Biking Across the U.S (hopefully)
Broadus - Ashland 41
Ashland - Hardin 81 The wind destroyed me out of Broadus and I faced these awful, mile-long hills. If they weren't miles long, they definitely felt like it. By the time I crawled into Ashland I was beat... and had probably only biked 35 miles since they made me ask some dude in a pickup if he could give me a lift through 5 miles of road construction. I guess you gotta have days like that. In this tiny town of Ashland there was nothing to do but get another flop of a motel, (and again) sit in my underwear and watch T.V. I was in bed by 7 so I could wake up at 4am to start peddling. Felt like the safe thing to do at that hour was get completely off the road every time I saw headlights creeping up behind me. As it got lighter evidence showed I'm on a major trucking route. Bottles line the side of the road, filled with... trucker pee. You gotta go when you gotta go. Made it up the long hill into Little Bighorn Battlefield Nat Monument, where Custer made his last stand. Some family took pity on me riding up, because when I got to the window to pay the Ranger said 'some guy already covered you'. They had a video, so I only had to read a minimal amount.
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Spearfish - Broadus, MT 110
Woke up early and got pushed along by an amazing tailwind out of South Dakota, through a 30ish mile sliver of Wyoming, and into Montana. It was pretty increadible, but I know the wind karma will come back around. At one point the shoulder pretty much ran out... so I had to jump along the rumble strips until cars/trucks passed and then peddle hard on the road while looking over my shoulder (they're lame, but I guess I should've gotten a mirror). Got into town and found a cheap place to camp. Keystone - Spearfish 71
I'm not sure what constitutes a 'mountain range' versus hills... but the Black Hills have to be close to the former. Some of those climbs were rough! From Keyston I hopped on the Michelson trail, which runs North/South along the spine of the hills with nothing greater than a 3% grade (thank you bajesus). It was a pretty spectacular way to see the area, going from a topography of lush rises akin to the Appalachians to sharp cliff faces to open swept fields. Getting off the trail I made a completely miserable climb, terrified of a sign warning trucks "7% grade next 3 miles". The sun also became more intense in the past hour or so, and I was feeling it. As I started pedaling again, this car pulled off on the shoulder... getting in my path. As I moved around it, this hand came out the window holding a bottle of water - exactly what I needed at that time. People can be great. Thankfully the 7% grade meant downhill. Literally for the next 20 miles or so. One of the highlights of this trip is my decent through Spearfish canyon, a semi winding road leading into the city of Spearfish that passes through high cliff faces, alongside shallow running brooks, and past a number of waterfalls. I came into the town of Spearfish, staying with Jami, an awesome/warm person who's a professor at Black Hills Stare University. The next day became a burner day, hanging around Spearfish to rest my legs. Bummed around town and hit up a bike shop and checked out the historic fish hatchery. Interior - Keystone 95
Daylight was running out when Ansel, the volunteer firefighter/community watch for Interior found me, saying most bikers just slept in their park... even on top the picnic tables. Sweet, no having to set up and break down a tent. Highway 44 runs parallel with the badlands, so for the first thirty miles of the AM ride I got to keep the badlands to my right while riding through similarity eroded hills and mounds. After that, it was pretty bleak and bland until Rapid City. Someone must have biked these parts before though, because every 10ish miles were phrases like 'crush this hill' or 'bike on' written in chalk. I forgot how awful city riding is until I came to Rapid City. Some dude yelled at me to ride on the sidewalk... but there wasn't a sidewalk next to the road. Maybe he was misinformed, but I'm pretty sure he's just an ahole. After cooling off in a Wal Mart I made the awful, hilly, leg crushing climb into the Black Hills. While up in Keystone having the most "okayest burger" (that's how they advertised it for $3) I struck up a conversation with a local, saying I probably wouldn't make it up to Mt. Rushmore since it's an excruciating three mile climb. So she loaded me in her car and drove me up... with a schnapps bottle chilling in the middle consul and a couple empty beer bottles in the back. I really wanted to see Rushmore... so sometimes you just gotta make concessions. I lived, thankfully. Vivian - Badlands/Loop 119
