2024 Black Hills Bounty (Day 0) - Back On A Grande Scale

It used to seem to me, that my life ran on too fast,

And I had to take it slowly, just to make the good parts last.

But when you're born to run, it's so hard to just slow down,

So don't be surprised to see me back in the bright part of town.

I'll be back in the high life again,

All the doors I closed one time,

Will open up again. 

Back In The High Life, Steve Winwood & Will Jennings (1985).

Stunning sunset from High Plains Homestead.
(image by Paul Brasby)

The Black Hills Bounty is an annual weeklong bikepacking trip in the Black Hills of South Dakota that I create for cycling buddy Paul Brasby of North Platte, Nebraska and a growing assortment of his friends from Nebraska, Kansas, Missouri, and Colorado. We started with a tour of the Central Black Hills (2021), then the Southern Black Hills (2022), and then the Northern Black Hills and Bear Lodge Mountains (2023). 

Now in the fourth year, Paul decided to take on a chunk of the BackBone Grande route, which crosses the entire state of South Dakota on remote, rough roads smack through the best of the Black Hills and surrounding prairie. See, BackBone Grande Page. We're going back in the high life, again.

Jeff Caldwell and Luke Derstein soak in the pre-ride vibe at High Plains Homestead.

Gathering his forces at the High Plains Homestead RV Camp just south of Toadstool Geological Park in northwestern Nebraska, Paul sought to ride gravel a bit north to the South Dakota border and then follow the BackBone Grande route all the way to Spearfish, with a couple of wrinkles. Over many conversations throughout a long winter, we mapped out a pretty straight-forward schedule, certainly one that these seasoned cyclists could handle.

All told, we planned 7 riding days, including a day to swing down Needles Highway, up and down Iron Mountain Road, and into Mount Rushmore National Monument, with overnights along the way in a variety of cabins, campgrounds, and dispersed sites. A gourmet smorgasbord for any bikepacker.

Pre-ride dinner inside the High Plains Homestead Saloon.
(image by Jeff Caldwell)

From an initial group of thirteen enthusiastic bikepackers, five ultimately arrived at High Plains Homestead on the eve of the ride. The relatively small number did not diminish our chattered anticipation or bursting exuberance as we packed gear, prepared bikes, reviewed maps, shared a meal in a saloon built in the Old West, and joyfully relaxed in a swimming pool overlooking a brilliant sunset. 

A start worthy of the ride ahead. And one to remember.

Old West town features buildings built in the 1800's.
(image by Paul Brasby)

Secure housing at the High Plains Homestead Jail.

Addendum. Here's a link to the Black Hills Bounty Page, which includes a description and link to every post for every year of this ride. Black Hills Bounty Page.

Back In The High Life, Steve Winwood (1985).

On The Back Roads Again - Red Bird Canyon

On the road again

Goin' places that I've never been

Seein' things that I may never see again

I can't wait to get on the road again.

On the Road Again, Willie Nelson (1980).

Can't wait to see what's around that corner on USFS Low Standard Road 376.

I love to scout back roads and near-roads. I'd be out there at very opportunity, no matter where I lived.

But I'm fortunate to live in Rapid City, South Dakota, the very gateway into Black Hills National Forest. The number and variety of public gravel and dirt roads here is staggering. I regularly set out to explore them, by Jones and by Jeep, and still find new-to-me gems. I love it.

Earlier this week, I scouted an area for my developing BackBone DoubleGrande bikepacking route and for a possible 2025 Black Hills Bounty ride. This area, north and west of Jewel Cave National Monument, still shows scars from the 2000 Jasper fire that burned more than 83,000 acres of forest. The spider web of roads and two tracks resulting from that fire fighting, and the on-going ranching and logging, create virtually limitless possibilities for riding. Every time I go back there, I find something new and amazing.

This time, I ran into dead-ends, where the maps showed that the road went through to connect with another road. I also encountered roads that went through, where the maps showed dead-ends. It was a challenging day to make some sense of it all and to sort through possible routes.

