Relative Something

During our return ride back to Hill City, we climbed for about 2 hours, mile after mile without any coasting. That means pushing pedals the whole time to in order to make progress.

Upon reaching the high point, the well-tended trail slants down and our bikes started rolling along without any help from us.

That seems like a chance to rest, but it’s not. In no time, we are flying along at 23 mph and hanging on tight to keep the bike on the trail and our bodies on the bikes.

Even though it only takes a fraction of the time, the fact that you are flexed in mostly one position throughout makes it feel almost as relentless as the climb did.

Somewhere at the bottom of one of those downslopes, we finally had our first close encounter with cows on the trail.

I received quite an education about the difference between cow and horse manure during this adventure.

I’m biased, but I definitely prefer what horses produce.

Today, Gary and I face relentless miles in the car as we cross most of South Dakota to get back to our homes.

That’s a small price to pay for the blast of a time we had. It was an absolutely fabulous adventure.

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