Imagine your perfect day: all of your favorite people around you, your favorite food tingling your taste buds, the weather that brings you the most joy, and your favorite activities on the docket. If you were to compact all of your thoughts, emotions, and joy from that day into 15 minutes, it would be a clear representation of my time on the Needles Highway. I have never had a cycling experience as phenomenal as that thrilling downhill ride. The entire course had a breathtaking view of the needle-like rock formations and massive pines and spruces. The highway is so curvy and challenging even featuring Hood Tunnel, a one lane tunnel carved out of a rock, where we came face to face with a car coming in the other direction. As I rode, I was overwhelmed with tears of joy. I thought of the 2000 miles we have rode thus far, the challenges that Charlie and I have overcome, previous beautiful and inspiring experiences in nature (like zip lining next to a waterfall in Laos), and how this journey has already changed my life. I did not take any pictures or videos as I flew around 30 miles per hour, so I guess you will all have to bike across the country and ride down the Needles Highway to see what I mean.
After wiping my tears and whooping exclamations of ecstasy such as “Oh my God! That was the coolest thing I’ve ever done,” we continued on our route to Mount Rushmore. The ride was hard: the hills upward felt never ending and the downhills never lasted long enough (although they were super long, and I think I hit 40 miles per hour at some point). We were both thrilled to see George Washington’s profile after climbing in our lowest gear for a mile or two.
We made it to the memorial and attempted to do classic touristy things. Oddly enough, we faced some trouble. The first lady we asked to take a picture of us decided that Mount Rushmore was not very important and excluded it from the photo altogether, quite idiosyncratic to Charlie and I.
Next, a young man got a bit too close and did not include our bikes in the photo.
Finally, we told an older gentleman exactly what we wanted the photo to look like, and he got it just right.
We exited Mount Rushmore the same way we entered, and it was thankfully a lot easier on the way out! Although my legs felt exhausted upon starting the second half of our ride. It has also been so hot that I’ve been riding in just my bike shorts and a sports bra, tying my long sleeve around my neck like a cape. I really do feel like Superwoman flying down hills with my shirt waving behind me.
Around 2:30, we made it to Hill City, the heart of the Black Hills. It’s a quiet town but definitely intended for tourists.
We found a place to stay this evening through a Couchsurfing (similar to warmshowers) host’s friend. Jeremy, a pastor at a local church, kindly offered for us to stay with him. We played wiffle ball with Jeremy’s family and friends, during which Charlie and I smacked the ball, and Charlie had a Top 10 Plays worthy catch. Then we met Abby, a sweetheart who had all the kids over for a barbecue and treated Charlie and I to ice cream at TurtleTown. Charlie and I both had sundaes that embarrassed the pies and ice cream we had yesterday. Then we returned to watch Enola Holmes, a great movie with the same deciphering and analyzing as Sherlock Holmes but with an amazing female protagonist. It was so much fun hanging around the young kids who had their last day of school today!
The past two days we have rode less than 30 miles, but we have still worn down. Tomorrow we are trying to ride around 60 miles with likely a similar elevation gain. Wish us luck!!!
-Maddie
Good luck! 😘