Our minds say no, but our hearts keep beating faster.
Ah! Leah! Here we go again.
Ah! Leah! Is it ever going to end?
Ah! Leah! Here we go again.
Ah! Leah! We ain't learned our lesson yet.
Ah! Leah!, Mark Avsec & Donnie Iris (1980).
Ready to roll on Day 1 of the inaugural Black Hills Bounty (2021). Paul Brasby, Lane Bergen, Ben Cooper, Jeffrey Bloom, Craig Groseth, Mark Hoffman.
For the fifth consecutive year, Paul Brasby and his aging crew with reconstructed joints are preparing to return for another weeklong bikepacking tour of the Black Hills of South Dakota. See, Black Hills Bounty Page.
While the miles and smiles of prior rides linger fondly, deeper reflection reveals a consistent pattern to the group dynamics of this weeklong bikepacking trip.
It goes something like this, regardless of the actual difficulty of any day.
A new bikepacking route that cherry-picks the best rough roads found on the original BackBone, DoubleBackBone, BackBone Grande, BackBone DoubleGrande, and even some Bounty routes to showcase the best of the Central Black Hills in a memorable 200 mile loop.
If you're looking to bikepack more than an Overnighter, but less than a week, in the Black Hills of South Dakota, here's a 200 mile loop that samples a sweet smattering of each of those BackBone routes. At 40-50 miles/3,200'-4,000' gain per day, that's a tantalizing 4-5 day tour. Great all on its own, or a shake-down for something bigger.
Of course, one could more aggressively tackle the BackBone Buffet as an Overnighter of back-to-back centuries or even a through-ride of a double century. It's just a route, after all, not an event. You do you.
Start at Hill City riding north on the Mickelson Trail. Follow the BackBone Grande route north to Black Fox Campground (Gold Mountain, tunnels, Castle Peak, Moonshine Gulch). See, BackBone Grande Page.
Continue on the original BackBone up Black Fox Camp Road, over Flag Mountain (taking the spur to the lookout), down to Deerfield Lake (with a short stretch of single track Trail 40L), and down Williams Gulch Road. See, BackBone & DoubleBackBone Page.
Jog a bit west on the DoubleBackBone and some Bounty roads (Jasper fire area) to pick up the BackBone DoubleGrande (a route not yet finalized) over to and down Red Bird Canyon. See, Bounty Page and Red Bird Canyon.
Continue south on the BackBone DoubleGrande, veer off on Bounty roads to McKenna Springs (abandoned road), and pass Jewel Cave National Monument. See, Connecting.
Take more Bounty roads back to another part of the BackBone (overlook view of Crazy Horse Memorial) and drop into Custer.
Finally, Custer to Hill City on the BackBone Grande Mt. Rushmore Alternative (Sylvan Lake, Needles Highway, Iron Mountain Road, Mt. Rushmore). See, BackBone Grande - Mt. Rushmore Alternative.
Total = 202 miles/16,200' gain.
Here are a few approaches.
1.4 day tour (50 miles/4,000' gain average):Day 1 = Hill City to USFS Whitetail Campground at Deerfield Lake (60 miles/5,300'); Day 2 = Whitetail to McKenna Springs (62 miles/3,500'); Day 3 = McKenna Springs to Custer (38 miles/3,200'); Day 4 = Custer to Hill City via Mt. Rushmore (42 miles/4,600').
2. 5 day tour (40 miles/3,200' gain average, for a Bounty-type experience):Day 1 = Hill City to USFS Black Fox Campground (40 miles/3,400'); Day 2 = Black Fox to disperse camp (40 miles/3,500'); Day 3 = disperse camp to McKenna Springs (42 miles/2,200'); Day 4 = McKenna Springs to Custer (38 miles/3,200'); Day 5 = Custer to Hill City via Mt. Rushmore (42 miles/4,600').
3. 2 day ride (100 miles/8,100' gain average, early training for a Tour Divide-type racer):Day 1 = Hill City to McKenna Springs (122 miles/8,800'); Day 2 = McKenna Springs to Hill City (80 miles/7,800').
+. One also could add 50-60 miles by riding from Rapid City to the Hill City start and then back to a Rapid City finish.
With many miles of solid Black Hills National Forest Service roads, the BackBone Buffet route may seem pretty tame. While some miles roll fast, others do not. More than a few miles of Low Standard roads await, along with abandoned roads and some single track. Also, those miles from Deerfield Lake (mile 60) to Custer (mile 160) offer no services and no resupply. Cell service is spotty or non-existent. On the other hand, there is a reliable spring at McKenna Springs (mile 122) and some surface water. So, it should be a nice bikepacking challenge, without being too much for most. When loaded for multi-day bikepacking, I prefer a bike with 2 inch or wider tires for this route.
