I remember watching the old westerns on television and seeing the train robbers riding along side a train looking for that perfect monument to jump on it and rob it. That’s how I felt as I rode along Old Hills City Road to Keystone our first stop on our way to Mt. Rushmore. The 1880 train with its black smoke billowing out of its smoke stack runs almost parallel to the road and crosses it about 13 times, so it was fun to race it to the next crossing sometimes winning, sometimes loosing. Although you never really lost because you got to enjoy all the people on the train waving and taking pictures as they went by. It was Sunday morning and the weather was beautiful as the four of us ventured out on this ride. Up one hill and down another we rode trying to make the best of the down hill momentum to get us up the next hill. Using ever gear we had to climb some of the more robust inclines. I soon realized what we call hills around Sioux Falls are really only bumps in the rode. Past glass blowing shops, antique stores and even an old mine we rode. No traffic to speak of so we were able to really enjoy the morning. We could hear the trains whistle as it approach each crossing and see the smoke from the engine raising above the trees even when the train itself was out of sight. As we crested a fairly big hill we caught or first glimpse of Keystone and knew we were about to have to make a big decision, continue to Mt. Rushmore or not? Well as we stopped and enjoy a break and some cold water we went back and forth, tossing around the options, all of us knowing we wanted to do it, but not sure we were up to the task of the three miles of 10% upgrade to get us there. In the end there was no real decision made we just found ourselves doing it. Now if you are familiar with this road you will understand or plight. We began the upward climb doing pretty well, but as we reached about the half way point we began to struggle. Between not having enough gearing and the altitude we were, well let’s just say not having much fun. We pushed as hard as we could until yes, I will be the first to admit it, we had to get off and walk for a while. So the last half of the ride was walk a bit, ride a bit, walk a bit, and ride a bit. We were very humbled by the mountain. The mountain had won this one. That said we did finally reach the main gate to Mt. Rushmore to find out that our efforts were not totally in vain, admission to the memorial if you’re on a bike is free. So we rode up to the entrance found the bike rack and headed in. Now the bike rack should tell you something. It had only places for six bikes, think it might be an indicator of how man
y people actually ride bike up to the memorial. We spent some time enjoying the grandeur of Mt. Rushmore and having some Almond Praline ice cream before heading back. The ride down the hill back to Keystone was not without its challenges. It would be a test of our breaks and our grips to keep ourselves under control as we descended. Riding our breaks we headed down. Letting up for only and instant and you were thrust into warp speed and back on the breaks. It only took a few minutes to make the trip down the same road that almost took its toll on the way up. At the bottom we stopped to collect our thoughts and noticed right away the break dust all over the front forks of our bikes. We had put them to good use. We headed back retracing our morning ride, up one hill and down another. The sun was much warmer and the ride seemed much longer than it had in the morning. Back in Hills City we headed for some food and water and found ourselves already looking back at our decision to ride to Mt. Rushmore. It was easy now that we had done it to sit back and enjoy our accomplishment. Something we will always remember, something we almost past up. It was another adventure, another great ride, a great day to be alive, and most of all, another great day with our friends.
I remember watching the old westerns on television and seeing the train robbers riding along side a train looking for that perfect monument to jump on it and rob it. That’s how I felt as I rode along Old Hills City Road to Keystone our first stop on our way to Mt. Rushmore. The 1880 train with its black smoke billowing out of its smoke stack runs almost parallel to the road and crosses it about 13 times, so it was fun to race it to the next crossing sometimes winning, sometimes loosing. Although you never really lost because you got to enjoy all the people on the train waving and taking pictures as they went by. It was Sunday morning and the weather was beautiful as the four of us ventured out on this ride. Up one hill and down another we rode trying to make the best of the down hill momentum to get us up the next hill. Using ever gear we had to climb some of the more robust inclines. I soon realized what we call hills around Sioux Falls are really only bumps in the rode. Past glass blowing shops, antique stores and even an old mine we rode. No traffic to speak of so we were able to really enjoy the morning. We could hear the trains whistle as it approach each crossing and see the smoke from the engine raising above the trees even when the train itself was out of sight. As we crested a fairly big hill we caught or first glimpse of Keystone and knew we were about to have to make a big decision, continue to Mt. Rushmore or not? Well as we stopped and enjoy a break and some cold water we went back and forth, tossing around the options, all of us knowing we wanted to do it, but not sure we were up to the task of the three miles of 10% upgrade to get us there. In the end there was no real decision made we just found ourselves doing it. Now if you are familiar with this road you will understand or plight. We began the upward climb doing pretty well, but as we reached about the half way point we began to struggle. Between not having enough gearing and the altitude we were, well let’s just say not having much fun. We pushed as hard as we could until yes, I will be the first to admit it, we had to get off and walk for a while. So the last half of the ride was walk a bit, ride a bit, walk a bit, and ride a bit. We were very humbled by the mountain. The mountain had won this one. That said we did finally reach the main gate to Mt. Rushmore to find out that our efforts were not totally in vain, admission to the memorial if you’re on a bike is free. So we rode up to the entrance found the bike rack and headed in. Now the bike rack should tell you something. It had only places for six bikes, think it might be an indicator of how man
y people actually ride bike up to the memorial. We spent some time enjoying the grandeur of Mt. Rushmore and having some Almond Praline ice cream before heading back. The ride down the hill back to Keystone was not without its challenges. It would be a test of our breaks and our grips to keep ourselves under control as we descended. Riding our breaks we headed down. Letting up for only and instant and you were thrust into warp speed and back on the breaks. It only took a few minutes to make the trip down the same road that almost took its toll on the way up. At the bottom we stopped to collect our thoughts and noticed right away the break dust all over the front forks of our bikes. We had put them to good use. We headed back retracing our morning ride, up one hill and down another. The sun was much warmer and the ride seemed much longer than it had in the morning. Back in Hills City we headed for some food and water and found ourselves already looking back at our decision to ride to Mt. Rushmore. It was easy now that we had done it to sit back and enjoy our accomplishment. Something we will always remember, something we almost past up. It was another adventure, another great ride, a great day to be alive, and most of all, another great day with our friends.
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