Labor Day weekend bike tour
Over Labor Day weekend my wife and I did our first out of state tour. We chose to do the Monument Tour offered by Dakota Bike Tours view link . We arrived at the lodge we would stay at and awaited the rest of the tour to arrive. By 5pm guides and guests had all arrived and we got to know everyone. Later we would repeat that process over dinner. All meals were included on the tour and all where top line. Breakfast and dinner we al dined as a group, lunches were less organized and we would pair off based and try different places along the way.
The lodge we stayed the first two nights had a tremendous view of the Black Hills (below is the view off the back pouch area)
That night another biker and I decided we would hike to the top of that mountain at some point of the tour.
The next day we left the lodge and proceeded on some rolling hills towards Mt Rushmore. The guides were very responsive to the individual abilities of the bikers. Frequently on tough climbs they loaded my wife’s bike on the support van and took it to a better point. They also made sure we were able to see the monument from very unique views. Once we reached Rushmore we had breakfast together there and then had 1.5 hours to spend as we wished.
Leaving Rushmore we rode to Hill City, there we were shown a little used road – easy rolling that took us on a very scenic route to Keystone. At Keystone we had lunch and most of us chose afterwards to bike the Scenic Highway which was a good climb but with plenty of great vistas along the way.
The next day was mostly the Mickleson trail. I was really impressed with the scenery along the trail. The trail itself is a lot more primitive than the trails I am used to in Wisconsin.
The Mickelson Trail
Along the trail we come across the Crazy Horse Monument. The plan is to spend some time here (as much or little as you want) and move on down the trail to the city of Custer.
We found a great restaurant there and did some sightseeing waiting for the rest of the group to reassemble. All the towns had great places to eat, shop, coffee shops etc. The return trip to the lodge involved a tough climb and this time I chose to ride instead of bike, besides I had other plans for this afternoon.
We arrived at a new hotel for the night at Sylvan Lake. After unpacking, a guide dropped me and another biker at the Harney Peak trailhead. The hike to the top of Harney Peak is about 3.5 miles and really neat. The view from the top was worth it
Whe we got back to the trailhead, our other guide was waiting there to pick us up and take us back to the hotel – talk about service. The night before they took the entire group to see the night lighting and performance at Mt Rushmore as well.
After the best dinner yet, we retired for our last day of riding. In the morning my wife opted out of riding and decided to spend the day at the lake. She missed the best day of riding we had. We started out doing the Needles Highway. Amazing views there, in the picture below the area below is called the Cathedral Spires.
We took the same road all the way to Custer State park and did the wildlife loop road. We saw plenty of buffalo, antelope, and prairie dogs along the route. I loved the series of hills and long descents on this leg.
We called it a day around 2pm and different cars shuttled us to either our cars or in one case took a biker to the airport. It was a super three day tour and I’d recommend it to anyone – any ability.
The lodge we stayed the first two nights had a tremendous view of the Black Hills (below is the view off the back pouch area)
That night another biker and I decided we would hike to the top of that mountain at some point of the tour.
The next day we left the lodge and proceeded on some rolling hills towards Mt Rushmore. The guides were very responsive to the individual abilities of the bikers. Frequently on tough climbs they loaded my wife’s bike on the support van and took it to a better point. They also made sure we were able to see the monument from very unique views. Once we reached Rushmore we had breakfast together there and then had 1.5 hours to spend as we wished.
Leaving Rushmore we rode to Hill City, there we were shown a little used road – easy rolling that took us on a very scenic route to Keystone. At Keystone we had lunch and most of us chose afterwards to bike the Scenic Highway which was a good climb but with plenty of great vistas along the way.
The next day was mostly the Mickleson trail. I was really impressed with the scenery along the trail. The trail itself is a lot more primitive than the trails I am used to in Wisconsin.
The Mickelson Trail
Along the trail we come across the Crazy Horse Monument. The plan is to spend some time here (as much or little as you want) and move on down the trail to the city of Custer.
We found a great restaurant there and did some sightseeing waiting for the rest of the group to reassemble. All the towns had great places to eat, shop, coffee shops etc. The return trip to the lodge involved a tough climb and this time I chose to ride instead of bike, besides I had other plans for this afternoon.
We arrived at a new hotel for the night at Sylvan Lake. After unpacking, a guide dropped me and another biker at the Harney Peak trailhead. The hike to the top of Harney Peak is about 3.5 miles and really neat. The view from the top was worth it
Whe we got back to the trailhead, our other guide was waiting there to pick us up and take us back to the hotel – talk about service. The night before they took the entire group to see the night lighting and performance at Mt Rushmore as well.
After the best dinner yet, we retired for our last day of riding. In the morning my wife opted out of riding and decided to spend the day at the lake. She missed the best day of riding we had. We started out doing the Needles Highway. Amazing views there, in the picture below the area below is called the Cathedral Spires.
We took the same road all the way to Custer State park and did the wildlife loop road. We saw plenty of buffalo, antelope, and prairie dogs along the route. I loved the series of hills and long descents on this leg.
We called it a day around 2pm and different cars shuttled us to either our cars or in one case took a biker to the airport. It was a super three day tour and I’d recommend it to anyone – any ability.
