2025 Black Hills Bounty (Day 1) - Getting Back There

On Day 1 of the 2025 Black Hills Bounty, we climbed out of Deerfield Lake on rough roads to eventually roll through aspen groves still emerging from the mammoth 2000 Jasper Fire. Second breakfast fueled a mid-day plunge into remote canyons and overgrown barely-single track, as storm clouds threatened. 

We eventually cruised on Low Standard Roads down to Water Spring Draw to disperse camp in a meadow surrounded by sheer canyon walls. We purposefully set camp, fixed dinner, and relaxed as the main thunderstorm built around us. Thankfully, the heavy rains fell after midnight.

Here's our story of Day 1, as told by our collection of images.

2025 Black Hills Bounty - Day 1.
Jeff Caldwell, Jeff Bloom, Kevin Fox, Mark Almer, Ben Cooper,
Craig Groseth, Paul Brasby, Rob Foudray, Brit Flinchbaugh

Initial pitch right from USFS White Tail Campground.
(image by Kevin Fox)

Clawing up USFS Low Standard Road 301.1R toward Windmill Draw.

Re-grouping on top of a ridge line (looking back).

Re-grouping on top of a ridge line (looking forward).
(image by Kevin Fox)

The first 8.5 miles from camp rose up before finally topping out on this ridge.
(image by Brit Flinchbaugh)

Re-grouping on USFS Low Standard Road 301.1R along Windmill Draw.
(image by Kevin Fox)

Paul Brasby flies down Windmill Draw on USFS Low Standard Road 301.1R.
(image by Mark Almer)

I enjoyed the smooth stretch of USFS Low Standard Road 301.1R.
(image by Mark Almer)

Crusing westward on Six Mile Road (USFS Secondary Road 301).
(image by Paul Brasby)

Rolling up Gillette Canyon Road (USFS Secondary Road 296).
(image by Paul Brasby)

Further along on Gillette Canyon Road.
(image by Paul Brasby)

Re-grouping along a ridge line on Gillette Canyon Road.
(image by Paul Brasby)

Paul Brasby ambling through the aspen on Gillette Canyon Road.
(image by Kevin Fox)

Craig Groseth and Mark Almer chug up the hill.
(image by Kevin Fox)

Second breakfast shortly before turning off Gillette Canyon Road.
(image by Rob Foudray)

Jeff Caldwell leads the way on unnamed USFS Low Standard Road 383.
(image by Paul Brasby)

Ben Cooper glides down unnamed USFS Low Standard Road 383.
(image by Paul Brasby)

Brief stretch of fast gravel on Custer Limestone Road (USFS Primary Road 284)
(image by Paul Brasby)

Paul Brasby and Jeff Bloom drop on two track USFS Low Standard Road 284.2A.
(image by Kevin Fox)

Mark Almer and Kevin Fox brake for pictures along Bear Springs Creek.

Craig Groseth and Mark Almer enjoying the two track downhill along Bear Springs Creek.
(image by Kevin Fox)

The canyon walls close in as the two-track drops toward Bear Springs.
(image by Paul Brasby)

Turning off USFS Low Standard Road 284.2A onto single track. Somewhere that way.
Brit is either wondering where's the trail or signaling "SCORE!"

Jeff Bloom fearlessly dives in.
(image by Paul Brasby)

Mark Almer spots a line.
No pictures for the next 4 miles, as everyone focused on seeing the trail and staying upright.

