The day began with a long climb out of town but the first real test came about 17 miles in when we began a 10 mile stretch of gravel and hills.
For those who may know little about road bikes, the thin hard tires are not built to ride on gravel. The climbs were hard but the downhills even harder. Not a fun morning. Below is a good example of the road.
The day did have some great views and we passed some very vintage establishments. Perhaps not as cool as Aladdin, but very cool .
In mid afternoon we passed the Crazy Horse Memorial. If you look closely you can make out the Chief's head.
There must be something in the South Dakota water causing the residents to carve heads out of stone.
We are off to Rapid City tomorrow. Hope the fantastic weather holds. It doesn't seem possible that we have been riding for 25 days, mostly in sunshine. Have seem some awesome parts of America and there is much more to see just over the next hill.
We learned today that Thompson Pass, a route we rode early in the tour was closed yesterday due to snow. Timing is everything.