The end is inevitable, Maverick. Your kind is headed for extinction.
Rear Admiral Chester "Hammer" Cain.
Maybe so, sir. But not today.
Captain Pete "Maverick" Mitchell.
Top Gun: Maverick (2022).
My rigid steel 2018 Jones 29+, built 2x11 for geared bikepacking.
E-bike this. E-bike that. E-bike whatever.
You do you.
Not for me.
The current e-bike trend reminds me of racing mountain bikes in the 1990's, when you could outright buy better performance.
Front suspension, and then full suspension, developed at dizzying speeds in chaotic forms, fueling an arms race for the latest, greatest technological breakthrough. Buy the new, shiny gizmo and, if it didn't break, rocket past all your friends and boost your weekend warrior status. Talk about a performance enhancing drug.
Other innovations piled on, promising to make one even faster, smoother, more in control, and more cool.
My 1997 Specialized StumpJumper Pro (circa 2014, when finally sold). Original frame & cranks, practically everything else replaced after breaking/wearing out. Final mountain bike with any suspension.
After racing with lighter, better suspension for awhile, I decided not to be the same guy who simply bought technology to ride faster. Or easier. Or over more difficult terrain.
For example, I didn't want suspension to carry me over obstacles. I wanted to ride the best line. If that put an upper limit on speed or the difficulty of the trail, so be it.
So in 2003, I converted to fully rigid, and never turned back.
Yes, I rode slower, crashed more often, and walked more technical stretches than I would have on the latest, greatest suspension wunderbike. But I rode. The bike didn't carry me.
Whatever my level of performance, absolute or relative, I earned. I didn't buy.
My steel 1991 Specialized RockHopper, set up for commuting (circa 2020). Repainted, rebadged, and re-configured several times, never suspended.
That's where I'm at with e-bikes. They're just not for me.
Now, I ride even slower and over less difficult terrain than a few years ago. I'll probably ride even slower next year. And walk my bike more.
No worries. If you're bikepacking with me, I'll catch up on the next pass, or over lunch, or at the campsite, or sometime the next day, or maybe the next week, or not.
No matter. I know that I'll get there. And that I'm powering my bike.
So, I planned to ride solo again. To help justify the 20 hour one-way drive, I added a weekend with our daughter Cara in Denver, 3 days volunteering at the race, 3 days for the race itself, and another 6 days in Phoenix with a brother and a sister. That worked out to an 18 day road trip, taking a big bite out of a South Dakota February.
Overall? Great road trip. Rough race.
Sunrise at 24 Hour Town.
Let's deal with the race first. I came into race day with limited training, low energy, and little fire. For weeks, I had been fighting a lingering cold/flu/something that would not go away and left me in a continuous state of fatigue. I decided to start anyhow and work through it.
After four straight days of cold, overcast skies and unusually high winds in the desert, race day broke sunny and relatively calm. I felt pretty solid for the 500+ meter LeMans-style running start and throughout most of the first 16.7 mile lap. Not normal, but solid enough, I thought.
I pulled into base camp at practically the same time as last year, but this year found South Dakota Mines classmates Dave & Lori Litzen! They buzzed down from Phoenix for the weekend to check out this nutty 24 hour mountain bike race scene. Great to see you guys!
Back on the course, I faded early on the second lap. I simply had little strength, energy, or endurance. Managing my output, I stopped frequently to collect myself and finally limped into camp to prepare for the sunset/first night lap. This was going downhill rapidly.
Sunset at a 24 hour race is always magical, as it was this year. But about halfway around that lap, pitch darkness extinguished all light, and then my race. I know my normal tired at this stage and this was not it. This was a larger problem manifesting as overwhelming fatigue, growing chills, shooting stomach pain, bloating, cramps, and headache. On the final climb, I could barely pedal. The last miles took an eternity.
Eventually back at camp, I immediately changed into dry, warmer clothes for the upcoming cold night laps and searched for something hot to eat to settle things down and shake those chills. Nothing sounded good. Nothing tasted good. So, I drank some fluids, including my normal Hammer Recoverite and some hot broth. OK. Better. Maybe. But this stomach is a mess. Everything is.
I retreated into my Jeep. Racing thoughts vainly sought a path through this.
Realistically, I knew that I was in no condition to get back out there. Not now. Not for awhile.
OK. I'll re-assess in 20 minutes. Sigh. OK. Maybe awhile longer. Another 20 minutes. Heavier sigh. SMH. OK, another hour.
Still not anywhere near OK.
I knew that digging too deeply to finish an endurance event can result in months to fully recover. I knew that, in the past, I have lost at least two or three summers that way. Is this the time to dig that deep?
Ultimately, I decided no. This was not that time.
So, I rode 3 laps in about 8 hours, with 2 long breaks. Call it my own 8 Hours In The Old Pueblo.