Emerging from 4 miles of overgrown barely-track.
(image by Kevin Fox)

Jeff Caldwell leads the way. Well, after Kevin Fox rode ahead to get pictures of everyone else.
(image by Kevin Fox)

Ben Cooper in a happy place.
(image by Kevin Fox)

Paul Brasby lovin' every minute of it.
(image by Kevin Fox)

Brit Flinchbaugh smoothly sails through.
(image by Kevin Fox)

Rob Foudray in his element.
(image by Kevin Fox)

Mark Almer still smiling after all those miles.
(image by Kevin Fox)

Craig Groseth excited to actually see the trail.
(image by Kevin Fox)

Eventually, we connect with the proper Hell Canyon Trail.
(image by Kevin Fox)

Re-grouping at the Hell Canyon Trail trailhead. Yes, we had some rain. More on the way.
(image by Kevin Fox)

Switchback descent on USFS Secondary Road 277, which soon turned to Low Standard.
(image by Kevin Fox)

A road sign on a USFS Low Standard Road directing one to take another USFS Low Standard Road
for 5 miles to connect with Pass Creek Road (USFS Primary 273).
Very rare to see such a sign in the Black Hills. Usually fortunate if the road itself is marked somewhere.

Dispersed campsite at Water Draw Springs.

Dispersed campsite at Water Draw Springs.
(image by Kevin Fox)

Daylight waning at our dispersed campsite at Water Draw Springs.
(image by Kevin Fox)

RideWithGPS map of Day 1 of the 2025 Bounty.

2025 Black Hills Bounty (Day 0) - Gathering at Deerfield Lake

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), then the Northern Black Hills and Bear Lodge Mountains (2023), and then the BackBone Grande route from the Nebraska border to Spearfish (2024).

Due to a burst of interest from Paul's widening circle of bikepacking friends from all over, I intentionally designed the 2025 Bounty to be scalable to a highly variable number of riders and built in three distinct stages:  a 3 day/2 night self-supported bikepacking ride, a 1 day unloaded, mostly paved Mt. Rushmore day ride, and a 2 day/1 night self-supported bikepacking ride. Importantly, each rider could choose to ride from any combination of the first, second, and third stages.

Over the course of the year, several riders expressed interest in riding this stage or that, depending on their ambition and availability. Some Black Hills locals even chimed in. All were welcomed.

2025 Bounty riders gather at White Tail Campground around a fire at sunset.
(image by Kevin Fox)

So, on a gorgeous Sunday evening in late September, nine enthusiastic bikepackers gathered at USFS White Tail Campground overlooking Deerfield Lake. Old and new friends sprinkled in, as we prepared bikes, packed gear, reviewed maps, ate dinner, and joyfully connected over a roaring campfire.

In the morning, we start the 3 day/2 night self-supported, self-navigated jaunt onto the ridges and into the canyons of the Western and SouthWestern Black Hills. It's a typical Bounty mix of Forest Service back roads, abandoned two-tracks, and some overgrown single track through memorable terrain to a unique dispersed campsite. For this group, the Bounty is a cherished adventure/vacation, with a nod toward vacation.

Our story of the 2025 Black Hills Bounty will be told primarily through images captured by our assembly of experienced endurance cyclists. Paul Brasby, Ben Cooper, and Jeff Caldwell of North Platte, NE. Jeff Bloom and Kevin Fox of Lincoln, NE. Mark Almer of Littleton, CO. Rob Foudray, Brit Flinchbaugh, Paulette Kirby, and me, all from the Black Hills area.

Here are a few images from USFS White Tail Campground as we gathered on the afternoon of Day 0.

USFS White Tail Campground overlooking Deerfield Lake.
(image by Kevin Fox)

Jeff Bloom removes the rear wheel of his Salsa CutThroat,
while White Tail Cycles owner Jeff Caldwell conducts an in-the-field tubeless conversion.

Jeff Caldwell's tubeless conversion clinic starts to draw a crowd.

Jeff Bloom's Salsa CutThroat, fresh off the mobile repair stand, ready to roll.
(image by Kevin Fox)

Mountain bikes loaded for bikepacking pushed the weight capacity of that Farmer-Fixit rack.
Mark Almer and Paul Brasby add to the mix and wonder if it will hold.

Jeff Caldwell hefts an old school bedroll that won't quite fit on his bike.
Not that he didn't try.
(image by Paul Brasby)

And so it begins.
(image by Paul Brasby)

Against The Wind

Against the wind

I'm still running against the wind

I'm older now, but still running against the wind

Well, I'm older now and still running

Against the wind

Against The Wind, Bob Seger (1980)

Cold front wind knocks down the grass and appears to bend the MMR sign for French Creek Cutoff.