Then, late afternoon, after hours of annoyance with inaccurate maps and unmarked roads, I stumbled into Red Bird Canyon. Stunning. Simply stunning.

One way or another, this canyon will be part of the BackBone DoubleGrande and the possible 2025 Black Hills Bounty. And this is yet another reminder to keep at it. Eventually, it's all worthwhile.

Pictures fail to express the beauty of this 13 mile stretch of gold. But I felt compelled to share some here.

I can't wait to get back out there.

Climbing up to the ridge line above Spring Canyon on USFS Low Standard Road 280.

USFS Low Standard Road 376.3B tries to connect with Red Bird Canyon Road (376).

Entering Red Bird Canyon from the south on USFS Secondary Road 376.

A little further along northbound on USFS Secondary Road 376.

Canyon walls closing in on USFS Secondary Road 376.

Road roughens on what is now USFS Low Standard Road 376.

USFS Low Standard Road 376.

USFS Low Standard Road 376.

USFS Low Standard Road 376.

USFS Low Standard Road 376.

USFS Low Standard Road 376.

USFS Low Standard Road 376.

USFS Low Standard Road 376.

USFS Low Standard Road 376.

On The Road Again, Willie Nelson (1980).

24HOP - Back At It!

Yeah, you go back, Jack, do it again,

Wheels turning round and round,

You go back, Jack, do it again.

Do It Again, Walter Becker & Donald Fagen (1972).

Deep into the night, much closer to sunrise than sunset, winding through a cholla forest
on yet another lap at the 2024 24 Hours In The Old Pueblo.
(image by SportoGraf.com)

I'm going back, Jack!

The 24 Hours In The Old Pueblo last winter was just too much fun. I loved everything about it. See, 24 Hours In The Old Pueblo-Back At It; 24 HOP-Sticker Smiles; 24 HOP-Race Report; 24 HOP-Whiskey Tree; 24 HOP-People Make The Place. And a post about the experience of Tyler Pearce (vlogger VC Cyclist) as a first time solo racer. What A 24 Hour Mountain Bike Race Feels Like.

To have a chance to return in 2025, I had to decide now, over 4 months before the event, as the field fills notoriously quickly once registration opens. So, at 6 am Arizona time on October 1, I stood at the ready to take a shot at scoring a solo entry. Every step required several minutes to process and a fair amount of patience, but I received entry confirmation about 15 minutes later. I'm in! About 50 minutes later, the field filled and registration closed. 

Still smiling on my second lap at the 2024 24 Hours In The Old Pueblo.
(image by SportoGraf.com)

This year, I'd like to extend the experience beyond the race itself. On the Tuesday before race weekend, I plan to set up my camp and help the organizers with venue set up. I also volunteered for the early packet pickup in Tucson on Wednesday and as a greeter at venue check-in on Thursday. On Friday, I plan to connect with other racers and re-connect with some folks I met last year. Then Saturday noon to Sunday noon, it's race time.

Today, it's all fun memories and excited anticipation. Tomorrow, it's time to amp up my riding, with but 19 weeks to race weekend.

2025 24 Hours In The Old Pueblo. Can't wait.

Do It Again, Steely Dan (1972).

Morning Wakeup

Don't it always seem to go

That you don't know what you've got 'till it's gone.

Big Yellow Taxi, Joni Mitchell (1970).

A kingly breakfast at the base of M-Hill.

I miss my early morning commutes to work. It's one of those things that you really don't know what you've got 'till it's gone. See, A Final Commute.

This spring my cycling drifted a bit. Then Weston Neiffer and Evan Walterman of the Black Hills Bike Hub raised the possibility of starting some group bikepacking rides, which eventually were introduced at the Bikepacking 101 Social Gathering. See, BHBH Bikepacking 101 - A Brief Report. For the "Show & Tell" element of that event, I loaded my Jones 29+ bike as it would be for a multi-week remote road ride and rode it around town one morning. 

That simple act rejuvenated my mornings. 