I know me talking about wind gets boring, but for most of the day I had a glorious tailwind. I passed a group of 50-60 bicyclists heading cross country with some company called bike America, riding the opposite way. Every biker I meet is headed East. Multiple bikers shouted "you're going the right way today!" I don't know if there is a wrong way. Definitely a little jealous of their sag wagon (which let me use their pump) and the abundance of company they must have. A couple of my short breaks grew long, so I found myself outside the Badlands a little later than expected. Also, no one informed me about the change to mountain town once the Missouri River is crossed... so my sense of time was all messed up. Couldn't figure out why my phone and watch were so different. I wasn't planning on it, but logistically decided taking on the 30 mile Badlands scenic route in the evening made the most sense, since to avoid taking the interstate, I'd have to have to take it again. As my idiot buddy Caleb says "day-yuum"! The whole landscape was nuts! If you've never been to the Badlands... just get in your car and go do it. As I got to the flat part of my last climb for this evening some dude warned me about a bison a half mile up. Sure enough, a bison was just trotting down the road with a line of cars next to it take no pictures. With a complete drop off on my left I had to stop my bike, pretty terrified this thing would charge... ending me or my bike trip. He just looked at me a couple times while he clippity-clopped on by. Badlands National Park allows dispersed camping throughout the park, so I watched the sunset from an overlook before venturing onto a grassy ridge off the main road. Heard coyotes howling and yipping throughout the night, which was kind of cool but kind of not when they got closer. Woke up with the sun, packed up, and did the ride in reverse (this time using some granny gears because my legs are beat). Stopped a bunch of times to take pictures and hike in the rocks... so the ride towards the end got pretty hot and muggy. Now I'm sitting in the visitor center charging my phone, enjoying the AC and all the water I can drink. Sorry in advance for all the landscape pics. Huron - Wessington Springs 40
Wessington Springs - Vivian 100 Started my day out of Huron going directly South... right into 20+ mph winds. As much as I like to make dumb jokes about things, it was pretty rough. Since the wind was coming from the south I prayed turning the corner towards west would give me relief... but it just kept coming. It was a NW wind and about 105 degrees out. I could feel my body revolting, with general fatigue and dehydration kicking in. I carved out another 10ish miles and got a room in a tiny 400 person town. After a cold shower, sitting in front of the AC, and 4 hours of TV in my underwear; this flop of a motel felt like the Ritz. Woke up early knowing I'd lost some mileage the day before, starting before the sun. The mornings can be a tough start, so I always get a kick out of passing a field of cattle. Every head turns and watches me pass with a mouth of half chewed cud. Probably doesn't help that I moo loudly as I ride by. Leading up to Fort Thompson, the only reservation I'd pass through, everyone warned me about how tough they are on outsiders. One woman told me a story about driving down a side road and seeing burnt out cars and being flipped off all the time. Maybe it's because I'm a bike, but everyone there was great... super friendly and interested in what I was up to. Halfway through the ride I met Selvin, a Kiwi taking a bike ride across the U.S. He broke out a paper map circled and outlined everywhere he'd already been... San Fran, to Portland, Glacier, Yellowstone, Denver, Badlands... everywhere. It was pretty impressive. Continued on to a tiny 150 person town called Vivian and slept in their city park. Two old dudes said it was OK, so I at least I asked first. Camden park - Brookings, SD 52Brookings - Huron 79
On my trip into Brookings I rode this sweet old highway miles away from the main highway, able to ride 30 minute intervals without a car (or farm machine) passing by. But a steady headwind took a little fun out of the morning. Got to camp in a couple's backyard, which was AMAZING because they lived a mile from Walmart. You may not know this, but you can get a donut there for 58 cents... and there's just so much stuff. I'm used to the Walmarts in Durham with horrifying lighting, questionable customers, and employees who want to murder each other/you. Here, everyone was so friendly and employees literally wore capes and messed around with each other, it was great. Still terrible lighting, though. Brookings to Huron was the exact opposite type of ride as the day before. I was stuck on a fairly busy highway (with a good shoulder) and had a tailwind pushing me up until the last 10 miles. It was incredible. I also met a British dude named John biking the exact opposite way as me... basically we're doing each other's route in reverse. Also visited the old residence of Laura Ingalls Wilder. Not sure who she is, but I have a picture of her house. Or someone's house. So far, South Dakota hasn't been the terrifying abyss I thought it'd be. Bray Park - Minneopa State Park 20 Minneopa - Camden Park 110