I don't intentionally seek out adverse conditions, but don't often avoid them either. I just ride.

Lately, however, I'm actually starting to check the day's forecast before heading out for a longer ride in the country. Getting a bit soft, I know.

Last weekend, I decided to ride relatively early in the day before a significant front blasted in with big northerly winds.

 

Too bad the wind didn't get the same forecast.

RideWithGPS map of my ride to the Fairburn Agate Beds.

After last week's downright pleasant cruise on Old Time Gravel, I thought another blast from the past would be fun. Time to go back to the Fairburn Agate Beds, out a bit further east for a gander over the Cheyenne River valley, and then back to Fairburn on a rolling loop with a nifty Minimum Maintenance Road. Just 40 miles and 1,700' gain. Just right for my Black Mountain single speed.

At least if I can finish in Fairburn before that northerly wind hits.

Looking east toward the Fairburn Agate Beds and beyond.

To avoid that early afternoon wind attack, I planned to be pedaling out of Fairburn no later than 08:00 and finish by about 11:30, maybe 12:00. But that start didn't happen. For no good reason, it was more like 09:00. So, I pushed my luck right from the start.

I haven't ridden out to the Agate Beds in several years, but I don't remember those first 11 miles to be so seriously washboarded and heavily graveled. That start demanded a lot more power and attention than any surface last week. And more time. Otherwise, the gentle drop toward the Cheyenne River passed through some nice ranch land with big prairie views, which I thoroughly enjoyed whenever I could glance away from the lumpy road and mounds of loose gravel.

Nice BLM primitive campground on the outskirts of the Agate Beds.

Entering Buffalo Gap National Grassland, the terrain rolled a bit more to drop into very nice French Creek Campground and meander back into the Agate beds. This stretch would be a Low Standard Road in the Black Hills, much more rocky and rough than the adjoining county roads. But I rode a relatively short out-and-back and the Black Mountain handled it.

After riding a bit east toward the Cheyenne River valley, I backtracked a few miles to then turn south on French Creek Cutoff Road for that little loop back to Fairburn. I didn't get far enough. The wind turned on like a giant fan in a wind tunnel. 

Yes, the wind was early and I was late. Now I faced a solid 20 miles of riding west and north into it. Almost all of it uphill.

Crossing mostly dry French Creek in November 2025, en route to the Agate Beds.

Same spot crossing French Creek in early Spring 2015.
(image by Shaun Arritola)

We get some wind out here on the prairie surrounding the Black Hills and this one was serious. Steady 24 mph, with gusts of 38mph. Starting from the North and shifting to NorthNorthWest.

Translation:  Most of the remaining 20 miles were either lean-way-right-to-stay-upright cross-winds or direct headwinds. The single speed ensured a leg press practically every pedal stroke for over two hours.

Sorry to leave, but was looking forward to that left (southward) bend in the road, however short.

It was a head down, all-in grind, at maybe 50-60 rpm. Maybe. 

So much for that smooth 90-95 rpm spin last week on those gentle Sturgis route rollers. 

Standing to power up a climb merely caught more wind and slammed forward progress. So, I sat forward, up just off the saddle, leaned deep into the drops, and slugged it out. I celebrated the crest of every incline of any kind, often with some left-over Halloween candy and a swig of Fizz.

Although it doesn't look like much to that radio tower, that's the final climb against the wind.
The washboard and thicker gravel was prevalent throughout the route. 

Final downhill to Fairburn.
This fuzzy image unintentionally captured the moment. I was done for the day.

It was that kind of day.

Break it down to a manageable piece. Grind it out. Celebrate. Focus on the next manageable piece. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat.

No, it was not a carefree, light-hearted, joyous cruise. Not all rides are. Not all rides should be.

It was the right ride for that day, built on the past and building for the future.

Against The Wind, Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band (1980)