Cycling Advocates Ride to Pro Walk Pro Bike 2006

from Vancouver B.C. to Madison, Wisconsin

Not much of a breakfast at the motel, so I had to settle for a breakfast burrito from the service station, It was a beautiful day and a nice ride to South Dakota. It was sad to see the poor shoulder conditions once we entered South Dakota… crumbling pavement, growing weeds and lots of debris. We stopped at Spearfish for lunch. It looked like a nice place, but we had to ride on the busy streets again. From there, it was uphill to Hwy 85 exit. We headed south on 85 to Deadwood. We had a headwind again, but the most frustrating part was the shoulders. The road was concrete coated, ridged road , as were the 1 meter shoulders. It was very noisy and the worst part were the 1 meter rumble strips across the entire shoulder, every 10 meters. The last 5 km was a very steep uphill ride. Deadwood reminded me of a small western version of an old Las Vegas. The main street has a lot of historical buildings, featured many gunfighter legends. Most of the buildings were now casinos and bars. We stopped at the Michelson Trailhead bike shop and had a nice visit with Tony. We also met a nice couple from the eastern part of South Dakota. He said he rides across the state every Fall for exercise. He recommended the old hwy 16, which parallels I90.