Since then, almost every morning when in town, I pack up some makings for breakfast and pedal out. I usually spin toward downtown on a gentle tour along Rapid Creek, although not much is on the paved bike path. Rather, I seek adjacent or nearby gravel alleys, two tracks, and foot paths. I love to ride through the Jackson Park disc golf course, along the top of the dirt levee by Sioux Park, across the overgrown two track between Raider Park and Mary Hall Park, and around the Little League baseball fields. Sometimes, I'll veer upwards to ascend single track on M-Hill or Skyline Drive. 

Then I find a nice spot to stop, brew coffee, make breakfast, and spend some quiet time with a devotional. Often friends, acquaintances, and even strangers stop to chat for a moment. Eventually, I'll ride home.

Typically, that morning outing results in 1-2 hours of riding and 30-60 minutes of chilling. Sometimes those numbers are longer, sometimes shorter, and sometimes even reversed.

I'm home by 8a-9a and ready to start the day in earnest, which may include a longer bike ride later. 

If you see me at a picnic table in a park some morning, you're welcome to stop. I'll make some coffee.

Big Yellow Taxi, Joni Mitchell (1970).

2024 Black Hills Bounty - Gear LIst

Here's my gear list for the 2024 Black Hills Bounty, a 7 day bikepacking tour of the Black Hills of South Dakota along the BackBone Grande route, with a couple of wrinkles. As this will be a mid-September ride, I included a few things for cooler nights and mornings. Including the bike, this all weighs about 68 pounds, with 3 days of food and 4 liters of water.

Like my bike, and me, this kit's built for comfort. It's not build for speed.

68 pounds fully loaded for the Black Hills Bounty, with 3 days of food and 4 liters of water.

Sleep Kit:  Big Agnes Copper Spur HV UL1 Bikepack tent, Brooks Range Mountaineering Alpini 30 sleeping bag, SeaToSummit Reactor Extreme liner, ThermaRest NeoAir Xlite NXT pad, Outdoor Vitals UL Stretch pillow.

Clothes:  2 pair Voler bib shorts, Voler jersey, 2 pair SmartWool socks, Pearl Izumi X-Alp Summit shoes, Voler arm warmers, Voler knee warmers, Voler wind jacket, Showers Pass Refuge rain jacket, Marmot down hoodie, SmartWool camp shirt, nylon camp shorts, SmartWool liner gloves, Bontrager cycling gloves, Voler skull cap, SmartWool 250 stocking cap, Oakley Aero5 helmet, Oakley M-frame prescription sunglasses, Oakley athletic prescription glasses.

First Aid/Hygiene/Personal:  Ace bandage, gauze pads, large & small bandaids, butterfly bandaids, alcohol wipes, zinc oxide, Neosporin, lip balm, aspirin, ibuprofen, Tums, toilet paper, hand towel, toothbrush/paste, soap, phone, wallet, Spot X tracker/messenger, battery, cords.

Tool Kit:  Lezyne Micro Floor Drive HV pump, Lezyne SV-16 multi-tool, spork wrench for brakes, Lezyne Tubeless CO2 Blaster tubeless repair kit, 2 ounces of sealant, 1 tube, 2 valve cores, 1 valve stem, patch kit, 2 tire irons, LeatherMan Skeletool CX, Jones derailleur hanger, 4 chain links, 2 quick links, chain lube, duct tape, zip ties.

Navigation:  Garmin 530 GPS device, USFS Black Hills National Forest paper maps, Stem Captain compass, CatEye cyclocomputer, Lezyne MicroDrive Pro 800XL head light, Mountain Miser thermometer, Gideon's pocket Bible.

Documentation:  Paper journal, pencil.

Hydration (about 4 liters):  2 x 38 ounce Soma Further water bottles, 2 x 26 ounce water bottles, Sawyer Squeeze filter, iodine tablets.

Food (1-2 days): instant oatmeal/coffee (breakfast), peanut butter/honey/tortilla (lunch), nutrition bars/Hammer Gels/Snickers/trail mix (during the day), ramen/tuna/freeze dried entree (dinner).

