Mickelson Trail, Day Two

Saturday, September 19, 2015:

Custer to Rochford: 39 miles

Too much beautiful scenery on this day. Three tunnels, and mountain streams with waterfalls ..... be prepared for a picture overload. I had a hard time cropping out many, except the climb up Redfern Grade, which I had done a couple days before and included in an earlier segment. 

Today started out chilly. I walked out of my motel room and started across the street for breakfast and noticed the frost on the top of my car as I walked by, roof, hood windows, etc ..... all had frost ... hmmm .... going to be a cool start today. I brought my red Pearl Izumi windbreaker, which is good down into the 40's. I had already wished I had brought my heavy winter riding jacket. No wind today which is a blessing, however.This was to be one of our hardest days, 40 miles, three big long climbs.  5 miles coming out of Custer, 8 1/2 miles from Hill City to Redfern, and then 3 miles of the 13 mile long Dumont grade to get up to Rochford. The hardest climb was the Redfern grade, 8 1/2 miles of 3 1/2% to occasionally 4%. While that doesn't seem very steep, the fact that it is on gravel, makes it a bit tougher. It's a steady climb with no breaks, and the sheer length of the climbs as well as the fact there were three long climbs, wears you down. I was ready to stop by the time we got to Rochford. There is a lot of climbing on this rail trail. Not like your ordinary "follow the big river" type of trail. You just keep the cranks turning, though, and you will get to the top. Combine the climbing with constantly changing mountain scenery, and the wild temperature swings along with the 6,000 to 7,000 foot elevation all combine to make it all a bit of a challenge for an old man. Today would prove to be probably the most scenic of the three days (in my opinion).

Started on the trail at 7:30am this morning, the sun just peeping over the tops of the trees. Cold and crisp. This is typical of the rugged cuts along this trail.

No wind, loved the reflections and the  crispy feel to it all.You can see the steam rising off the warm water in the cold air.

Frost still on the meadow.

One of the many bridges

Still frosty

Finally .....  SUN! And .....maybe a little warmth to go with it!

There were some times when the trail just hung on the side of the mountain, cliff on one side, and drop-off on the other.

Original tracks, sign and telegraph pole. It does make one wonder a bit ..... it could have been moved to the side of the gate a ways ... 

Another pretty, rocky cut. It was nice when I could get another cyclist in my photos ..... it was so crowded with 600 cyclists after all. As you can see today, the trail does get a bit rough in places.

First view of Crazy Horse Monument.

A bit closer view. I was here about 20 years ago, and I really don't see much accomplished in that time. I'm sure it will never be completed in my lifetime, maybe not at all. The immensity of it is lost in the scope. The face alone is ten stories high. Could you imagine? I really don't know how they can do something that detailed, so large and have it come out so well. If you wish to see any of these full size, just click the picture.

A bit about the sculpture.

Sun peeping through the trees.

"Mommie, Mommie ....Look .... Fatbikes take naps too" ........  

The first of three tunnels we went through today. Dark in there, and long, don't forget to remove your dark glasses before you go in or you may not see the bear.....  There were three tunnels today, and one on Sunday, this was the longest, and most unusual as it curved through the mountain.

I think I'd walk through the stream before I'd go over that bridge.

One of the longer and higher trestles.

The old log church at Mystic.

A couple of old buildings at Mystic.

The ladies at Mystic put out quite a spread for us, all home baked goodies. I looked for a "tips" jar, but didn't find one. I chatted with the little white haired gal seated there and asked her, and she said "There are about 25 families living up here, and we all get together when you do this ride and bake these treats for you riders because you do so much for us here" ..... Well ........All I'd done so far was to eat their delicious treats.

Even goodies for the gluten free crowd.

A bit more rugged part of the trail.

  Another tunnel

This one, you can see the daylight at the other end.

Lots of these pretty little falls and rapids.

First class ride, this one .... they don't make you print your information on your tags .... it came already all printed up for us. Pretty darn nice touch, I'd say.

Bike parking area at Rochford. Put your helmet on your seat, and the nice lady ties a plastic bag (two in fact) over it all and ties it around your seatpost fore and aft. I took my rear bag and camera and left the rest. The bike stays there overnight with a couple of guardians who volunteered to stay there awake all night. This is the 18th Trail Trek, and they have never yet had an incident. Clever arrangement for parking .... they string tight ropes across, put number tags on the ropes for designated parking (there are 600 bikes) and tie us off to the ropes. I only had to wheel my bike there and they did the rest. AND .... with their numbering system I found my bike with no trouble in the morning ....

You can see the big crowd there already. If I didn't have this slow ol' Fatbike, I might have been able to beat some of the crowd.The bike parking area is completely surrounded by growth. I would have ridden right on by if there wasn't someone at the opening to steer me in.

Close up of how they tie the bike to the rope. Worked very well, holds the brake tight, and the handlebar to the rope. Bike is going nowhere, even in a strong wind. 

The Moonshine Gulch Saloon. During Sturgis rally time, you can't get anywhere near this place. They had an outdoor bar for us just off to the right where we had a choice of several brands of beer, from the big names to the craft beers. There was water and soda pop, tea and lemonade, and food, all included with the ride, in the community building to the left of the white car.  Just down the road a bit to the left was a huge tent where we had live entertainment. The school bus to the right was one of 6 that were there waiting for us, to return us back to Custer. I believe they made two trips each. The State Parks and the people of Rochford (I know they are going to hate this description of how to pronounce the name, but think "Crotch" drop the "C" and add "furd" and you will be close). I would have pronounced the name like "Roachford" ..... but no ..... it's more like "Rotchfurd" ... Oh me .... learn something every day. 

This was our light lunch at Rochford, I had already consumed 5 of the cherry tomatoes and a bite out of the sloppy joe. They also had raw broccoli, cauliflower and carrots, I can't handle much of that kind of raw veggies, so I settled for the tomatoes. The food was all great on this ride, and the refreshing beverages were cold and hit the spot.

Our band ..... a five piece country western group that was very good. I really enjoyed them.

You can see some of the crowd and the size of the tent.

There were a few of us that got up there and danced, including the "Old Man" .... 2 beers, two pretty women and 4 dances later had me worn right down, however.

The South Dakota State Parks Department does indeed know how to put on a bike ride. They knock themselves out so all of us had much fun and enjoyment during our time with them. Everything that had concerned me before the ride .... the large number of riders, all the shuttling, leaving our bikes overnight .... all proved to be not worth the worry. It all worked out perfectly. The food and drink were wonderful, all the rest stops, were great ..... AND .... we still had one more wonderful day ahead.