After Badlands I tried to visit the Minuteman Missile Visitors Center but because of COVID it was not open to the public until Wednesday morning. This area of South Dakota was a hotbed of missile silos during the Cold War years. There were 1000’s of missiles in the Great Plains for over 30 years, now there are still hundreds. I believe the Visitors Center allows you to tour a silo and command center. Now I guess I will probably have to wait until my next visit to South Dakota.
I headed back to Rapid City to Planet Fitness for a quick workout and a shower. Afterward I got my laundry done, there’s a lot of it, and found a place for the night. I parked at the Founders Park at the base of Hanson- Larsen Park. I was meeting Chris there in the morning to go mountain bike riding. There were a few cars in the parking lot and surprisingly I wasn’t asked to leave. Overnight parking in parks in town is usually a no no.
Chris and I had a great ride all around the Hanson- Larsen Park. It is a wonderful trail system right here in downtown Rapid City. If I lived or worked around here I would be on this trail everyday. On the final pitch to the top I rode the very steep gravel road and Chris took the trail. The trail was a little too rocky for me. We met at the top and grabbed a snack. As we were sitting talking my rear wheel broke a spoke. I wasn’t even near the bike. It must have been spun up from the climb and just let loose. It made me cut the ride short and head over to the bike shop across the street from the trail.
It was still early in the day so we headed to Sturgis for another bike ride. Why ride once when you can get out twice! We went to where Caroline and I had ridden a week ago. We climbed Centennial #89 trail. Being that we started so late we decided on an hour out and an hour back would be best. Only problem for me is that in the woods as the sun was going down I can’t see well at all. I had to turn around after 40 minutes. I found a gravel road to take me back to the van. Chris continued on. Since I still wanted to ride I just retraced the ride Caroline and I did. It was more in the open and I could see fine.
After our rides, I set up my van hot shower. It just works great. Makes you feel so refreshed after a ride. We had hoped to camp there for the night but we got booted out by a local. Oh well. After a bit we drove to the other trailhead I rode with Caroline in Spearfish at Crow Peak.
In the morning we did separate rides because Chris wanted to do the Fight Club ride I told him about and wanted something easier. I decided to climb the gravel road for a solid hour to the top of Single Track Attack and ride that back. Perfect for me. Chris and I said our goodbyes. As it turns out we would meet up again later on.
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