Kitchen: Jet Boil MiniMo stove, fuel, matches, lighter, 2 SeaToSummit collapsible bowls, 2 sporks, GI Joe can opener, salt/pepper.

Although I make some modifications every trip, this gear list is much the same as that for the 2023 BackBone Grande, the 2023, 2022 & 2021 Black Hills Bounty, the 2021 Great Divide Mountain Bike Route, and the 2020 Cloud Peak 500. See, e.g., 2021 GDMBR Gear List.

The Challenge of Buffalo Gap National Grassland

A common question when cyclists learn about the BackBone Grande route: What's so challenging about riding through Buffalo Gap National Grassland?

BLM Road 7045 enters Buffalo Gap National Grassland.

From the inception of the BackBone Grande bikepacking route, I know that it must wander through at least some of the remote, open prairie in Buffalo Gap National Grassland. Digging deeper, I learn that creating such a route may not be so straight forward. Pockets of this protected prairie dot the Southern Black Hills area, but most are relatively small and many are land locked by private ranches. Larger blocks of this public land look more promising further to the East and North toward Badlands National Park, but may not offer rideable paths through to public roads.

Eventually, I pick a sufficiently large block to explore and piece together a 12 mile stretch of two track "roads" that connect to a county road that drops into the village of Oelrichs. After driving and riding it, I included that stretch in my original BackBone Grande route and rode it with cycling buddy Paul Brasby as part of our 2023 through-ride. See, BackBone Grande Introduction (Miles 0-46) and BackBone Grande (Day 1) - Right Vibe Right Away. Amazing. There's nothing else like it on the entire route. Or in any other route around these parts, at least of which I know.

Our experience of riding that short section of Grassland, the feedback from others who rode it, and the reactions from those reading about it prompt me to find more. In July, I find another Grande-appropriate section and add it. See, BackBone Grande - More Grassland! And in August, I add yet another one. See, BackBone Grande - Even More Grassland! Altogether, the BackBone Grande now offers about 45 miles of rough two-track and short connectors through a pretty substantial chunk of Buffalo Gap National Grassland.

So, what? What makes this experience so unique and so challenging?

Rugged BLM Road 7026 meanders across the prairie in autumn 2022.

Road Surface. The road is not graded or built up, but mostly looks like it was created by ranch trucks compressing the grass to form a path. For practically all of the miles, I see no discernible road bed or other sign of construction. In mountain bike parlance, the trail looks ridden in. There is no gravel or any other added material. Although the ground itself is not rocky, it is often soft and lumpy from cattle traffic. If wet, low areas can be a quagmire. Maintaining a pedaling rhythm is difficult on the rough surface.

That's BLM Road 7026 during our June 2023 through-ride of the BackBone Grande.
(image by Paul Brasby)

Navigation. Rolling to the horizon in all directions, the relentless hills of waving grass offer few landmarks. Only a couple of signs mark the Grassland roads and many other, similar looking two track paths veer off the route. When the grass is tall, the two track simply disappears. Navigation here is never easy.

BLM Road 7045 looks like this for much of 15 miles.

Exposure. This is prairie. The highest cover is grass and an occasional water tank for cattle. There is no respite from the full force of the elements. Be physically and mentally prepared to directly engage every combination of unfavorable temperature, wind, and precipitation. 

The occasional tank may or may not contain water.

Resupply/Water. The Grassland offers no commercial or even residential development. There is no resupply of anything, except surface water at a couple of small reservoirs. If desperate for water, the route passes within sight of a handful of cattle tanks, which may or may not contain some form of water. Count on nothing. 

No sign of civilization on BLM Road 7043.

Remoteness. Within minutes of crossing into the Grassland, the vastness obliterates sight of the county gravel roads behind, leaving but a few numbered two track "roads," a few cattle tanks, and some barbed wire fence ahead. In Spring, even the roads seem to disappear, with nothing in sight but the rolling hills of grass. It feels really out there. Even Great Divide bike packer Paul Brasby noted some apprehension after a couple of hours into the Grassland during our 2023 through-ride, "I thought that if we got lost, we may not get out of here."

