September 2017 – Biking 100

Kansas #30

Kansas September 18 – 21, 2017 103 miles

We had a good trip from Ouray to Kansas. We traveled through some beautiful canyons and over Monarch Pass in Colorado. We remembered traveling through Salida years ago with Heather and Erik while on our “Crested Butte adventure”. Heading into Kansas the mountains were well behind us and we drove through many small towns, wheat and corn fields, and huge feed lots with thousands of cattle.

Here is an interesting fact about a town we traveled thru: the small town of Kinsley, is best known for being halfway between San Francisco and New York City. It is 1561 miles from either city.

Our first day in Kansas was rainy so we spent some time checking out a couple campsites. We love to camp on the bike trails but that just wasn’t possible here. We decided on Hillside State Park south of Olathe, KS. Our first night we heard what sounded like a cat, a very big cat. Think maybe it was a bobcat. It made quite a sound!! Then we heard the coyotes. In the morning we could see evidence (scat) of the coyotes right in front of our motorhome.

April came from Arkansas and stayed 2 nights with us. We had a wonderful visit and she had some reading and relaxing time to herself when we were riding.

Lenny, Diana and April in front of our sates map.

Lenny gifted me with a new bike computer for my birthday. Our rides in Kansas were the first time I put it to use. It is awesome. It gives min/max heart rate, min/max speed, calories and fat% (like to know I am burning some fat), distance, duration, ascent/descent and max altitude. Probably more info as I discover all this little wonder can do.

We spent four very hot days on the trails in Kansas. Temperature was usually between 88 – 90 degrees and there was always a strong wind blowing. While it’s plenty of work riding into a head wind we would have really suffered more from the heat without the wind. The wind is our friend!!

Most of the trails were shaded which was a relief and we tried to ride early to beat the afternoon heat. We never thought we would be riding in so much heat in September. All of the trails we rode showed evidence of flooding. I think the worst flooding was in August, about the time we had initially meant to be here. Had we arrived in August these trails would have been closed. Recent rains covered the trails with damp leaves and mud in some places. On the Gary Haller trail we saw many snakes and all different kinds. We think the wet weather brought them out on the trail. It resulted in lots of screaming on my part.

I think we may have wondered into the Three Acre Woods. We found Owl’s house and knocked at another door, but there was no response.

Our last day in Kansas we rode the Prairie Spirit Trail. It is a Hall of Fame Rail Trail. It was the only packed gravel trail we rode in Kansas. It traveled through fields of corn and cattle, hundreds of butterflies and huge grasshoppers. We did not see any other bike riders or hikers. Think maybe the wind and heat kept people inside. It was the perfect trail to complete our Kansas 100.

Gary Haller Trail
Indian Creek Trail
Tomahawk Creek Trail
Prairie Spirit Trail

Some Wyoming – Much Colorado

September 6 – 15, 2017

We awoke to a heavy frost in Custer and headed for Casper, WY. We plan to do a few miles along the Platte River in Casper before heading for Colorado. Spent the night in the local Wal-Mart and parked at Fort Caspar on the Platte River Trail to do our biking. Really pleasant ride almost entirely along the river.

We spent a night in Cheyenne, Wy and then headed for Loveland, CO where we had reservations for a couple nights. We settled into our campsite and headed to Denver to visit my sister, Sherry and her grandson Donavan. We watched the Buckeye disaster with Oklahoma. No words!! Donavan made us a wonderful meal of grilled skirt steak. He is a really fine cook. Flo had a chance to meet their dog Buddy and they became fast friends.

On Sunday Sherry, Donovan and his friend Auna came to the rv park for a visit. We had a great time playing corn hole. So nice to visit, but sad to say good-bye.

Monday the 11th we were on the road at 5 AM. We wanted to get to Ouray early in the afternoon. The traffic was heavy until we got to Route 70, then it was smooth sailing going over the mountains. We arrived in Ouray about 3 PM, our friends Debby and Steve were already there as they had arrived on Sunday. Our campsite was right on the river with beautiful mountains all around. Steve’s sister Carolyn and her husband Dave arrived a few hours later. We had a relaxing evening reminiscing.

Our home in Ouray – we had good neighbors, Debby and Steve.

Our first full day in Ouray we did some shopping in town and checked on our Jeep rental which we would pick up in the evening. We couldn’t pass up the chance to try out the hot springs, so we spent the afternoon soaking in the warm Ouray springs. It was just what our tired biking bodies needed.

Wednesday we were on the trail about 9 AM, the beginning of an 11 hour day. We were headed for Lake City over Engineer Pass., elevation 12,800 feet. Around every bend was one breath taking view after another. On our way up Engineer Pass we saw a Polaris which had tumbled from who knows how high up the trail. Very disheartening when we were just on our way up!

