Monday, July 7th: Lead, SD or ... now the sitting bones hurt!

I wake my boss in the middle of the night: there's a thunderstorm rolling in. Together we cross our fingers and paws the Green Turtle will be good to us and protect us from the rain and the wind. It has been a while since it has been in a storm! It's still doing a great job. Some riders get rain inside their tents, but Green Turtle keeps us dry! At 5 am riders start getting ready... bye bye sleeping in till 7 am. A wonderful morning sky greets us as we open the fly:

We are one of the last ones to leave the breakfast place. No way we'll catch up with the others. Before we really start out cycling, my woman takes another picture of the Tower:

It's nice to cycle early in the morning along country roads - there's hardly any traffic. Some riders pass us - of course. The first town we run in to is Hulett. Here, some people of the group have slept last night - they are named the motel people. The town has a great western look over it. Somehow though, I have the feeling of being watched all the time and is that an empty spot in that coffin?

Outside town our first climb of the day brings us to the last viewpoint of the Tower:

 A nice donwhill let us fly into the almost deserted town of Alva. An old mine shaft catches our eye. 

A second climb, followed by the descend and we already hit mile 34 and a second water stop in the town of Aladdin. No - there is no lamp to rub! The wind is picking up and we get a new surface when we cross the border of South Dakota. Again, that eerie feeling of being watched comes over me:

The 9 mile to picnic are rather boring - except for this remarkable mailbox, which brings a smile to my woman's face:

The picnic is just at the outskirts of the town of Bell Fourche - please pronounce this the American way! The golf course looks inviting: I'd love to stretch my legs and run to fetch some balls, but we still have a long 40 miles to cycle! 

Out of picnic, my woman's stomach is a bit upset from eating too much. Also the divided highway is very busy - traffic just flies by - using the two lanes going in each direction! So it takes a while to reach Spearmint ... oops, Spearfish. A rather big town and a gas station gives my boss relieve: a gatorade will give her enough energy to climb the rest of the day. What... climb??? Yup... Here we stand at the mouth of Spearfish Canyon. The gradual climb on this winding road in the Black Hills Forest is fun: we missed the rain storm which came through here and now we can cycle in the shaded woods. We view the Bridal Veils Falls and meet up with Alan and a young couple: they have a flat tire. 

Mile 77 is another water stop: the Q-sheets says swim in the lake, but it's not that warm. My woman takes a short break of the bike (the sit bones are hurting). At the Cheyenne crossing store the real climbing starts. With the speed of a turtle we work ourselves up this 2.7 mile climb. A serious looking man is waiting for us at the top. I hope he doesn't mind my peeing here!

It's not all down to Lead, but almost. We arrive just in time to go to the dinner place: my woman sits with all these men - she hardly knows their name, but they look strong and older. The food is not so great and dessert... well, there is no dessert. My woman does not feel like walking up 99 steps to pitch the tent - we find ourselves a place in the gym - high up in the stands. It's narrow but it's away from any possible snoring persons. It was a long day and it was the longest trip since a few years - we're happy! We climbed 6567 feet in one day and cycled almost 90 miles!