Day 23 - The day we left Wyoming for the Black Hills of South Dakota

The journey from Hulett, Wyoming to Spearfish, South Dakota featured rolling hills and favorable tailwinds for most of the day. There were minimal services available for the initial 38 miles, with a gas station stop, followed by another 14 miles into Spearfish for lunch at Killian's, a cycling-themed restaurant. They claim mountain biking was invented here; I can't dispute it, though it seems convenient!

In Spearfish, we also performed some bike maintenance at Two-Wheeler Dealer, a local bike shop. It appears Jim can't replace enough parts on his Trek to reach the east coast, while Glenn needs adjustments to prevent his chain from frequently dropping!

After giving the bikes some care, we continued with a gradual 2,000-foot climb out of Spearfish into the heart of the Black Hills. It was a beautiful canyon ride up to a restaurant called Latchstring. We relaxed there and decided to rack the bikes and return to our accommodation in Spearfish. Tomorrow, we'll resume from this point, riding another 8 miles and climbing 1,500 feet to a pass that will take us further into the Black Hills. In the afternoon, we hope to visit Mount Rushmore and end in Rapid City.

We covered 67 miles today with about 4,000 feet of elevation gain. Tomorrow's goal is slightly more ambitious at 80 miles if we make it all the way to Rapid City.