Engineer Pass and a great flag waving picture.

We came across a large herd of sheep. There were some dogs moving the sheep and a shepherd working the dogs. It was quite a sight!!

Aspen beginning to show their fall colors.

Wednesday evening the rest of the group arrived. Glenda and Carl from Texas and Mary and Jerry from New Mexico. What great people we have to enjoy 4-Wheeling with and all have so much knowledge to share with us. Blessed!!

Thursday morning we were on the trail before 10 AM, another long day of 4-wheeling. I think about 8 -9 hours. We took Ophir Pass, elevation 11,789 feet, to Telluride. Stopped in Alta on the way and had lunch beside the lake. It started to rain just as we were heading back on the trail. We kept Flo covered in the back seat. I may have forgotten to mention the Jeep we rented did not have any windows in the back. Minor detail!

We continued into Telluride which was very congested. They were having a Brews and Blues festival. We took Imogene Pass, elevation 13, 114 feet and Canyon Creek back Ouray.

View of Telluride heading up toward Imogene Pass.

The trip down off of Imogene Pass had some pretty steep downhills. Not so tough for us but a bit hard on Flo. By the time we were down it was a pretty steady rain but what a great day of 4-wheeling. There is just too much to tell and so many wonderful sights. Like I said before – around every bend in the road another awesome view.

Friday found us or rather Lenny cleaning the Jeep and returning it to Switzerland of America tours. We also found time to head for the hot springs again. We were joined by Mary and Carolyn. Good place to relax and visit.

Saturday we packed up, said our sad goodbyes and headed for Kansas to find Dorothy. The rest of the gang was headed for a couple weeks in Moab, Utah.

South Dakota #29

South Dakota September 1 – 5, 2017 103 miles

Up early on Thursday August 31st to do some laundry before getting on the road. We left Medora, North Dakota and headed for Rapid City, South Dakota. It was amazing how after only a few miles out of Medora the scenery began to change from badlands to grasslands, There were fields of sunflowers, grasslands, wheat fields and large herds of cattle.

We arrived at Cabelas in Rapid City with plenty of time to check satellite feed for the Buckeyes game against Indiana. Buckeyes got off to a slow start but in the end were victorious, 49-21!! GO BUCKS!! This Cabelas even had a corral for people traveling with horses. How nice. Good place for nights sleep.

The morning found us headed for Custer, SD and French Creek RV. Arrived in early afternoon in time for the Friday night potluck at the campground. Diane, the owner of French Creek RV hosts a potluck diner every Friday evening. This Friday she provided pulled pork and kielbasa which we could smell cooking when we checked in. We met a couple, Anna and Steve, at dinner who were avid bikers (tandem) from British Columbia, Canada. We really enjoyed sharing biking tales with them. We had ridden so many of the same trails all over the U.S.

We are camped right on the George S. Mickelson Trail, a Hall of Fame Rail Trail. It did not disappoint. The trail is 109 miles long and we road all of our 100 South Dakota miles on this trail. It was packed gravel and had long uphill grades and long downhill grades. One of the days we rode a 12 mile uphill grade. Whew!! Who’s idea was this anyway?

There had been a fire south of Custer and we had a few days of smokey air which caused our eyes to burn. The last day we rode the weather had cooled and it was clear and beautiful. We rode through deep valleys surrounded by high cliffs and all we could hear was the water flowing through the stream. Some places we had to wait for the cattle to move off the trail. Deer were a common site and at times they would just stand and watch us. We also saw flocks of turkey, some looked bigger than Flo.

There were tunnels on the trail which provided a cool respite from the heat. The Mountain Trailhead provided a nice view of Crazy Horse Monument. The terrain was dramatically different from the south to the north. The south reminded us of the high desert while the northern part of the trail was green with ponderosa pines and wild flowers along the trail.

Bike repair along trail – using our first aid kit.

One of the highlights of our trip to South Dakota was our visit to Custer State Park. We drove on the Needles Highway where we saw beautiful spires. The tunnels were narrow and low. Our little Fiat had no problems though. The visitors center has an awesome video narrated by Kevin Costner, it’s a must see.

Narrow tunnel on Needles Hwy – Custer State Park

Driving on the Wildlife Loop Road we saw feral burros, prairie dogs, pronghorn and most awesome of all was a herd of bison. We took a gravel road off the main loop road and drove a couple miles before coming over a hill to the sight of bison for as far as we could see. Awesome! I would love to return next year when they do the bison roundup.

Iron Mountain Road was another treat. This is a winding road which makes some 360 degree turns. The tunnels frame Mount Rushmore. It was a good rest day for us before our final ride on the Mickelson.

George S. Mickelson Trail