Sorry for the delay in posting the update for Day 14, but yesterday was indeed a "rest" day. Apparently unusual for PacTour to give a day where you actually have a choice of routes and time for touristy activities. Dave and I chose the shorter of the rides (45 miles v. 70 miles) and headed to the Crazy Horse monument, Mount Rushmore, and then into Rapid City. We figured with eight 100+ mile days behind us and the longest day of the tour (149 miles) coming up the next day, we'd be better served by pedaling fewer miles. In the end, I think we made the right choice and got plenty of climbing and some fast descending along the way.
One highlight of our rest day, other than seeing Crazy Horse and Rushmore, was meeting up with Dave and Patrick Sumrell, who were out in Rapid City for a cycling and fly fishing vacation. They met up with us in Keystone at lunch and rode to Rapid City. Dave had been stationed at Ellsworth AFB a few years ago so he knew the roads we were riding and was happy to let me try to follow his line down Neckyoke Road. It was good to see them and hear about Patrick's success in a local time trial. You'll need to ask him about that at the next shop ride. If you look really closely at the picture you can see Rushmore between Dave and Patrick, who were sporting Bike Masters jerseys.
Dave and I were invited to have dinner with Jason Kingsbury and Kristin Petersen at their house in Rapid City. We also met Noko, their Rhodesian Ridgeback, who as my wife Mary would say, is a sweetheart. Kristin and Jason treated us to an awesome dinner on their deck and let us do some laundry. All of this one week before they are hosting friends and family in their beautiful backyard for their wedding! Congratulations and best wishes to them. Jason is one lucky dude.
Dave made an interesting observation that a number of other people agreed with - that Rushmore is more impressive from a distance and appears quite small once you get close. Of course, it might appear smaller from close up because of the increasing size of the people around you at the viewing platform. Dave especially enjoyed the Crazy Horse monument has been since high school interested in the Lakotas and Crazy Horse in particular.
With the short day, we arrived at the hotel before our rooms were ready and walked across the street to Sonic for frozen treats. Dave had an exploding Cherry Limeade and the server was slow to bring napkins, so Dave made good use of the little fountain in the seating area and washed his hands. To be honest, I missed the actual washing, so the picture was staged so this important event could be recorded for posterity. I'm not sure how he dried his hands, but at least they were clean.
Sorry for the delay in posting the update for Day 14, but yesterday was indeed a "rest" day. Apparently unusual for PacTour to give a day where you actually have a choice of routes and time for touristy activities. Dave and I chose the shorter of the rides (45 miles v. 70 miles) and headed to the Crazy Horse monument, Mount Rushmore, and then into Rapid City. We figured with eight 100+ mile days behind us and the longest day of the tour (149 miles) coming up the next day, we'd be better served by pedaling fewer miles. In the end, I think we made the right choice and got plenty of climbing and some fast descending along the way.
One highlight of our rest day, other than seeing Crazy Horse and Rushmore, was meeting up with Dave and Patrick Sumrell, who were out in Rapid City for a cycling and fly fishing vacation. They met up with us in Keystone at lunch and rode to Rapid City. Dave had been stationed at Ellsworth AFB a few years ago so he knew the roads we were riding and was happy to let me try to follow his line down Neckyoke Road. It was good to see them and hear about Patrick's success in a local time trial. You'll need to ask him about that at the next shop ride. If you look really closely at the picture you can see Rushmore between Dave and Patrick, who were sporting Bike Masters jerseys.
Dave and I were invited to have dinner with Jason Kingsbury and Kristin Petersen at their house in Rapid City. We also met Noko, their Rhodesian Ridgeback, who as my wife Mary would say, is a sweetheart. Kristin and Jason treated us to an awesome dinner on their deck and let us do some laundry. All of this one week before they are hosting friends and family in their beautiful backyard for their wedding! Congratulations and best wishes to them. Jason is one lucky dude.
Dave made an interesting observation that a number of other people agreed with - that Rushmore is more impressive from a distance and appears quite small once you get close. Of course, it might appear smaller from close up because of the increasing size of the people around you at the viewing platform. Dave especially enjoyed the Crazy Horse monument has been since high school interested in the Lakotas and Crazy Horse in particular.
With the short day, we arrived at the hotel before our rooms were ready and walked across the street to Sonic for frozen treats. Dave had an exploding Cherry Limeade and the server was slow to bring napkins, so Dave made good use of the little fountain in the seating area and washed his hands. To be honest, I missed the actual washing, so the picture was staged so this important event could be recorded for posterity. I'm not sure how he dried his hands, but at least they were clean.
glad you guys got to see the Kingsbury's. They have an awesome place, beautiful scenery around there!
ReplyDelete