South Dakota Day 1

The ride through South Dakota was exhilarating. The difference with South Dakota was that, unlike the other rides we had done, we knew nothing about South Dakota! When we have trekked through Minnesota at least half of the state kinda feels like our back yard... or at least our distant back yard.

So here's how it worked. On Sunday, August 21, we hit the road after church heading toward Rapid City, South Dakota. We were really blessed to hitch a ride from our friend David Fewster. Dave, can't thank you enough for taking your time and vehicle to deliver us to Rapid City. We stayed our first two nights at the KOA campground in Rapid City. We highly recommend the place. Dave was kind enough to stay over night then deliver us to the starting line in Wyoming.

South Dakota was a NEW PLACE. IT had HILLS. We sweat through Strava maps as we looked at the route and elevation display.

My standard route in the Red River Valley had me climbing 52 feet over 27 miles. These hills were much larger and were an incredible way to start the Ride For the Dominican!!!
 I know what you are thinking... that is ALL downhill. Yes, a majority of it was.














However, within the overall downhill, there were some pretty crazy climbs.

However you look at it, the first day was a blast. We saw lots of beautiful terrain and determined that the Black Hills were wonderful.

The Black Hills were day one. We went from the Red River Valley to the Black Hills. Granted, the Black Hills are not the Rocky Mountains or the Appalachian, but they are the Black Hills.

There are tons of things that stand out in my mind from day one. We had never stepped foot in Wyoming. We had never been to the Black Hills. We had never climbed a 7% hill that was nearly 4 miles long. I had never ridden in a taxi! Oh yeah, that was a funny part of the ride. For most of my riding career I (Matthew) have been very successful at not blowing tires on the road. I have come to my bike in the morning and found a flat tire, but never had one blow on the road. After driving all those miles, I hit a piece of plastic that had a heavy duty staple in it. The tire road well for about 50 yards, but when I stopped at the stop light to turn into the KOA, my tire went flat. RIGHT AT THE END! Crazyness is what I call it. I had to call a cab because there weren't any bike stores for many miles and I didn't want to use my back up tube on day 1!

This was my first taxi driver. His name was Josh. He was super kind. The taxi fair not so much. $24.00 down the drain!

Here are some pictures from our first day.

So Sharon and I drove Trek bikes this year. They were excellent.

 Similar to Santa, we make our lists and we check them more than twice. 

 On day one we did not carry everything. We were staying at the same KOA that we had stayed the first night so we left a lot of stuff there. Sharon has bags on her bike that are mostly empty because cars seem to respect touring cyclists more than people they think are just out there for a ride.

 Loaded and ready to roll.

 Well Wyoming... perhaps we will see you again.

 This is the goal. South Dakota or bust. We never did see those famous stone faces!

 The Dominican holds a special spot in our hearts. We are thankful to support her wonderful people!

 Black Hills National Forest. Definitely a highlight in God's creation.

 One of the many great things about a bike ride through a state is that it makes you feel small. 

I need that.

 Pictures do not do this justice.

 Deadwood... bad guys beware!

 This place was awesome! We ate at the picnic tables outside and took a nap. Great food, great location.

This was sooo cool. Our friend Denae Stocks parked alongside the road as we were coming into Rapid City. At first I was like, "What the heck is going on!?" Denae and her kids cheered us on. Though we had gone down a lot of hills, we were getting exhausted. This was one of the coolest energy boosts I've had on a bike ride. Thanks Denae for cheering us on!

We stink at selfies and I'm OK with that. This is who we are, this is what we are passionate about.