of years, you might remember this story. When I was cycling in London, I was headed back to the caravan park when I saw the sign to Greenwich. I had already been cycling around London all day, and didn’t want to do more miles. I said to myself, maybe next time I come to London, I’ll go to Greenwich. The next day, I was leaving London. I had used Google Maps to make a route out of London (this was before RWGPS). It was a bit tricky to follow. Somehow I ended up in Greenwich, which was not the way I had meant to go!

Fast forward to today. I had let RWGPS make a route to Mt. Rushmore from the hotel. It was about 9 miles. I took off at about 7:00. It was quite the steep climb on Old Hill City Rd right from the hotel. Then it became nice and rolling. I even got an early morning deer sighting. 

Funny thing…a whole bunch of motorcycles went by, and the deer didn’t even move. As soon as I went by, it took off. 

The train tracks that go from Hill City to Keystone were following the road. I think I crossed them a dozen times! I saw a sign that said “Keystone 6 miles”. I said to myself, ah, I’m not going to Keystone. 

Things were going along fine until my Garmin said to turn right onto Centennial Trail #89. Yeah, it was an actual trail that was uphill and overgrown. Not going to happen on a loaded Wanda. I even looked at it twice. I decided it would probably take me just as long to hike-a-bike the trail as it would to just ride around on the road to…you guessed it…Keystone!

Town of Keystone (quite touristy)

The Keystone train depot

At least it was pretty much all downhill to Keystone. There was a Subway on the way to Mt. Rushmore. Unfortunately, it wasn’t open (I checked).

I tried to check off a South Dakota Subway!

From Keystone, I entered Mt. Rushmore National Memorial.

It was a 2 mile climb up to the entrance. There was a nice wide shoulder. I actually only stopped to take a break twice. One was to take this photo. 

Almost there!

Interestingly, Mt Rushmore only charges for parking. Bicycles are free. I rode up the bus lane right to the Visitor Center. I parked Wanda and locked her to a bench. I noticed two other loaded bikes. When I came out of the restroom, the cyclists were at their bikes. Of course I went over to talk to them! They were Jennifer and Tony. I’m not sure where they were from (Tony was definitely New Zealand, but I didn’t get the idea they had come from NZ). They had started in Bar Harbor, and kind of did what I did coming back to Minneapolis. Then they were following Northern Tier, now doings Peaks and Prairies to Missoula, then picking up the Trans Am to Florence, OR. I said I had done Trans Am 4 years ago. Tony had an interesting way of asking how old I was. He asked how old I was when I did Trans Am. They were both in their very early 50s.

Vivian and Ken arrived, and I introduced them to Jennifer and Tony. Then we headed off to see the rock presidents. 

A sculpture of the sculptor 

Flags of all the states and territories 

Some crazy woman!

A little zoomed in

They do a cool light show at night that you can watch from the amphitheater 

George

Thomas

Teddy

Abe

We went into the Visitors Center and saw the all the exhibits. 

Vivian and I decided we wanted ice cream. Sadly, the ice cream place didn’t open until 11:00. It was only 10:00. Vivian got a cinnamon roll that I had a couple of bits of, and I got a soda. 

It was time to continue on my way, and for Vivian and Ken to head back to Hill City. By the way, they DID do the trail! They said it wasn’t too bad with their unloaded e-bikes, but they still had to walk them part of the way. They even went back the same way. I was heading on, so I had another route.

Final profile viewpoint on the way back.

There were still a few good climbs on the road to get back to the Mickelson Trail. But, I eventually made it. 

Back on the trail

The trail was still climbing pretty much all the way to the turn for Crazy Horse. For awhile, a guy named Jim rode along beside me asking me about my trip. His wife was behind me. They were from Rapid City, and ride the trail a lot. Eventually they headed off.

There wasn’t actually a trailhead for Crazy Horse. The trail went under the road. On the other side, there was this. 

Okay, good enough. 

It went up to a parking area, then to the road. 

Of course, it was another climb up to Crazy Horse Mtn. At the entrance I had to pay $10. Crazy Horse is not a National Memorial. I continued up, and parked Wanda in the “Bike Parking”, which was really motorcycle parking. I walked through the museum and out to the patio area. 

Honestly, Crazy Horse was a little…underwhelming. I heard someone say it hasn’t been worked on for a long time. But, I can say I’ve been there now…maybe don’t need to go back.

I returned to the trail with about 8ish miles to go to Custer. It was all downhill. 

Just as I was coming into Custer, the trail turned to paved. It was paved through the town. I couldn’t remember the name of the campground I had planned to go to, so I stopped to Google camping in Custer. I found one just off the trail called Buffalo Ridge. I headed there. Along the way, I went by the campground I had been planning. I wasn’t impressed, so I continued on.

Custer trailhead

About a mile later, I could see the campground.

It’s a nice place up on the hill (ridge, I suppose). It’s kind of on par with a KOA price wise. They have a variety of accommodations, including teepees.

Tomorrow I will aim for Toadstool Geological Park and Campground. It will be a long day, hopefully with a fair amount of downhill or level. I’ll start early in hopes of lower temps, and less wind.