First gate off Wilcox Road onto BLM Road 7026.

Bee-lining to Buffalo Gap National Grassland, the BackBone Grande dives into the vast remoteness of the open prairie. There's nothing quite like it. Pedaling a bicycle through it is stunning and humbling. 

Barely two-track "roads" meander across undeveloped prairie to the edge of nowhere. Other than the occasionally visible two-track, the views here likely have changed little for hundreds of years. The mind wanders. The spirit soars. 

This is why the Grassland is in the BackBone Grande.

This is why I scout to find roads and create routes. 

This is why I ride.

BackBone Grande Page with links to all posts 

BackBone Grande - Even More Grassland!

Gonna keep on tryin'

Till I reach my highest ground

Higher Ground, Stevie Wonder (1973)

Road 7045, for much of its 15 miles on the BackBone Grande route.

Last month, I added to the BackBone Grande a new 12 mile stretch of rugged two track. See, BackBone Grande - More Grassland! Combined with the original 14 miles of rugged two track and a few short connectors, the route crosses almost 30 miles of stunning prairie across Buffalo Gap National Grassland. It really is something unique to experience. 

I love the vastness of those rolling hills, with seemingly endless waves of grass in every direction. And it's so empty of development and so remote, reminiscent of the Continental Divide Great Basin in Wyoming. I half expect to dodge a herd of wild mustangs thundering over a ridge. 

Road 7045 entering Buffalo Gap National Grassland.

Since then, I can not stop looking at maps and satellite images of the area. Could there be more to add before turning west into the Black Hills?

I start looking even further North and East into Buffalo Gap National Grassland. Maybe I can connect Smithwick Road (County 1E), where the existing route leaves the Grassland, with Riverside Road (County 656), the next solid county gravel road to the north. Hard copy maps, digital maps, and satellite images offer promise, but all cross pockets of private land. Maybe. Maybe not. Time to get back out there.

Newly added 15 miles of rugged two track in Buffalo Gap National Grassland.

During July, I drove and rode throughout this area. There must be a way through. A fun ride through. 

The hard copy maps give a reasonably good outline to start, with Road 7045 providing entry into the Grassland from the South at Smithwick Road and from the North at Riverside Road. Once into it, however, the other numbered roads that spin off Road 7045 either loop back to Road 7045 or dead-end at private property. To add to the confusion, many unnumbered two tracks scatter into a spider web of possibilities, none of which appear to lead to a public road out.

Eventually, I find a couple of paths through. Surprisingly, I like best the most direct way, which is simply Road 7045 all the way across. Relatively well defined tracks wind up and down ridge lines featuring big views. Along the way, a solitary sign, half buried in the grass, marks the way. Granted, it's not much, but it's one sign, nonetheless. Since Road 7045 parallels the Eastern boundary of the Grassland for a stretch, at least that stretch has fewer spin-offs that could cause one to ride off-route. This is definitely going into the BackBone Grande.

Now about 45 miles through Buffalo Gap National Grassland.

Shazam! That adds another 15 miles of rugged two track, totaling almost 45 miles into and through Buffalo Gap National Grassland. At the end of that stretch, about 77 route miles from the Nebraska border, the BackBone Grande finally turns due West on solid county gravel roads to climb directly into the Black Hills. The adventure then dramatically shifts.

This will be the last stretch of rugged two track through Buffalo Gap National Grassland. Venturing any further north would bypass Buffalo Gap, the ancient migratory path into the Black Hills that climbs to Wind Cave National Park and Custer State Park on one of my favorite gravel roads anywhere. I'm not missing that. Moreover, open prairie of a different sort awaits another 150 miles or so to the North.

I love the original BackBone Grande route, but it's even better with the addition this year of over 30 miles of Grassland. I'll be riding it again, soon. 

RideWithGPS file - BackBone Grande (7/23/34 Update). 

Links to all BackBone Grande posts - BackBone Grande Page.

Higher Ground, Stevie Wonder (1973).