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