Stoke The Fire

End of year reminiscing triggers dreams of remote rides to come. Stunning pictures, inspiring videos, and captivating stories of epic rides through exotic lands fill the internet. It's easy to get swept away.

Although destination adventures fire the imagination, regular local rides stoke the fire. Like many places, the Black Hills of South Dakota offer so many opportunities, so many choices, of local back roads to ride. I can ride local remote roads right here, right now.

Where to go? Favorite and familiar are fun. Rides cooked up by others can intrigue and challenge presumptions. Most often, however, I just look to a new spot on the map, piece together a general idea of a route, and head out there. And the most memorable rides are when I see something interesting and ride off the planned route. Sometimes, I ride right off the map itself.

It's always worth it.

The destination rides will come. Or not. Regular local rides rule.

Somewhere south and west of Custer in Black Hills National Forest.
This secondary road is actually on the USFS map, but not on the truncated copy I carried that day.