(Click on any image for a larger view)

Today’s weather forecast for Rapid City was for clear skies, temperatures in the 90s (!), and a moderately strong W wind. To take advantage of the cooler part of the day,

I again started early, hitting the road around 7:00. I figured the Hills (and trees) would block the wind pretty well, and that turned out to be right. The first few miles were on a city bike path that followed a large stream, which was flowing strongly. At points it was over its banks, covering parts of the path.

Quickly I was leaving the city and climbing. I took Nemo Road rather than a larger one that ran parallel. I was a little worried that my route would be too winding, have bad pavement, or be overly steep. But yesterday, the two Davids said it was a good road, and they were right. It was wide, with smooth pavement, and reasonable grades. And it was only lightly traveled, another plus.

The scenery was as nice as the road. There were continuous vistas with lots of relief, rocky outcrops, and beautiful trees (which I haven’t seen a while). Just really gorgeous mountain scenery.

The road followed a large stream (I think the same as in Rapid City), which alternately carved steep sided gorges or ran through lush, broad meadows. With the bright sun and hot temperatures, I just had to stop at one point for a cooling dip. It was not icy, which surprised me a little, but still refreshing. The heavy flow must have come from the late spring rains that I had been told explained the greenness of the landscape in much of western South Dakota.
I stopped for a rest in the hamlet of Nemo, almost the midpoint of my day’s ride, but it was still not yet 10 o’clock. There are a lot of ATV riders and motorcyclists in this area. Seems to be what you do in the Black Hills.

Eventually, the Nemo road ended and I was back on the larger road I had bypassed. It was OK, just wider and busier, with a less intimate connection to the landscape.

I eventually climbed to about 6000’, and it was about 10 degrees cooler than in Rapid. And the mountains did block the headwind, so it was a great day. The forecast is for more of the same: sunny and hot.  Today was the kind of ride I had hoped for on this trip.

Oh yeah, I took a quick side trip to Mt Rushmore. Here’s a picture of me with Lincoln. (Unfortunately, the other presidents were out for cleaning.)