I got to spend a little time in Mankato MN while waiting for a new chain and cassette on my bike. I was a little bummed with the mechanic's work, because even though a great guy... the chain rubs in the lowest gears and his remedy was to put another link in the chain, and tell me not to use certain gears. I think I'll have to get another shop's second opinion. Took a slow day in Mankato and hit up the Minneopa state park. While walking down to the waterfall there's a bunch of bluffs with thousands of words carved into the soft rock face from the past Winnebago tribe. Just kidding, it was probably just years of punk kids... but it's still pretty cool. Though a cool waterfall, I shuddered at the base of the hike every time it splashed water up after seeing a sign saying "do not swim, water contains dangerously high fecal content". After the poop waterfall I found a campsite and kicked it with the mosquitos. I was supposed to rise at 5:30 the next morning... but somehow that became 7:30 despite my sleeping mat deflating every night, leaving me to wake on the hard ground. The day became long hours of cranking out the miles in the sun, stopping in the tiniest Minnesota town to stock up on water from a super nice old lady's garden hose. She said, "I've been drinking hose water from this town for 85 years and it hasn't killed me yet". Hope I'm not the outlier. The terrifying thing about this part of Minnesota (which will only get worse the more west I go) is what I think looks like 5-10 miles on Google maps turns out to be 20-30. That's so many miles of farms. My luck of sneaking into campsites and out in the AM ran up when I pulled into Camden state park; the rangers were there collecting money for sites even at 8:30pm. What the heck man. West Salem - Lake City 84
Lake City - Bray Park 99 Past two days kind of run together with the tough heat and sun. I cruised right along the Mississippi River from Onalaska to Nelson, which was pretty at parts... but right along the highway (with a solid shoulder). At Nelson I crossed some rando bridge and into Minnesota, putting me officially west of the Mississippi River. Woohoo! Though a little hilly, the Minnesota side held some spectacular views of the Mississippi, and the lakes it spills into/creates. Woke up in my sleeping bag to find a stupid tick stuck on me. Another camper suggested just ripping it off since it wasn't a deer tick... but thankfully someone else had tweezers in a med kit. Guess that may be something worth investing in. Turned due west at Red Wing and flew along a series of bike trials. The 'joke' is that the mosquito is Minnesota's state bird. But it's no joke. I'd stop for one second and get torn apart by them. At one point there was a cloud of a couple dozen following behind me, only dispersing when I kicked it as hard as I could. Setting up camp at night was a bloodbath (for me), I think I lost a couple pints. In the AM about a hundred of those suckers were stuck to my tent's mesh just.... waiting. La Velle - West Salem 67
I've gotten pretty tired of traveling on these bike paths. I get it, it's nice not having cars whizz by - but they're super slow and filled with bugs. Everywhere, bugs. If I stop for two seconds I get engulfed by gnats and misquotes, so much so that each morning when I rub the sleep out of my eyes there's at least one gnat crusted in there (sorry it's gross, but that's my life right now). The sweet thing about going through the trails were three old railroad tunnels, the longest being almost a mile long. Water rains down from springs running overtop the tunnel, it's 50 degrees, and all the rocks were smoothed and slick from the constant condensation. Although I'm not afraid of the dark... I definitely whipped out my flashlight at one point. Although the bugs suck in Wisco, the people are awesome. I've never been around such a large amount of genuinely nice human beings. It's a whole state filled with Canadians. Met and chatted with a great family up in Sparta before hitting the trail, then met a couple in West Salem before calling it a night. The couple were big bikers (with an engine), on completely different ends of the political and social spectrum than me, and at one point showed me a map of which states you can carry a firearm... and were some of the best company I've had this whole trip. South Carolina doesn't allow concealed firearms which surprised me. Thankfully I was on a trail for the 4th (even though I'm tired of trails), so it got me away from drivers out having a good time, and since it was on a Tuesday everyone pulled out of campsites early for work work the next day. |
AuthorHey I'm Alex Soper, a dude living in Durham, NC. Shoot me an email if you want [email protected] ArchivesCategories |