And I lived to ride another day, much sooner.
SD Mines classmates Dave & Lori Litzen checking out the scene. I'm still smiling after the first lap.
Other than a rough race, I enjoyed a great road trip. I first visited daughter Cara in Denver for a weekend and then drove some scenic back roads to camp at the race venue at Willow Springs Ranch, north of Tucson. I volunteered at early packet pickup on Tuesday, helped with venue setup on Wednesday, and volunteered at the venue check-in on Thursday. On Friday, I met my growing assortment of neighbors and enjoyed the vendor and sponsor booths. The race ran Saturday noon to Sunday noon, shortly after of which most all of the 4,000-some people left the venue.
On Monday, I drove to Phoenix for 5 days with my brother Cyler and his family, including two days on ranch land he's developing in the hills outside Prescott. Friday evening and Saturday I spent with my sister Candy, who took a break from remodeling projects to demonstrate her prowess on a recently installed putting green. I capped it all off with a Colorado Rockies spring training game on Sunday afternoon, the highlight of which was watching kids run around the bases afterward.
Overall, a great road trip, sandwiched around a rough race.
Next year? Maybe.
Solo? Maybe. Anyone interested in a team relay?
Elite endurance athletes Colin & Kristen Schindler (formerly of Spearfish, SD) stopped by with encouragement.
Neighbor Susie with her 5 person family team from Montana. They enjoyed a 20 hour drive, too.
Joyous Jesus (red cap) raced solo, with his dad and brother as crew. His first ever mountain bike race.
Solo racer Ben from Colorado with his fiancee. Ben works for the City of Breckenridge and manages the Firecracker 50 race.
Neighbor Tony raced solo, with his wife crewing.
Solo racer Ben from Colorado pushed for the podium.
Solo racer Dustin from Alaska was out racing. This is part of his crew. They flew from Alaska, shipped all their gear, and rented a U-Haul in Arizona as a camper.
Bonus image of kids running the bases after a Colorado Rockies spring training game.
Bonus image of Arizona State Highway 77 that eventually drops into Tucson.
A 90 mile rough road overnight bikepacking loop starting and ending in Hill City.
Nothing like an Overnighter to get started.
Mickelson Trail tunnel. (image by Paul Brasby)
From charming Hill City, The Heart of the Hills Overnighter explores about 80 miles of rough, remote USFS back roads and almost 10 miles of rails-to-trails Mickelson Trail for a two day tour showcasing the best of the Central Black Hills of South Dakota.
This forested, hilly loop passes a restored, abandoned gold mine, crosses over a trestle, eeks through old railroad tunnels, follows trout-filled streams, sidesteps to the iconic Moonshine Gulch Saloon, climbs along a beaver damned creek to an abandoned stone lookout, and meanders up and down back roads through prime elk country back to Hill City. An experiential Black Hills feast.
About 40 miles into the 90 mile loop awaits idyllic USFS Black Fox primitive campground, a sweet spot to spend the evening. Of course, one may choose to disperse camp throughout much of the Black Hills National Forest. In particular, one may wish to gradually climb another 12 miles past Black Fox to camp atop Flag Mountain by the lookout tower.
Black Fox Camp Road (USFS Secondary 233).
This is a gravel and dirt road route, with about a mile of mellow single track, covering about 90 miles and 7,400 feet of elevation gain over 2 days. Several sections can be rocky, rutted, loose, and/or muddy, such as Horse Creek Road, Castle Peak Road, the spur up Flag Mountain, Williams Draw Road, and a few unnamed connectors. Stretches of this route have earned their way onto parts of the Black Hills BackBone, the Black Hills Bounty, the DED Dirt Ride, several Black Hills Gravel Series rides, and even the BackBone Grande. If you only have two days, here's a choice taste of bikepacking the Black Hills.
When loaded for an Overnighter on this route, I prefer a bike with 2 inch or wider tires. When riding it loaded on soft roads in late May a few years ago, I comfortably rode my Jones 29+ with 2.35 inch Bontrager XR2 tires. On the other hand, I have comfortably ridden this entire route on my single speed Black Mountain MonsterCross with 40 mm tires, but that was a single day ride. Loaded, I'd go wider.
The lookout atop Flag Mountain.
Surface water to filter is widely available along the route. Potable water is available at the Mystic Trailhead of the Mickelson Trail (mile 16.5 of Day 1), at the Moonshine Gulch Saloon, the Rochford Small of America, and the Mickelson Trailhead in Rochford (mile 32.5 of Day 1), and at the USFS White Tail Campground (mile 19.2 of Day 2). The Moonshine Gulch Saloon also offers bar food and drinks, while the Rochford Mall sells light snacks.
Located an easy 26 miles from Rapid City, Hill City is a thriving tourist town of about 1,000 residents. It offers a variety of shops and art galleries, motels and campgrounds, and restaurants and bars. Hill City is also minutes away from Mt. Rushmore National Monument, Crazy Horse Memorial, and the granite towers of Cathedral Spires along Needles Highway. The Heart of the Hills is an ideal place to launch a Black Hills adventure.
Turning off Williams Draw Road (USFS Secondary 691) onto USFS Low Standard Road 301.1R.
For an alternative experience with shorter riding days, one could make a 3 day/2 night trip by riding 26 miles to camp at USFS Castle Peak Campground on Day 1, ride 33 miles to camp at USFS White Tail Campground on Day 2, and ride 31 miles to finish on Day 3. Of course, one could also go the other way, ditch the camping altogether, and ride the entire 90 miles loop in a single day.
Rocky Mountain Way, Joey Vitale, Joe Walsh, Ken Passarelli & Rocke Grave (1973).
Out there, on the Great Divide Mountain Bike Route. (image by Paul Brasby)
In late summer 2021, I rode the Great Divide Mountain Bike Route self-supported from the Canadian border at Roosville, Montana to the Mexican border at Antelope Wells, New Mexico. It was an amazing, unforgettable experience. I'll always cherish that overwhelming feeling of pure joy and utter disbelief at the finish. That is why to dream audaciously, set goals boldly, and work relentlessly to achieve.
After riding 7 weeks on the Great Divide, I spent the next 7 months writing about it. Over the Fall and Winter of 2021, and well into the Spring of 2022, I published 50 blog posts about my experience. Stories of individual happenings or days flowed easily, but expressing the overall experience proved difficult. I know that I still have not adequately covered it.
Nonetheless, to this day, I still see traffic on many of these posts. Now, with the New Year, I know that folks are preparing for their own ride of the Great Divide this summer and are looking for information and encouragement. So, I'm bumping a post from 2022 when I made those Great Divide posts easier to find by creating a separate Page just for them.
On the right side of the main Black Hills BackBone blog, look for the section called "Pages." There is one called "Great Divide Mountain Bike Route (2021)." On that Page, you will find links to my Great Divide blog posts on a variety of subjects, including preparations, gear lists, packing, bike set-up, logistics, navigation, food, encounters with others, adaptations, and the all important mental aspect. Photographs adorn each post. There's even a slide show with one representative image for each day and an entire Gallery of amazing Paul Brasby images.
If you plan to ride the Great Divide, or you just want to read along with my ride, it's a place to start.
Rocky Mountain Way, Joe Walsh (1973).
Rocky Mountain Way, Joe Walsh (live at Santa Monica Civic Auditorium 1976)
The Cloud Peak 500. A unique ride through the Old West. And another great shake out ride for the Great Divide Mountain Bike Route.
In late 2019, compadre Lucas Haan alerted me to the Cloud Peak 500 bikepacking route in the Big Horn Mountains of Central Wyoming. I immediately recognized its potential as a primo shake out ride as part of my long running preparations to ride the Great Divide Mountain Bike Route. The Cloud Peak 500 offered about 20 percent of the distance and elevation gain of the Great Divide on a seemingly similar variety of remote roads and terrain, with occasional small towns for re-supply. As a bonus, the Big Horns are but a few hours from Rapid City. I marked it as a priority ride for 2020.
Meanwhile, cycling friend Paul Brasby of North Platte, Nebraska caught wind of my Cloud Peak 500 plans. As a long time successful road racer, Paul was an enthusiastic gravel racer and bikepacker with both eyes fixed on riding the Great Divide. He also concluded that the Cloud Peak 500 looked to be an ideal ride to prepare for that, as well as a great ride on its own. We decided to start together and see how it goes.
Dropping off Dude's Downhill on the Cloud Peak 500. (photo by Paul Brasby)
Over seven long, hot days in August 2020, we rode the Cloud Peak 500 route, which was my longest, hardest, and overall biggest ride of that year. Although I stopped short of 500 miles, Paul rode on, through a gauntlet of challenges, to become the first, and still only, official finisher of the Cloud Peak 500 bikepacking race.
I then wrote a series of blog posts about our experience, primarily as a scrapbook for me and any friends that might enjoy it, but also as a resource for others who may be intrigued. Those Daily Ride reports describe our experience and the Logistics reports reveal much to help plan such a ride.
Eventually, I compiled all those blog posts onto a single Page called Cloud Peak 500 Page (2020) that appears within a column of Pages on the right side of the Black Hills BackBone blog. If you're looking for a shake out ride to prepare for the Great Divide Mountain Bike Route, or just looking for a unique 500 mile bikepacking adventure in Central Wyoming, take a look at the Cloud Peak 500.
